Chapter 29

"Thank you dear. It was our pleasure. You are invited over anytime." Sarah replied with a genuine smile. "And please take care of my little girl. She's all I have." Dad added pointedly. "I will." Tyler said. He then turned to me with a smile and his hand extended. "Come on, Emily." I put on my best smile and stood up as well. I took Tyler's hand and we left the kitchen together. Before leaving the kitchen, I caught my parents staring at us. Sarah had a big smile on her face. I knew how this must look to them; a loving couple leaving the kitchen hand in hand. What they didn't know was that it was anything but that. We left the house and continued to walk until we stood in my front yard. Tyler rubbed the back of my hand and that was when I realized that he was still holding my hand. To be honest, it was such a nice and comforting feeling that I didn't realize earlier. I felt my cheeks redden a little at my thoughts. "You can let go of my hand now." I said, trying to play it cool. "Nobody can see us from here." Tyler looked down at our joined hands as if he didn't realize either and finally he pulled his hand away. Strangely, my hand felt cold and weird after he let go of it. As if my hand was used to Tyler holding it and now it was left exposed. "Why did you do that, Tyler?" I asked him, referring to what he did in the dinning room. Tyler grinned. "Because I saw that you needed to relax a little." "And you thought that would make me relax?" I inquired, then added quickly. "You know what? Don't answer that." Tyler just laughed and I hit him on the shoulder lightly. After Tyler stopped laughing, I said, "Thanks for coming over." "No problem." Tyler replied. He then bend his head and kissed me. The kiss took me by surprise, but not for long as I found myself kissing him back. Tyler ended the kiss and looked at me with a sly grin. I raised my eyebrow at him. "That was in case your parents were watching us." I laughed to clear my head from the giddy feeling that Tyler's kiss created. "That makes sense." Tyler chuckled. "See you tomorrow." I waved at him as he walked away. As I walked back to my house, my mind was filled with thoughts. I think that I was getting addicted to Tyler's kisses. I don't know why, but every time he kissed me, my heart starts beating fast and I don't want him to stop. All I could think about just now was pulling him closer and deepening the kiss. I shook my head to bring me back to my senses. What is wrong with me? I cannot be thinking like this. It's just a kiss. It shouldn't mean anything. Also, Tyler is not the type of guy to be thinking like that about. I will not go through that again. With this renowned conviction in mind, I continued my journey to the front door. "Are you okay?" I asked Tori curiously. Since we came to maths class, she hasn't stopped fidgeting with her fingers and continuously spacing out. Luckily, our teacher wasn't in the class. She left work for us and stepped from the classroom for a while. Everybody in the classroom was busy doing the problems on the board or their own thing. Tori turned to look at me and I instantly become worried. Her eyes were clouded with fear and worry. "Tori, what's wrong?" I prompt her. She gave me a half smile, before looking down at her hands again. "I'm going to come out to my parents tonight, but I'm afraid." She whispered. "That's big. What do you think they will say?" I asked. "I really don't know, but I have to tell them. I can't keep lying to them about who I am." She faced me again. "I love mis padres. What if they don't look at me the same again? I don't want that Emily." I nodded my head in understanding. "Do you want me to come with you?" I suggested, hoping that would help. Tori smiled at me, but shook her head. "Thanks, but that's a bad idea. That's going to make the situation way worse. This is something I have to do on my own." "Okay then. Just do it. Your parents are great and understanding. I don't think they're going to judge you." I advised. Tori nodded. "I hope so." "I'll call you later, okay?" I replied. "Okay. Thanks Emily." She replied. "Sure, no problem." I said, as I turned around and continued my work. A few minutes later, the bell rings signalling the end of class. Tori and I packed our books into our bag and walked from the classroom. She was quiet as we walked down the hall together. I knew she was still worried about coming out to her parents. I wrapped my arms around her shoulder. "Everything's going to be okay you know." Tori nodded her head. "Yeah, I know." She replied with a sigh. I removed my arm from her shoulder and interlap it through her arm. She then smiled and added. "What are you and Tyler planning to do today?" I gave her a confused look. "What do you mean?" I questioned, then reminded her. "Remember that we are not really dating." Tori laughed a little. "I know, but you guys do spend a lot of time together." "We do not." I denied. Tori gave me a sideways look with her eyebrows raised. "You did go over to his house on Saturday and his Mom wasn't home." Tori reminded, daring me to deny it. "Okay, I admit. I like spending time with him, but that doesn't mean anything." I pointed out.