The Search for Fireworks (ONGOING)

16 ~ The Motorbike

House parties were never really Reilly's scene, and it didn't surprise her at all when Tianna left her in the lobby to dance with her flavour of the month. The music was not terrible, it had lyrics, which was a huge positive. She pulled down the hem of her sapphire blue dress self-consciously, and adjusted the straps again, for the fifth time since they arrived.

She wandered around and looked for anyone familiar, with no luck. She sat on the couch, took out her phone and opened her writing app, using the scene as inspiration for her story. She regretted being dragged here, just to get abandoned.

"Hi," a guy said as he sat next to her on the couch. Reilly looked up and immediately regretted that as well, it was Tyler. She looked back down again, ignoring him.

"Reilly," he said louder, "Listen, I'm sorry about your birthday."

"There's nothing to apologize for, Skyler," she muttered. "It wasn't even really my birthday," she added and pretended to type further.

"It's Tyler," he said. He sounded upset enough that Reilly looked up curiously. He was twirling his thumbs on his lap, his face solemn. He looked good in his Metalica shirt.

"So, I had too much to drink, we danced, we kissed, I left and you moved on," She said softly, "I'm okay, you're okay, we're okay."

"Come on, Reilly," he said, "I didn't know you were coming back."

"So if you knew you wouldn't have attached yourself instantly to another girl?"

"Well, yes. I figured that I was never going to see you again anyway," he shrugged.

"Yet, here we are," Reilly laughed.

"Let's start over?" Tyler asked, his clear, gunmetal-grey eyes meeting hers.

"Okay," she responded holding her hand out towards him and continued, "I'm Reilly, it's nice to meet you."

"I'm Tyler," he smiled back, taking her hand in his, " it's nice to meet you too."

"Just so you know, I'm not generally a party person."

"Yet, we've met by a party twice out of the two times we've met," he responded, his eyes filled with laughter.

"My best friend," she said and nodded her head towards Tianna, "She drags me to these things."

"Don't worry about it," he chuckled as he stood up and held out his hand to her, "Let's go find something to drink."

She gratefully took his hand and followed him to the kitchen, her eyes wandered down his back and she admired the way his jeans clung to his body before she concentrated on the drink choices. The only thing available was beer and Reilly took a can, sipping it reluctantly.

"Not a beer person?" Tyler asked.

"Not really," she said and scrunched up her nose in distaste.

"Come, finish it," he said and dragged her into the dancing crowd, "Then we can dance."

"I don't dance," Reilly laughed and dug her feet into the floor. He looked at her with one eyebrow raised, before he downed his beer and pulled her towards him.

"You don't really party, you don't really drink, you don't really dance," he listed off on his fingers before he twirled her around to the music, "What exactly do you do, Reilly?"

"I write, mostly," she answered, she kept an eye on his face to gauge his reaction, he didn't flinch. Guys, or the ones she met before Blake and Tyler, generally hated that answer. She never understood why.

"What do you write?" Tyler asked, seeming genuinely interested as he leads them over to a bin and discarded their empty cans.

"Romance," she says, looking down to the floor, almost like she's afraid of his response. This is usually the second nail in the coffin. Her body froze as her mind automatically went back in time to the things Blake's sneered when he read her story.

"That sounds interesting," he answered quickly, he didn't hesitate, as he lifted her chin so that her eyes meet his. She saw the sincerity in them and smiled.

The song changed to a slower rhythm and they stopped talking altogether. Tyler held Reilly's hips and pulled her to him and lead her around the living room floor effortlessly.

She put her head down on his chest and listened to the even thump of his heartbeat. His hands gently tickled up and down her back. It wasn't earth-shattering, but it was nice.

Bravely, possibly because she had the beer on an empty stomach, Reilly ran her fingers up and down his back too, her head still on his chest. She smiled as Tyler's heartbeat sped up slightly with every movement.

When the song stopped and faded into a faster one, Tyler moved away and Reily couldn't help but feel disappointed.

"You guys should exchange numbers this time," Tianna said tapping Tyler on the shoulder, before floating away with Jess, her on-again-off-again girlfriend.

Tyler shook his head, laughing as he watched Tianna disappear out of the room before he gazed back down to Reilly and said:

"She's right, you know."

"She usually is," Reilly agreed and smiled up at Tyler, taking her cell phone out of her dress pocket and handed it to him. It wasn't the fancy one she left on her bed, but it worked.

He typed in his number and his phone buzzed. He took it out and showed her the screen:

UNKNOWN NUMBER: When am I seeing you again?

Reilly laughed, taking his phone to save her number and respond to the message. He read the message and nodded instantly, smiling brightly:

TYLER not SKYLER: Coffee. Tomorrow?

They returned each other's phones before walking towards the kitchen. Tyler passed Reilly a can of beer, but she shook her head. So, he rummaged through the cupboards and took out a glass and filled it with water. Reilly took it gratefully, swallowing half of it thirstily before they reached the dance floor.

Her wristwatch caught her gaze when she took the last sip and her eyes widened.

"Past your bedtime, Cinderella?"

"No, well yes, I've got this school thing tomorrow," she responded, searching for Tianna in the crowd.

"I could take you home?" Tyler suggested, noticing her gaze.

"You could," she laughed, "but I can't remember where that is."

"You live with Tianna, right?"

"Yeah, moved in yesterday," Reilly responded.

"Well, then you happen to be my neighbour," he grinned and took her hand. He pulled her through the crowd and out of the house before continuing:

"Only, there's this tiny thing..." He trailed off as they came to a stop in front of a motorcycle.

"No," Reilly said wide-eyed.

"Yes," Tyler laughed, pushed a helmet onto her head and adjusted the straps.