Chapter 37
THIRTY-SEVEN
I never let myself dream of what life could be like with Tyler Kane, and so far, it felt as if I was living in a fairy tale. My teenage self would have been in seventh heaven.
“I’m so happy you could join us today, honey,” my mom told Tyler as she passed him a plate.
If my parents knew Ty had been sneaking into my room to sleep and only sleeping because I refused to get it on at my parents’ house, they didn’t let it show.
“I’m sorry I couldn’t come the last couple of weeks. We’ve been busy at the auto shop.”
“Every Sunday?” my mom questioned as she looked my way.
Tyler chuckled.
“Yeah, it was kind of a punishment. I made a business decision without consulting my family, and none of them could cover for me on Sundays.”
When my eyes met Tyler, he cast a quick wink my way.
I quickly looked around the table, but neither of my parents had caught it.
I could have easily told them Tyler and I were friends again—even if that word felt short for what was happening.
I’m sure my parents would be thrilled by such a development.
For a whole week, Tyler had been sneaking into my room.
It had been a week full of conversations.
Everything about my college experience and his—no detail was too insignificant for Ty.
Sometimes I got so lost in a story, I would ramble on while he listened with a smile on his face.
People sometimes looked at you without paying attention, they listened to you without hearing what you had to say.
Tyler Kane had always made me feel seen and heard.
He valued my input, and I missed that. Other times, when I went on for too long, Ty would shut me up with a kiss.
It was safe to say it was an effective way to derail my train of thought.
As soon as things got a little heated, he would curse but ultimately stop.
Then he would tuck me into his side, and we would go to sleep.
It was so fucking hard—pun fucking intended—because who the hell can sleep when they have a dick poking their ass? Not this girl.
It was like being a kid again, minus a penis in the mix. The innocent relationship that hadn’t been tainted had rebloomed, with a shit ton of sexual tension.
I needed relief, and I needed it soon.
At least I wasn’t the only one who needed relief. Tyler was close to begging me to go to his house—which I wouldn’t have minded in any other relationship, but come on. His dad was family to me, too.
“June bug.”
My head swung to my dad as I blinked away the memories I shouldn’t be having.
“Yes, Daddy?”
“A few of my coworkers mentioned they would bring their kids to the bakery once they finished their shift.”
That made my chest tighten with a case of the warm and fuzzies.
“It was a great article,” Ty interjected. “My favorite part was when she said that small businesses were the heart of a community. And if we let them die out our towns would lose their soul…even EZ joked that he would be stopping by.”
That feeling in my stomach deepened and it wasn’t just the warm and fuzzies anymore, it was my feelings for Ty that kept growing.
“That’s awesome!” I told them. “I saw Luna the other day, and she said they’ve had an increase in customers since the article came out.”
“When I went to get my hair trimmed, Cora hinted her boss would love to be featured. All of the girls noticed how much traffic Lupe has had this past week,” my mom said.
Now, thinking back, it seemed silly that I had not told anyone of my future plans at the paper.
“Thanks to the success of my article, my boss will let me make it a weekly segment. I plan on spotlighting not only business here in Oakhill Creek but the surrounding counties.”
“That’s awesome, June bug,” my daddy told me.
From across the table, I could see Tyler staring at me with soft eyes. I had to force myself to look away or else my parents would catch on to us.
Once dinner ended, Ty said his goodbyes.
“Are you going back to work, honey?” my mom asked him. She wanted to send some food for his brothers because she worried they weren’t eating much.
“Ah, no. I have an errand to run. I was going to ask Astrid if she’d like to come with me.”
Damn him for putting me on the spot like that.
My mom gave me that look. The you better not be rude because I raised you better than that look.
“Sure,” I mumbled, letting her think she strong-armed me.
A few minutes later, I was sitting in the passenger seat of Ty’s truck as he took us away from Oakhill Creek.
“Where are we going?”
