Chapter Seventeen

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Tyler's lips were soft, but he kissed me hard, as if he was trying to make up for something. I wound my fingers into his hair and kissed him back, the last few months forgotten. The scruff on his face scraped against my skin, but it felt good. His breath tasted of alcohol, but for once in my life, I didn't care. I let go of my fears and lived with him in the moment.

"Don't go back to Austin," he slurred when we broke apart. I just nodded, too surprised to process what he was saying. I put the truck in drive and started going back to his house. It was four in the morning, but I was wide awake. We drove in silence and I couldn't keep a small smile from stretching across my face. I looked over at Tyler and he was staring at me.  I bit my lip and kept driving, blush creeping across my cheeks.

We made it to the house and I parked the truck. I looked over at Tyler again and his goofy smile returned. He slid over, "So whatcha say we get inside and have some fun?"

I didn't answer, just opened the door and hopped out. I started walking towards the front door and heard him following behind me. "Did the Benns give you a tour?" He was sounding stronger by the minute and I wasn't quite sure how he was doing it.

"No, they didn't," I replied, "Would you be so kind as to show me around?"

"Of course," he held out his arm and I looped mine through it and he grandly led me inside. The door opened and the dogs came bounding down the stairs, barking happily. All three of them jumped on him and he staggered a bit before I steadied him.

"Having trouble there?" I teased.

"Are you implying that I can't hold my liquor?" He shot back.

"Maybe..." I grinned.

"Just because I couldn't see well enough to drive doesn't mean I can't hold on to it," came his indignant reply.

"Okay, Seguin," I muttered.

"Come on, darlin', there's a lot to see," he dragged me down a hallway and to the kitchen.

"I've been here!" I hissed trying to be quiet so that I didn't wake Jamie, Jordie, or Tay.

"I thought you said they didn't give you a tour!" He cried, tripping and falling onto the counter.

"Shh! They're all sleeping!"

"What, did the whole team invade my house for a sleepover?" He muttered.

"No, just the Benn boys, Tay and I."

"Okay, then who showed you the kitchen, 'cause neither of those goons can cook," Tyler rolled his eyes.

"They weren't cooking, they were trying to train the dogs with treats," I laughed.

"They spoiled my dogs!" Tyler yelled, "Jordie's trying to steal my dogs' affection and Demers is trying to steal yours! Clearly I can't leave any of you alone."

"Tyler! You're going to wake them up!" I said, but my mind was racing. I had known Jason was flirting, but was Tyler worried that he would steal me?

"So what? It's my house!"

"Hey, you know I haven't seen the rest of the house," I said trying to distract him and myself.

"Oh, right. Let's go," he began leading me around and the dogs followed us. He showed me the whole house and the  grounds, which were lit with the early gold light of a Texas morning. He took me upstairs and told me what all of the rooms were, but we didn't go into the ones that were occupied.

"And this is my room... I'm sorry it's a mess, I swore I made my bed this morning," he frowned at the messy bed and the clothes scattered across it, trying to remember what had happened to it through the fading haze of alcohol.

"Oh, you did, it was made when I got here," I said. Tyler turned to me with confusion in his eyes. "Jamie said I could stay in here. I didn't know it was yours," I blushed.

Tyler's eyes lit up as he made the connection, "Well, I hope you found it comfortable. Let me grab some clothes and I'll let you go back to bed."

"Where are you going?"

"To sleep on the couch."

"But it's your house, I should be on the couch," I protested.

"No, I'm not going back to make a lady sleep on the couch," he bowed to showcase his chivalry.

"Please, this isn't the 1800s, I'm no southern belle," I shook my head and waved him off.

"On the contrary, you are my southern belle, darlin'," he said so softly that I almost didn't hear him.

"The bed is big enough for both of us," I  breathed.

He studied me for a moment, "I won't hurt you, darlin'."

"Again."

"What?"

"You won't hurt me again, you mean."

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to run. I- I didn't know what else to do. I shouldn't have left," he stepped towards me and wrapped his arms around me. "You needed me and I left. I'm sorry."

"It's in the past, Tyler," I said into his chest, my arms snaking around him.

"Doesn't mean it doesn't hurt."

"It's fine," I said.

"Please don't lie to me," he pulled back and looked down into my eyes. "I want to make it up to you. Jamie was right, I'm an idiot. I fucked up," I winced at his words. "Err, I messed up, sorry. Please forgive me."

I nodded and he pressed his lips to my forehead. He let me go and began walking to the door. "Where are you going?"

"To the bathroom to change," he flashed a crooked smile at me and I blushed. "Don't miss me too much, darlin'."

"I'll try," I replied drily, but inside I was elated. He had apologized and promised that he wasn't going to hurt me. And I believed him. I didn't care if that made me stupid and gullible; I believed that he would stay.

I changed quickly and climbed into the bed. I began dozing off immediately and I hardly felt it when Tyler climbed in next to me.

Author's Note

Hey, y'all! I hope you enjoyed this chapter. It did go up a lot sooner than last time, like I promised ;-) Please vote and comment to let me know what you thought!

Also, I'm thinking of wrapping this story up soon, so you may only see a few more chapters of Tyler and Andrea. Thank you so much for all of your support; it really does mean the world to me!

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