Rachel POV
I rush out of the gym and head to my car. I drive home quickly as my emotions swirl around. Julian can't be using me to cheat on anyone can he? He knows my story from the call and knows how I feel about it. He wouldn't do that to. Right?
Then there is Tyler. I felt so much chemistry and sparks between us just like with Julian. I enjoyed coaching with Tyler. I liked when he held my hand. The way he smiled at me and challenged me intellectually was really hot. The feel of his body behind me when I boxed him out was amazing. The way he had worried about me when we fell made my heart swell in happiness. I mean the guy was gorgeous like Julian. He was tall, very athletically built. Had dark brown hair and beautiful chocolate brown eyes. He had the perfect smile and seemed serious all the time except with me.
I am so confused. I pull into the driveway and notice a woman on my porch with a tray. She was a plump short woman was blonde shoulder length hair that had an 80's feel to it. I get out of the car and she squeals in delight.
"Helloooooooo!" she says in a singsong voice. "I'm Mirabelle, Tom's wife. I wanted to introduce myself and see how you are settling." She tells me as I walk up.
I give her a fake smile and she rushes over and pulls me into a hug. "You are just the cutest little thing. The boys all over town will be lining up at this door asking you on a date." She says and looks me up and down.
I chuckle awkwardly. "Thank you. It's nice to meet you Mirabelle. I'm Rachel. Would you like to come in for a minute?" I ask her.
"Yes, I brought you a tray of cookies." She says holding up the tray. I open the door and we both walk in.
"How was your first practice?" She asks me as she sets the cookies on the kitchen counter.
"It was good. I took a tumble and ran Tyler over. Poor guy hit his head on the floor. I feel real bad about it." I say and she chuckles at it.
"Tyler can handle himself. He is a bit of a sourpuss most of the time." She tells me. I could see how he was like that sometimes with the boys but whenever he looked or talked to me it was with nothing but warmth, so I don't fully believe her words.
"I heard that you had a breakfast date this morning how was that?" She asks me and I realize she must be a town gossip.
"It was nice. Julian is a gentleman." I say and then think, so I thought. An idea sparks in my head and I ask her, "I heard he is actually dating some girl named Madison, is that true? I really don't want to start any drama." I add at the end.
"Oh honey, he dated her for years because the girl wouldn't leave him alone. He never truly loved her. He broke up with her when you came to town. Now Madison likes drama and will probably be mean to you and say you stole her man but Julian wants nothing to do with that girl." She tells me reassuringly. I nod and smile. Well that was good to hear. "In fact he was a pretty big crush on you from what I hear. He has been running all over town today getting stuff for a dinner for you. Isn't that sweet." She tells me.
I laugh, it was sweet of him. "What is Tyler's deal?" I ask her curious about my other mystery hottie.
"Well, he isn't seeing anyone if that's what you're wondering. He is a good guy just very serious and sometimes off putting. He spends all his time at the school working" She tells me watching me closely. I nod and give nothing away.
"Well Mirabelle, it was nice visiting with you, we should do it again soon, but I have a date to get ready for." I tell her and she squeals in delight.
"Yes, get all pretty for Julian. I understand. Have a great night. I'll pop over soon." She tells me.
I walk her out and wave goodbye to her as she walks home. I close the door and sigh. Well at least I know the truth about Julian and Madison.
My phone rings and I pick it up and answer it. "Hey." I say.
"Hey are you ok? You ran out of here and I'm worried about you." Tyler says through the phone. I smile at the worry in his voice. "Do I need to come over?" He adds. My heart leaps at the thought.
"I'm fine it was just something from my past that was triggered. It's ok. How is your head?" I ask him trying to change the subject.
"Darling I told you I'm fine." He chuckles. I smile at it. Why was he so nice to me?
"Are you still going on the date tonight?" He asks me.
I pause. I mean now that I know Julian isn't a cheater why wouldn't I? Maybe because I started having feelings for Tyler too and I don't want to mess that up.
"I don't know. I feel like I should and shouldn't." I say conflicted.
"Well why shouldn't you go?" He asks me curiously. Because I like you I wanted to say but don't.
"I don't know. I guess I feel conflicted in my feelings. I don't know why I'm telling you any of this." I say as I realize what I am telling him inadvertently.
"You can tell me anything. Do you have feelings for someone else?" He prompts and I can hear the smile in his voice.
"Maybe." My phone beeps and I have another call coming in. I see it's my best friend Tommy. "Hey I'm getting another call. Can I talk to you later?" I ask Tyler.
"Yeah that's fine." He says and I hang up and answer Tommy's call.
"Tommy, thank god. I need you." I say and he laughs.
"Do you need Reed too?" He asks me.
"Yes add him to the call. Let me hop in the shower and I will tell you everything." I say to him as he calls read on the other line.
"Hey." Reed says on the line. I jump in the shower and yell back.
"Hey Reed. I need to talk to you guys. Give me two seconds."
"You're fine." They both say. God I loved my boys. They were my best friends and such great listeners.
