“I thought you said Tyler was bringing Bailey. Wasn’t that that the whole point of tonight?” Brittany asked her husband, Milan Lucic as she saw Tyler and Freddy walking towards them.

“Where’s Bailey?” Looch asked Tyler

“She’s going to meet us here.” He replied before he felt a smack across his arm.

“What the hell, Tyler? You didn’t pick her up? I thought you really liked her; what are you thinking?” Brittany said accusingly towards Tyler.

“Relax Brit, I wanted to pick her up, but she said she was running late at work and would just meet us here.”

“You should have insisted and shown her you’re a gentleman, but it’s too late now.” Brittany said while shaking her head.

“I didn’t want to be pushy, we’re just starting to really talk to each other…. Shit! Do you think she was testing me?” Tyler replied now getting nervous.

“From everything you and Milan have told me, I don’t think she’s the type of girl to play games. I’m sure you’re ok.” She said trying to calm Tyler’s nerves.

“Should I call her?”

Freddy, Milan, and Brittany immediately told him no he should be patient and see if she comes. They all felt confident Bailey was honest with Tyler and was just running late.

A few minutes later Marchy, Dougie, Soupie and his wife Katie arrived at the AMC theatre. Tyler again had to explain that Bailey got off work late and was on her way. The group decided they should go ahead and get their tickets and get seats. Brittany and Katie insisted that Tyler buy Bailey’s ticket and they would save them seats inside.

Tyler was too busy playing Minecraft on his iPhone to notice Bailey had arrived. He was completely caught by surprise when she threw her arms around his waist to greet him with a hug. He wasn’t about to pass up the opportunity and wrapped his arms around her.

“I’m sorry I’m late, my last patient’s mom got stuck in traffic. Thank you for waiting for me, hope you weren’t too bored.” Bailey said still holding her embrace with Tyler.

“You can be late any time, if this is the type of greeting I’ll get.” Tyler smiled and slowly released Bailey from his grip.

“It’s just a hug, Tyler.” Bailey said with a blush. “I better go get in line to get my ticket so we don’t miss the beginning of the movie.”

“I already have you covered,” he said as he held up two tickets.

“Thank you, that’s very sweet of you! I’ll get the snacks.” Bailey said as she reached up on her tiptoes to give Tyler a peck on the cheek, causing Tyler to beam with happiness “I’ve been looking forward to this all day; Reese Witherspoon is my favorite actress.”

Tyler’s smile dropped slightly, afraid he was about to disappoint Bailey. “I forgot to tell you, her movie sold out so we have tickets for something else.”

“Oh. I hope y’all didn’t miss out because I was late,” worried she may have ruined the evening for Tyler and all of his friends.

“No, no, I promise it’s not your fault. The movie was already sold out when we arrived.” He said reassuringly to Bailey.

“So what movie did y’all pick?”

“Ghost Hunters; it suppose to be very suspenseful and scary. It takes place in Boston, so we thought it would be fun.” He said with excitement.

Bailey couldn’t help it as her face dropped; she couldn’t think of anything she hated more than horror movies. She tried to avoid them at all costs, but now she didn’t have a choice. She hoped she didn’t embarrass herself in front of Tyler because she was such a scaredy-cat. She pulled herself together to say, “Should be interesting,” referring to not only the movie but also her potential reactions in the theater.

As they headed towards the concession stand, several teenage girls who were clearly admirers accosted Tyler and pushed their way between him and Bailey. Bailey snickered as she watched Tyler try to politely end the conversation. He kept giving her an apologetic look.

Just as Tyler finally got away from his groupies, he saw Bailey running towards someone. He was confused until he realized it was his roommate, Freddy. Tyler was disappointed when he saw Bailey give Freddy a bear hug; something he felt should be reserved solely for him. He had thoroughly enjoyed the moment they shared when Bailey first arrived and now it just didn’t feel as special. Tyler put his hands in his pockets and slowly walked towards them, knowing he would have a talk with Freddy later that night.

“We should get in line, if we don’t want to miss the beginning of the movie.” Tyler said placing a hand on Bailey’s shoulder and giving Freddy a “What are you thinking, touching my girl” kind of look.

“Ok, see you in a bit.” Bailey said to Freddy as she followed Tyler to the line. “What do you fancy?” Bailey asked Tyler.

Tyler smiled, “Whatever you’re having.”

“We’d like a large popcorn and 2 cokes please,” Bailey told the attendant. “Na Uh, you put your money away right now Tyler! I told you I had the snacks covered. You got the tickets.”Bailey said shaking a finger at Tyler when he pulled out his wallet.

