Two Weeks Later

Nicki was lying in bed, tracing over her newly formed scar when Freddy walked in.

She looked up. “Hey bud.”

“Hey. Do you have a sec?”

“Does it look like I’m going anywhere?” she asked sarcastically. “Nah, really, of course I do.” She patted the bed next to her.

Freddy sat down hesitantly. If Nicki was reading him correctly, he felt awkward sitting on Tyler’s bed with his girlfriend. Since she got hurt, Tyler had been a little over protective. Of course Nicki liked it; she always felt safe when she was with him. But other people didn’t take so kindly to it.

“What’s up?”

Marshall came waddling into the room and jumped onto the bed. He sprawled himself out between Nicki and Freddy, stomach in the air. She giggled and started to pet him.

“I got in a fight with Evaline.”

Her head shot up. They never fought.

“About what?”

Freddy played with Marshall’s ears while he spoke. “I’m not even really sure. We were trying to figure out when she would come down next. Then she said that I should go up there, and I said fine. But we couldn’t agree on a date. And out of nowhere, she just starts screaming at me. Course, I’m an idiot, so I start yelling back. Then I asked her why we were yelling at each other. She didn’t answer. She just asked if I thought our relationship was worth it, because she was seriously starting to reconsider it.”

“Shit, Freddy. I’m so sorry. Do you want my opinion?”

“Please.” He sounded exasperated.

“Don’t quote me on this,” she started. “But it sounds like she just misses you. If there was no reason you started fighting in the first place, it means there’s something going on in her head that she hasn’t mentioned to you. Give her a little while to cool down, then call her again. Maybe face time her, so she can see you. It will remind her of how much she loves you. I know I can’t stay mad at that face,” she joked, hoping it might make him laugh.

He smiled and leaned over the bed to kiss her cheek. “You’re probably right. You’re the best.”

“Nah,” she said, waving him off. “Before you call though, make sure you know what you’re gonna say. And be nice. Start by apologizing. Then ask her what’s on her mind. If I were you, I’d plan something really romantic for the next time you see her. Surprise her with it.”

“She hates surprises.”

Nicki giggled. “So don’t I. But whenever Tyler does something I’m not expecting, I basically die. She’ll love whatever you do.”

“Will you help me?”

“Duh!” she said, giving him a smack on the chest.

Freddy grinned. “I can’t believe how much better you just made me feel.”

“I’m glad. You know I’ll never forget everything you did for Tyler and I. I’ll always be here to help you out,” she said, matching him with a grin of her own.

“I love you, Nicki. I’m really glad you’re alive,” he said, only half teasing.

She chuckled. “Love you too, Freddy. I’m pretty happy to be alive myself.”

“So how’s the scar? If you were a guy I bet it would get you a ton of pussy.”

“Freddy!” she shrieked, laughing hysterically. “Wanna see it? It’s soo weird.”

Nicki lifted her shirt to show him. The scar ran vertically from just above her left hipbone, ending parallel to her belly button. It was still red and inflamed, but the skin had grown over. Before, you could see right through the stitches. The one time she looked she nearly vomited. She had no idea how Tyler had been staring at it every time he changed her bandage.

“That’s freaky,” he muttered. “Can I touch it?”

She giggled. “Uh, yeah, if you want. It feels even grosser than it looks.”

Nicki pretended to be in pain when he put his fingers on his stomach. He pulled back, eyes wide.

“Oh my God, are you okay?!”

“Gotcha! It didn’t hurt. I was just being a bitch.”

“Fuck you,” he said, staring her down. “I really thought I hurt you. I was about to jump out the window. Ty would freaking murder me.”

She became serious. “Why is he acting like that?” she whispered.

Nicki understood that he was nervous after what happened. That was perfectly fine. But he had become a little overbearing. He wouldn’t even let her take Marshall for a walk unless he was there.

Freddy peeked around Nicki, making sure he wasn’t outside of the door or anything.

“Just give him some time,” he whispered back. “I know he isn’t really showing it to you, but I can’t even tell you how hard he’s taking this whole thing. The way he saw the world just got flipped upside down. I mean, before you he’d never given two shits about a girl. And he’s never lost anyone close to him. Can you imagine finding out you have all of these insane feelings for someone, then watching them die? Don’t get me wrong, I haven’t forgotten about Mark. But you know what it’s like to lose people. You’ve told me yourself that what you feel for Tyler destroys what you felt for him. Like, he’s seriously about to pr – “

He stopped abruptly. “Freddy…”

“Uh huh?”

