The Comeback Season

|chapter seventy-three|

I wake up to the warmth of cotton sheets around my nude body. I feel the steady rise and fall of Tyler's chest against my back. I notice he is also still naked from last night.

As I'm lying awake, I think about what I originally came over here to do. Having sex with Tyler was not planned. At all. This situation just made "this talk" a lot harder.

I run my hand through my bed hair, hoping to tame it a little. I try to slide out of bed, but I'm unsuccessful. Tyler's grip around me gets tighter with every little movement. I wonder if I should wake him up or not. Honestly, I hate being woken up for anything, unless it's food. With this in mind, I decide to try and go back to sleep. As soon as I start dozing off, I feel Tyler's body shift behind me. He lifts one of his hands up and gently starts to rub my back.

The sensation his warm hands give me is indescribable. Instead of ruining this moment, I close my eyes shut. "Damn, you are so beautiful." Tyler's quiet voice catches my full attention. I'm quietly praying that he doesn't say anything that will change my mind. "I fucked up, Lia, and I'm sorry. It's hard sometimes. I want to give you my all, but I keep messing up. I'm trying, Lia. I'm really trying," he says in a low, solemn voice. To keep myself from hearing anymore, I fake a yawn.

Tyler's hand wraps around my waist and I turn around towards him. "Good morning," Tyler says with a gentle smile. "Good morning," I say, returning the smile. "So—last night was crazy." I nervously laugh before saying "yeah, I'm sorry about that." Tyler shakes his head "no" and places his hand on my cheek. "It was spontaneous, but I never said I didn't like it." I feel my cheeks turn red under his sensual glare. He slowly starts to move in towards my lips. I unconsciously lick my lips and edge my neck forward. As our lips are about to connect, Tyler's phone starts ringing. "Shit," we both say under our breaths. I instantly feel cold when Tyler turns around to answer his phone.

"Hey, I'm kind of busy. I'll call you back," Tyler says as he watches me get out of bed. I reach on the floor and pick up my clothes. "Wait, what happened?" I watch Tyler as I put my clothes back on. "Just calm down. Yeah, I'll come by later. Okay, bye." By Tyler's facial expressions, I can tell he is confused about something. "Is everything okay?" I ask as I use my hands to gather my hair up into a ponytail.

"What happened between you and Rebecca yesterday?"

I'm caught off guard by his question. Then, I quickly become pissed knowing that's who he just talked to. "I just went to go visit her. We talked." I don't give out any further information as I put my socks on my feet. "Cahlia, I know you didn't just talk. Stop bullshitting and tell me the truth." His voice seems more annoyed than aggravated. "Fine, I hit her after she said some stuff about my dad. Who cares." I walk into the bathroom to look in the mirror. Tyler's figure appears in the doorway, fully clothed. "Lia, you have to stop letting her get to you like that. You're giving her the power to make you step out of your character." I scoff at his remark. "Out of my character. No, Tyler. I slapped her because I wanted to. Stop making it more complicated," I say, walking past him.

"I'm tired of you two arguing. Now you're fighting her. This isn't you, Cahlia." That's it. This is exactly what I needed to remind me why I was here.

"I'm tired too, Tyler. That's why I think we should take a break." I aggressively sit on his bed and start putting my shoes on. This conversation went so differently in my head. We were going to have a civilized talk, but no. Either way, it was going to happen.

"What? You don't mean that." Tyler walks over to the other side of the bed and stands in front of me. His arms are crossed over his chest. When I look up, I can tell from his slight reddish skin that he is pissed. "We need this break, Tyler. We keep letting people get in between us. It's not healthy." My voice has grown softer now. "We're not letting anyone get in between us. Yes, we fight, but that's what couples do. That doesn't mean we need to break-up," he says, putting his hands on his sides. I reach forward and zip-up my boots before standing up.