“It’s not a big deal, just let me pay for it Bailey.”

“NO!” Bailey exclaimed as she handed her credit card to the employee before Tyler could react. Bailey grabbed the popcorn and headed over to get some napkins ignoring Tyler. He followed silently behind with their drinks

“I’m sorry I raised my voice. It’s not that I don’t appreciate your gesture, but I don’t want you to think I expect you to pay for everything. I have a good job, you know.”Bailey said turning towards Tyler with a look of regret.

“Bailey, I know you don’t assume I’ll pick up the tab; it’s actually quite refreshing. What you don’t seem to understand is that I enjoy treating my friends and I’d like to think that includes you! I am very fortunate to have a job that I love that pays quite well. I can afford to be a little frivolous sometimes and do nice things for the people I care about. A movie ticket and some concession snacks are nothing to me.”

Bailey put the popcorn down for a moment and gave Tyler another hug. “I like that we are friends. Just promise that you’ll let me treat you sometimes too.” She said smiling into Tyler’s chest.

“Absolutely, now lets go so they don’t send out a search party to find us.” He said guiding Bailey towards the theater. They arrived just as the last preview ended.

Bailey sat between Tyler and Freddy, she was getting anxious and said a quick prayer hoping this movie was one of those cheesy horror movies, versus actually scary. Unfortunately her prayer was not answered; this had to be one of the scariest movies of all time. Tyler however, was grateful that their original movie choice sold out, he was enjoying Bailey’s reactions. She was clearly terrified and kept seeking physical closeness with him. At one point during the movie, Bailey pulled her knees to her chest and turned into Tyler’s arm to hide her eyes. He noticed she started to tremble a little and he moved his arm to wrap it around her pulling her into his chest. He felt Bailey relax slightly and let out a breath as she continued to only periodically peek at the screen.

Just as Bailey was starting to relax in the warmth of Tyler’s arms, she was startled by something she saw flying out of the corner of her eye that brushed her arm. She nearly jumped out of her skin, hopping out of her seat with arms flailing, popcorn flying, and a scream. Bailey was mortified, knowing her face was now completely inflamed as the entire theater was now staring and laughing at her. On the verge of tears, she was trying to hold herself together when she turned and saw Tyler had a bloody nose.

“Tyler I’m so sorry!!! Are you ok?” Bailey was clearly worried as she pulled out some tissues from her purse.

“I’m fine,” Tyler said wanting to soothe Bailey’s conscious.

“Come on, let me take a look.” Bailey said pulling Tyler up leading him to the lobby.

Once in the lobby, Bailey made Tyler sit down. She felt so bad for accidentally elbowing Tyler in her frightened state. She wasn’t going to leave his side until his nose stopped bleeding and he accepted her sincerest apology. His nose finally stopped bleeding and Tyler excused himself to the restroom to clean up a bit. While he was gone, Bailey really started to beat herself up for ruining a wonderful evening. She knew Tyler would probably want to avoid her like the plague after the embarrassing spectacle she had made of herself.

“I’m so sorry Tyler! Please don’t hate me!” Bailey whimpered out, no longer able to hold back tears.

Tyler immediately enveloped her in a close hug and kissed the top of her head. “Bailey, I could never hate you! It was an accident and I’m perfectly fine. I get worse nose bleeds all the time in games.”

“Somebody behind us must have thrown something that hit my arm. I was already so full of adrenaline from the movie scaring me that I over reacted. I feel like an idiot! I embarrassed my self in front of all your friends, they must think I’m dumber than dirt.” Bailey said as she tried to pull away from Tyler.

“Stop putting yourself down! You were scared, they will understand. You didn’t do anything wrong.” He said, pulling her closer, still trying to reassure her.

“You’re being too nice to me. Thank you. Why don’t you go back in to see the rest of the movie?”

“You want to go back in?”

“Definitely not! I don’t want you to miss any more because of me. I’ll just wait out here until it’s over.”

“I’ll wait with you, if that’s ok.”

“You don’t have to do that. I’ll be fine.”

“I know, but I want to. Being with you is more fun than the movie.”

“Yeah right, I’ve been a barrel of laughs tonight.” She sarcastically said.

“Bailey, there is nowhere I’d rather be than here with you.”

“You’re the best, you know that?” Bailey said leaning back into Tyler.

Tyler and Bailey enjoyed each other’s company in the lobby for another 10 minutes until they saw his friends coming out of the theater. Bailey truly appreciated that Tyler stayed with her. From the look on Brittany and Katie’s faces, she was also glad she got out of having to see the rest of the movie.

