Won't Go Slowly

Part 42

Your house wasn't very big by any means. It was cozy and comfortable for you.

But, even though it was much smaller than Tyler's Dallas home, it felt way too empty and open now.

After you'd gotten home last night, you'd pretty much spent the whole night on the phone and then on Facetime with Tyler and the dogs, which mostly consisted of the two of you trying to watch a show, and Tyler having to stop and ask you to tell Gerry to stop ripping the stuffing out of one of his toys, and gently encourage Cash to stop moping.

Today, however, since you'd taken of work, you pretty much begged Danielle to come over after work. Tyler was travelling for a game, so you couldn't talk to him and, yet, you were talking about him.

Of course.

"So you slept with him, then?"

"Yeah, we shared a bed. Him, me, and the dogs."

Danielle rolled her eyes at you. "You know what I mean."

"Yeah," you sighed, your hand going to the back of your neck, trying to keep the smile from curling up across your face.

"Just once?"

"No...uh...four times?"

"Four times? You were only there for a week!" She said.

"Well, we hadn't seen each other in awhile."

"Mhmm.." she said, and you could tell just what she was sinking but wouldn't say: that friends didn't typically have sex with each other, no matter how long they'd been apart. But it wasn't even like you were friends anymore, you were more than friends, everything indicated you were more than friends, and yet you weren't even all the way there. But it still felt like more than some people might ever get to experience in their lifetimes, like you were the only ones who knew this. "Did you even do anything else?"

"Yes, I told you," you said. Because, obviously, you'd had to show her all the cute gifts you'd received for the baby at the dinner. "And we took the dogs, to the park, like I said, and had a picnic."

"You had a picnic? Like Tyler packed a picnic?" She asked, and you nodded. "What kind of picnic? Like he actually made stuff?"

"Well, he got, like, hummus and cheese and stuff."

"He made you a wine and cheese picnic?" she said, almost gasping.

"Not wine, because.." you gestured at your belly, "but...yeah." Your voice took on this almost dreamy quality, and you were almost surprised, except you knew exactly how you felt. And it did kind of feel like you were in a dream.

"Oh my god," Danielle said breathlessly. "Did he say it was a date? He straight-up took you on a date."

"He said the dogs wanted to take me on a date."

"He said the dogs wanted to take you on a date," she repeated. "And you bought this?"

"No, I did not think his dogs packed me a picnic, do you think I'm stupid?"

"Well..." she said, and you laughed, pulling your hair over your face.

"He took me to the aquarium, too."

"What? Since when Tyler get so cute?"

"I don't know," you said. But he kind of always been, all the way back to tenth grade when he'd buy you only your favourite kind of candy to thank you for doing his homework for him, or when he'd walk you home if it was dark out. It just didn't typically require so much planning ahead or secrecy, like thinking to hide snacks in your purse for your flight home or thinking about how you might spend your time together rather than just 'hanging out'.