Ty held on to the steering wheel with one hand while he brought the other to his head and messed with his hair. He only did that when he was feeling nervous.
Maybe it was us? The situation? Maybe I was the only one who seemed to feel like this was familiar.
“I have to go sign some papers before the bank closes,” he said. And since the sun had not fully set yet, I could see the red twinge in his cheeks. “I got approved for a business loan.”
That made me sit straighter.
“You’re starting your own business?”
He immediately shook his head.
“You know how the shop belonged to my grandad. Then he gave it to my dad. He was the one who added the towing, and that made it grow. Well, I wanted to add to our legacy, and I played with the idea for a while.”
At this point, I had leaned into him, fully invested in what he had to say.
“…And.” My hand motioned him to keep going.
“After talking it over with my brothers, we decided we wanted to expand on it. We are adding an automatic car wash. I think it will be amazing, not only for us but for everyone nearby since the closest one is half an hour away on a good day.
“Ohmigod, Ty,” I praised him, feeding off his excitement. “That’s amazing.”
I wasn’t thinking clearly when I leaned in and kissed his cheek.
Before I could fully retreat, Ty reached out to cup the side of my face. I loved the way he touched me—and I wasn’t talking sexually. Those little touches were full of affection, the kind that said more than words. The kind of touches that spoke of words only your soul could understand.
“It’s the first time you’ve initiated contact,” he told me.
His words weren’t malicious or said with any venom, quite the opposite. He said them with the hope that I might keep doing it. Yet what he said made me feel like I wasn’t trying as hard as he was.
I needed to talk to Rachel ASAP.
Luna gave me her advice, but I wanted the words of someone wise and more experienced than I was.
It was hard not to fall head over heels for someone who knew you better than you knew yourself. I knew I had loved Tyler, and I knew a part of me would always love him, but now that I was spending more time with him, I felt like I couldn’t hit the brakes on my feelings, which was scary.
People lied when they said falling in love with your best friend was easy. Sure, it was easy to do, but if that kind of love ended then it would be a bitch. It would be like losing two people at once: your lover and a friend.
I had already experienced that, and I was sure I couldn’t survive it a second time.
When we got to the bank, I stayed put since his financial affairs didn’t involve me. Except Ty went around and opened my door.
“Come on, beautiful.” He spoke the words lightheartedly as he wrapped one hand around my waist so he could bring me down. “You’ve always held my hand when I needed you. You’re not stopping now.”
And that’s how we walked into the bank hand in hand. He didn’t let me go, not even when he signed the papers. Once we were outside, I threw myself in his arms.
“I’m so excited for you,” I let him know.
Ty instantly wrapped both hands around me and began to twirl me around. When he put me down, we stared at one another, our breathing getting heavier. I could see desire in his eyes, and I was sure it mirrored my own.
“Fuck,” he whispered as he leaned in closer.
All I could do was bite my lip.
Our sexual tension was about to explode—I could feel it.
“Let’s head back,” I whispered, hating that my voice sounded as needy as I felt.
The car ride was intense. Even with the music he had put on, it didn’t do anything to dissipate the sexual tension that was choking us.
Halfway home, Ty’s hand came to rest on my thigh. If that wasn’t enough to make me squirm, the asshole kept sliding it up and down, each time going higher and higher. He was pushing my boundaries. The asshole was testing my restraint, and I was too weak to stop him.
Heat spread through my body as his fingers began to grace my pussy. There was no thinking or hesitating this time when I let my legs open up more for him. I almost moaned when his fingers touched my core. That’s how turned on I was.
“You think I can make you come like this?” he questioned me in a husky tone.
I was sure he could, although I didn’t let him know that. We were close to town, and there was a trail right by the entrance. Since it was dark, no one would be there, and I assumed that was where we would be headed.
“Yes, but I’d rather have you inside of me.”
He groaned.
“You’re killing me, beautiful,” he confessed as he turned into the trails.
Excitement coursed through me as he found a spot to park in.
