"Stop talking," I say, covering his lips with my finger. "I know you can't stay. You've told me a million times. And I know it'll hurt when you leave. But I still want this, even if it's just for a week."
"I'm not leaving in a week."
"Then maybe I'll get two. Or three. I'll take what I can get."
"You're crazy for wanting to do this. You know that, right?"
I shrug. "Sometimes crazy is good."
"I don't know if I can do this. That's why I wouldn't get involved with you. I knew if I did, I wouldn't be able to say goodbye."
"But we know we have to, so maybe just knowing that, we'll be more prepared. Tyler, I know this doesn't make sense and we're setting ourselves up to be hurt but I'm tired of always being so cautious. I thought Tom was the safe choice. I never thought he'd cheat on me, but then he did. So playing it safe didn't do any good. I'd rather live in the moment and do what makes me happy, even knowing it's going to hurt later on."
He holds my hand, then softly kisses me and whispers over my lips. "You made me do it. Remember that."
I nod, and kiss him back, and we remain there until we hear the sound of Walter inside the house, going up the stairs to his room.
"It's after ten," Tyler says. "You want to go home?"
"No, but I should."
We get up and walk back to the house.
"Goodnight." He pulls me into his arms and I hold on, not wanting to say goodbye, even for just the night. If we only have a few more weeks I want to spend as much time as I can with him.
When I get inside I go upstairs and see Grams' light is out. I'm glad she didn't wait up to give me a lecture about Tyler. I'm not going to tell her I'm dating him. If it's only for a few weeks, there's no need to tell her. She'll be negative about it and try to ruin it for me. So I'll keep it a secret. Maybe I'll tell Jules, but no one else.
Back in my room I try to fall asleep but all I can think about is Tyler and how much I want to be with him.
Around midnight, there's a tap on my window. I recognize the sound and jump out of bed. Racing to my window, I open it and see Tyler standing under it, holding a bag of marshmallows. This time it's the big ones, not the miniature kind.
"You could've just texted," I say, laughing.
"This is more fun." He tosses a marshmallow at me and I catch it.
"Am I supposed to eat this?"
"You might want to toast it first."
"Yeah, I'm probably not going to make a fire at this hour."
"It's already done. It's out back."
"You made a fire? At midnight?"
"Just a small one in the fire pit. I couldn't sleep, and when I can't sleep I have to get up and do something. So I made a fire. If you come out here, you can toast your marshmallow."
"Okay, but give me a minute to change." I quickly change into a t-shirt and shorts, then go back to the window.
"Ready?" He holds his arms out to catch me.
It looks farther down than it did last time. "I think I'll just go out the front door."
"You'll wake your grandma up. C'mon, you did it last time."
"Yeah and it was crazy. I'm lucky I didn't break something."
"I'll catch you. I promise."
How does he get me to do this stuff? There's nobody else I know who'd be able to convince me to do this but Tyler. He makes me feel safe.
Climbing out the window I hesitate a moment, then jump. As I land in his arms, I remember the ladder.
"Why didn't you set up the ladder for me?"
He smiles. "I like this way better." He kisses me, then sets me down and takes my hand. "It's this way."
I love that he's holding my hand. I love that he just kissed me. I've wanted this for weeks and now it's finally happening! I still feel like I'm dreaming this. Like I'm going to wake up and look over and see it's Keith holding my hand instead of Tyler.
Now I know for sure I made the right decision by not going out with Keith again. He's a great guy with a bright future and the type of