Eighteen: Jealous

The sounds of voices laughing and chatting amongst themselves filled my ears along with engines of cars passing by. The sidewalks of downtown are crowded, surprising me for a Wednesday night. People pass by us in groups, nearly making Tyler and I have to walk in the road.

For a week night, a lot of people are out. It didn't bother me, though. I love seeing people out of their homes for once. The world is too big to sit inside all day.

Currently, Tyler and I have been walking through downtown, just talking and enjoying each other's company.

The temperature for a February evening is surprisingly warm, and that may be the reasoning for many people's sudden outdoor adventures. It was the reason for mine. There's no way I would be out here if it was as cold as usual.

Tyler and I ended up eating at Texas Roadhouse, and I was excited to treat him for once. I should have known I wouldn't have had the chance, because as soon as the check came Tyler snatched it and gave his card to our waitress.

After some scolding, he finally agreed to let me pay for dessert.

"Are you sure Simply Frozen is what you want?" I ask again, baffled at the fact he wants something cold in the middle of winter.

"Ice cream is year round. Doesn't matter the temperature," Tyler clarifies.

"Except it isn't ice cream. It's frozen yogurt," I remind him.

"It's the same thing," he defends.

"No, ice cream is made from cream while frozen yogurt is made from cultured milk," I inform.

"What the fuck is cultured milk?" Tyler asks, stopping dead in his tracks.

His sudden stop makes me stop as well, considering my arm is wrapped around his.

"I don't know, but frozen yogurt tastes good so it can't be that bad for you," I tell him.

Tyler does his thinking face, eyes squinted and bro's furrowed with his lips pushed more outwards.

We continue our walking, stopping right when we come to the entrance of Simply Frozen.

The outside of the store is different from the store fronts around it. With a pink painted exterior and letters in bright orange, it brought some color to the dull looking buildings around it. The inside matched the bubbly exterior, mixing white, green, pink, and orange colors together to give the room a more child like vibe.

Tyler opens the door for me and I walk in, noting the people sitting around two of the tables. One is a group of teenager girls, probably around fifteen or sixteen; the other a family with their three young kids.

I used to come here with my friends when I was around the girls ages. Simply Frozen has always been a go to place of mine when I craved something sweet.

The back wall of the room had at least thirty different self serve stations to get different flavored yogurt from. In front of the wall was a counter full of different toppings for the yogurt.

I think that was my favorite part. I had full choice of what I wanted and how much I wanted, and no matter what, the price would be the same.

I grab the medium sized cup and started filling it halfway with cake batter flavored yogurt. I then make my way to the topping bar, adding a heaping amount of whipped cream, then topped it off with some waffle cone pieces and cookie dough.

As I'm adding my finishing touches of Oreo pieces on to my yogurt, Tyler comes up beside me, bumping his hip into mine.

I bite down on my lip, trying to hide my smile as I bump him back.

"Woah there, lady," he says, his northern accent coming out. "I'm going to need you to chill. I am working on art over here."

I look down at his bowl, noticing the overwhelming amount of chocolate toppings sitting on top of chocolate flavored yogurt.

"Looks like art to me," I laugh at him.

"Better than yours. Yours looks bland," he comments.

"I didn't want to add to much. I'm trying to lower my calorie count. I've been gaining weight," I tell him, a frown forming on my face at the mention of my slight weight gain.

"Don't worry about that, babe. You're going to be burning a lot of calories tonight," he comments.

"Tyler!" I shout at him, my cheeks growing red and my eyes widening. "Besides, I already told you I can't stay. I have work in the morning."

"Call in," He tells me.

"Yeah, I'm sure Tom would love that," I laugh, thinking about how just two days ago he was screaming at me in his office.

"Fuck Tom," Tyler says as I turn to walk up to the cashier to pay. "Wait, no don't fuck Tom. Not what I meant. Fuck me while you're at my house tomorrow because you called in," he corrects himself.

"Shut up," I say in a whisper. "There's kids here," I remind him, though I don't think that's going to stop him.

After I pay, Tyler and I both sit on the left side of the room, closer to the teenage girls than the kids. I didn't want to risk them hearing any of Tyler's sex related comments.

After a couple of minutes of eating and talking to Tyler, I notice the group of girls continuously turning to look at Tyler and I.

At first, I thought maybe there was something wrong with me. I figured I may have had something on my face, or maybe a fault in my outfit. I figured it was just my anxiety again, and my suspicions were confirmed when I noticed it wasn't me they were looking at. It was Tyler.

"Those girls keep looking at you," I tell him.

Tyler raises his head and puts his spoon down in his bowl before turning completely around to spot the girls, making it obvious I had just told him.

I'm going to slap the fuck out of him.

"Why?" He asks.

"They think you're hot," I tell him.

"They're like fifteen," Tyler notes, brushing it off.

"They don't care. Young girls don't care at all how old guys are. If they're hot then they're hot," I clarify.

"They aren't wrong. I am hot," he says, a smirk coming to his lips.

