Tiny's Sweet Obsession

51: Butterflies

Lily POV

Tiny loves me. He loves everything about me.

No one has ever said they loved me and meant it with every ounce of their being. I didn't grow up with a loving family or a boyfriend who loved me for who I was. It felt overwhelming to hear and feel for the first time, and all I could do was soak it in and let it soothe me to sleep.

I slept soundly through the night and woke to sunlight filtering through the heavy curtains. Rolling over, I saw neatly folded blankets on the floor and no Tiny. I stretched and used the bathroom before seeing Tiger's door open.

Tiptoeing into the hallway, Tiger's phone lit her face, and she motioned for me to come in.

"Hey," she groggily said. "Hop on in. We can pretend we are teenagers having a sleepover," she laughed, holding back the covers for me.

I smiled and crawled into the bed. "Technically, I am a teenager, but I have never had a sleepover," I laughed.

Tiger grabbed her glasses and put them on before staring at me, shocked. "I take it back. When we get back home, we are having a real sleepover. With talk of boys, gossip, and everything in between," she assured me, smiling. "So, how did you sleep?"

"Great. Tiny slept on the floor," I whispered.

"And..." Tiger pressed.

"He may have also said he loved everything about me," I answered, blushing. Saying it out loud made it real, and for the first time, I believed it myself.

"Finally! Come on, let's go get some breakfast. Lord knows none of them can cook, and I don't want to," Tiger laughed, throwing back the covers.

In the living room, we found Gears scrolling on his phone on the couch. He sat up, making room for us to join him. "We're thinking of going out for breakfast. Thoughts?" Tiger asked.

"I'm in. You guys look for a place, and I'll go tell the guys," he said, getting up and going to the office.

Looking over Tiger's shoulder, we found the top breakfast places in Atlanta, and Tiger picked the top result. "We're here, and we might as well spoil ourselves and celebrate you," she said, nudging me.

Tiny walked out of the office, and my feet carried me to him before I could stop myself. He is like a magnet I can't resist, and I wrapped my arms around him, praying he wouldn't push me away.

Pulling away, I saw dark circles under Tiny's eyes and asked how he slept. He said he slept fine, but we both knew that was a lie.

Maybe I could convince him to nap with me...if he wants.

We all got ready and drove downtown to the fancy restaurant where we sat immediately. Tiger ordered two mimosa flights for the table, water all around, and coffee for herself and Gears. She didn't ask for I.D.s, which I thought was odd, but I remained quiet.

The waitress returned with our drinks, and we placed our orders, Tiny's being the largest. He ordered a large stack of pancakes, bacon, eggs, and their french toast of the day. The waitress raised her eyebrows at the order but looked Tiny up and down before smiling.

Gears and Hawk talked about something I didn't understand, while Tiger kept me occupied with questions about the coffee shop. I noticed Tiny didn't drink the mimosas, and I was thankful I wasn't the only one.

When the waitress returned with our food, she placed Tiny's plates in front of him, winking. "Enjoy, big boy," she smiled.

Trying to hide my uncomfortableness I opted to stare at my food. A strong arm wrapped around my shoulder, pulling me closer, and I tensed. I could see Tiny staring at me intensely from the corner of my eye.

"Oh, I plan on it," he growled, his eyes never leaving me.

Glancing up, the waitress was fuming and stormed off, embarrassed. The others at the table snickered, but all I could feel was the heat from Tiny's stare and arm still possessively around me.

He moved his hand to my thigh and leaned down, whispering, "If you think for one second I'd be happy with anyone but you, then clearly, I need to step up my game."

Between Tiny's hand on me and his words, my body was on fire, and butterflies erupted in my stomach. I tried to eat, but Tiny never removed his hand from me, making it nearly impossible not to squirm in my seat or focus on anything else. Although, no one seemed to notice.

After Gears paid and I thanked him profusely, we walked around downtown for a few hours. Tiger said some shopping for me was in order, and to my surprise, none of the guys protested. Hawk said he needed to get back to the hotel and left. Tiger dragged everyone from store to store until we found a cute little boutique that was "my style" according to her.

I looked through the racks of clothes and found a few shirts and jeans, which the boutique's owner took to a dressing room for me. There were some cute sundresses, but looking at the price, I decided against trying them on.

Turning around, Tiny stood with two armfuls of dresses and other clothes and a massive smile on his face.

"Tiny-"

"I don't want to hear it, Sunshine. But I want to see you in these," he winked, handing them off to the owner, who led me to my dressing room.

The others sat on a couch, waiting to watch a fashion show. My fashion show. I gasped when I saw all the clothes inside the dressing room, and the owner laughed behind me.

"You're one lucky girl. Enjoy it," she smiled, placing her hand on my shoulder. "Oh, and definitely give them a show." She closed the door, and I stood frozen.

This is half the store! There is no way I am getting all of this. I'll pick my top three and say no to the rest. Tiny said he wanted to help me, but this was too much, even for him.

Sighing, I slipped out of my clothes and tried on the tight, long-sleeve shirt and jeans I picked out. They were the cheapest and most appropriate for the cold weather. I stepped out, and everyone stopped talking to stare at me. The only reaction I cared about was Tiny's.

My eyes met Tiny's as he took in the outfit, and his mood shifted. "Yeah, I didn't like it either," I lied, seeing he was no longer smiling, and turned around.

I made it to the dressing room door when a hand gently grabbed my arm and spun me around. Not wanting to see Tiny's anger, I stared at the floor, but he tilted my chin, forcing me to look into his eyes.

"You're a terrible liar, Sunshine. For the record, you look like a fucking goddess in those jeans, and it's taking everything in me not to kick out everyone, so no one else can see how beautiful you are," he gritted out.

Butterflies swarmed in my stomach and lower region, and I could feel my heart racing against my chest. Tiny pulled me against him, and I touched his chest to steady myself. Everything stilled around us, but there was something in Tiny's eyes I couldn't place as he leaned close to my face.

Is he about to kiss me?