Page 63 of Resurrection
"Your parents okay with it?"
He shrugged. "Yeah. You know what else my old man promised?"
I shook my head.
"He promised he’d convert the garage into a studio so I can practice whenever I want." Tyler’s entire face was suddenly lit up like a Christmas tree. He’d been talking about living in the garage for a year now. Sometimes, so much that I got tired of hearing it.
"Really?" I felt excited for him.
He nodded.
I loved seeing him like this, full of energy and fire. His whole face changed when he talked about music.
"It’s gonna be the best show yet," Ty mused quietly with a smile. "If we pull it off, who knows what’s next? Maybe an actual tour. Maybe…" He trailed off, and I knew what he wanted to say.
"LA?" I said it for him.
There was a bit of silence, then he added, "If I can convince you to leave this boring town."
My heartbeat was out of control, but I didn’t want him to see how much this meant to me, that he wanted us together. "Someone has to save your band from all the groupies," I joked.
"I guess I’m lucky it’s you."
He was so passionate, so alive, it made me giddy just being near him. But he still seemed distracted. His leg bounced up and down like it had a mind of its own.
I inched a bit closer, my knee brushing his. I knew him better than anyone, and I knew something was up.
"Ty," I said softly. "Are you okay?"
He gave a short laugh, rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah. I just…" He turned to me, his face serious. "There’s something I want to do. Something I’ve wanted to do for a while."
Before I could ask what he meant, he leaned in. His lips were warm and tentative against mine, and my heart forgot how to beat altogether.
It was the best kind of surprise, the kind that made me dizzy and happy and everything in between.
When he pulled back, I stared at him, speechless for once in my life. "What was that?" I finally managed to say, breathless.
He smiled, a little shy. "You didn’t like it?"
"I didn’t say that," I replied quickly.
Ty took my hand, his fingers lacing through mine. "I don’t want to just be friends anymore. Do you?"
I thought my head might explode. "I don’t want to be just friends either," I whispered. In that moment, it felt right, the same kind of right you feel when you finally find the last piece of the puzzle. "But Ty…"
He waited, watching me carefully. "But?"
"Adri will freak if he finds out." I sighed, torn between happiness and worry. "He already thinks we’re…"
"Let him think what he wants." Ty squeezed my hand. "I don’t care. Do you?"
"I care about you," I said softly.
"Then it’s settled."
We sat there holding hands, like the rest of the world didn’t matter. It felt like a dream I never wanted to wake up from. He was here, really here, and I believed that it could last. That I could have this, have him, and not have to give up anything in return.
"I meant what I said," I told him after a while. "About LA."
