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Chapter 17

    I woke up nestled in Daniel’s arms. I grew too fondly of the mornings where I actually got to wake up with him. Usually, he woke up before the first light and way before I even considered becoming conscious.

    Daniel groaned loudly as he tightened his grip around my shoulders. “Let’s go back to sleep,” he mumbled groggily.

    Keeping my eyes closed, I smiled. We spent far too much time out last night. “Sounds perfect to me.” Sighing into his chest, I dozed back into slumber.

    When I awoke this time, I found my arms wrapped around Daniel’s waist with my head pressed against his abdomen. I yawned while I leaned up, meeting his emerald gaze.

    He smiled down at me. “Good morning, babe.”

    I returned his smile. “Morning.” I yawned once more. “How long have you been awake?”

    Daniel shrugged as I leaned up; the sheet pooled around my bare waist as I pressed my back against the headboard and rested my head on Daniel’s shoulder. “Just a few minutes. You’re the cutest sleeper I have ever seen.”

    I rolled my eyes at him as a grin formed on my lips. “Now you watch me sleep?”

    Daniel grinned playfully back at me. “You should be happy that I didn’t pounce on your in your sleep. I didn’t know you had that in you last night.”

    I chewed on my bottom lip. “I didn’t know I had that in me either.”

    He leaned down, claiming my lips. “I am definitely loving this confidence thing you have going on lately.” He kissed me once more. “I could really get used to that.”

    “You make me confident, Daniel. Well, you make me more confident,” I admitted.

    “Well, we may have to put a few things to the test,” Daniel said with a wicked gleam in his eye.

    I lifted a brow quizzically. “Like what?”

    “There are just a few things I want you to do to me.”

    I ran a hand through my hair nervously. “I could suck at it,” I said shyly. Even with Jerry, I usually sat on the, um, receiving end of things.

    Daniel shrugged playfully. “We all suck a little in the beginning, but its practice that makes us better.” He grinned down at me and laughed when I blushed the darkest shade of red possible. “Ok. Ok. Let me make you breakfast, my prince.” He placed a kiss on my cheek as he pushed himself from bed and strode naked over to his dresser.

    He picked out a pair of sweatpants and stepped into them. I wanted until he walked out of the bedroom to get out of bed. Just because I had a boyfriend that I loved and made me feel more confident didn’t mean I would start striding around the apartment butt-ass naked.

    I chose a pair of my sweats from the drawer and slipped into a sweater before walking out to meet Daniel. He already had the carton of eggs laid out on the counter. “Need a hand?” I asked as I watched him rummage to gather the remainder of the items he needed.

    Daniel shook his head. “Nope. I’m going to make you breakfast for a change as a nice thank you for last night and for completing my life.”

    I blushed as my heart thumped wildly in my chest. “Daniel, I love you so much.”

    Grinning up from his skillet, he smiled warmly. “I love you so so much, Tyler.”

    Walking over, I wrapped my arms around him tightly. When I pulled away, he kissed me on the top of my head. I jumped onto the edge of the counter and watched Daniel as he worked. Though his specialty was definitely not in the cooking department, he still worked quickly and efficiently.

    This determined look grew over his features just like when I watched him work in my father’s office. It seemed as if Daniel poured his entire being into his work. It was intriguing to watch, and I had to wonder if I looked like that when I drew.

    “I hope its ok,” Daniel mumbled as he scooted a plate of scrambled eggs and slightly flimsy toast.

    I smiled up at him. “I’m sure it’s wonderful.”

    Daniel sat on the counter beside me and took a fork piled high with eggs and stuffed them into his mouth. “It’s not as good as what you usually whip up, but it’s decent.”

    I did the same, and couldn’t help but smile. The eggs were a bit too salty and a bit overcooked, but they were decent. “They’re good, Daniel.”

    He raised his eyebrow and smirked at me. “You’re lying, aren’t you?”

    I laughed as I chewed on my toast. “Nope. Thank you for making me breakfast.”

    “Uh huh.”

    “I just wouldn’t advise you to quit your day job,” I said with a chuckle.

    “Hey,” he began defensively, but I leaned up, silencing him by placing my lips to his.

    “I’m not complaining, Daniel. I love it. You can cook for me whenever you want to, and if you ever want me to, I can show you what I know.” I said the last part shyly. I never actually taught anything to anyone. Hell, I never thought that I had any skills worth passing on.

    Daniel smile brightly and kissed my cheek. “I would like that a lot.”