“What were you about to say?”

“Nothing. Just rambling.”

Nicki felt her heart beating faster. He wasn’t about to say…

Freddy was saved by a knock on the door. Lisa popped her head in.

“Lisa! What the hell? I didn’t know you were coming over!”

Zach awkwardly stepped in after her. Lisa made her way over to the bed and sat down by Nicki’s feet. Marshall sat up to greet her, sticking his wet nose in her face.

“Hi puppy! Nicki’s told me all about you,” she said, giggling as he slopped his tongue across her face.

“Christ, Nicki. This room is amazing! You did this?” she asked, looking around. Lisa smirked. “So this is where all the magic happens…”

Nicki grabbed a pillow from behind her and threw it at her friend.

“There’s been a severe lack of magic lately,” she blurted out, letting her frustration get the best of her.

“Somebody needs to get laid,” Freddy coughed, pretending he hadn’t been the one to say it.

“It’s not funny, Freddy! I’m dying over here. Two weeks without sex when you’re in a relationship is one thing. It’s an entirely different story when you have to sleep next to Zeus every night and can’t do a damn thing about it.”

“He’s that good?” Lisa asked. Zach shifted uncomfortably. Freddy hopped off the bed.

“That’s my invitation to leave,” he said, exiting the room. “Want a beer, Zach?”

They left the two girls alone. “It never fails,” Lisa said, giggling. “Really, though. I remember the look on your face the day of the funeral. That was the look of a satisfied woman.”

Nicki fell back against the headboard, covering her face with her hands. “God, Lis. You have no fucking clue. I’m still not really convinced that he’s fully human.”

Lisa took Freddy’s spot and leaned back, copying Nicki.

“Tell me about it. Girl, you look like you’re about to burst at the seams. By all means, go on.”

Nicki laughed. “I’m so glad I can talk to you about this. I didn’t know how much longer I could keep it to myself. I was about to start telling my therapist about it,” she joked.

“I spent the last five years of our lives spewing out all the nasty deets about Zach. I owe you big time. Plus, you’ve piqued my interest. Don’t hate me for this, but I can’t say I haven’t caught myself staring a few times. Have you ever had a moment where you’re like, ‘Holy shit. I’m banging Tyler Seguin’? Because I totally have moments where I’m like ‘Holy shit. My best friend is banging Tyler Seguin’.”

Lisa was cracking her up. When she stopped laughing she said, “I don’t hate you! I’m taking it as a compliment. Please, stare all you like. And honestly, not really. The Tyler Seguin I used to watch on TV is a completely different being from the one I’m with. I mean, the night we met the team I was clearly star struck. I don’t know; it’s weird. I just see him as a normal person.”

“A normal person who you just recently referred to as a god,” she reminded her. “So tell me, what’s it like? Things are getting a little boring with Zach. Maybe I can vicariously live through you.”

“I’m sure once the wedding comes around boring will be the last word you use to describe it,” Nicki said, smiling. She still couldn’t believe they were getting married. “I don’t even know where to begin. Literally all it takes is a touch. Sometimes not even that. Once the shirt comes off, I’m done. Game over.”

Lisa raised her eyebrows. “Now that’s something I have to see.”

If she was talking to anyone else, Nicki would be infuriated that they were talking about Tyler that way. But her relationship with Lisa was different. She could care less if she wanted to ogle at him.

“Once you see, you’ll understand,” she paused to giggle. She’d never spoken about him like that. Only in her own mind. “Just the thought of that on top of me is enough to get me hot and bothered.”

Lisa couldn’t hide her interest. “Has he ever made your toes curl?”

“Every. Single. Time.”

She stared at her in disbelief. “He gets you every time? Like, every time?!”

“Every time.”

“No wonder you’re always in a great friggen mood. I’m so jealous. Maybe we can get them drunk tonight and he can give Zach a few pointers…”

Nicki laughed. “Oh God, and he does this thing – “

She was interrupted. “Get your fat asses out here!”

“Suck it, Freddy!” Nicki shouted back.

“We can talk more later,” Lisa said, getting off the bed. “You need help?”

Nicki nodded and let Lisa help her up. She felt completely fine, but she wasn’t taking any chances. Especially with her first check up tomorrow morning. She was praying for good news.