I finish and turn the water off. "Ok, so I got settled in and everything but there are these two guys." I say and both of them laugh. I explain everything as I get ready and they listen only interrupting to ask for details.
"What should I do?" I ask them and they are quiet for a moment.
"Date both of them. I mean you just moved there. Tell them you want to see where things go." Reed suggests.
"Both?? Are you crazy?" I scream at him.
"Rachel, chill. It's just a dinner and movie. It's not a commitment. Besides the Coach is your boss so until you talk about that I wouldn't jump in his arms." Tommy tells me calmly.
I groan. "But I like both of them." I complain.
"So date both!" Reed says exasperated.
"You're no help." I tell him.
"OMG you are ridiculous." Tommy says and sighs.
"Fine. I'll go on the date." I grumble.
"Ok." They both say victoriously. I roll my eyes at them.
"I miss you guys." I say to them.
"We miss you too." Reed tells me.
I grab a brush and brush my hair. "I'll let you guys know how it goes. Ok?" I say before hanging up.
I finish and head to Julian's house. I pull up and look at the gorgeous two story house. It was a light blue and had a big wrap around porch. I loved it.
He opens the door and I walk up. "This is gorgeous." I tell him looking around.
"Thanks baby. How are you?" He says as he pulls me into his arms. I smile up at him.
"I'm fine. Just a bruised knee. It would've been worse if Tyler hadn't caught me." I say and he frowns.
"Tyler caught you?" He questions.
"Yeah I fell into him and knocked us both over." I say and he leads me into the house. We go to the dining room and he pulls out a seat for me. "Thank you." I say.
"I'll be right back." He tells me. He comes back in with two plates each one has a steak on it and some mash potatoes and green beans. It looked and smelled amazing.
"Wow." I say as he places it in front of me.
"I hope you like it." He says as I start eating.
"It's amazing." I say as I continue to eat. He had cooked the steak perfectly and the mash potatoes were whipped perfection.
"How did you learn to cook like this?" I ask him.
"Well, I like to eat good food, so I watched a lot of videos to teach me how to cook things I like." He tells me. I nod and continue eating. We finish quickly and he tells me to follow him to the kitchen. We place our plates in the sink and he pulls out two plates for us. I see him pull out an apple pie from the oven and my mouth waters.
He cuts me a slice and puts it on the plate and then goes to the freezer and pulls out vanilla ice cream. I lick my lips. It was one of my favorite things to eat, pie and ice cream.
"Excited?" He asks me laughing at my eagerness for the dessert.
"Yes." I nod enthusiastically.
"Here you go baby. There is caramel sauce in the fridge if you want any." He says sitting the plate in front of me with a slice of pie and scoop of ice cream.
"Are you some mind reader?" I ask him suspiciously.
"No, it's how I like it. I'm guessing you like it that way too?" He laughs wholeheartedly at me. He grabs it and spoons some on for me. I reach up and kiss his cheek. He was so amazing. He dotted on me every chance he got.
He looks shocked by my affection towards him and stares at me wide eyed before his face splits into a huge smile. He makes his plate and sits next to me at the kitchen bar. We eat and talk about other desserts we like, and I'm shocked to hear he loves almost all the same things as me.
I finish and wash the dishes real quick as he finishes his dessert. "You don't have to do that." He tells me but I wave him off.
"You made a great dinner and dessert it's the least I can do." I tell him. He walks over and places his plate in the soapy water and puts his hands on my waist as I wash his dishes. He kisses the top of my head.
"You're amazing, you know that." He tells me. I giggle and lean my head back to look up at him.
"You're pretty amazing yourself. I could get used to your cooking." I tell him and he smiles so big. He turns me so I am facing him.
"I'm hoping on that." He says. I place my hands on his chest and love the sparks that fly where I'm touching. "Ready to go watch a movie?" He asks me breaking my thoughts of how much I want to touch his bare skin.
"Yeah." I whisper. He pulls back and grabs my hand and leads me into his living room. He had a huge brown sectional and very big TV hanging on the wall. There was a small coffee table in the room too. I saw a white throw blanket on the couch as well.
"What are we going to watch?" I ask him as we sit down. He picks up the remote and blanket and lays it over me.
"I was thinking Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 for tonight." He tells me and I grin at him.
"Sounds perfect." I say and scoot closer to him. He turns on the movie and leans back putting an arm around me and pulling me close. I rest my head on his chest and place an arm over his stomach. His arm around my back absentmindedly rubs my skin and it relaxes me so much.
I sigh in contentment. "What are you thinking about baby?" he asks me as he chuckles.
"Just how good it feels to be cuddled up against you." I tell him. He kisses the top of my head and I lean back so I can see his face. He smiles at me and his eyes are full of warmth. He places a hand on my face and rubs my cheek gently.
"I love having you pressed against me baby. I could do this every night with you." He says and I melt at his words. We finish the movie and I see it's 11 pm.
"I should head home." I tell him. He frowns but nods at me. He walks me out to my car and opens the door.
"Night baby. I'll call you tomorrow." He tells me as he kisses my cheek.
"Night. I had a fun time." I tell him.