    We finished our breakfast, and I helped Daniel clean up. The dishwasher was empty, so I quickly washed the dishes by hand. I never thought that I would be good at being domestic, but here I was washing dishing and living under the same roof as my boyfriend.

    I made it a long way from the shut-in I used to be.

    That thought made me smile as I finished drying the dishes off and placing them in the dish strainer. “Why are you smiling?” Daniel asked as he placed his hands on my hips from behind me.

    I spun around and pressed my back against the edge of the sink. “Just thinking to myself.”

    A questioning look gazed over Daniel’s features, but he didn’t ask.

    I laughed at him and decided to answer his unasked question. “I was thinking about how far I’ve come from my old life.” I blushed for some unknown reason as I went on. “I know that I still have a really long way to go, but I feel like I’m on the right track, and that’s all because of you.”

    Daniel smiled at me as he leaned down, kissing me gently. “You should give yourself more credit, Tyler. You didn’t need me to get to this point.”

    I chewed on my bottom lip. “You’re wrong, Daniel.” I could feel tears welling behind my eyes; I was never any good at heart-to-heart conversations. “If you would have never come into my life, I would still be locked away in my bedroom living with an imaginary friend and obliviously watching my life walk away.” Tears now streamed down my cheeks.

    I didn’t cry because I was sad; I cried because Daniel became everything that I possessed in the world. I wanted to be better for him, but what happened when he finally got enough of me?

    That last thought thickened my tears, and I wrapped my arms around Daniel, pulling myself close to him.

    “Why are you crying, Tyler?” He asked as he wrapped his arms around me tightly. He buried a kiss on my forehead.

    “I’m just happy for the first time in my life, and I have to wonder what I’m going to do when you don’t want me any longer.” I didn’t want to have thoughts like that in my head, but they just popped up as they pleased. I didn’t doubt Daniel’s feelings for me, but as much as I wanted to believe in forever, I knew that all good things came to an end.

    Daniel pulled me from him, extending me arms length in front of him. Automatically, my eyes fell to the floor. I felt so awful for even brining all this up on a perfect day, but ever since I started living with him, I found it increasingly difficult to keep things tucked away. “Tyler, look at me,” he said gently but firmly at the same time.

    I kept my eyes glued to my feet, but Daniel brushed a hand against my cheek as he lifted my chin to his emerald gaze.

    “It’s impossible for me not to want you, Tyler. I don’t think you understand how much you mean to me, and that’s my fault; I haven’t expressed it to you properly. Please allow me to make it up to you now.” Daniel took a deep breath and smiled down at me. “My life didn’t have meaning until I met you, and even before I loved you, seeing you, even at your worst, made my day brighter. I grew to cherish the minute moments we shared before I even realized I actually longed for them.

    “All I wanted was to speak to you, to know what you were thinking, Tyler. Then, as time progressed, I wanted to be in your life. I didn’t realize that my life needed you to be complete, but now that I know, I don’t plan on letting you slip away from me.” Tears threatened to fall in his emerald stare. “I’ve given myself to you, Tyler; I’ve given my entire being to you. No one has had that much power over me, but you do, and you don’t even realize it.” He took a deep breath to steady himself.

    “This is all new to me too, my prince. I’ve thought I’ve loved in the past, but nothing I have ever felt amounts to the way I feel about you; I love you, Tyler Greer.” A single tear slid down his cheek, making its way to his chin and down his neck.

    Words refused to form on my tongue, but my thoughts ran rampant. I couldn’t believe the things Daniel said, but the resonated so truly with my heart; everything felt so right. It was at that moment that I realized that I had the love that they used for movies, for books; I had a love worth fighting for; I had a love that was truer than anything this planet possessed.

    “Daniel,” I whispered as I cried and buried my face into his chest. My mother would have been so proud that I found such a love with Daniel; she would have been so proud at the direction my life turned. “I love you.”

    I wanted to say more, to express my feelings farther, but Daniel claimed my lips in a passion laced kiss that made me curl my toes. “Now that we have that out of the way,” Daniel said breathlessly when he finally pulled away from me, “would you like to spend the day with me, my prince?”

    I grinned up at him. “I would like nothing more, my knight.” Daniel was truly my knight in shining armor keeping me safe through the darkness and becoming my beacon of light, illuminating my way through life.

    “I like that, Tyler.” Daniel said with a wide grin. “I like being your knight.”

    “You’re doing a very nice job at it.”

    Daniel placed his hand over mine. “I plan on doing an even better job at it today, but first, I need to shower, and I’m wondering if you would like to join me.” He added the last part shyly.

