Sipping on Fire

Chapter 6

Tyler's POV

I felt as if I had fire running through my veins. Did I really just blab all of that out to her not even 30 minutes into the date? 'So much for playing it cool' I said to myself. This girl I felt I had an instant connection with probably thought I was crazy. I released my hand from hers, figuring by her puzzled face that she needed a minute to take it all in.

After a few minutes of silence and her stare burning a hole into my hard wood table, I cleared my throat. "Are you ok?"

She shook her head. "Yeah - this is just a lot to take in." She released a deep sigh, but smiled softly. Sensing by the way she was twirling her fork around the pasta, she was no longer hungry. 'Way to go, T.' I thought to myself.

In an effort to break the obvious tension in the room, I got up from the table holding out my hand to hers. "How about that ride around the farm?" She hesitated before agreeing and taking my hand. "To be honest, I don't remember how many acres I own. But I know it's a lot." I laughed pulling her out the back door and to the shed with my 4-wheeler as if I was a little kid in a candy shop. If there was one thing I loved more than music, it was a woman on one of my bikes. I slipped off my hoodie and handed it to her. "You'll probably be cold." She graciously accepted my hoodie and slid it over her head. "Hop on!" I encouraged her.

"I'm wearing a dress!" she shrieked.

I looked around us. "Look around - there's no one here. Just me." She sighed before quickly hopping on the back of the 4-wheeler. I turned the bike's light on and sped off into the distance. There was nothing like a sunset on this farm. It was as if God hand-painted the sky himself every night.

"THIS IS BEAUTIFUL!!" Lauren screamed over the motor of the 4-wheeler before squealing with joy as I cut a quick turn. We came up over the top of the hill to reveal a pond, fully stocked with fish for me to catch. I slowed to a stop so she could get a better look. "Wow..." she whispered. "This is all yours?"

I nodded. "Gorgeous, right?" I try hard to be modest but when it comes to the land I own, I can't help but show it off.

"This would make me not want to leave....ever."

"Wait till you see Nashville." I winked. I thought about the show I had in a couple of weeks up in Nashville and how much I would love for her to come. 'Slow' I reminded myself. 'She wants to move slow.' "Why don't we go sit by the water?" I suggested. I helped her off the bike and grabbed a blanket from the storage trunk of the 4-wheeler.

As we sat by the water, I couldn't help but admire the way the sun hit the water which then reflected perfectly off her sun-kissed face. She looked like a Southern Goddess. "So..." I cleared my throat. "Tell me about yourself."

She threw her head back in laughter. "What would you like to know?"

I leaned back on my forearms. "Everything. Where are you from? You don't have much of an accent, so you're sure as hell not from here."

She blushed. "I'm actually from Boston."

"What the hell are you doin' in this sleepy town?!" I exclaimed. A Northern girl in a small ass Southern town. She must be dying to get out of here, I remembered from one of our previous conversations at the bar.

"It's a long story." She tried to avoid the topic but my eyes gave her a look that made her sigh and spill. "Four years ago, my boyfriend....ex-boyfriend...got a job not too far from here. We broke up not too soon after I followed him down here, stupidly. And I guess I just got comfortable...I never left."

"What made you guys break up?" I urged her to open up more. From the second I met her sweet face, I could tell she was extremely guarded. I wondered if it had anything to do with this man.

"He just...wasn't good to me." She began pulling at the pieces of grass. I felt her emotionally pull away from me. Clearly this wasn't a great subject.

"Do you miss your family?" I changed the subject as fast as I could.

She shrugged. "To be honest, I don't have much family left. Just my brother and my sister. My dad died when I was in high school. And my mom passed away a few years ago from breast cancer."

I reached for her hand and gave it a squeeze. "I'm sorry." My heart broke for her. I knew exactly how it felt to lose a parent. "My dad died when I was in college."

Her eyes lit up once she realized we had similar pasts. "Really?"

I nodded. "He died in a pretty tragic helicopter accident...right in our backyard." I ran my hand through my hair as it fell into my eyes. "I watched the whole thing."

"That's horrible. I can't even imagine." She rested her head on my shoulder sympathetically. "I guess we're more alike than I thought we were." She voice was barely a whisper.

"I told you I was just a normal guy!"

She began picking at the grass again absent-mindedly. "What's your favorite part of...the band?"

"By far, my favorite part is performing and hearing a stadium or arena full of people singing my songs. Sometimes I get a little emotional about it. Who would have thought that a small-town Georgia boy would make it to the big time?"

"Do you ever get nervous before a show?"

I couldn't hold back any longer. "Why don't you come to my next one? It's in two weeks up in Nashville."

As sweet as she could, she gave me a smile and whispered. "Maybe..." She was going to be a hard one to reel in, I could tell. I knew she could feel the chemistry between us, but for some reason she had trouble letting me in. Unlike what she probably thought was going to happen, I would be here when she was ready.