39. Tyler
THIRTY-NINE
TYLER
My palms are sweaty.
Which is ridiculous since I’m a grown-ass man. I’m going on a date with someone I’m already in love with. I shouldn’t be this nervous.
But here we are.
The wait from the time I knock on her apartment door to the time she opens it feels like a lifetime.
Before I even say hello, I hand her the flowers I brought for her. I was worried it would be too cheesy, but her face makes whatever cheesiness worth it.
“These are beautiful,” she says as she takes them. She waves me through the door, and I step inside. I didn’t even know where she was living until she told me where to pick her up. The apartment itself is plain, but it’s quiet. I’m relieved that it’s at least pretty nice. I wouldn’t be able to bear it if she was back to sleeping in her car.
“Is your roommate home?” I ask, looking around.
She shakes her head as she puts the flowers in a large cup. Fuck, I should’ve bought a bouquet with a vase.
“She’s gone more than she’s here, which has worked out well for us.”
“That’s good.”
She places the flowers on the counter and turns to me. “So, where are we going?”
“An arcade.”
Her eyebrows raise like she wasn’t expecting that answer.
“Yep. Let’s go.” I reach out and take her hand, hoping she doesn’t notice how clammy mine is.
On the drive to the arcade, we talk about easy stuff. Her family. Graduation. I tell her about the team and how we’re shaping up for next year. All the things I wanted to talk to her about over the last few months but couldn’t.
It feels like a fresh start.
We needed a fresh start without the looming black cloud of getting caught hanging over us.
The place I’m taking her to is a good distance from campus, but there’s still a chance we might see someone we know. Or, more accurately, see someone who knows me. I’m not worried about it anymore, though. The important people already know about us, and if we get caught, it doesn’t matter. She’s not a student anymore, and no one can prove that anything happened prior to her graduating.
I picked this place because I wanted tonight to be fun.
This is our first date. Officially.
The arcade is an adults-only bar with vintage pinball and old-school video games. They also have bowling, air hockey, and racing games. I’ve never been, but one of my coaches mentioned it in passing one day, and I thought it sounded fun.
Games have always kind of been mine and McKenzie’s thing, anyway.
Her face lights up as she takes in everything, and a big smile breaks out on her lips. I take her hand—yes, in public—and walk us over to the bar. After I order us drinks, we start playing.
We do everything from Pac-Man and Galaga to air hockey and a racing game that she wins.
We eventually take a break and have a burger.
“This has been so much fun,” she says. “Best first date ever.”
“Yeah.” Hopefully, it’s both of our last first date ever. “This was fun, but I would’ve had fun doing anything with you.”
“You know I don’t need the fancy dates and over-the-top gestures,” she tells me.
“I know you don’t need them, but I want to give them to you. I want to spoil you. Will you let me have that?”
The corner of her mouth tips up in a half smile. “If you insist.”
“I definitely insist. I know you don’t need me, but I’m going to make sure that you want me for the rest of your life.”
She reaches out and grabs my hand. “I do want you. Even when I tried to talk myself out of it, I’ve always wanted you.”
It’s a weight off my shoulders to hear her say that because I’ve been so worried that I ruined our relationship. I wouldn’t blame her one bit if she decided to walk away forever after the way I treated her. Pushing her away and hiding my feelings then leaving her when things got hard. I’d deserve it if she cut me out of her life.
But I’m so fucking glad she’s giving me a second chance.
While we eat, I see people casually glancing at us. I assume they recognize me. College football is a pretty big deal in this area. They threw a parade for me when I was first hired, for God’s sake.
But I’m grateful that this community is pretty respectful. They may recognize me, but no one comes over to talk to us or ask for a picture. They let me enjoy my night, which is exactly what I was hoping for.
When we’re ready to go, I hold McKenzie’s hand to the truck and open the door for her. For the first time in my life, I feel truly content. A voice deep down is telling me this won’t last, that I don’t deserve to be this happy. But for now, I’m choosing to ignore it.
I drive back to her apartment and walk her to the door.
I’m trying this whole being a gentleman thing.
“I had a good time tonight,” I tell her as I tuck a strand of hair behind her ear. As badly as I want to take her back to my place and spend the night buried inside her, I need her to know it’s not just about sex for me. It’s never been about sex. So, I will continue to date her until she knows that I’m in this for real.
