Crimson Creek

{two}

"I'm Tyler."

I couldn't resist a smile, the name seeming perfect for him.
He brought the bottle to his lips and drank it in a mesmerizing way.
I watched him for a few more seconds.

"Why are you staring at me?" He asked, a blush painting his cheeks pink.
I felt my own face grow warm, shifting my gaze back to the TV.
He must've thought I was a creep.

Wait, why did I care if he thought I was a creep? And why was I suddenly a softy?
I was a soul crushing, relentless officer of the law, and Tyler had managed to melt me with just a bat of his eyelashes!

"Not that I mind," he added, and I felt a hand placed on top of mine, tracing the curves of my knuckles and making me forget all about my tough guy act.

I'd never thought I was gay, and I haven't ever had serious feelings for a man. Of course, I had recognized from a young age I didn't like girls the same way my friends did. I had just chalked it up to liking being alone and hating everyone equally, regardless of what was in their pants.
So this was odd to say the least.
Which is why I contemplated if I should show my attraction to him, or shake off the weird feelings I was having.

I decided to go for it; I've always said it like it is, and I wasn't about to start fibbing now.

"Because you're not bad on the eyes," I admitted, watching as the boyish man grinned, his pink cheeks never fading.

"I could say the same to you," Tyler mumbled, holding onto his bottle with both hands as if his life depended on it.
I could tell he was an anxious person.

"Where did you move from?" I asked him with a fixated gaze.
Tyler tensed at this, his smile vanishing;
I assumed I'd hit a nerve.

"Nowhere important," he muttered, taking a larger gulp of his beer than he had before.
I wasn't going to prod on the subject if it made him uncomfortable.
I'd learned that everyone has their own stories, and not all stories are meant to be shared.

"How about you? Are you from around here?" He switched the subject flawlessly, the smirk returning to his face as if the last few moments had never happened.

"Born and raised," I let out an exasperated sigh.
I wasn't very proud of where I was from.
It was such a small town that it couldn't even be considered a grain of sand on the beach that was our Earth.
Barely anyone knew about this place, and like I said, nothing ever happened here.

We didn't talk for a bit, both of us cradling our drinks and watching the game.

"You still haven't told me your name," I heard Tyler's small voice say from beside me. I glanced over my shoulder at him, seeing that pretty smile again.

"It's Daniel. Or, uh, Danny." I returned, putting out my hand for him to shake.

He shook it, his skin being the softest skin I'd ever felt. I looked at him up and down again, wondering how such a lovely man was in my presence.

Tyler giggled.
"Daniel," he tested, and I realized I'd never liked my name until he said it.

I went to drink my beer, only to find that it was now empty. I huffed, waving over Maggie with a tired arm.

"Another beer?" She asked, already going about grabbing one from the humming refrigerator behind her. She knew me well–
of course I wanted another one.

"Make that two," I nodded at Tyler. He opened his mouth to object, but I waved his disapproval away.
"It's on me," I said, nudging his arm lightly.

"Thanks," he squeaked in a mousy voice, twisting a strand of his hair with his fingers.

He really was a sight for sore eyes like mine.
I didn't know why, but Tyler had sparked something in me.
Something that made me feel as if I was coming back to life after years of being dead, like I had been a walking corpse before sitting at this bar with him.

"So what does a handsome man like you have to be drinking about?" Tyler asked quietly, interrupting my daydream.

I suppose it was no longer a secret, since everyone in town seemed to know.

"I'm a police officer," I explained, staring down at my drink.
The liquid only reminded me of the creek.
Which in turn reminded me of the poor woman we'd discovered.
I guess drinking doesn't make you forget all of your problems.

It was then that I noticed Tyler's skin had gone a ghostly shade of white, his features frozen into a terrified expression.

He must've already heard about the dead body, and finding out that I'd saw it up close probably freaked him out.
I felt awful.
"I never expected-"

"You're a cop?" Tyler cut me off, the same fearful look still covering his face.
I knitted my brows with a nod.

Tyler's breath hitched as he shakily fumbled around in his jean pocket.
Slapping a twenty dollar bill on the table, a few coins falling and scattering onto the floor, he hopped off his barstool.

"I b-better go," Tyler spluttered, almost tripping as he darted for the door.

Before I had time to utter a word, he had disappeared.
Was it something I said?

For some reason, I felt as if I'd just lost something very dear to me, even though I'd known Tyler for all of 20 minutes.

"What'd you do to the poor guy?!" Maggie asked from the other side of the bar, only seeing the part of the exchange where Tyler ran away.

I shrugged, finishing off my second bottle of the night.

"I have no idea."

Tyler couldn't be gone forever!
I was going to see him again, if it was the last thing I did.