“What the hell?”

Nicki glanced around the kitchen. The island was set with matching china and silverware. And something smelled absolutely delicious. She knew that smell…

She looked at Tyler, who was bent over taking a pan out of the oven. He set it on the counter and turned to look at her. He was wearing her apron, and had oven mitts on each of his hands. He gave her his goofy, boyish grin. She fell a little bit more in love with him.

“Tyler, you cooked?!”

He walked towards her and embraced her, still grinning. “I’ve been cooking for the last two weeks.”

Nicki hugged him back. “Yeah, but nothing real. Wait, what did you make?”

She tilted her head and looked over his shoulder. “Ty! You finally made me enchiladas?”

“Uh huh. Didn’t you wonder why Lisa and Zach were here?”

Nicki looked up at him, tearing up. “Yeah, but, I don’t know… I can’t believe you. I love you.” She squeezed him tighter.

“Awwwwwww,” she heard Lisa say.

“You two are disgusting,” Freddy countered.

“Nobody asked you!” Lisa shouted at him.

Nicki felt Tyler laughing. She laughed too.

“Finally somebody besides Nicki stands up to Freddy. You two are so alike,” Tyler said, planting a kiss on the top of Nicki’s head.

“Ha. Yeah. Real funny, Ty. You should have heard what they were saying about you.”

Tyler looked at them skeptically. “Do I want to know?”

Lisa cut in before Nicki could speak. “We were just talking about the fact that you’re a sex god.”

His cheeks turned red. She had never seen him blush over something like that. He was always so proud and boastful.

“Aw, are you blushing?! Jesus you two are precious. Gonna make the best looking kids, too,” she said, winking.

“I think it’s time to start drinking,” said Tyler. He nodded towards Lisa. “Do the honors?”

“You got it, stud.”

Nicki looked around. “How long have you guys been planning this?”

“About a week,” said Freddy. “Surprise!”

She giggled. “So what are we drinking?”

Lisa grabbed a drink mixer and four bottles out of the cabinet. Nicki hadn’t even known they were there.

“Dirty martinis for the boys, appletinis for the girls. We ain’t fuckin’ around tonight. We’re getting plastered.”

Freddy chuckled. “Hey, Nicki! Maybe you can do a few more body shots tonight, seeing as how you were so good at it last time.”

“Maybe I will,” she said, running a hand lightly down Tyler’s stomach. He opened his eyes a little wider and a hint of a smile crept onto his face. She’d never wanted him so badly.

** * * * *

“Ty, I gotta tell ya bro. That was delicious,” Freddy said, leaning back with a hand on his stomach.

“It was sooo good,” Nicki slurred, nearly falling off of her stool.

Tyler got up and put his arms around her. “Glad you liked it,” he said, lips inches away from her ear. She quivered. The alcohol had given her libido an unnecessary boost.

“Look at Nicki. What a lightweight,” Freddy scoffed.

She held up her middle finger and leaned into Tyler. Ugh, he was so firm…

Lisa started to giggle. “I think I made her drink a little too strong. Whoops!”

Nicki joined her. When she was drunk, more or less all she did was giggle. And fantasize about Tyler.

“They’re both trashed,” Zach said. It was the first thing Nicki had heard from him all night.

“So what do we do?” asked Nicki. She gasped. “Ping pong?!”

Tyler laughed and held her closer to him. “No way in hell am I letting you play ping pong. You can barely keep yourself up.” He turned his head and pressed his lips to her cheek.

“I think,” Nicki garbled drunkenly, “that the boys need to drink a little more. You guys aren’t any fun right now.”

Lisa sprang up to make another round. “She’s right! Zach, hon, can you get the game? I think we left it in the car.”

“What game?” Freddy inquired.

“Oh, I forgot to tell you! We brought this board game. It’s a drinking game. Think like, Loaded Questions meets Truth or Dare meets strip poker meets a very adult version of seven minutes in heaven.”

“What’s Loaded Questions?”

“It’s a board game that asks you ridiculous, stupid, explicit questions and you have to guess who said what. Hy-sterical,” she answered, breaking up her last word into two.

Nicki was getting excited. The last time she’d had so much fun had been the epic night of body shots and clubbing with Tyler. Everyone turned to look at Zach as he came through the door.

“Uh, someone was waiting outside of the door,” he said, stepping out of the way.

