was dating Tyler, the one boy every girl wanted for herself. But Mom did have a point. I hadn’t spent any time with my friends, had barely spoken to them since this boyfriend deal with Tyler. Maybe a little girl time would be good for me, even if they did grill me about Tyler the entire time. And I knew they would.
“Maybe I’ll go to Amber’s tomorrow,” I told Mom. That seemed to appease her and she left the room just as quickly as she’d entered it. It furthered my suspicion that she hadn’t come to check on dinner, but had been coming to check on me. Mom might seem okay with Tyler hanging out, but I knew she was nervous that a boy this cute would have me making bad decisions before she had time to put a stop to it.
Tyler looked bummed, but I hoped he understood. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to spend more time with him, but Mom was right. I was neglecting my friends, and they would be around forever while Tyler was just temporary. I couldn’t afford to alienate the people who had stood by me all these years just because I was feeling a little boy crazy at the moment.
“Are you mad?” I asked.
He seemed surprised. “Of course not. I had hoped you’d get to come to practice, but it’s no big deal. It’s not like she said you can’t come to any practices, just not the one tomorrow. I’m sorry if I’ve made you neglect your friends.”
“It’s fine. I’m sure they understand that I’ve been busy. Yes, we have lunch with them, but I haven’t really had a chance to talk to them much lately. Even our phone calls have been short and texts have been few and far between. It will be nice to have a little girl time.”
He winked. “And talk about me?”
My cheeks warmed. “Maybe.”
Tyler laughed and leaned over to kiss me. It was a quick kiss, but it still packed quite a punch. If he didn’t stop kissing me, he was going to short circuit my brain. I’d already determined he was hazardous and I should proceed with caution, and yet every time we were together, I threw caution to the wind and just lived in the moment. If I wasn’t careful, I’d end up a teenage statistic. Not that Tyler had fathered any children, that I knew of, but there was always a first time, and I was determined it wouldn’t be me.
“You look serious all of a sudden,” he said.
“I just realized I don’t seem to have any self-control when I’m around you, and I’m not sure that’s a good thing. I don’t want to do something stupid I might regret later.”
“And being with me like that would be stupid?” His voice was tight with anger and there was a flash of pain in his eyes that he quickly masked. I wanted to take the words back, but it was too late; they were already out there and had done some damage.
“I didn’t mean stupid, exactly, but what if things did go that far between us and something happened? You’ve obviously been careful up to this point, but accidents happen, Tyler. If there was a baby, then you’d be tied to me forever, and we could probably both kiss our chances at a future goodbye. Or at least I could. No way I’d be able to have a baby and start college in the fall.”
“Whoa! Whoa! Hang on a sec. No one said anything about you getting pregnant. And I never said I was going to push you to go that far, but if something did happen between us, I’d like to think I’d do everything I could to keep you safe. You’re right, an accident could happen to anyone, but I also don’t like calling my potential kid an accident.”
“You know what I mean.”
He pulled me closer. “Let’s take things one day at a time. You’re worrying about something that may never happen.”
I knew he was right. I was so worried I would screw up that I was inventing problems that weren’t there. From this point on, I’d live in the moment and enjoy this relationship while it lasted.
Chapter Six
Tyler
Where the hell had that conversation come from? Did Hadley really think I was the type of
“Maybe I’ll go to Amber’s tomorrow,” I told Mom. That seemed to appease her and she left the room just as quickly as she’d entered it. It furthered my suspicion that she hadn’t come to check on dinner, but had been coming to check on me. Mom might seem okay with Tyler hanging out, but I knew she was nervous that a boy this cute would have me making bad decisions before she had time to put a stop to it.
Tyler looked bummed, but I hoped he understood. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to spend more time with him, but Mom was right. I was neglecting my friends, and they would be around forever while Tyler was just temporary. I couldn’t afford to alienate the people who had stood by me all these years just because I was feeling a little boy crazy at the moment.
“Are you mad?” I asked.
He seemed surprised. “Of course not. I had hoped you’d get to come to practice, but it’s no big deal. It’s not like she said you can’t come to any practices, just not the one tomorrow. I’m sorry if I’ve made you neglect your friends.”
“It’s fine. I’m sure they understand that I’ve been busy. Yes, we have lunch with them, but I haven’t really had a chance to talk to them much lately. Even our phone calls have been short and texts have been few and far between. It will be nice to have a little girl time.”
He winked. “And talk about me?”
My cheeks warmed. “Maybe.”
Tyler laughed and leaned over to kiss me. It was a quick kiss, but it still packed quite a punch. If he didn’t stop kissing me, he was going to short circuit my brain. I’d already determined he was hazardous and I should proceed with caution, and yet every time we were together, I threw caution to the wind and just lived in the moment. If I wasn’t careful, I’d end up a teenage statistic. Not that Tyler had fathered any children, that I knew of, but there was always a first time, and I was determined it wouldn’t be me.
“You look serious all of a sudden,” he said.
“I just realized I don’t seem to have any self-control when I’m around you, and I’m not sure that’s a good thing. I don’t want to do something stupid I might regret later.”
“And being with me like that would be stupid?” His voice was tight with anger and there was a flash of pain in his eyes that he quickly masked. I wanted to take the words back, but it was too late; they were already out there and had done some damage.
“I didn’t mean stupid, exactly, but what if things did go that far between us and something happened? You’ve obviously been careful up to this point, but accidents happen, Tyler. If there was a baby, then you’d be tied to me forever, and we could probably both kiss our chances at a future goodbye. Or at least I could. No way I’d be able to have a baby and start college in the fall.”
“Whoa! Whoa! Hang on a sec. No one said anything about you getting pregnant. And I never said I was going to push you to go that far, but if something did happen between us, I’d like to think I’d do everything I could to keep you safe. You’re right, an accident could happen to anyone, but I also don’t like calling my potential kid an accident.”
“You know what I mean.”
He pulled me closer. “Let’s take things one day at a time. You’re worrying about something that may never happen.”
I knew he was right. I was so worried I would screw up that I was inventing problems that weren’t there. From this point on, I’d live in the moment and enjoy this relationship while it lasted.
Chapter Six
Tyler
Where the hell had that conversation come from? Did Hadley really think I was the type of
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