Page 6 of Approved

Taking a couple of deep breaths, I found my voice. “No. I know why you left so suddenly yesterday, and I wanted to apologize.” He cocked his head at me.

“Apologize?”

“Tyler, I should have stepped up for you when those guys were bullying you. I was afraid they would find out about me if I did.” There I said it, and I was still standing.

“Oh. I agree you should have. It took me a lot of therapy to get past what happened to me in high school.” He looked down, clearly thinking about that time. “It doesn’t matter now, though.” He gave me a closed-mouth smile. I wasn’t sure how to process what he said. “Can I open this?”

“Please do. My friend said maybe it would make you hate me less.” Oh, good. Now I am saying anything that comes to mind. “I thought maybe I could take you on a date.” I slapped my hand over my mouth. What is wrong with me? “Ignore me. Please.”

I wanted to ask him out, but I planned to work up to it, not just blurt it out. A girl with pink hair walked in carrying two coffee cups. “Jaime, this is West from yesterday.”

She looked at me hard. “Shit Tyler he is hot, I can understand now.”

I looked at Tyler and raised an eyebrow. “Understand what?” Why couldn’t I stop myself from talking?

Tyler surged forward and grabbed my elbow. “Let’s go talk privately.” He picked up his coffee from where Jamie had left it and guided me into the back of the store, where there was a small break room. After he sat down, he opened the box of cookies. “Well, these are fancy.” He took one out and took a bite. “Woah. That’s good.”

“I’m glad you like it. I handed him the folder with the paperwork from yesterday. You left these in the van.”

“Oh. Thanks for bringing those over, I forgot they were there.”

Earl flew into the room and landed on the desk. He walked over to the box of cookies, turned his head, looked at Tyler, then looked at the cookies again. “No, Earl, those are for me.” He raised his wings and then stomped his feet. “I said no, Earl.” He leaned down and started to nudge the box with his head. “If you push those off, you will be grounded, and I won’t take you to the park tomorrow.” He stopped.

“I didn’t realize they would understand sentences like that. It’s cool.”

He broke off a piece of the cookie and held it up. Earl moved to where he could reach the treat. “Earl amazes me every day, I am so lucky to have him. I’m not sure if all dragons are like him, but he clearly understands me when I talk to him.” Tyler leaned in and kissed the dragon’s head, then he held up the folder. “Thanks again for bringing these and for the cookies.” When I looked up, he and Earl were looking at me, both had frosting on their face.

“You’re welcome. Tyler, I’m truly sorry about the past. I am not that person anymore. I stand up for anybody who isn’t treated fairly and no longer hide my authentic self.”

His eyes got glassy. “Wow. That is really nice of you to say, West. I appreciate that you are being accountable for your choices.” He took another bite of the cookie. “Your help yesterday was great and saved me a lot of money. Based on that alone, I can tell you are a different person.”

“Good. Good.” We sat there, and things got more awkward.

“Well, I’d better get back to work. Thanks again, West.” He stood up.

“Would you consider going on a date with me?” He had ignored me the first time I asked. Apparently, I didn’t know how to take a hint.

“I don’t know. We might have too much water under the bridge to overcome.” I certainly didn’t agree with him, but I respected him enough not to push right now.

“How about we trade numbers and you can think about it?”

He grinned. “Yeah. Okay, I like that idea.”

There was an entire victory party going on in my chest, my hand shook a little as I handed him my phone, and he added his number. I immediately sent him a smiley face so he had my number too. “I guess I should go.” I wanted to stay, but I had no reason to do so. Before it got more awkward, I started to head toward the front door.

“Hey, West?” I turned around. “I forgive you for the high school thing, we were kids. We were all trying to get through it the best we could.”

My heart felt lighter when he said he forgave me. I had been fascinated by him in high school, and after yesterday, I knew the curiosity was still intense. Even though he hadn’t agreed to go out with me, yet, at least he hadn’t said no.

Jamie smiled at me. “Bye, West. Hope to see you again.”

“I guarantee it, Jamie. You have a good day.”

I felt much better than I had when I walked in, but I still needed him to see I was a completely different person than I was in high school. In my car, I looked through the window of the storefront. Jamie was talking animatedly, and Tyler glanced my way, then turned away quickly. I could tell by how they held their heads together that they were close friends, which was something I needed to keep in mind.

It was time to get some work done, but I knew Tyler would occupy a lot of space in my thoughts. I reminded myself that he hadn’t said no. Now I had to figure out how to charm him into letting me take him out. How hard could that be?

Chapter four

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