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Nothing more.
No kissing, and no touching. No matter how much his boyish charms make me think of how his lips would feel on mine.
A knock at the door has my heart accelerating, and I check myself in the mirror one last time before going to answer it.
“Hi.” Tyler smiles, looking handsome as hell in dark rinse jeans and a sage green button-down shirt that makes his aqua eyes look bluer somehow. Like the Caribbean Ocean. “You look like a ray of sunshine, sugar.”
“Thank you, but you’re not supposed to say that. This isn’t a date.”
“It’s a fact either way,” he says simply. “And what? Friends don’t compliment each other?”
“Where are we going?” I ask, deliberately not answering him as I step out onto the porch and close the door behind me.
“It’s a surprise,” he says as we walk down the stairs.
Opening the passenger side door of his pickup truck for me, I give him a small smile of thanks, and he gets in behind the wheel, roaring the truck’s engine to life.
As he drives, the comfortable silence between us doesn’t bother me, but after a minute, I need something to distract myself from his golden tanned muscular forearm resting on the gear shift that’s so tempting to reach out and touch. I turn the radio on, and Tyler chuckles.
“Go ahead and take charge. I don’t mind.” Glancing over at him, he winks, and I narrow my eyes.
I switch the stations around until I hear a familiar country song I like, and sit back in my seat, humming along.
“So, she sings, too,” he murmurs, drumming his fingers on the steering wheel.
“When I’m alone, yes.”
“No exceptions?”
“Not so far. Maybe one day.” I shrug.
“I’ll take it,” he says, smiling as if he knows he’ll be the exception.
We only drive for maybe another ten to fifteen minutes before he turns off into a restaurant’s parking lot. The Sea Spray.
As we walk through the restaurant, Tyler guides me with his hand on my lower back, and I don’t even bother to tell him friends don’t do that either. I like the way it feels too much.
When the hostess takes us out onto the back deck, I gasp. “Oh, wow.” The ocean stretches out in front of me as far as I can see, the setting sun glistening back at me.
Lights are strung along the sides of the railings and overhead in a crisscross pattern. When it gets dark, I’m sure they’ll look like stars amid the night’s sky. But right now, the sun is lowering towards the horizon with hues of orange, pink, and red streaking out from the ball of yellow fire.
“It’s beautiful, Tyler. Thank you for taking me here.” Taking my seat, I look across the table at him, and feel a wistful smile ghosting my lips.
“The look on your face says it all, sugar. And I’m the one with the beautiful view. The sun shining on you right now is making your hair look golden. A halo.”
I feel my cheeks heat. “I don’t think friends say that either.”
“I don’t care.” He shrugs, his eyes glowing.
“Okay…” I whisper, slowly losing this battle of wills.
“You should be told every day that you’re beautiful, Ellie. And if your ex didn’t do that, then he’s even more of an idiot than I already think he is.”
“He’s more than just an idiot,” I mumble, taking a sip of water.
“I agree. I was just trying not to bring down the night by talking about him.”
“That’s sweet.” I smile softly. “But don’t worry about that. I doubt it’s possible when having dinner in such a pretty place, and such nice”–I pause–“uh, company.” My eyes dart away from his.
