Thankfully, Tasha’s parents weren’t at home. So no one asked me where I was since I was supposed to be staying here for the night. I followed Tasha to the kitchen and sat at the table counter. She placed a mug of hot chocolate before me and said:

“Well, I wanted to congratulate you on joining the club, but you don’t look happy to me. So Vera, tell me, why are you sulking? Was it that bad? Did he hurt you? Damn, what happened between you and Tyler?!” Hearing his name, cracked me and I told her everything, pausing with sobs and hiccups.

“Tasha, of course, I had known it, that he was hooking up with each girl craving for his attention and that he still wasn’t breaking up with Cindy! I don’t know what was I expecting?! For him to fall in love with me? Gosh, I’m pathetic! It was casual fuck for him, that’s all. I need to stop overthinking things and start to enjoy my life!”

I was full of determination when I ended my story. Tasha tried to reassure me but soon gave up with words “If that’s what you want, then I am happy for you. I love you, girl!”

I washed my face from tears, put a little makeup to hid the damage, and went home to spent time with my parents. Sunday went very cozy and comfortable, thanks to the cinema with mom and our dinner when dad joined us at the table. I loved my parents and always liked to be with them at weekends. Mom tried to find out what happened between Brendon and me, but as I assured her that I was okay, she relaxed. She was such a caring woman, my mom...

Monday and Tuesday went as ordinary, and I was not showing my emotions. I acted like I couldn’t care less that Tyler didn’t talk to me again, while Kith was darting sly grins and winks in my direction. In the evening on Wednesday, I was alone at home, as my parents didn’t come back from their trip to another city for dad’s work. He was a photographer, and mom started to assist him as I grew older. There was the time when they had been going on business trips for weeks, and I stayed at times like this with Tasha’s parents. But since I was 18 already, mom and dad decided that I’m an adult now and will be able to take care of myself for several days. My homework was done, and now I was lying on the couch in the living room watching Gossip Girl. My phone buzzed with a message from an unknown number.

“I want to see you. Are you at home?”

“Who is it?”

“Heck, Vera, remind me to write my number to your contacts. So, can I see you?”

“Still not sure. Who is it?” I sent it, but in my thoughts was the only one person. My phone started ringing immediately, and I picked it up.

“Hello?”

“Vera, are you playing hard to get with me? Because it’s working.” Tayler’s voice was like a melody to my ears, so bad I wanted to hear him.

“Oh, it’s you, Tyler.” I tried to sound unaffected, and I was successful with it, while there already was a huge smile on my lips.

“Dang, but I deserve it for how I acted with you in school. Vera, please, I desperately want to see you tonight. Can I come to yours?” He did sound desperate.

“Oh, Tyler, I don’t know. You know, I am swamped right now with everything happening on my TV-screen. All this “Chair” thing could be confusing as hell!” I sighed, proposedly in my speakerphone.

“What the hell is Chair? You know what? It doesn’t matter... Because if you continue making sounds as you did just now, I will come to you even if you won’t allow me.”

“Ah, Tyler, you’re lucky. I saw this episode before, and now I am bored. How soon could you be here?”

“In 10 minutes?”

“Good.”

“Vera, what about your parents?”

“What about them?”

“They won’t be angry with me coming to you at 10 pm?”

“My parents aren’t at home, and they won’t be until tomorrow evening...”

“I will be there in 5.”

Tyler said, and hung up. I was smiling like an idiot, but I couldn’t help it. He came after 5 minutes, and as soon as he stepped into my house, our lips were locked together. He pinned me to the wall, roaming his hands all over my body. Next thing I know, he lifted me, making me wrap my legs around his waist, and he carried me to my room, asking for directions. He spent all night at my house, but in the morning he left early. He needed time to change and to pick up his car, which he parked a block away from my house.

This day became the beginning of our relationship with Tyler. He still was with Cindy and didn’t speak with me when there were people around us. But whenever he had this opportunity, he tried to touch me, to kiss me in the empty hallways. Two months later list of places where we had sex prolonged with his car, few times it was locker room and even the stadium’s storeroom. If we had this opportunity, he had been coming to mine when my parents weren’t at home, or he was bringing me to his guest house. Our relationship was a secret, and it made them especially spicy and hot. I didn’t tell about it even to Tasha. You could expect that it was only sex haze between us, but no, it never was only like that. As we discovered it at our first night together, we had similar interests, we easily could have spoken about everything in the world, and sometimes we only talked and then fell asleep wrapped in each other arms. I was happy no matter what, I just enjoyed our connection because I knew that except for Cindy, all this time he was only with me.