    I cocked my head to the side and couldn’t stifle the smile that crept onto my lips. “I would love to.”

    Daniel seemed surprised and smiled brighter. Leading me, we walked into the bathroom. Shutting the door behind him, Daniel knelt down by the porcelain tub and turned the water on, adjusting the temperature. Once satisfied, Daniel pushed himself back to his feet.

    He placed his hands on my shoulders then slowly slid them down my arms, catching my fingers in his own before he leaned down to claim my lips in a kiss as steamy as the air around us. I stood on the tips of my toes and wrapped my arms around Daniel’s neck, deepening the kiss. His lips were like a match lighting a fire within my being.

    Daniel pulled away, reaching for the bottom of my sweater, quickly pulling it over my head. His hands immediately traveled down my bare chest, stopping at my hips. His touch sent shivers of delight up my spine, and I wanted him to touch me everywhere.

    Taking a deep breath, I placed my hands over Daniel’s, moving them down slowly so he caught the waistband of my sweats. My pants fell to my ankles, leaving me utterly exposed. Daniel kept his hungry eyes glued to mine, never looking away as I moved my hands to his hips. Deliberately slow, I began inching his sweatpants down. When they fell to the ground, he quickly stepped out of them.

    In one swift movement, Daniel pulled me against his hard body roughly, claiming my lips once more. I stepped out of my pants as we began moving backwards. Daniel only pulled away to step into the shower. I went in right after him.

    The hot water cascaded over our bodies as we touched and tasted each other. Daniel spun me around quickly, gently pressing me against the cool shower wall. He trailed kisses down the side of my neck and across my back. Raising my hands, I clawed against the wall and moaned as Daniel’s hand found my stiffness while his own hard body pressed against my backside.

    As I soon learned, shower sex was definitely very high on my list of things to do every single day of my life.

   

    Once clean and dry, Daniel and I walked hand-in-hand to the bedroom to change. “I was thinking that we could leave the house today,” Daniel said as he dropped the towel around his waist and began rummaging through the dresser.

    I did my best to not gawk at his perfectly naked body beside as I opened the closet. “That sounds like fun,” I said as I chose a dark, formfitting long-sleeved top. Daniel and I rarely did anything out of the apartment while the sun was up. He knew how much I hated being around people, but it seemed like every day I spent with Daniel, I grew slightly stronger.

    “I’m glad you think so,” he said brightly as he stepped into a pair of heavily deconstructed black denim jeans. The knees were completely ripped out, but they still managed to hug him in all the right places. “How does the mall sound?”

    My stomach immediately twisted into a thousand knots. I didn’t think Daniel would want to go to the blasted mall; I was thinking more along the lines of a nice peaceful trip to the park. The mall never ceased to be packed full of people crowding around like insects to a flame.

    To be fair, the last time I went to the mall was when I was thirteen and my mother drug me there for new school clothes. If I remembered correctly, I nearly had a panic attack after walking in the doors. Maybe things changed enough that I could stand to be there?

    “I’m going to take the blank stare on your face and the looming silence that you don’t want to go…” Daniel’s voice trailed off.

    I ran a hand through my hair nervously and smiled a tiny smile. “It’s not that,” I mumbled weakly. “It’s just that I know there will be a lot of people, and just knowing that fact makes me nervous.”

    Daniel stepped closer, cupping my cheek in his palm. “I think it’ll be good for you to be around people, babe.”

    I closed my eyes and leaned into his warm touch. He was right, and I knew that; however, I wasn’t sure if I felt that I was ready to put myself in that situation just yet. “I don’t think I’m ready,” I said softly, mimicking my thoughts.

    Daniel rubbed his thumb across my cheek. “I believe you’re ready, Tyler.” He paused to kiss my lips. “If you really would rather not go, we can go to the park instead.”

    I opened my eyes and sighed. The obvious option was to suck it up and go with Daniel to the mall, but like everything with me, I was torn. Despite being torn, I drew a deep breath and exhaled slowly, trying my best not to regret my decision. “Let’s go to the mall, Daniel.”

    Daniel smiled down at me. “I promise I’ll make it worth your while, my prince.” Daniel placed a tender kiss on my forehead before turning back to his closet.

    “I know one way you can make it worth my while,” I said wickedly as I turned my back to Daniel and dropped my towel. Glancing over my shoulder, I found him gawking at my naked backside. When the flash of boldness ebbed, I quickly stepped into a pair of boxer shorts and pulled on a pair of light denim jeans. The legs were a bit too long, but I rolled them in a tight cuff at the bottom.

