To be or not to be? (Book #1)

Chapter 4

Ashley looked in the mirror, smiling at her reflection. She was ready for her date with Tyler, dressed in dark skinny jeans, a black, fitted top, a floral scarf and black boots. She had curled her hair and done her makeup and for once everything turned out perfect.

Not to sound coneited or anything... But I look GOOD.

Ashley smiled when she heard the doorbell ring. She grabbed her purse and hurried down the stairs to open the door. She swung it open to see Tyler's gorgeous smile. He looked stunned for a second and then regained his composure.

"You look beautiful." He said sweetly. Ashley felt the heat in her cheeks and knew she was blushing like crazy.

"Thank you." She said, grinning shyly at him. He took her hand and led her to his car, opening the door for her and then closing it after she got in. Ashley couldn't stop smiling. He was such a gentleman! He got in the car and drove to one of Ashley's favorite restaurants, and small burger place about 15 minutes outside of their town. Ashley looked at him.

"How'd you know I loved this place?" She asked, surprised. Tyler smiled.

"I pay attention to you, Ashley Finn." He replied simply. Ashley couldn't help but smile. They enjoyed a great meal and great conversation during the entire night. Ashley felt so comfortable with him, they HAD been friends since elementary school. But this was different. She felt safe. She felt like how she did when she was with Alex. He popped into her head more than once that night, but she immediately pushed him out of it.

There's no room for Alex on my date with Tyler. She reasoned with herself.

On the way home, they stopped for a while to look at the stars. they were sitting on the hood of his car, laying on the winshield, looking up at the stars, talking and laughing with each other. Tyler suddenly turned on his side, looking at her intently.

"Yes?" She asked, looking at him sideways, then looking back to the sky.

"Has anyone ever told you that you're beautiful?" He wondered out loud.

"A couple times." Ashley teased, smirking.

"Well, they're smart to tell you that." He said. She sat up and looked back at him, smiling.

"Why do you think that?" She asked. He shrugged at sat up next to her.

"Becuase it's true. You're beautiful." He said, like it was the most obvious thing in the world. He smiled crookedly at her, his gray eyes staring into hers for what seemed like hours. He lightly brushed a stray hair out of her face, and tucked it behind her ear, leaving his hand behind her neck. He softly tugged her closer, hinting that he wanted to kiss her. She decided to let it happen, and her heart raced. He slowly moved his perfect face closer to hers, and glanced at her lips. He touched his forehead to hers, breathing heavily and wanting so badly to kiss her. She nudged his nose lightly with hers, signaling that it was okay for him to kiss her, so he did. Ashley had kissed someone before, but it was around freshman year in high school and it was nothing compared to this. His soft lips were against hers. She was kissing Tyler Mellon. She let a small smile play at her lips. Tyler smiled back and kissed her more. When they finally parted, they were both a little startled.

"Um. I'm sorry." Tyler said quietly.

"Don't be." Ashley said, smiling - mostly to herself. Tyler grinned back at her. He took her hand and helped her down from the hood of his car. They both got in and set off towards home.

Tyler walked her to the door when he dropped her off later that night and kissed her on the cheek.

"Thanks for an amazing night." He grinned. Ashley melted.

"Thank YOU." She said, smiling. He kissed her cheek again and walked back to his car after saying 'see you tomorrow'. She waved as he drove away, then raced inside, upstairs, and collapsed onto her bed, grinning widely. She giggled to herself, fully enjoying every minute of the glowing happiness that the kiss had left her with.

It's nice to know that somebody will show me how they feel... Instead of being so confusing all the time. She couldn't help but think about Alex, and for some reason, she felt a twinge of guilt. She pushed it away, though, knowing that what had happened that night was perfectly okay. She looked at her phone to find a text message from Tyler.

 'Can't wait for our next date! :)'

Ashley grinned and replied.

'me either! counting down the hours.'

And to her surprise, she actually meant it.