We've Got This

“How about we start off slow? Just the easy stuff first?” I asked, not quite ready to hear the spiel about Ali just yet.

“Agreed,” he replied, nodding. “Uh, feel free to slap me for asking this, because I know guys should never ask a woman this, but did you lose weight?” he asked, almost shying away from me, expecting me to hit him. “I’m only asking because when I saw you for the first time earlier tonight, you looked even more amazing than when we first met. If that’s even possible.”

I chuckled and nodded. “You’re right; a guy should never ask a woman if she lost weight, but I’m not gonna slap you. Yes, as a matter of fact, I have lost a significant amount of weight over the last few months. I hated what I saw in the mirror every day, so I put in the work and changed it. Thank you for noticing; I’m pretty proud of myself,” I replied.

“You should be; you look fantastic. I honestly don’t see what you could possibly hate about your body though, I thought you looked fantastic just the way you were,” he replied, and I smiled again. “But anyway, next question. Can I see your tattoo?” he asked. I nodded and held up my arm for him to see. “What does it say?”

“It’s a time turner, from Harry Potter, and the quote is ‘the ones that love us never really leave us’. It’s to remind me that, no matter who I’m going to lose in life, friend or family, they’re always going to be with me,” I replied, running my fingers over my forearm. He nodded in understanding. “Now go ahead and ask it,” I said, looking at him.

He looked confused. “Ask what?”

“I know you’re dying to know what happened to my leg,” I said, nodding down at my knee. He just looked at me, waiting for me to spill. “I hurt it at softball, the day I told you we won 10-5,” I started, and he gave me a look. “I didn’t tell you because I was mad,” I said, responding to the statement I knew he wanted to make. “Jamie had just told me about Ali, and it was all I could think about, and I fucked up on the field. I went to the hospital and had X-Rays and an MRI, and I had a completely torn ACL and partially torn meniscus,” I continued, expecting him to say something.

“What do you mean had?” he asked.

“I probably fucked it up even more tonight, just judging by the pain I’ve been in all night. I had my ACL repaired on my right leg when I was 17. I tweaked it a few times before I had surgery on it, but the pain from each tweak went away within minutes of it happening. This pain hasn’t gone away, and the swelling is obviously really bad, so I know I probably hurt something else in there,” I replied, rubbing my knee.

“If you hurt it a few weeks ago, why haven’t you had surgery yet?” he asked.

“Because I wasn’t planning on hurting it further. I waited a month between hurting it and having surgery last time; I was expecting the same this time. Obviously that was a mistake,” I chuckled sarcastically. “So what you saw tonight literally was Patrick Kane carrying me to my room; I couldn’t walk, and I still can’t. I’m probably gonna fly home tomorrow, after I get all my stuff packed at Jamie’s. He let me stay with him before we came here to Vegas. I need to see what’s exactly wrong with my knee now, and see how soon they can get me in for surgery,” I added. I figured it was time to get into the nitty-gritty I knew was coming anyway. “So, any particular reason why you came at me like you did tonight?” I asked, looking over at him.

He was silent for a few moments, probably trying to figure out what to say. “Honestly? I was jealous,” he replied, and I smirked a little despite my pain. “What’s that look for?” he asked.

“The great Tyler Seguin. Jealous. Over a little girl from Chicago,” I chuckled. “Though I still don’t really understand why, when you have Ali,” I added. “Oh, sorry, had.”

“Is this the part where I finally get to explain myself?” he asked incredulously and sarcastically. I just rolled my eyes and looked at him. He then shifted so he was sitting on the end of the chair so she was facing me, knocking my leg in the process. I let out an uncontrollable yelp in pain. “Oh, shit, I’m sorry,” he said, frantically trying to position my knee like it was before he knocked it.

I shoved his hand away and cradled my leg in pain, rocking a little bit. “For the love of God, stop helping. Get on with it,” I grunted.

He nodded and looked into my eyes. “I should start by asking, you do realize why I was with her, right?” he asked. I nodded. I wanted him to say it himself, because I was still having a hard time believing it. “Because she looked just like you,” he confirmed.

I shook my head. “No. I think she was prettier than me, especially tonight,” I replied. He just gave me a look. “It’s true, but continue,” I surrendered.

“Since she looked just like you, I settled for her, because you were gone. In my head I was able to convince myself that she was, in fact, you, and it helped me get through you being back in Chicago.” I stayed silent as he looked at me; I knew he wasn’t done talking yet. “I didn’t tell you about her because I was afraid to,” he continued.

I had to stop him this time. “Why? Why were you afraid to tell a girl half your size that you were seeing someone? Especially given what we were talking about all the time. I thought we had gotten to be better friends than that,” I said, looking down at my hands.

He sighed. “I didn’t tell you because I don’t want to be just your friend. Did you not notice how much I was flirting with you in our text and phone conversations, even behind the intimacy of the topics we talked about? And when I kissed you before you left, I felt something, and I know you felt it too.” I couldn’t even deny that I did; it seemed like he had read my mind when he said that. “I’ve never felt anything like that, with anyone, before. I thought that by seeing Ali I would be able to get over you a little more, because I honestly didn’t know when the next time I would see you would be. And it worked; until tonight.

