talking about?” Tyler asks.
“He told me that he knows that we are traveling together. He mentioned you by name. He mentioned the reward money and how it's for the exact same amount that I owe him or rather what my mother owes him.”
I expect Tyler to get angry, to jump up and yell at me. I don't know why I expect this to happen.
He has never been that way to me. Somehow, this is worse. I need him to be here with me.
To be present.
To connect with me.
With each passing moment, he seems to get further and further away.
“It doesn't have to mean anything,” Tyler says after a long pause. “He could be bluffing.”
I don't believe that and I don't think he does either.
“He told me where we are right now,” I say quietly. “While I was on my hike, he called and threatened me and told me to pay by Monday. He also mentioned this exact motel.”
Tyler swallows hard and looks away from me.
“They know everything,” I whisper. “I’m so sorry.”
Tears start to roll down my cheeks and I wish more than anything that there was something I could do to make them stop.
“This has been a terrible mistake,” Tyler says, staring somewhere out into the distance.
I don't know if he means meeting me or taking me with him or loving me at all. I'm too afraid to ask.
I wipe my tears away over and over again, but it's all to no avail. There are so many of them that I can barely see. So, when he gets closer to me and presses his lips onto mine, he takes me completely by surprise.
His lips feel soft and strong and he carefully guides my body back on the bed.
When he pulls away slightly, he raises his head up and kisses my cheeks. I blink a few times and see large droplets of tears, attached to my eyelashes. He brings his lips up to my eyelids and kisses those tears away.
When I look up at him, he whispers, “I love you.”
“I love you, too,” I say quickly, “but—"
“Shhh,” he mumbles, putting his index finger onto my lips. “Let's not talk. Let's just be with each other.”
My heart flutters as I feel my whole body connect with his. I wrap my arms around his strong powerful back and never want to let go.
After pulling away, we stand in front of each other and take our clothes off. My hands shake a little bit as I pull off my shirt and I feel his gaze focus on my body.
A familiar feeling of embarrassment takes over and I'm tempted to cover up my flabby stomach, but what I see in his eyes is anything but scorn or pity. Instead, he looks at me the way that people look at marble statues in museums. With adoration and awe.
“Why? Why do you look at me like that?” I ask.
“I just can't believe that you let me be with you,” he says, shaking his head.
I blush.
“What are you talking about? Have you seen yourself?”
He gives me a happy smile. As I run my fingers up and down his six pack, he flexes his muscles and poses like David.
I laugh.
“No, seriously. You’re so…hot.”
“This,” he points to himself, “is nothing. Just a body.”
“A chiseled body that looks like it has been made from stone.”
“No,” he says, taking my hand and pulling me close to him. “You're the one that's beautiful. You're the one that's breathtaking and exquisite.”
He pulls me over and on top of him. I like the view from up here. Tyler almost looks small in comparison. He grabs onto my butt and squeezes it tightly. Then he reaches over and cups my breasts.
I've always hated being on top. Not only do I feel slightly uncoordinated being the one who instigates the movements and keeps the tempo, but I also don't like the way that my stomach and breasts move with each thrust.
Yet, when I look at those eyes, I know that he doesn't see any of that.
He wants me for me; the person underneath all this.
No, it's even better than that. He sees me for who I am and he loves that.
We kiss for a while and then he rolls on top of me and fishes out a condom from the pocket of his jeans. After he slips it on, he pulls me on top of him again.
“I want to see you,” he says. “All of you.”
I blush again and sit up. I prop myself up with