    “You might want to watch your behind around me,” Daniel whispered in my ear from behind me.

    I didn’t even here him walk up, but nonetheless, I grinned and turned around. “Why is that?” I asked dangerously.

    Daniel chose to wear thick grey sweater that made his emerald eyes stand out even more. “You know why,” he said with a grin as he reached around me, tapping my behind lightly. “You should wear this sweater more often. It looks great on you.”

    Leaning up to place a kiss on the sharp line of his jaw, I spun around, shaking my ass on purpose as I walked. In the bathroom, I looked myself over and found that Daniel was right; I did look good.

    It was such an odd thought to think that I actually looked good. Time with Daniel never ceased to do wonders for me. I filled out my clothes completely, and the top clung to me in a way that flattered my chest. I didn’t work out, so I stayed thinly build, but I didn’t look sickly anymore; I looked healthy.

    My brown eyes seemed to glow with an inner happiness that nearly made me cry. Daniel walked up and stood behind me, placing a hand on my shoulder. I met his reflection’s warm smile. “Look what you’ve done to me,” I said as my cheeks lit up slightly.

    “You’re beautiful, Tyler; you always have been. You’ve just never seen it before.”

    I spun around and stood on the tips of my toes, placing a kiss firmly on his lips. “Thank you,” I said as I hovered my lips over his.

   

    The drive to the mall was a short one, or at least it seemed short because Daniel’s company made me forget about time. When we arrived, I felt my nerves settle in the pit of my stomach. The aisles leading to the front of the vast building were crammed with cars.

    “You ok?” Daniel asked when he finally found an empty parking place not too far from the entrance. He put the car in park and pulled the key from the ignition.

    I smiled up at him nervously. “I will be with you. I think.”

    Daniel chuckled lightly. “I’ll protect you,” he said seriously.

    I couldn’t help but giggle. “You may have to.”

    We strode hand-in-hand towards the glass entranceway. There were people walking around, carrying on with their daily lives. We managed to catch a few eyes. The world was definitely headed toward the right direction in accepting all its people, but that didn’t mean the people caught on just yet.

    An older gentleman actually sneered at us as Daniel pulled open the door. I released his hand, choosing to hook my arm through his and bringing my body closer to his. My stomach was in knots, but as we walked together and as Daniel held me tightly, I slowly began to relax.

    Surprisingly, I didn’t mind the people so much as long as I had Daniel. We made our way through a few stores, not really looking at anything in particular, but Daniel kept looking down at me to make sure I was ok. When I smiled up at him, he looked surprised but pleased at the same time.

    I guessed that he didn’t think I would do as well as I did with all those people around. Hell, I surprised myself.

    We made our way into a small no name clothing store filled with handmade garments and tie-dyed shirts. I found myself eying a specific shirt in particular; it was tie-dyed with all the colors of the rainbow, but a few of them bled together, making dark colors of their former bright selves. Somehow, the pattern the dyes made looked like a blooming flower. I found it intriguing and beautiful.

    “Do you like that one?” He asked, reaching out and touching the shirt I had my eyes glued on.

    I shrugged, not wanting Daniel to spend any money on me. “It’s pretty,” I said, trying to sound uncaring.

    “I didn’t ask if it was pretty; I asked if you liked it.” Daniel said with one of his lopsided smiles.

    I chewed on my bottom lip and nodded my head. “I do like it, but don’t buy it for me. You’ve already done so much for me, Daniel.”

    Daniel pursed his lips. “Well, I plan on doing as much as possible for you, so you’re going to take this shirt and try it on, ok?”

    I glared at him and put my hands on my hips. “I don’t want you to spend money on me, Daniel.”

    Daniel leaned down and placed a kiss lightly on my lips. “I would rather you try the shirt on before I buy it that way it’ll fit you, but either way, I’m buying you this shirt. I work hard for my money, and I can spend it anyway I please.” He pulled the shirt from its place on the stand and extended it out to me. “It’s your choice.”

    Rolling my eyes playfully, I took the shirt from him and began walking to the dressing room in the back of the small store. “Wait for me here,” I said as I darted off.

    Calling this place a dressing room was giving it a bit too much credit. Essentially, it was a closet with a thick, red drape blocking the view from the main room of the store. Quickly, I pulled off my shirt and slid the tie-dyed one over my head. I studied myself in the long rectangular mirror slapped on the wall and smiled.