“When I saw you tonight on the red carpet all of those feeling came flooding back. To be perfectly honest, I didn’t even recognize you at first, since you looked absolutely stunning and perfect after losing that weight. Personally I thought you were damn near perfect before, but apparently I was wrong,” he chuckled, and I blushed a little bit. “But anyway, after we briefly spoke at the after party, Ali ripped me a new one and started bitching about you incessantly. She kept going on and on about how you had your chance with me and you blew it, and how I was hers and wasn’t allowed to talk to any other women, let alone women that are my friends. I know you saw us making out on the dancefloor, but I only did that to shut her up; I couldn’t take her attitude anymore. And I saw the look she gave you when she saw you looking; it broke my heart that someone could think that lowly of you. You have the biggest and kindest heart I’ve ever seen.

“And when I saw you leave with Kane, I don’t know, something in me just snapped. I’ll admit; I was jealous.” When he said that, I smirked, and he saw it. “Get that look off your face, I’m trying to be serious,” he said, with a smirk of his own gracing his face. “Anyway, when you left with Kane, I realized that I really didn’t want to be with Ali, so I pretty much dumped her on the spot.

“I realized that, promise me you won’t freak out?” he paused, and I nodded. I knew where he was going with this, and although I wasn’t necessarily ready to even hear it, I literally couldn’t go anywhere; I was stuck listening. “I realized that I had fallen for you. Hard. I know you don’t see the point in long distance relationships, but I’m in love with you, Jean,” he concluded. I was silent for a while, taken aback by his last sentence. After a while he started fidgeting. “Please say something?”

I realized that I was in a daze, so I shook my head to get rid of the cobwebs and looked back at him. “Tyler,” I started, not knowing what exactly to say.

“I get that you don’t necessarily feel the same way, but just please, say anything,” he pleaded. I was at a loss for words, so I did the first thing that came to mind: I grabbed the collar of his shirt, pulled him toward me, and planted a passionate kiss on his lips. I only kissed him for a few seconds, but it was enough to shut him up for a bit. “Please tell me that that was your way of saying you feel the same way? Otherwise I’m gonna feel like a total ass,” he said.

“I’m not saying no,” I started, but he interrupted me.

“Oh God, here we go,” he quipped nervously.

I then grabbed his face and pulled him close again, but didn’t kiss him. “Let me talk, yeah? Then you’ll find out,” I said as I held him by his chin, and he nodded. “I’m not saying no, but I’m not saying yes either,” I continued.

He pulled his face out of my hand and shook his head. “What are you saying then?” he asked, confused, trying not to lose his temper. “Either you feel the same way about me, or you don’t simple,” he added, standing up and moving slightly away from me.

Now I was getting frustrated, but I did my best not to let it show. I took a deep breath before replying. “First of all, calm your tits and let me explain myself,” I said, pointing at him frustrated. “Tyler, my only relationship thus far in my life has been with, well, a psychopath,” I started. “I’m not saying yes or no to being in love with you because honestly, I don’t know if I am or not. I don’t think I even know what love is yet. I honestly don’t know if I’m in love with you; I really don’t know. What I’m saying is that I have really strong feelings for you.”

His face lit up a little bit. “So you’re saying there’s a chance?” he asked optimistically.

I chuckled and nodded. “Yes, I guess that’s what I’m saying. But I need time, Tyler. If we do this, it would have to be long distance for a while; I can’t just drop everything and move down to Dallas. I have a job and a life up in Chicago that I need to get a handle on first, let alone get my knee fixed. And even more importantly, I need to see that you’re serious about this, about me, and in this for the long haul. I’m not interested in just fooling around, that’s kid stuff, and we’re not kids anymore; I’m done with school, and I want to start the next chapter of my life. And I need to know that I can trust you,” I replied.

He nodded. “I completely understand,” he replied. “Like I told you back in April, I’m pretty much done with the party-boy lifestyle. I kind of took your criticism about turning myself into a has-been to heart. I will do everything I have to to prove myself to you; I let you go once, I’m not letting you go again without a fight. I will do whatever I have to do for you to just give me a chance,” he continued.

I could tell he was being serious, and it meant a lot to me. I really did have strong feelings for Tyler; it could have been love, but I really didn’t know what love felt like. Maybe Tyler would be able to show me what it feels like. “I believe you,” I replied.

He was hesitant with whatever he wanted to say next, so he paused for a few moments, almost as if he was analyzing me or something. “So, are we gonna do this?” he asked.

I grinned and blushed a little bit. “Go ahead and ask me,” I said, hoping he would understand what I was getting at.

His eyes lit up immensely, making me smile wider, and he sat back down next to me on the chair, taking my hands in his. “Jean, will you be my long distance girlfriend?” he asked, looking deeply into my eyes.

I chuckled at his choice of words and nodded. “Yes Tyler, I’ll be your long distance girlfriend.”

Notes

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