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It was official — Tyler loved Cody.
And he couldn't hide it for the life of him.
As the three musketeers, as Charlie loved referring as them as, cleaned out kennels one-by-one with Cody bounding about Tyler's legs cheerily. He'd often pause sweeping to bend down and scratch behind her ears, always smiling.
Though Dakota appeared to not notice in the midst of plugging his nose with one hand and cleaning poop up with the other, Charlie never failed to catch him in the act. She saw the warm gaze he always watched the pup with, how he always seemed to greet her first when they arrived and how he couldn't seem to resist her doggy-charm for long.
Tyler may not be a dog-person, but he was definitely a Cody-person.
Charlie also noticed other things.
With the attraction they felt for one another now out in the open, Tyler wasn't shy about his feelings. He occasionally bumped her hip with his own, poke at her ticklish spots and other various little things that made Charlie smile.
Needless to say, her problem with Xavier was at the back of her mind whenever Tyler was around.
Just as they were wrapping up cleaning, Dakota declared, "I gotta pee!" before disappearing out of the door and towards the bathroom. Both watched him in amusement, hearts warm with love for the young boy.
Silence surrounded them for a moment. They had yet to be alone since that night. Should she bring it up? Should she just keep working and act like nothing was different?
Tyler spoke before she had to decide. "Can I tell you something?" She lifted her chin to look at him. The broom he'd been using was tucked under his arm, his head slightly tilted and smiling that little, barely-there smile he did. She nodded. As he spoke, that little smile broke out in a full-out, shit-eating grin. "You're beautiful."
Her cheeks flushed as if it was a hot, summer afternoon. "Ty—"
"No, seriously." His grin faded, his expression softening into seriousness. "Like write-a-song-about-you beautiful." He drew closer, thin fingers lifting to caress the soft skin of her cheek. She couldn't seem to pull away from his hypnotic gaze, her heart thumping so loud she feared Tyler could hear it.
In that moment, his hair falling over his forehead and his fingers soft against her skin, she wanted nothing more than to kiss him. She wanted to kiss him until neither of them could breathe, until their lips were swollen and their touch forever embedded into the other.
"I'm hungry!" The glass door swung open, a slightly-chubby boy strutting in with a child-like confidence. As the two tore apart, putting as much space between them as they could, he acted as if it was just another normal moment. His head tipped in thought. "Ty, could we get McDonalds on the way home?"