It was already April and the day before our spring break when Tyler came to my locker and told me that he needed to speak with me. I started to feel anxiety, but I agreed. I was nervously awaiting him at the mall when his SUV stopped near me. He came to open the door for me, and as I was seated, he closed it. I turned around to put my bag on the back seat and saw a box full of whiskey there. Just then, I heard a man’s voice, who was calling for Tyler. He stopped in his track and stood there, waiting for a man to approach him. I recognized him immediately. It was his dad.

“Tyler, what are you doing here? Are you already packed everything you will need?”

“Hey, dad. Almost. I have some unfinished business, and after it, I will be at home.” Tyler sounded strange. I never heard him talking like that.

“Okay. See you at home! Wait, who is it in your car? It’s not Cindy!” His father finally noticed me in the open window of the car. And now he was angry.

“It doesn’t concern you, dad! I have a right to see whoever I want!”

“I know this girl! It’s Davis’s daughter, isn’t it? I knew her dad since school. Yeah, and she looks like her Russian mother...” He trailed off with his words like he remembered something. “Are you fucking her?! Are you kidding me, Tyler? Maybe she’s beautiful, but she’s no one! You have a brilliant girlfriend and now this?! It’s the step back.”

“Shut the fuck up, dad or I swear...” Tyler was in a rage. His hands were trembling as he tried to calm himself down.

“I’ll let you slip this time because I need to get back to work. But as soon as you are home tonight, we’ll speak.”

Tyler’s father said and stormed off to his car. Tyler stood here on the street for several seconds. He shook his head and came to the car. All road I was silent, so did he. Finally, the car stopped. We were on the hill with a beautiful view of the whole city. I hopped from the car, and came to the edge of the hill, closed my eyes, inhaling all the flavors surrounding us. Tyler quietly came to me, wrapping his arms around my waist from behind.

“I am so sorry for my father’s behavior, Vera! Shit, you don’t deserve such words! I planned to bring you here to enjoy this view and to spend some time together. I will go to the spring break for three weeks, my parents already agreed on it with the school board.”

“It’s okay, Ty. It was your father’s words, not yours. I know that you care about me... Where are you going with your parents anyway?” I said, covering his hands on my belly with mine.

“We’re going to the United Kingdom and then to Spain for vacation. Just the first part of our trip will be all about my father’s business. It started to bring a real profit to him, and now he needs to make new connections abroad, preferably in Europe. He drags me with him only because he wants me to work for him after school. He’s planning that I will go to college for two years, working for him at the same time.”

“Oh, Europe... I kind of jealous right now, I always wanted to visit. Mom had been talking a lot about the beauty of European cities. She visited a huge amount of them before she came here.”

“I will invite you with me someday. Maybe we will visit Russia? What do you say?”

“Tyler, never make promises like that when you don’t know for sure if you could do it,” I said to him, turning around to face him. His face was inches away from mine, and he was serious.

“I intend to do it to invite you someday with me on vacation... I wanted to tell you something. Today I spoke with Cindy and told her I don’t want to be with her...” He was looking at me in the eyes. “I just realized that I want to try... Hell, why is that so hard?! Do you want to be with me? As my girlfriend? Not like my beautiful friend with benefits... I just thought we could make a great couple, don’t you agree?”

I stood on tiptoes, wrapping my arms around his neck and kissing him on the lips. In seconds he pulled me even closer as he kissed me back. After we finally broke up from our kiss, we were both breathless. I smiled at him and said:

“Do you understand my answer? Or should I repeat it?”

“You know, Vera, I couldn’t be happier than I am right now! Never in a million years had I guessed that this game would lead to this!”

“What game are you talking about?” I was confused.

“Oh... You know... I noticed you at one of our games and well... It was just after Cindy told us about your “troubles” with Murphy. So... I decided to make a move on you at my party, well and the rest of the story, you know.” Tyler acted weird, but I was too happy right now, so I just ignored it.

We spent there for about two hours, talking and kissing. Finally, so reluctantly, he said that we need to go back. I proposed to him to stay at my place since my parents weren’t at home and were planning to return in 2 days. He promised to let me know if he could sneak out of the house because obviously, his father will be on his guard. Saying goodbye wasn’t easy for both of us, we were happy together, and now three weeks apart seemed to us like torture. He said he would try to call me every day, but considering different time zones, it could be a challenge.

He didn’t come to me that night, only sending me a message that he’s sorry. I thought that he was sorry that he couldn’t come. When in reality, I was wrong. I realized it when he sent me another message. It said that he got back to Cindy, and we were over. My story with him ended before it even had the start. That night I fell asleep with tears in my eyes and broken-hearted. I thought that I was the most miserable girl in the world. Little did I knew then, it was only the beginning of my misery.