— Wren —
"Moving in?" I groggily inquired, turning to a still drowsy Tyler. We had fallen asleep on the couch, Tyler on his back, and myself with my head resting on his chest.
Tyler blushed slightly as he stretched. "Well, it's either here or at home with Jenna."
"Ah."
"Plus, I didn't want to leave you alone last night. You seemed pretty upset."
I groaned, burying my face into his chest. I had pushed last night's events to the back of my mind and preferred to keep them there. Despite my affection for him, or perhaps because of it, everything felt simpler without Josh around. I found comfort in that. Tyler's gentle fingers traced up and down my spine, sending shivers through me. "What happened last night, anyway?"
"Josh happened," I mumbled into his t-shirt. Tyler hummed in response. "I'm sorry you had to deal with that." I peeked up at him through my eyelashes.
"I don't mind."
"I never noticed you had dimples," I mused as I poked the indent on his cheek. He swatted my hand away and blushed even harder.
"Stop it," he tried not to smile.
"So cute!" I sat up on his lap and pinched his cheeks, cooing and repeating how cute his dimples were. He laughed and squirmed under my playful torment, and I didn't relent until he was nearly in tears.
"Enough!" Tyler screeched amid laughter. When I persisted, he swiftly flipped me over, hovering just inches from my face.
"What's your middle name?"
"W-What?"
"Your middle name," Tyler laughed softly.
"Harper..." I furrowed my brow at the sudden interrogation.
"Favorite color?"
"Burgundy."
"Favorite animal?" Tyler appeared amused, continuing his questioning.
"Cat. Why are you asking me a million questions?"
"A cat? Really? That's so lame!" He chuckled some more as I frowned at him. "Why a cat?"
We returned to sitting normally on the couch before I answered. "I don't know. I've always wanted one, but my parents always said no. Why are you—"
Tyler abruptly stood up, pulling on his sweatshirt from the night before that was lying on the floor. He ruffled my hair before telling me he would be back soon, ignoring my questioning about his destination.
After approximately an hour of channel surfing and waiting for Tyler's return, a knock sounded at my door. Normally, I would have invited whoever it was to come in, but after Josh's unexpected visit the previous night, I chose to check through the peephole first.
It was Tyler, wearing a wide grin and holding a pink box in his hands.
"Hey," I began, but Tyler interrupted by handing me the box. It was weighty with holes on the sides. "What's—"
"Open it!" Tyler urged.
I complied, placing the box on the table and lifting the lid. A tiny white and black kitten meowed at me from inside.
"Ty..." I covered my mouth to conceal my excitement. Tyler grinned at me, picked up the kitten, and held it close to his chest.
"I named her Perry," he smiled, offering her to me. "You can rename her if you want, but she already told me she likes it."
"I love her so much," I practically whispered. "Thank you, Tyler. You didn't have to do this." He shrugged before pressing a kiss to my forehead, and then to Perry's head as well.
"I'll catch you two later. I have some things to take care of."
We exchanged goodbyes, and then I took Perry straight to the pet store to get her everything she needed for her new home.
