From Florida With Love

Chapter 1- The Rules

My phone starts vibrating against my dresser. I practically throw myself off my bed to grab it on the second ring.

"Hey handsome." I try to sound nonchalant as I click the FaceTime call on.

"There's my girl." Tyler beams through the phone. "Did I catch you at an ok time?"

"Yeah! Definitely. I'm absolutely not sitting in my bed missing my boyfriend in Florida while pretending to work on PSAT workbooks." I say with a sarcastic smile.

"You're right, that definitely doesn't sound like something you would do." Tyler jokes, his dimples popping through the screen.

"Is your dad still there getting you settled?" I ask. I can't see Mr. Johnson in the background.

"No. He's got a flight back that takes off in an hour. I just got back to my dorm room from driving him to the airport."

"I see. So you're officially solo then? Bet that's gotta feel kinda weird."

"Yeah I don't know that it's sunk in yet. Maybe later tonight after my first QB meeting it will hit me."

"Oh wow. They weren't kidding. You already have a meeting the day you move in? Are you excited?"

"Yeah.... excited, anxious, not totally sure what I feel yet." Tyler takes a deep sigh.

I can tell by his body language Tyler is trying to come off casual but I know how he is, and right now he's trying to think through every possible worst case scenario about tonight.

"Babe, I think it's completely natural to feel a little uneasy about your first meeting. Moving your life across the country to start college is a big deal. Not to mention all the ups and downs you've faced in the past few months surrounding football. I think I'd be more nervous if you weren't a little freaked out." I say with a smile. "Just remember to take everything as it comes. You'll be fantastic.  I believe in you and so do your coaches, otherwise they wouldn't have fought so hard to get you. Take it one step at a time. Everything will work itself out, you'll see."

"Man, I really wish I could kiss you right now." Tyler sighs again.

"Me too, more than you know." I let my head daydream about how nice it would be to have Tyler sitting next to me right now. I think about getting to hold his hand while we watch reruns of  "Golden Girls" and having him crack up at everything Betty White's character says. It brings a smile to my lips before the sobering realization that Tyler's gone and isn't coming back anytime soon smacks me back to reality. "But I promised myself I wouldn't dwell on the stuff we can't do together and instead would try to embrace how incredible this next step is for you. I don't want your college experience tainted by our long distance relationship. I also don't think either of us will survive this if we don't set some ground rules." I say, trying to sound confident.

"Alright I'm listening. What did you have in mind?" Tyler cocks an eyebrow with intrigue in his eyes.

"Well for starters, anytime we talk or text, I think we should only mention that we miss each other once a day. It's obvious and goes without saying that we miss each other, but bringing it up all the time feels like it might put us in a negative spiral and I don't want that. It'll just make things harder."

"Fair point. I think I can agree to that. What else?"

"We each have to go on living our lives as normal as possible. Payton and the girls will take care of me so I'll be fine. You're the one I'm worried about. You need to go meet people, make connections. Spend time exploring campus and stuff like that. No sitting alone in your dorm room every night talking to me. I don't want to be the reason you miss out on the college experience."