A Tall, Dark, and Gorgeous Mystery

Chapter Twenty

Andi's POV

I walk down the school halls and clutch my textbooks. Tyler isn't with me, which is strange.

I pass a janitor's closet and get pulled back, squealing slightly. The door closes and darkness surrounds me.

"Remember this room, baby?" The words come from the darkness.

I smile. "Tyler, where have you been all day?"

He chuckles and brings his lips to my neck. "I wanted to surprise you." He drops my textbooks and runs his hands up and down under my shirt. "I obviously did."

I bite my lip, smelling the scent of lavender laundry detergent and vanilla. "Tyler-"

He unbuttons my jeans.

"Tyler, what're you-"

He pulls back. "Do you not want to?"

I sigh and drop my gaze to the pitch black tile floor. I grab the hem of his shirt and fiddle with it. "Tyler, I want to wait."

"Wait?" He asks. "Wait for what?"

I scratch the back of my neck and bite at my lip, butterflies sprouting in my stomach. What will he say? Will he accept that I don't want to perform premarital sex? Will he cheat on me with a different girl that'll actually put out?

"Babe," he whispered. "You can tell me."

I feel tears pool in my eyes and look wherever I think his face may be. "I don't want to lose you, Tyler."

"What are you talking about?" He gently touches my face and kisses my cheek. "I will never leave you. Why would I leave you? I love you." He rubbed my arm comfortingly. "Is it sex? Are you not ready?"

I nod, but remember he can't see me. "I want to wait until our wedding night." I wipe my tears. "Gosh, I'm thinking too far in the future. I'm so foolish."

He sighs and envelops me in a hug, setting his face in the crook of my neck. "You're my entire life, Andi. You're my value. If you ever want anything, I'll do it for you."

I something warm and wet on my neck and squeeze him tight.

"I love you more than anything. If you want to wait, we will. I will not let something like sex tear us apart."

He pushes his face against my bare neck. "I love you. Please don't leave me for what I did in the past. You saved me."

I let out a shaky breath and pull away from him. "I won't leave you, baby." I kiss his cheek, his jaw, and his lips. "I don't care about the past because we're living in the present."

He wipes my tears and pulls me into another hug, not letting go.

*. *. *. *. *. *. *. *. *. *. *

2 years later

Tyler's POV

Love is something I never thought I needed. I always thought I could just survive with multiple girls and be okay. 

Until Antoinette came into my life. 

She taught me how to love. She taught me that it is okay to open up and express my emotions when I really need to. Because I constantly do. I constantly need her voice and her touch. The warm smile she gives me when I do something right and her laugh when I say something funny. 

She is my drug; my addiction. 

"Are you ready?" I hear a lovely voice ask from behind me. It is Caroline.