Brittany grabbed Bailey’s hand and pulled her out of Tyler’s arm and towards the bathroom with Katie. Tyler was pissed at first, but he soon realized she did them a favor as the guys all started chirping on him for the nosebleed. Thank heavens Bailey wasn’t there to hear the chatter, as he knew it would have upset her again. He made it very clear to his friends to keep their mouths shut about what happened when Bailey came back too.

When the girls returned, the group talked about how eerie and unsettling the movie had been. The fact it was based on a true story made it even more disturbing. Looch, Marchy, and Dougie said they’d all like to visit the apartment complex where it took place. Everyone else, said to count them out!

“Nothings better than good ole’ fashioned ice cream to help clear our minds and cleanse our souls, eh?” Soupie suggested.

“Sounds like a great idea, you in Bailey?” Tyler asked

“I’m always in for ice cream!” She replied with a grin and the group all headed to J.P. Licks.

Once at the ice cream parlor, Tyler asked if he could buy Bailey’s ice cream or if she wanted to treat him. Everyone else stared at him in disbelief, while Bailey laughed knowing exactly why he asked, remembering their conversation earlier that evening. She winked at him and said he could get this one.

Everyone was having fun chatting and eating their dessert. It didn’t surprise Tyler that everyone fell in love with Bailey. He was actually dying to hear Brittany’s thoughts as he trusted and respected her opinion and wanted a girl’s perspective. He was relieved when she pulled him aside and said he finally found a keeper. She thought Bailey was very sweet and just what he needed. She also told him that she got the feeling Bailey was very innocent, so he needed to take things slow or he might scare her away. Tyler told Brittany that Bailey’s roommate said something similar. Brittany said he definitely better take their advice then.

The night wound down as everyone trickled out of J. P. Licks to go home. Soupie and Katie decided to take Freddy home to allow Tyler some alone time with Bailey.

Tyler showed Bailey his chivalrous side again, by walking her to the passenger side of his car and opening the door for her. She was falling hard for Tyler. She couldn’t believe how lucky she was to be his friend, let alone the possibility that there might be something more.

“You like country music?” Bailey asked, surprised as she heard “I Don’t Want This Night to End” by Luke Bryan on his radio.

“Yeah, why do you sound so surprised?”

“You’re from Canada.”

“So, What does that mean?”

“I don’t know. I guess, I just thought country was only popular in the states.” Bailey replied feeling a little stupid at the moment.

Tyler laughed, “Actually, Country music is pretty popular where I grew up. My baby sister is a huge Taylor Swift fan.”

“Sorry to tell you, but your sister has bad taste and Taylor isn’t much of a country artist anymore.”

“Why you hating on Taylor?”

“Don’t get me wrong, I think she is a very talented song writer and musician. She just can’t sing very well.”

“Don’t let Cassidy ever hear you say that, or she’ll probably never speak to you and I’ll never hear the end of it,” he joked.

“That’s really a moot point, since I’ll probably never meet her since she’s in Canada.”

“My family does come to visit me and I thought we agreed you have to go to Canada to see how beautiful it is for yourself.”

“Well in that case, you can tell her I said Taylor is better than she use to be. Maybe she’s takin’ voice lessons. Who knows, maybe over time she’ll grow on me.”

“I’m sure my sister will be more than happy to give you an earful to convince you that Taylor’s amazing.”

The conversation continued to flow easily between them all the way to Bailey’s apartment. They were sorry the evening had finally come to an end.

“I know it was a little crazy at times, but I really had a great time tonight. Thanks for inviting me!” Bailey said as Tyler helped her out of the car.

“I had a fun too. Can I walk you to your door?”

“I’d like that, thank you.”

His brown eyes focused right on her hazel ones and he smiled again. “Let’s go.” He held out his hand and she cheerfully took it. They walked together in silence up to the third floor to her apartment.

Bailey turned to Tyler and felt her face heat at some of the embarrassing thoughts she just had on their short walk.

“Why are you blushing?” He asked leaning in closer to her.

Bailey stared at Tyler for a moment ignoring his question and quietly said “Thank you for walking me to my door.”

Tyler brushed the stray hair covering Bailey’s eye out of the way before saying, “It was my pleasure.” He gently pulled her against him. Bailey found his touch warm and comforting as she breathed in his scent. She wished she could stay in his arms all night. Eventually they pulled away from each other and Tyler gave Bailey a gentle kiss on her forehead before saying good night.

Notes

Hope this chapter was worth the wait and you are enjoying Tyler and Bailey's growing relationship. I will try to get up at least one more this weekend. As always I appreciate any feedback you can give since this is my first story.