Project Runaway ✔️

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Twenty-Seven

Tanner, Ryan, and I sat in the living room the next night alone, watching an old video of Ryan's first college game.

"Where's Mom?" I asked.

"All of the adults are being immature. Mom hasn't been here all day and Uncle Rudolph and Peach have been out of the house in their separate vehicles. I guess the house is to ourselves."

"I guess so. What's our plans?" I asked Ryan, watching as he stuffed a handful of red skittles into his mouth.

"I don't know what you're plans are, but Tanner and I have plans. We hace some friends coming over."

Tanner turned to face my brother, puzzled.

"We do?" He asked, confused as I was.

"Who did you manage to meet miles away from home?" Well, I'm not one to talk considering I met James.

"A couple of girls, twin girls, so would you mind staying in your room or maybe going our tonight? They're coming over to watch a movie." But I like movies and I like Tanner! I don't want any girls around him, call me clingy or call me whipped, but I want him. We agreed that while we were figuring things out, we wouldn't see anyone else, or was that ruined after our fight?

"Nah, man. I don't do blind dates. Sorry." Tanner declined his invite, but my brother was pushy.

"You need to get over your ex, so I'm here to help you. Besides, I already invited them and they texted me they're on their way. Well, one of them texted me, Susie, to be exact, but I don't know which one is which. There's Susie, and Lacy, you can have whichever you choose."

"I guess that's my cue to leave." Rolling my eyes in disgust, I stomped my way to my room, slamming the door behind me. I rubbed my hand over my forehead, pacing the floor and trying to calm a feverish sweat.

I heard when the girls arrived and were greeted at the door. I heard their seemingly perfect voices and flirty laughs, but I couldn't match it with any faces. I hoped they were ugly with a matching personality, but knowing my brother, they were gorgeous and spurted out Marilyn Monroe quotes.

To keep my mind off of them, I took a skin-melting twenty minute shower while talking to myself, and then when back to my bedroom in a fluffy, warm robe I 'borrowed' from Peach, leaving nice puddles of water so she could clean it up.

The second I walked into the room and opened my robe to change, I heard a knock at the door. I tied my robe once more just before the door swung open.

"Tanner." I didn't even try to fix my hair because I looked hideous after a shower, and fixing my wet hair wouldn't help.

"I had to make sure you were okay. With all the steam in the hall coming from the shower, it looked like Peach snuck in to have a smoke and catch the place on fire." He laughed.

"What are you doing here? Don't you want to be with your date?"

"Ryan is having fun with the both of them and I excused myself. I didn't want to be there and he kinda felt the tension. I don't want to be there when you're in here after a shower."

"I thought you were mad at me." I said, catching his blue eyes.

"So? Just because I'm mad doesn't mean I won't to hang with other girls. Although, it was nice to see you were jealous, much like I was when you were around James." He smiled.

"I thought you said you weren't jealous." I crossed my arms, cursing myself for how obvious I made it with how jealous I was. I couldn't help it. But hearing Tanner admit that he really was jealous of James was a nice surprise, and made me feel better about my own crazy jealousy.

"Baby, you know I lied; I was extremely jealous of James. I'm jealous of every car parked on the side of the road that gets to see your reflection, of every hair that gets to fly across your lips on a windy day, of the very shower that gets to warm you and make you want to stay in for a minute longer, and of every passing glance you give to someone else who isn't me."

"But..."

"But nothing. I had no reason to be mad at you, or take out my anger on you. I was mad that you might be moving to Texas, and I shouldn't be. It's your decision to make. I'm sorry I didn't listen to you, and that's on me. I waited too long to say what I wanted, and I want us, you and me. I want us to be together against all odds, no matter where you are. If you move to Alaska, I'll shovel through the snow to be with you, and if it's California, I'll fight the drought. I want us and I want you.

"Tanner, Texas is only a state away, and if you think one state can keep me away from you, you're wrong. I'll be traveling home often, and you can come see me. Whether or not we are together, we will always be best friends and don't think for a second I won't make time for you, as you've always made time for me."

"Lilah, I don't want to be just best friends. Come on, look at me. I can't see another girl without thinking about you. I can't manage to stay in the same room with another girl without thinking about you, not even for Ryan's sake. I left them to come in here to find you, no matter if that meant we would still be arguing because if it's between seeing those girls or fighting here with you, then the answer is obvious. I want to fight with you every day, because fighting with you is more exciting than living without you. I've been miserable trying to ignore you."

Tanner was finally chasing after me. It was all I had ever wanted.

"Then why are you standing across the room? Come and kiss me, crazy."

And just like that, our fight was history and he kissed me with a power so rare that I almost forgot our first kiss. It was beautiful.