The Valentine's Note

Chapter 35

"What happened?" Kian asked, motioning for me to take a seat next to him.

Kyla and Derrick were on the dance floor and so was Tyler with one of his friends who asked to dance with him.

"I bumped into Seth," I mumbled, shutting my eyes and exhaling through my nose.

"Oh, no," I heard Kian say. "Did he say anything?"

I turned my head to look at him. "I walked away before he could."

"Good," he said. "You don't deserve any more shit from him."

"I guess," I responded.

"Ava, it's okay," he said, reaching forward to put his hand on mine. "It takes time getting over a break-up. Do you remember how long I took? Wasn't it like two months?"

"I think it was more like five," I commented.

"My point is," he cut in, ignoring my comment. "Take all the time you need. Hate him for as long as you want, be angry at him. If you want to, throw a few punches but take your time to heal. You'll be fine soon."

I felt a smile come on my face as I squeezed his hand back and nodded.

I looked the at the dance floor to see an out of breath Tyler approaching us.

"What are you doing sitting here?" he yelled over the music. "Come, let's dance."

"No, I'm good," I responded, shaking my head.

"Come on," he insisted, reaching for my hand. "You won't even give me one dance tonight?"

I stared at his face for a few seconds before caving in. The puppy dog eyes and the pout were difficult to say no to.

"I'll be back," I told Kian as I kept my on the table in front of him.

"Take your time," he said suggestively with a wink.

Rolling my eyes, I let Tyler lead me onto the dance floor. Once he found a satisfactory place on the dance floor, he spun around whilst moving my hand around his head and smoothly guiding it on his shoulder. He then proceeded to place his hands on my waist and pull me closer. After a moment's hesitation, I decided to wrap my hands around his neck and sway along with him.

"How are you even moving in those heels?" he asked, looking down at my heels.

I laughed and said in a low voice, "I'll let you in on a secret. I actually practiced walking in these in my bedroom for a whole hour."

His eyebrows shot up. "That's a lot of dedication."

"Yeah, I've recently discovered the hardships women go through in order to look good," I said, nodding.

"If the outcome of your hardships is this," he said, "then it's totally worth it."

I chuckled in response and a confident grin came on his face too.

"Hey, I'm sorry about earlier," he said after a few beats. "It was out of place. I shouldn't have said that."

"It's okay," I said with a sigh. "I overreacted. I was already nervous and then, when you said that, it was just kind of unexpected so..."

"I'm sorry," he repeated.

"No, no, it's okay," I said, giving him a reassuring smile.

Suddenly, I felt a tap on my shoulder. I broke away from Tyler and turned around to find myself looking at Seth. He didn't address me and instead, spoke to Tyler.