The New Normal

Chapter Thirty Seven

When we got into Tyler’s car, I let out a big sigh. “I am so sorry about my dad.”
   
Tyler let out a chuckle and tucked a piece of my hair behind my ear. “Don’t worry about it, Sweetness. If I had a daughter, I wouldn’t want her dating a guy like me either, especially with my past.”
   
“Hey,” I touched his shoulder gently. “The past is in the past, as for me? I look forward to the future.”
   
“Then you’re in for a treat,” he grinned. “Because, I don’t mean to brag, but this is going to be the best night of your life.”
   
“Hmm,” I tilted my head to the side. “We’ll see about that.”
   
Tyler turned on the car and shot me a look of determination. “Challenge accepted.”

   

We drove for twenty minutes before Tyler parked in the lot of a restaurant. He quickly shut the car off and got out to open my door. A second later, he did and held out his hand. “Sweetness.”
   
I blushed as I placed my hand in his. We walked to the restaurant entrance and was greeted by a hostess in an all black uniform and a high ponytail. She looked Tyler up and down and licked her lips. “Name?”
   
Tyler rolled his eyes and sighed. “The reservation is under Tyler Hale.”
   
She nodded her head and looked through the book, grabbing two menus, she signalled for us to follow her. “The quiet room is this way.”
   
“The quiet room?” I whispered in confusion. “What’s a quiet room?”
   
Tyler chuckled and wrapped his arm around my shoulders. “Just wait and see.”
   
A moment later, at the back of the restaurant, was a small room with a single table and two chairs. The walls were a bright turquoise with a cherry blossom mural cover each of the walls. Tyler pulled out a chair for me and once I sat down, he kissed me on the temple before he sat in his spot. The hostess placed the menus in front of us and her face held a tight smile. “A waiter will be here to take your order shortly.”
   
When she left I gaped at Tyler. “What is this place?”
   
Tyler shrugged, nonchalantly. “Just the hottest sushi restaurant in town. I remember you saying the only good thing about California was the sushi, so I thought you would like this.”
   
I reached over the table and placed my hand on his. “This is amazing, Tyler, thank you.”
   
“Anything for you, Sweetness,” he winked.
   
Not even twenty minutes later, Tyler and I had a huge sushi spread in front of us. So far he had tried the California rolls, Philadelphia rolls, and Tiger rolls. He decided he had liked them but absolutely hated the spicy tuna rolls. Also, seeing him try to use chopsticks was probably the highlight of the date — aside from the food.
   
Tyler finally successfully plopped a Philadelphia roll in his mouth using a chopstick and after he was done eating it, he grinned. “Did you see that? I actually did it!”
   
I shook my head, laughing at how cute he was being. “Who knew Mr. Casanova could use chopsticks?”
   
He ate a couple of more pieces of sushi before he wiped his mouth with a napkin and leaned back in his chair. “I am stuffed from all of that sushi.”
   
I finished the last spicy tuna roll and nodded my head in agreement. “Same.”
   
Tyler smiled at me and I felt the need to touch him, so I reached both of my hands across the table and placed them in his. “This is amazing, Ty.”

He leaned forward and smirked. “Is it the most amazing night of your life?”
I cocked my head to the right in fake thought and eventually said, “It’s getting there.”

“Hmm,” Tyler narrowed his eyes, nodding his head. “I guess it’s a good thing the date isn’t over yet.”

“What the hell is that?” I pointed to the horse drawn carriage in front of us.

Tyler threw an arm over my shoulders and chuckled. “I know you’re not a fan of horses but I promise you it’ll be romantic.”
   
He got in the carriage first and then held out a hand to pull me in, which I was grateful for because getting into a carriage in heels on an icy sidewalk was incredibly challenging. Once I got in, Tyler pulled me close and I rested my head on his shoulder, closing my eyes, I sighed happily. “You know how to make a girl feel special.”
   
“That’s because you are the most special girl in the whole world, Juliet,” I opened my eyes and was greeted with Tyler’s green ones looking down at me. He put his finger on my chin, tilting my head upwards and placed his lips on mine, kissing me softly.
   
After our kiss, I kissed him again with a smile. “You never cease to amaze me, Tyler.”
   
“Good,” he smirked and kissed me one last time.
   
We enjoyed the ride silently and I soaked in my surroundings. The night sky was vibrant and alive with stars sparkling across it and the street was lit up by various Christmas lights in shop windows. I thought about how Tyler was right, this was the most amazing night of life. I had never been on a date this extravagant, not even with Blake. I couldn’t wait to talk to Aunt Gina about this, she was going to squeal just as much I as I will once I get home. My thoughts however, got drifted to what my aunt had said before we left for our date. Arching my head to look at Tyler properly, I asked, “Hey Ty, what did my aunt mean when she said it was nice to see you again? When did you see her in the first place?”
   
Tyler furrowed his eyebrows and thought to himself for a moment before he spoke. “Juliet, do you remember the night of Tristan’s fu-” he rubbed his jaw hard and looked down. “F-Funeral?”
   
I nodded my head slowly, not understanding what he was getting at and scared as to where this was going.
   
“After it happened, you went missing for hours,” he began, looking lost in his own story. “Your dad was freaking out and he was walking up and down your street, shouting your name. I heard him from my bedroom so I came out to see what was going on. When he told me you were gone I was terrified he meant for, you know, good. So, I took my mom’s car ‘cause I didn’t have one at the time and drove all around town trying to find you.”
   
He paused to catch his breath because as the story went on, the quicker he spoke. “I looked for hours and had no luck. It was starting to pour and my mother told me to come back home but I refused to until you were found. To make her feel better, I came home, but only so I could return the car and go on foot. As I was walking down the street, I remembered how Tristan and I used scare you while you went on your runs by hiding in the trail and popping out at random times.”
   
“That was terrifying,” I laughed nervously, remembering the dozens of times they did it to me and each time I was shocked even though it was nothing new.
   
“Sorry about that,” he smirked but his face grew serious again. “Anyway, I found you passed out in the trail, soaked and shivering. I picked you up and carried you all the way to your house. Your Aunt Gina answered the door and insisted I stayed until I got warm, she was incredibly grateful that I found you.”
   
When he stopped talking, I stayed silent, taking in everything he said. I always thought it was Blake or Chad who had found me. Tyler never crossed my mind, not even once.
   
The ride came to a halt and Tyler paid the driver and helped me out of the carriage. Before we began to walk to the car, I took Tyler’s hands and pulled him closer to me. He arched a brow but didn’t say a word as I moved my hands from is and placed them behind his neck. “Thank you, Tyler. For this date and for finding me that night. I don’t know what I’d do if you weren’t in my life.”
   
Tyler placed his forehead on mine and smiled brightly. “And thank you, Sweetness for being in my life because I don’t know what I’d do if you weren't in it. I don’t even want to picture it.”
   
He kissed me softly at first, but then it become heated and urgent. I found myself wanting more, not caring if there were people possibly watching, I just wanted him. After a minute of solid kissing, he pulled away from me and grinned. “So, will you be mine, Sweetness? Or am I going to have to win you over even more with another date?”
   
I kept my hands on the back of his neck as I tilted my head. “Hmm,” I mused. “More dates would be nice but being considered yours on those dates — and all the time — would be even better.”
   
“Sounds good to me,” he chuckled, planting a small kiss on my forehead. “I’m so glad you’re mine, Sweetness.”