The Many Loves of Samantha Greene

2 | Tyler: The End

"I just don't think that it's socially acceptable to clap when the people in the movie clap."

Tyler shook his head.

"That's where you're wrong, Samantha." He whispered as the movie continued to play. "I've been telling you this for two months now. The people in the movie deserve all the appreciate they can get. I like to help them out by clapping for them."

"But they can't hear you. And we get weird looks from the other people in the theater."

Tyler laughed quietly.

"Who cares? You're Lincoln Carter's daughter, you can do whatever you want."

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean my boyfriend can."

We sat in silence as the movie continued on. I had enjoyed dating Tyler Vanzy for the past few months, and there was nothing about him I didn't find attractive. His smile, his hair, his eyes, his face, his laugh, his demeanor...everything was perfect. And yet I couldn't shake the feeling that there was something off about our relationship. We had only ever been on dates to the movies. We had barely made ourselves an official item, and he had never openly referred to me as his "girlfriend".

Jessica said I was paranoid, and I was inclined to believe her, if only because being paranoid meant that Tyler was actually interested in me. Being paranoid meant that what I was increasingly beginning to suspect wasn't true.

The movie finished and we walked out to Tyler's car; he had just recently passed his driver's test and was over the moon excited to show me how well he could drive. He wasn't supposed to be driving anyone outside of his family for the next three months, but I conveniently left that part out when telling my parents what I would be doing tonight.

He opened the passenger side door for me before walking around to the driver's side and climbing in. If nothing else, he was still a gentleman to me.

"So do you like the ride?" He asked as he closed his door, turning to look at me.

I glanced around the car. It was as clear as ever that this was an insanely rich part of Texas, since a sixteen year old kid was able to have his own Ferrari a week after passing his driver's test.

"It's great." I nodded. "I really like it."

"I'm glad." Tyler smiled as he reached for the gear shift. Every time he did that, I hoped he was reaching for my hand, but he never was. "Your opinions are important to me."

"That's good." I nodded, unsure of what to say in response to that. "So, can I ask you something?"

"Sure." Tyler nodded.

"Do you consider me to be your--"

"Whoa, what was that?" Tyler exclaimed, swerving as he got onto the main road. "That guy just totally tried to cut me off!" He shook his head angrily, shouting obscenities out the car window. "What kind of person does that?"

I shook my head, shrugging. I wasn't eligible to take my driver's test for another two weeks, so I had never driven alone--and shouting words like the ones Tyler was using with my dad in the passenger seat was a definite no-go.

"Anyways," Tyler rolled the window back up and continued driving smoothly. "What were you asking?"

I shook my head.

"Nevermind. It's not a big deal, we can talk about it later."

Tyler shrugged.

"Alright, if that's what you want." He responded, turning on the radio. An obscene rap song started blasting through the speakers, and I sat in silence for the rest of the ride home.