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As I’m walking away, I hear a frustrated Tyler bark out, “What did you say to her?” But I’m not interested in hearing a response.
I need to get away. Maybe I’m too sensitive, and maybe I shouldn’t be reacting this way. But then again, I’ve never let a man have the parts of me I’ve given to Tyler.
And now, on the ride home, a tornado of doubts and regrets churns in me.
Did I make the right choice?
CHAPTER15
TYLER
“Ishould have run after her,” I groan out as my call goes to voicemail for the fourth time.
“What is it he’s going on about?” I hear my mom ask Jared. She’s staring at my pacing figure in front of her back porch.
“Lover’s quarrel,” Jared answers, the amusement filling his voice raising my irritation tenfold.
“Your parents live right next door. Why don’t you go bother them?” I bark at him, but he’s not deterred by my harsh demeanor, only continuing to make fun of me.
I decided to give Maria the benefit of the doubt. Maybe she did have lesson plans that she had to work on. Especially since Harper denied saying anything upsetting to her. But when the next day rolled around, and she wasn’t picking up my calls, I was positive it was because Harper upset her.
Most times I get upset, I go to my parents’ house, not far outside the city in Medford. Dealing with my issues here is easier. And never too far behind me, there is Jared, under the guise of stopping by to visit his own parents.
He must find my frustration amusing, and getting to join in on a Saturday lunch is always a good time.
“I didn’t know Tyler had a lover. He’s been holding out on me,” my mom says in surprise, standing with her hands on her hips as she peers out at me.
“Her name’s Maria. She’s a preschool teacher. Very nice girl,” Jared explains to her.
“The one he’s volunteering for?” my mom asks him, increasingly more intrigued with the situation.
“That would be the one,” Jared says smugly, and I can’t stand how they are chatting away like gossiping schoolgirls while I’m only a few feet away.
“Don’t you guys have anything better to do?” I groan, trying Maria’s number again with the same result.
“No, I’m rather enjoying the drama,” my mom tells me as she takes a seat on the porch next to Jared.
I don’t think she’ll ever tire of how close we are, my family and Jared’s. We’ve known each other since we were kids.
“It’s obvious she’s not picking up her phone,” my mom offers, and I roll my eyes at her observation.
I don’t mean to be rude, but I’m deeply frustrated by the situation. While Harper didn’t tell me what it is she specifically said, she commented that she “just wanted to tell Maria a little more about you,” before joining her girlfriends back at the table.
While I’m sure Maria understands that I’ve been with other women, and her first interaction with me suggested I was a bit of a womanizer, it’s not like I told her how much I used to get around in the past.
I’ve cooled it for the most part recently, but I still have that history. She needs to know it’s nothing compared to the feelings I have for her.
“Why don’t you try something else? Go talk to her in person.”
My mom’s suggestion has me stopping in my tracks.
Why didn’t I think of that earlier? I bypass the porch and walk around the house to get to my car.
Once there, Jared calls out, “How am I supposed to get home?”
“The bus stop isn’t too far from here. Tell your parents I said hi,” I call back, getting into my car to drive back into the city, hoping traffic isn’t too bad.
If it were anyone else, I wouldn’t do that. But it’s Jared, so he’ll probably stick around to chat my mom’s ear off and bug my sister before dropping by his own parents’ house.
