6. It’s A Date
It’s A Date
The crowd had started to thin by the time Tyler returned to our table. The music was still playing, and women were still laughing and dancing, but the wild, frantic energy from earlier had finally settled into something quieter, more relaxed, and more intimate.
"Well?" I asked, looking up as he arrived.
Tyler dropped heavily into the chair beside me. "Well, what?"
I smiled, gesturing vaguely out toward the floor. "The screaming fans."
He groaned dramatically, leaning his head back. "The burden of fame."
I laughed. "How do you survive?"
"Barely."
His grin returned, the same grin that somehow kept making me forget perfectly reasonable thoughts. Thoughts like common sense, personal space, or the glaring fact that we had only met a few hours ago.
"There you are," a voice suddenly cut in from behind me.
I turned around to find Claire. She was carrying two fresh drinks and looked entirely too pleased with herself.
My eyes narrowed immediately. "You disappeared."
"I was socializing."
"You're incapable of normal socializing."
Tyler let out a soft laugh at that.
Claire’s attention immediately shifted straight toward him, and a slow, calculating smile appeared on her face. Oh no.
"No," I warned under my breath.
Neither of them listened, naturally. Instead, Claire stepped forward and stuck out her hand. "I'm Claire."
Tyler took it, shaking it firmly. "Tyler."
"The famous Tyler."
His eyes closed briefly in mock agony.
"Please don't encourage her."
It was already far too late for that. Claire looked between the two of us, her smile widening even further, which shouldn't have been physically possible. Yet, somehow, it was.
"So," she said, her voice dripping with mischief, "you're the reason my sister forgot I existed."
I nearly choked on my own saliva. "Claire!"
"What?"
Tyler looked far too entertained by the whole display. "Maybe."
The three of us slipped into an easy conversation. Tyler and Claire immediately teamed up and started teasing me, which felt deeply, fundamentally unfair. Now there were two of them, and they seemed completely determined to make my life difficult.
Eventually, the crowd thinned out even further.
Employees began clearing the empty glasses from the nearby tables, and the night was clearly winding down.
For the first time, I looked around and realized just how late it had gotten, and how little I actually wanted the night to end.
The realization was deeply unsettling, so I did what I did best, I ignored it.
Tyler glanced toward one of the clocks hanging near the bar, then turned his gaze back to the two of us. "So, how long are you two in town?"
Claire answered before I could even open my mouth. "Two more days."
I shot her a sharp look, but she just smiled back at me, dangerously unbothered.
Tyler nodded slowly, digesting the information.
"Nice." His gaze shifted briefly back toward me, and my stomach did something strange, something entirely unhelpful.
He cleared his throat, his expression turning slightly uncertain.
It surprised me. Until now, confidence had seemed to come completely naturally to him. "As it happens... I'm off tomorrow."
Claire's smile immediately widened. Oh God. I knew that look.
Tyler glanced at me, looked away, and then looked back again. "Would you maybe want to hang out?"
The words were entirely simple and casual, yet my pulse immediately sped up.
I just stared at him. He stared back, waiting.
The answer should have been easy, but instead, my brain apparently stopped functioning, which was incredibly unfortunate, because Tyler was still waiting, I was still staring, and the silence was rapidly becoming very weird.
Before I could force a single word out, Claire jumped right into the void. "She'd love to."
My head whipped toward her so fast I nearly gave myself whiplash. "Claire."
"What?"
"You can't answer for me."
"I just did."
Tyler laughed, and the sound wrapped around me like warmth. A very dangerous kind of warmth. Tyler's smile softened, and his attention returned fully to me. The teasing edge faded from his expression, leaving something much more genuine behind. "You don't have to," he said softly.
The sheer sincerity in his voice took me by surprise. There was no pressure, no expectations, just a genuine invitation. And somehow, that lack of demand made saying no completely impossible.
I smiled, small at first, and then bigger. "Actually... I'd like that."
Something bright flashed across his face, something that looked suspiciously like relief. The sight made my heart stumble. Just once, but hard enough for me to notice.
"Beach?" he asked.
I nodded. "Sounds good."
"Dinner after?"
"A whole day?" I teased.
His boyish grin returned in full force. "Only if you're brave enough."
I laughed. "That's a challenge."
"Maybe."
Claire let out a loud, dramatic sigh. "Oh, this is disgusting."
Both Tyler and I turned to look at her. She pointed a finger back and forth between the two of us.
"You're doing the smiling thing," she accused.
"The smiling thing?" I asked, frowning.
"The thing people do when they like each other."
I immediately covered my face again. Tyler just laughed, and beside me, Claire looked entirely too proud of her matchmaking skills.
The worst part of it all? For once, I wasn't entirely sure she was wrong. And as the three of us finally stood up to leave the club, one single thought kept repeating itself over and over in my head, tomorrow suddenly felt very important.