    The shirt was a bit too big on me, but I liked it that way. I peeked over the curtain self-consciously. Daniel was the only person anywhere near me, and the heavily bearded man at the cash register was too busy taking money from a woman to give me any notice. I stepped through and stood before Daniel with a huge smile plastered on my lips.

    “Well, look at you. You’re my little hippie.” Daniel said with a grin. “It looks good on you.”

    I held out a peace sign with my right hand and said, “Flower power,” a little too loudly and caught the attention of the man behind the counter.

    “Right on, dude!” He shouted back at me.

    I instantly burned two shades of red and Daniel laughed loudly at me. I ran off into the changing room and put my clothes back on. When I came back out, Daniel was still laughing. “It’s not funny,” I said while having a difficult time hiding my own smile.

    “You’re wrong, Tyler. That was pretty hilarious. You should have seen your face; you looked absolutely horrified.” Daniel took the shirt from me and placed a kiss on my cheek. “It was adorable.”

    I glared at him. “Oh, be quiet.”

    “Make me,” Daniel said as he danced around me childishly.

    Grinning, I grabbed his arm and pulled him into me. Leaning up, I plopped a kiss on his lips. “Made you,” I mumbled as I pulled away.

    “That’ll be fifteen even,” the man behind the register said happily in his gruff voice. As Daniel pulled out his wallet and counted his money, the man went on. “You two are together, right?”

    Daniel looked up from his wallet defensively, and I felt my stomach tighten. “Yeah,” Daniel said firmly.

    The old man’s eyes lit up. “Rad, man. That’s rad. I thought you two were. It’s so rare to see true love nowadays.”

    Daniel smiled and glanced down at me. “Thank you, sir,” he said formally.

    The old man wrinkled his nose but smiled brightly. I guessed that he didn’t like being addressed as sir. “People these days get caught up in the materialistic part of the world to open their eyes to real love,” he said as he stuffed the cash into the register. “You just made my day, boys.”

    I smiled brightly as Daniel said thank you and began walking away. I stopped and looking up at the man. “How do you do it,” I asked. “How do you make these shirts?”

    He laughed. “It’s not complicated, but it takes patience. You never know exactly how they’ll come out. Sometimes, you get something that looks like horse poop, but sometimes, when you get lucky, you end up with art.”

    “What do you do with the ones that look like horse poop?” I asked with a small laugh. It felt so weird having polite conversation with someone I didn’t know.

    “Well, what I like don’t really matter that much. We all like different things and have different tastes. Some things appeal to one person while the rest of us absolutely hate it.” He paused. “Take that shirt you just bought. I hate it; I think it looks too sloppy, but you like it. Why do you like it?”

    Daniel walked up beside me, taking my hand gently. I glanced up at him before speaking. “It reminds me of my life,” I said confidently. “There are dark parts of my life that I would like to forget, but they’ll always be there, but there is also light, and light always wins out over the dark.” Daniel was my light.

    The old man stoked his beard and grinned. I noticed that he was missing a few of his teeth. “You, young man,” he said addressing Daniel, “have a keeper. You better not let this one get away from you.”

    Daniel wrapped an arm around my shoulders, pulling me against his chest. “Trust me; I don’t plan on ever letting him go.”

    We walked away in all smiles. Just as we were about to leave, the old man called after us once more. I turned around to find him walking over to us with a small box in his hand. Before I could ask, he handed it to me and grinned down at me. “Use this together and see what you two can come up with.”

    It was a tie-dye kit.

    “Thank you,” I said as we left, but the old man waved away my thanks like flies.

    “He was really nice,” Daniel said as he slid the box into the bag holding my shirt. “I have to say that I was completely shell shocked when you started a conversation with him.”

    I blushed and shrugged, wrapping my arm around Daniel’s waist. “I don’t know what came over me.”

    Daniel was about to speak when a female voice yelled at the top of her lungs, “Daniel!”

    We stopped and Daniel looked around, meeting the eyes of a tall Amazonian beauty. She slammed her body into Daniel, wrapping her arms around him tightly, nearly shoving me to the ground the same way someone would chase away a lovesick puppy.

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Isn't it nice to see Tyler grow and watch the relationship between the two of them blossom? I just adore it, but who do you think this Amazonian beauty is? wuuuuh-oh.

As always, please vote for this chapter and leave a comment; I absolutely love feedback and talking to you all about my story! Plus, your votes and comments keep me inspired to continue writing(:

On the bright side, you all wont have to wait TOO long for chapter 18 <3

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