Purpose Will Surface (Compete)

chapter thirteen

when we woke up the next morning on christmas, my stomach churned with anxious butterflies. tyler kissed me good morning saying a "merry christmas" which i returned as he got up to go take a shower. i stood up and grabbed the box with my dress in it, setting it on the bed. when tyler finished in the bathroom, i stepped in to start getting ready. i decided to curl my hair lightly, applying some makeup as well. i even put a little bit of eyeliner and lipstick on, surprising myself. i slipped the dress on, twirling a bit in the mirror to make sure it still looked okay. i put on the earrings i had gotten with the dress, deciding this was as good as it was gonna get. when i walked back out into tyler's room, he was gone. i figured he had already gone downstairs, slipping on my shoes and grabbing my bag to go meet him. he sat on the couch, wearing a nice button up shirt and a nice pair of pants, looking extremely handsome. when i came downstairs, he put down his phone and walked over to me slowly. he put his hands on my hips, looking down at my outfit. my cheeks grew hot, suddenly feeling self conscious.

"does it look okay? i can go change into something else," i stammered out, reaching my hands down to smooth the dress as i looked at myself as well. tyler placed his hand under my chin, moving my head up towards him.

"mel, you look so beautiful," he almost whispered, a giant smile on his face and a blush on his cheeks. i smiled, feeling myself blushing as well.

"thank you. you look really handsome yourself," i said back, motioning to his slim figure being very much highlighted in the button up he was wearing. he waved his hand at me, but i knew he felt the same way i did hearing a compliment.

we got into ty's car and drove the short distance to his parents' house, the butterflies multiplying as we got closer. tyler must've sensed my nervousness, reaching out his hand to grab mine.

"they're going to love you," he said reassuringly, and i sighed nervously, squeezing his hand in response. we finally arrived at his house, getting out of the car and walking up to the front door. tyler rang the bell, the butterflies going around my stomach at top speed. a lovely looking woman, tyler's mom, opened the door with a big grin on her face.

"tyler! you're here!" she exclaimed, throwing her hands around tyler. he hugged her back, smiled and laughing. they pulled away after a second and his mom turned to me, the big smile still present on her face. "you must be mel!"

"it's so nice to meet you, mrs. joseph," i said as confidently as i could, the words still coming out soft. she waved her hand at me, wrapping me in a hug.

"please dear, call me kelly," she said sweetly, and i smiled and nodded in response. she led us inside, telling us to go set our stuff down. tyler led me upstairs into what i assumed must've been his room.

"wow, so this is where you grew up," i said amused, looking around at what he had on his walls and on his dressers.

"yeah, this is the room of baby tyler," he said with a laugh, making me laugh as well. i looked at some pictures he had, smiling at him being goofy with his friends. he had a keyboard in his room as well, which of course i loved.

"of course, had to start early," i said, motioning to his keyboard. he rolled his eyes at me, pulling me out of the room.

we went back downstairs, helping his mom set up everything for dinner. tyler introduced me to his dad and his three siblings, everyone being extremely kind to me. i offered to help tyler's mom in the kitchen, wanting to be polite. she happily agreed, asking me to toss the salad for her.

"so, you and tyler have been together for about a month?" she asked me, surprising me a little with the timeline.

"yeah, i guess so. i don't know, it feels like it flew by but it also feels like i've known him my whole life," i said simply, continuing to add things to the salad.