Maybe not all had been lost, and some teenage fantasies could still be salvaged.
Teenage couples had been coming here for years.
Younger me had a fantasy of losing my virginity in the back of the shared truck Adam and Ty had.
I hadn’t been picky, though. It had been here or in the woods by Zeke’s bar.
“Doesn’t it feel like we’re young again?” I asked him, caught up in the nostalgia. “Sneaking around town.”
A soft smile graced his features. Every time he looked at me, I felt cherished.
“I do have my own space, but you’ve refused.”
Did I make him feel bad because he lived with his dad? That was the last thing I wanted him to feel. I thought it was very sweet he had not left Mr. Kane alone. And he had his own space and privacy. My hang-up wasn’t even that he lived at home. It all came down to the fact that I was scared.
“I’m still scared,” I confessed.
Ty reached out to play with my hair.
“I know.”
“I don’t want to keep holding back,” I told him with a sly grin and headed for the back seat.
Tyler smacked my ass as I did so, causing a shiver to go down my spine. He quickly followed after me. Why hadn’t I just gone to sleep at his house? There was nothing sexy about two adults taking off their pants in the back seat of a truck.
The things I did for some dick. Some really, really good dick.
Tyler pulled me toward him so I could straddle him. His hands immediately landed on my hips, and he began to play with my piercings.
“Does it feel good?”
“Yeah,” I breathed.
I could feel his dick poking my ass, but he was in no hurry to put it in yet, and neither was I. Instead, I began to pepper kisses all over his face while he reached inside my tank top and undid my bra strap.
Once he unclasped it, he pulled down the straps of my tank top, leaving me practically naked.
“You’re so fucking beautiful,” he rasped as he leaned to take a nipple into his mouth. His tongue moved in lazy circles.
“Ty,” I whimpered as I pulled on his hair.
He did the same thing with my other breast. I was so turned on and squirming on his lap that my wetness began to coat his dick.
“You didn’t use a condom last time,” I panted as I lifted my knees and held on to him so I could put him in me.
Ty took control in that instant. He guided himself inside of me, watching as my body began to take him in.
“Shit,” I moaned as I threw my head back.
Tyler waited until our gazes locked before he spoke. His green eyes were dark and heavy.
“You think I’d put you in harm’s way?” Judging by the tone of his voice, I could tell my comment bothered him.
My response was to roll my hips, causing him to curse and his fingers to dig into my skin.
“Never,” I told him as I kept increasing my pace.
I held on to his shoulders while he had his hands on my hips, helping me guide him. It was ridiculous how perfectly we fit. The way he felt inside of me was something I was quickly getting addicted to.
“Fucking you raw has been a fantasy of mine,” he admitted as he began to thrust harder. Ty began to kiss my neck, and when he kissed my weak spot, I cried out. Our noises echoed in the truck cabin.
“ Ty .”
I had a hard time recognizing my voice as he began to play with my clit.
“Hearing you say my name like that… fuck .”
“I’m close,” I told him.
“I know, baby,” he murmured in my ear. “Your pussy gets fucking tight right before you come.” He wrapped one hand around my waist while the other kept increasing the pressure on my clit.
“ Shit .” My curse came out low and whiny as I felt my lower belly begin to coil with my impending orgasm.
“You’re the only one, Astrid,” he panted.
I was so close my eyes started to roll back.
Ty pulled my hair from my nape and forced me to pay attention to what he was saying.
“You’re the only woman I will ever fuck without a condom.”
It sounded a lot like a promise, and at that moment, I started to come, and after cursing, he came with me.
After a few minutes of trying to catch our breaths, I looked down at him.
“Really?”
The asshole smiled, completely satisfied with himself. He ran his hand through my hair and then kissed my forehead.
“I wanted to save some of my firsts for you.”
All I could do was rest my head on his chest and listen to the way his heart was beating.
Falling in love with Tyler Kane was inevitable.