"I put on makeup to express myself. I could care less about my so-called insecurities."
Aura Chandler was so sure she had her life figured out. After securing a photoshoot gig with up-and-coming musician Lacey Redd, she was convinced she would get d...
AURA SLAMMED THE DOOR of the Uber shut and ran to Mrs. Smith's house. Sending Tyson a quick text, she followed it up with her knocks. Her heart fluttered when he answered the door in his usual fitted tee and jeans.
"Whoa," he managed. "Uh, I didn't think you had a fancy idea for dessert." He scratched the back of his neck, looking back inside. She grinned and pulled him out further, making him shut the door behind him on a whim.
"I'll change and we can get dessert delivered," she suggested, wrapping an arm around his neck. His hands softly touched her waist, holding her in place as she leaned closer. She wanted a little more, but perhaps an extreme show of affection wasn't ideal on Mrs. Smith's front porch.
"Sounds like a plan," he said. She bit down on her lip, and stepped away before she could get too entranced. The last thing she needed to worry about was kissing Tyson in public, in the dark, and on the same night Zachary pressed his own lips on hers.
Her stomach tied up in knots.
She needed to forget about him for good.
They ran over to Grandma Ruby's house, where they were in complete privacy. It seemed like her family took advantage of her absence and went away on their own. They didn't even bother leaving her a note or a text message.
Tyson ordered the dessert on his phone as she looked for comfy clothes to wear. She found a large t-shirt amongst her pile of clean clothes. She threw her silver heels to the side and looked out into the hallway, biting down on her lip to conceal her smirk.
"Tyson," she called out.
"Yeah?" He walked over to her room, standing outside the door frame and pointed to his phone where the confirmation of their order shone at them.
"Can you do me a favor?" she said, completely ignoring their dessert plans. He nodded. "Can you unzip my dress?"
He shuffled in place before walking into her room, and reached out for her back. She draped all of her hair over one shoulder, waiting for his closeness all around her. He stepped closer and fumbled with her zipper. He cleared his throat before gripping the zipper right and tugging it down her body, revealing more of her skin as he went down.
The dressed pooled down her torso, and she covered her chest with her arms. She glanced back with a smile and thanked him. He stood frozen in his spot before blushing and mumbling a "no problem" before dashing out of the room.
Aura giggled and took off the dress, letting it fall on the floor and switching it for her t-shirt. She breathed out and took out the pins from her hair, running her fingers through it in an attempt to comb it. Once she was satisfied, she came out of the room to find Tyson thanking a delivery guy on the front porch.
Immediately, the sweet smell of chocolate made her mouth water. Tyson turned to her, and let his eyes wander before shaking his head and holding out the bag to her.
"What did you get?"
"Double fudge brownies with ice cream," he said. "Come on, the ice cream is probably melting."
They took their desserts outside, where they sat when she first saw the Elaine drama. Her mind wandered to how the internet was behaving as she enjoyed her time with Tyson, but thought better to leave it all alone for the next day. For now, she was coming back to life from that horrendous experience at Zachary's.
Tyson handed her the brownie covered in mostly melted ice cream and chocolate chips. She opened the plastic container, rolling her eyes back at how delicious it smelled.
"This is everything," she squealed, looking for the plastic spoon and hurrying to take a bite. Tyson chuckled and followed her lead, taking a bite from his own.
"Good," he replied after his first bite. She watched him smile and go back to his brownie.
A few minutes later, she was almost done with her brownie, but her stomach refused to ingest anymore, no matter how much she forced it down. She rested her back on the wall, leaning her head on Tyson's shoulder as she swirled around the melted ice cream on the bottom of the plastic container with her spoon.
"Ari?"
She looked up as he placed a hand on her cheek. The brownie churned in her stomach along with heavy butterfly flutterings.
Aura closed the gap before she could think herself out of it. He tasted of chocolate, or maybe it was her. She didn't care at that point except that she wanted to continue.
The plastic container slipped off her hands, clattering in front of her, but they didn't flinch or pull apart. Instead, she deepened the kiss by pulling him closer with her freed hands.
"Well, that ain't something you see everyday."
The two pulled away to find Grandma Ruby laughing at the first step. Her parents parked the car into the small driveway beside the house, away from the scene.
"Grandma," Aura squeaked. "Hi."
She threw her head back, cackling as if she were seeing her favorite soap opera play out in real time. Her parents came out of the car then, walking over to the porch.
Tyson cleared his throat, moving away from her so as to not appear suspicious. But it was no use. Grandma Ruby had already seen them in the act.
In retrospect, she didn't feel as bad. It could have been a lot worse, but she knew Tyson would not have gone that far.
However, it was Tyson who seemed to be caught under ten pounds of pure embarrassment. He sat stiff beside her, not making any eye contact with anyone.
"Aye, Tyson!" her father called out when they reached the steps. "How are you doing, boy?"
"I'm doing good, sir," he answered, clearing his throat right after. Aura bit down on her lip to keep from laughing.
"That's great." He nodded, offering Grandma Ruby a hand as they went up the steps. Her mother greeted them, and they both shuffled inside, but not before Grandma Ruby wiggled her eyebrows at the pair.
Once inside, Tyson leaned his head on the wall, exposing his neck to the night. Aura couldn't contain it any longer and started laughing.
"Stop," Tyson whined, rubbing his face with the palm of his hands. "My heart stopped right there, man."
Aura laughed harder.
"Ari," he continued whining, dropping his hands on his lap. She leaned over and pressed a kiss on his lips.
"Relax, Tyson," she said, settling onto his side, burying her head in his chest. "Hold me for a bit?"
He sighed, and wrapped his arms around her. She closed her eyes, trying to forget the last few minutes, but finding it impossible to not repeat Grandma Ruby's words and eyebrow wiggle over and over again in her head.
"I'm never going to forget about this, aren't I?" Tyson mumbled.
Aura laughed again.
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