Freddy shot off of his stool. “Evy?! What? How are you even here right now?!”

Evaline had obviously been crying. She ran and jumped into Freddy’s arms. “I took the first flight here. Freddy, I’m so sorry I said that to you. I love you,” she sobbed.

Nicki couldn’t help but smile. It reminded her of Tyler, showing up at her hotel in California. It was then she knew that Evaline and Freddy had something that would last. Evaline looked up from Freddy’s shoulder.

“Hey guys,” she said shyly. She had never met Lisa and Zach.

“Hey, Evy. These are my best friends from high school, Lisa and Zach. Guys, if you couldn’t tell, this is Freddy’s girlfriend, Evaline.”

They exchanged formalities. “Can I make you a drink sweetheart?” Lisa asked her.

“That would be delightful,” she said. “Can I just talk to Freddy first?”

Tyler nodded. “Take your time. We’ll wait for you.”

“They are just adorable,” Lisa swooned.

“Aren’t they?” Nicki asked. “They got in a fight earlier. I can’t believe she came all the way here.”

She felt an arm around her waist. She knew exactly what Tyler was trying to tell her. Nicki let her head fall back onto his chest.

“This is so perfect! The game we brought is kind of for couples. Freddy was going to have to sit some of it out. But now his girlfriend’s here! Oh, we’re going to have a friggen blast. Except maybe Tyler. Hon, if you got embarrassed over us talking about you in bed, you might not like this game so much.”

“That doesn’t sound good,” he said.

“Believe me, I didn’t like the sound of it at first, either,” said Zach. “But man, let me tell you. A few drinks down, you just stop caring. It’s great.”

“Why do I feel like this sounds sexual?” asked Nicki.

“Oh, that’s because it is,” said Lisa, winking at her. “Come on, you of all people are going to love it.”

“If that’s the case, I’m gonna need another one,” she said, gesturing towards her empty martini glass.

Lisa made another round of drinks for everyone. They sat and made small talk while they waited for Freddy and Evaline. Nicki checked the clock. They’d been gone for a while now…

Just as she thought it, they came out of Freddy’s room. Apparently, he didn’t have the common sense that Tyler did. Evaline’s hair was all over the place. The four of them broke out in hysterics.

“Freddy, you’re a horrible boyfriend,” Nicki said, wiping the tears from her eyes. She walked over to Evaline and tried to pat down her curly blonde hair. “Have some decency, for God’s sake.”

Evaline’s cheeks turned red. “Thanks, Nicki.”

“So are you guys okay?”

Freddy wrapped his arms across Evaline’s waist, stretching his neck around to kiss her cheek.

“We’re better than okay. Guess who’s moving here over the summer?” Nicki could hear the excitement in his voice.

“No freaking way. Seriously?”

She nodded. “If you and Tyler don’t mind. I can’t afford an apartment on my own.”

“I think we have room for one more,” said Tyler.

“This has just been the best night!” Lisa proclaimed, clapping her hands together. She’d already had a bit too much to drink. Zach put a hand on her shoulder. “Who’s ready for this game?!”

** * * * *

“Okay,” Lisa read slowly off of the card in front of her, “If you could have sex with one celebrity, who would it be?”

Nicki looked down at her pad of paper. Gee, that was an easy one. She brought her pen down to the paper, writing her answer in her neat penmanship. Even when she was drunk, her handwriting was flawless. She adjusted herself so that her feet were on Tyler’s lap. He smiled at her and put a hand across her ankles.

When everyone had answered, they all tossed the papers into the middle. Lisa collected them and read them off one by one.

“We have: Kate Upton, Ryan Gosling, Tom Brady, Betty White,” she paused to giggle after reading Betty White. “Megan Fox, and oh, what do you know? Tyler Seguin.”

Nicki flashed a smile at Tyler.

“Okay, it’s Freddy’s turn to go first. Who do you think Evaline picked?”

He looked up at the ceiling, thinking. “Well, I seriously hope she isn’t the one who picked Ty.” He looked at Evaline. “And you’re from Canada, so you probably don’t follow football. I’m gonna have to go with Ryan Gosling.”

“Score one for you guys! What about you, Evy? Who’d Freddy pick?”

“Megan Fox?”

Freddy started to laugh. “Nope, Betty White. She’s got all the experience.”

‘Ew’s arose from various corners of the room. Nicki didn’t want to think of Freddy in bed with Betty White.

