If only | Damon Salvatore

025. OLD HIGH SCHOOL FRIENDS

Chapter twenty five

"Old high school friends."

Waking up the next morning, Beatrix felt her head pounding as she slowly sat up in bed. Tyler walked out of her bathroom with a towel wrapped around his waist.

"Good, you're awake," he said with a chuckle. "Normally, I'm the guy who slips out in the morning—or the girl does—but I figured I'd treat you better than that."

Beatrix furrowed her brows, pressing a hand to her temple. "Does your head hurt as much as mine does?"

"Yeah," Tyler admitted. He walked over to her bedside table, picking up a glass of water and two pills. "Here. There was a knock at the door a while ago that woke me up. These were left right outside."

Beatrix took the medication, swallowing the pills and draining the glass of water.

"Your mom or your grandma must've assumed we partied way too hard last night," Tyler noted, a smirk playing on his lips.

Beatrix offered a small smirk of her own. "But what we did wasn't because we were drunk, Tyler."

"No, definitely not," he agreed.

Pulling the bedsheet with her, Beatrix wrapped the fabric securely around her body and stood up. She walked into her walk-in closet, dropping the sheet as she quickly slipped into a soft nightdress and matching robe, tying the silk belt tightly around her waist.

"Speaking of what we did..." she trailed off, stepping back out into the bedroom.

Tyler had already pulled his pants on and was just reaching for his shirt. "It was a wild full moon night," he said, mirroring her casual tone. "But do you think you and I should probably just be... friends?"

Beatrix winced in mock offense. "Is that your way of trying not to hurt my feelings? Because you know, if you ever want to, we can always do it again." She walked over to him, a teasing smirk on her face.

Tyler raised his brows. "Wow. See that? That's exactly why all the guys in this town pine after you. We always knew that if we actually got a shot with you, you'd just screw us over and move right on."

Beatrix hummed playfully. "Well, I guess I learned from the best, Mr. Walk-Away Joe."

Tyler winced. "Ouch," he said, though a smile broke through.

Beatrix chuckled as he leaned down to press a quick goodbye kiss to her lips. She pulled away first, walking over to her bedroom door. She swung it wide open and gestured with a mock-formal wave for Tyler to make his exit down the hall.

Tyler raised his eyebrows, clutching his chest in mock agony. "I kiss you and you immediately kick me out?"

Beatrix chuckled, trailing behind him as they left her bedroom. They walked down the long upstairs hallway and descended the grand staircase together. In the kitchen, Cassandra and Winnifred were already up. Her grandmother was quietly reading the morning newspaper while her mother packed a woven basket.

"So, I'll see you around then?" Tyler asked, pausing at the threshold.

Beatrix opened the heavy front door for him. "Maybe," she teased.

Tyler let out a soft laugh, stepping out onto the porch and heading down the driveway. The moment the door clicked shut behind him, Beatrix let out a massive huff and leaned the back of her head against the wood. "My head is absolutely pounding," she groaned to the room.

Winnifred took a slow, deliberate breath, turning a page of her paper. "Looks like someone had a remarkably fun night."

Beatrix turned around and walked into the kitchen, the words spilling out of her in a frantic rush. "One moment I was looking after Mason, and then the next, he turned into a full wolf and almost slaughtered Stefan because he was spying in the woods. I ran off and ended up crashing straight into Tyler. He kissed me, and I swear I never would have wanted to do that before, but it was just like that night at the party with Stefan. Something completely came over me, and I started kissing him back! When I realized I wasn't in control, I tried to run away, but he followed me. Then we ran into Stefan and Caroline right as Mason attacked her. Stefan shoved him off, but he almost got hurt, so I yelled to distract the wolf, and he bolted. Then Tyler asked if I was okay, and then..."