“Me too.” She smiles back at me.
I lean down and kiss her gently on the lips. It feels so good to kiss her again.
When I pull back, I swear I see a flicker of disappointment in her eyes. “I’ll call you tomorrow.”
She nods, and I turn to walk away.
“Tyler!” She calls my name when I’m halfway down the hall.
I turn around just in time to catch her as she jumps into my arms. Her legs wrap around my waist and her lips are on mine in an instant.
“Don’t leave,” she says between kisses.
“I’m trying to do this the right way,” I tell her.
“The right way is to take me to my room and fuck me.”
“McKenzie.”
“Please,” she begs.
Well, there goes the last of my restraint. I barely had any to begin with, but I can’t have my girl beg for me and then leave her hanging. That would be very un-gentlemanly.
I walk us back to her apartment. She points me to her bedroom, and I kick the door shut behind us.
She pulls at my shirt, and I quickly tug it over my head. I’m unbuttoning her blouse as she unzips my jeans. Our hands are everywhere. It’s messy and frantic, but I love that she needs me as badly as I need her.
I motion for her to lie down on her back. She scrambles to the bed and spreads her legs, and I dive in, licking and sucking her the way I know she likes.
“Tyler,” she moans as I slide a finger inside.
“God, I missed your pussy.”
“Tyler!” she says my name again like it’s the only word she can say right now.
“Did you miss this, baby? Did you think about me when you made yourself come?”
Her back arches off the bed as I add another finger.
“Yes!”
I swirl my tongue around her clit. “I thought of you every day, McKenzie. Every. Fucking. Day.”
Her hands run through my hair, tugging on the ends, letting me know she’s getting close.
I lick her and finger her until her walls clamp down, and she comes with her legs shaking around my head.
She has to physically push me away from her clit because I would stay there all night if I could.
“I want you inside me, Tyler,” she says, which is the only thing that brings me up from between her legs.
“You’re sure about this, baby?” I ask, giving her one more chance to tell me she’s not ready.
“Never been so sure.”
“I swear I wasn’t planning on doing this tonight.”
“Stop talking and fuck me.”
She doesn’t have to tell me again. I line myself up at her entrance and slide into her until she’s taken all of me. My hips move slowly against her, feeling her and stretching her. She takes me so perfectly.
She holds me close to her, making me go slower. Our bodies mold together, confirming for me that we’re a perfect fit.
“Feels so good.” Everything about her feels right. It always has.
I shift her hips upward, getting a better angle to rub her clit as I thrust inside her.
She moans and asks, “How do you know just what I need?”
I nuzzle into her neck. “Because you’re mine.”
“Tyler!” she calls my name as she comes again.
I lose all of my control when I feel her squeeze me. I pull back and push her knees up. Her nails dig into my ass, and my thrusts speed up. Before I’m ready, I’m spilling inside her.
My body collapses, and I put my forehead to hers.
“I love you. I never stopped, and I never will,” I tell her.
“I love you too.”
I kiss her again before she goes to the bathroom to clean up. While she’s gone, I think about what I’m supposed to do next. Does she want me to go? Should I stay? Would it be too forward of me to ask her if I can stay? Now that I’ve got her back, I don’t want to leave her for a second.
When she comes back, she wordlessly pulls back the covers and motions for me to join her in bed. I hold her for most of the night while we talk about things just like we used to. At some point, we hear her roommate come home. I offer to leave, but McKenzie asks me to stay. I can’t tell her no, so I pull her closer until we both fall asleep, knowing that this is exactly where I’m supposed to be.
I know we’ve got work to do. Nothing about our relationship is going to be easy, and I know people aren’t going to accept the age gap between us. That’s fine. Our relationship is no one’s business but our own.
Kylie will eventually come around. I know she’s not happy about this, but she’s been more supportive recently than when she first found out. I know I’ve broken her trust, and I’m doing everything I can to build that back up with her. I’m giving her space just like she’s giving me, but I’m not hiding anything anymore. She knew about my date with McKenzie and even sent me a good luck text before I left the house earlier.
McKenzie and I have a long way to go, but as long as she’ll have me, I’ll be by her side. I can’t wait to see where life takes us because I know as long as we’re together, it’ll be the best life I could ask for.