“Tyler?” Lisa said, nodding to him.

He put a finger up to his mouth. “Hmm. This one is tough. I’m gonna have to go with… me?”

Nicki giggled. “Uh huh. And you picked Kate Upton.”

A crease formed between his brows. “How did you know that?”

“You like blondes,” she said, matter-of-factly. Everyone knew that.

“K, you guys get a point!” Lisa exclaimed. “You already made out, so it’s hickey time.”

Nicki couldn’t believe that someone had actually invented a game like this. Basically, each couple had to guess what their significant other chose as an answer. If you both got it wrong, nothing happened. If you both got it right, you had to move your piece up the board. Each new square you landed on had some kind of sexual act you had to perform. The first couple to make it through everything won. So far, Nicki and Tyler were the only ones who had done anything.

Normally Nicki would cringe at the thought of something like that. She wasn’t really one for PDA, as she got embarrassed easily. But she was on her third appletini and was surrounded by her best friends, who were all in the same awkward position. Whatever shame she felt had been tossed out the door.

She took her feet off of Tyler and knelt down next to him. They exchanged smiles before she cupped a hand around his neck, pulling him to her lips. She heard Freddy laughing.

“Ty’s face right now, holy hell! Priceless!”

Everyone else in the room joined in a laugh. Nicki felt his hand on the back of her head and continued to pull at his skin until she was sure that she’d left a mark.

“Did it!” she proclaimed, arms in the air. At some point, she had become overly motivated to win the game.

Tyler didn’t need any coaxing. He grabbed Nicki by the shoulders and gently sucked on her neck. She felt her eyes roll to the back of her head and let the chills take over.

“Woah,” she said under her breath.

She would have liked nothing more than to rip his clothes off and climb on top of him. She didn’t care who saw.

“Damn Nicki,” Zach said when Tyler pulled away. “It looks like you got punched in the neck.”

She giggled. “Nothing a glob of concealer can’t fix.”

“Amen to that,” Evaline chimed in.

** * * *

Two stripteases, a lap dance, and many gropes later the game was nearly over. If Nicki and Tyler answered correctly one more time, they would win. Everyone had agreed prior to playing the game that no one would have to do the last challenge on the board, which happened to be sex. No one wanted to watch that.

“Okay,” Evaline said. It was her turn to read the question. “If you had to choose an animal to represent your significant other, what would it be?”

Tyler couldn’t stop himself from smiling. He could feel Nicki’s eyes on him. If he had to guess, he’d say she was smiling, too. He wrote his answer on the piece of paper and flung it into the center of the room. Once Evaline collected them, he leaned back against the couch. Nicki squeezed her way between his legs.

“We have: a tiger, a lion, an alligator? A koala, a giraffe, and a bunny.”

“I’m the giraffe,” Nicki said, raising a hand in the air. She was still tripping over her words. Tyler wondered if she noticed how badly her speech was impaired when she drank.

“And I’m the lion,” he said, wrapping his arms around her.

“It’s official, you guys win!” Evaline exclaimed.

They exchanged high fives. Tyler liked to think that they made a good team.

“Losers have to clean up!”

Tyler chuckled. “I’m gonna help.” He picked her up and put her on the couch. “Stay here, okay? I’ll be right back.”

He watched as her arm fell limply off of the couch. She looked like she would pass out any moment. It was nice to see her having a good time. It didn’t happen often enough.

After cleaning up the drinks and the board game, Tyler headed back to the couch, expecting Nicki to be out cold. She was lying down, twirling a piece of hair around her finger.

“Tyylleerrr, I missed you,” she whined, frowning.

“Somebody sounds needy,” Lisa teased. She sat down in their spot. Zach followed and draped an arm around her.

“Shut up,” Nicki snapped. It didn’t sound nearly as menacing as it was supposed to.

Tyler took a seat next to her head. She inched herself over to him and rested her head on his lap, fluffing out her hair. It went well over him and spread out over the couch.

“When the hell did your hair get so long?!” Lisa asked. “It’s freaking gorgeous!”

“Thanks girl,” Nicki mumbled.

“You wanna go to sleep?” Tyler asked her.

She shook her head. “Play with my hair,” she demanded weakly.

Tyler got the feeling it was supposed to be a question. He smoothed her hair over his legs and glided his fingers through it.

“Mmmm,” she moaned, a contented smile lingering on her face.

