Lost & Found

The Goodbye

His body clock woke him naturally at six in the morning, but because it was still dark out and the apartment was silent, he stayed horizontal on the couch, staring at the rotation of the ceiling fan as he ran through the events of the previous night.

In retrospect, spilling his guts had probably been a bad idea. Tyler had never had much of a brain to mouth filter, but after making the promise to his sister, he'd had to develop one around Cassie. Honestly, he was surprised he'd lasted as long as he did without telling her how much he wanted to taste her lips.

Sighing, he scratched his fingers over his bare stomach, thinking it was probably a good thing he was leaving today. He would need an entire week away to mentally and emotionally prepare for Cassie staying at his house over the weekend.

He wasn't sure how long he lay there, staring at the ceiling, but once a bit more natural light came flowing through the windows, he heard a noise coming from down the hallway and sat up straight, holding his breath until Cassie appeared, wearing a college sweatshirt over a pair of plaid sleep shorts.

She froze next to the couch, not expecting him to be awake, which, now that she thought about it, was a pretty stupid assumption. Of course Tyler, the swimmer who woke at the crack of dawn six days a week for training, would be awake and she wouldn't be able to quietly make herself a cup of tea and sneak back to her room.

"Hey," she said quietly, the speech he'd given her replaying in her mind as it had been the entirety of the night. Although she knew he was probably regretting being so honest, she actually appreciated it greatly that he knew exactly how he felt and wasn't afraid to say it and she hoped that maybe someday, she could return the favor.

"Hey," he replied cautiously. The fact that she had greeted him first meant she wasn't avoiding him completely. Taking that as a good sign, he swung his legs over the side of the couch and reached out to grab the jeans he'd been wearing the night before. As he did at home, he had been sleeping in his just his boxers and generally speaking, he had no problem being almost naked in front of people, but he didn't want to make Cassie uncomfortable and drive her away. He stood from the couch to tug the jeans over his hips and zip them up before finding his favorite gray hoodie and zipping it over his bare chest before turning to face her, finding that she'd moved from the hallway and was plugging in the kettle in the kitchen.

"Do you want tea or coffee or anything?" she asked, standing on her tip toes to remove a mug and a box of tea bags from the cabinet.

Tyler had stopped drinking caffeinated beverages years ago and ironically, he found himself having more energy, he shook his head as he walked around the couch. "I'm good, thanks."

"I meant to ask you," she said, keeping her gaze focused on the task of choosing a tea bag and replacing the box in the cabinet. "What's your tattoo mean?"

Unconsciously, Tyler's hand went to the hip where his skin was inked and he patted it lightly before crossing his arms over his chest as he leaned on the counter and watched her. "They're lyrics."

"From one of your dad's band's songs," she replied, shooting him a smile over her shoulder as she poured hot water into her mug, continuing when he lifted one eyebrow in surprise. "I'm a fan. But why that song and that lyric?"

If he was being honest, he had never really thought that tattoos necessarily had to mean anything, but he supposed he could confess that this one did. "I guess because it's one that my dad wrote. One of his really early ones, you know, so it means a lot to him and he means a lot to me."

Cassie almost cooed as she turned off the kettle and began to dunk her tea bag up and down and turned to face him. "That's sweet."

"I use it to motivate me in other ways, too," he admitted, wondering why he felt so comfortable bearing his soul to someone who was practically a stranger. "It's kind of a reminder to always set new goals for myself and never stop working hard. That's not at all what the song is about, though."