Tyler chuckled. She looked adorable.

“That’s one thing about Nicki,” Lisa said, “You play with her hair, she’ll be your best friend.”

“I didn’t know you liked it so much,” he said, looking down at her. She had fallen asleep, still smiling.

“She is so precious,” said Lisa. Tyler nodded and smiled. It was a good way to describe her. “I gotta say, I’m not used to seeing her have so much fun. She was never like that before she met you.”

He shrugged. “I’d like to think that I help. She’s so damn serious sometimes. I know she has reason to be. But she can be so fun, too.” He hung on his words. “I wish she could just be happy all the time.”

“I know, hon. I know. But believe me when I say it, I’ve never seen her this happy. Even before she started losing everyone. Whatever you’re doing, you’re doing it right.”

Tyler smiled and massaged Nicki’s head with his fingertips. She let out a soft groan, making everyone giggle. Freddy and Evaline had retired to Freddy’s room, so it was just Lisa and Zach left with him. And an unconscious Nicki.

“By the way, I’m sorry I embarrassed you earlier. I didn’t think you’d be the type to turn fifty shades of red when it comes to what goes on in the bedroom. Your reputation isn’t exactly accurate now, is it?”

“Don’t worry about it. My reputation used to be dead on. I mean, it was great and all. But after I met her, it just stopped being fun. And for the longest time, I couldn’t figure out why. I feel horrible. I treated her like shit… I had no idea she liked me.”

Lisa flicked her wrist at him. “All that matters is that you’re good to her now. And you obviously are. I won’t even play with her hair this long,” she said, chuckling.

He looked down at Nicki. He could do it all day long.

“Can I ask you guys something?”

“Shoot.”

“How did you know?”

“Know what?”

Tyler rubbed the back of his neck. “That you wanted to marry each other.”

“TYLER! ARE YOU – “

He held a finger up to his mouth and glanced down at Nicki.

“Sorry,” she whispered. “Are you serious?”

“I just asked a question.”

She took a breath. “I don’t know about Zach, he can give you his answer after. But there was this one day, when we were juniors in high school. It was the beginning of the year, and the leaves were just starting to turn. You know, when they’re just incredible shades of bright red and orange and yellow? And the air, it has that smell. So we were walking back to Zach’s house after school and he’s holding my hand. And we were just talking, I don’t remember about what. Nothing special or important. All of the sudden, he just stops walking and pulls me towards him and kisses me. I smile every time I think about it.” She paused to lean back into Zach’s chest. “When he pulled away, we just kinda looked at each other. I know how creepy it sounds, but we probably stayed like that for a good five minutes. Something about the kiss, something about the way everything looked around us. It was perfect. And that’s when I knew I’d marry him someday.”

Zach leaned in to kiss her cheek. “I never knew that,” he said softly to her. She nodded her head and smiled. He looked back to Tyler. “I didn’t have a defining moment like that. Over the years, I just never got tired of her. You know how relationships are; after a few months you wish you’d never have to see the other person again. I just kept wanting to be with her more and more. But I do remember, at graduation, thinking about my future and what I wanted to do. And the only thing I was sure of was that I wanted Lisa in it. I guess that’s when I knew.”

Tyler nodded. He had received all of the confirmation he needed.

“I should probably get her to bed. You guys sure you don’t mind sleeping on the couch?”

Lisa reclined further. “Nope. This is the most comfortable couch ever.”

He smiled. “Thank Nicki for that. There’s extra blankets in that closet,” he said, pointing across the hallway. “See ya in the morning.”

Tyler scooped Nicki up and brought her to their room, lying her down on the bed. He managed to undress her and went to grab her favorite shirt out of his drawer. He traced a finger over her scar. Every time he saw it he nearly broke down. It was a constant, painful reminder of everything that had happened. Everything he’d almost lost. But he had a strange fascination with it. The scar reminded him how lucky he was to be alive. And how lucky he was to have Nicki. He’d never take another thing she did for granted.

He brought his lips down to it, lingering for a moment before pulling the shirt over her head and getting her under the covers. Tyler stripped down to his boxers and got in on the other side. He grabbed Nicki and brought her close to him. She nestled her head on his chest and wrapped an arm around his stomach. Even when she was asleep she knew what to do.

“I love you Ty,” she mumbled, half consciously.

Tyler couldn’t tell whether or not she was awake. He didn’t bother checking.

“I love you too.”