I couldn't argue with him on that. He is very attractive.

Tyler and I continue to eat our yogurt and I am surprised he hasn't went into a sugar shock yet with how much chocolate he has added. It hasn't affected him yet, but I know soon he's going to be very energized later.

Which might be beneficial for me.

I had just finished my yogurt, throwing the spoon in the plastic bowl when I notice Tyler's eyes following someone behind me.

Just as he had earlier, I turn in my seat and look for the person he was staring at. I feel my stomach twist into knots when i see two familiar people.

Jace and Kristen.

I watch as they walk across the room, going straight to the self serve machines in the back to fill their bowls up.

"Is that Jace?" Tyler asks, probably remembering him from the night he and I fought at the club.

Or from his arrest.

"Yeah, that is," I say, turning back around to focus on Tyler.

"Who's the girl?" Tyler asks, making note of Kristen.

"That's his girlfriend, Kristen," I inform him.

Tyler nods, taking in what I told him. He didn't see fazed by Kristen and Jace's presence in the least bit.

I wish I could say the same.

For some reason, seeing Jace and Kristen here made me feel uneasy. I didn't know if it's the fact that Jace doesn't support Tyler and I together, or if it was the fact Jace lied to me.

I'm not feeling the best. Can we skip the gym today?

Here he was, at Simply Frozen, looking completely fine as he laughs along to something behind me.

I'm not offended by the fact he cancelled on me. I'm only offended by the fact he lied to me about it. I wasn't going to get mad if he told me he just wanted to spend some time with Kristen. With how their relationships been going, that's exactly what he needs to be doing.

I suddenly felt the urge to want to leave.

"Oh my god! Octavia, is that you?" Kristen's ecstatic voice yells.

I turn around to see her, standing in a much more causal outfit than me. Her jeans and t shirt outfit looked way more comfortable than my outfit, and I grew jealous of her. She had no makeup on either, and her hair is left in its natural waves. Still a beauty, even without trying.

"Hey!" I say, matching her tone.

Kristen leans down and gives me a greeting hug; quick and simple.

"I remember telling you to keep in touch last time I saw you. Next time I hear some news I want it to be from your mouth and not Jace's," she scolds.

"I'm sorry, Kristen. I've just been busy with work and everything," I apologize to her.

I don't know why I was apologizing. I'll always appreciate Kristen and her bringing me into this group, but the fact of the matter is me and Kristen just aren't.

At the beginning we were, but when Jace and I started getting closer, my friendship with Kristen just fell onto the back burner. It wasn't anyone's fault. We both just got busy living our lives.

It's gotten to the point where I no longer miss our friendship or her in general. I hate that, because she really was a good friend. Friends make time for each other, and Kristen never did that anymore.

"I can see what's been taking up your free time," Kristen says, her eyes scanning over Tyler. "You must be Tyler. I'm Kristen," she says, sticking her hand out to shake Tyler's.

I didn't know why, but I felt a pinch of jealousy and possessiveness in the moment when their hands met. Maybe it was the way he was looking at him, or maybe it was I had to watch Jace love her while I had feelings for him for so long.

Something in me wanted to tell her to let me have this one.

It wasn't like I was settling with Tyler because I couldn't have Jace. I'm over Jace at this point. Tyler coming into my life has completely changed everything and I'm so thankful for that.

I went from a simple life, to one full of drama. I didn't know if that was something to be thankful for or not, but the feeling of recklessness I feel now is almost euphoric.

"Nice to meet you," Tyler says to her.

"This place is honestly a rip off. I paid fifteen dollars for two cups of frozen yogurt and some toppings. I could have paid four for some ice cream at the store and we'd been fine," I hear Jace complain as he walks up to the three of us.

Jace's face went from annoyed over the price to completely shocked seeing Tyler and I sitting here.

"Hey, Octavia," he says, his voice shaky.

He had been busted.

"Jace," I say, giving him a nod.

"Tyler, have you met Jace yet?" Kristen asks him.

"Not formally," Tyler answers her.

"What?" She shouts, as if it's the biggest surprise. "You two would make great friends."

Actually, they wouldn't. Your boyfriend doesn't like my boyfriend because your boyfriend thinks mine is dangerous and is going to hurt me.

"Octavia, if you ever get a free moment shoot me a text. We all need to go out sometime," she tells me.

We could be going out all the time if you'd show up on Fridays like everybody else.

"That would be fun. I'll do that," I say to her, forcing a smile.

"We better get going. It was mice meeting you, Tyler," Kristen says, placing a hand on Tyler's shoulder.

"You too," Tyler replies.

"Oh, Jace," I call, making everybody's eyes turn to me. "I won't be at work tomorrow, so if anyone asks, I'm not feeling the best," I tell him, quoting the words he had told me earlier.

Jace opens his mouth to say something, an apologetic look on his face. He quickly closes it though, opting to nod as a response.

Jace and Kristen give us another goodbye and head out the doors, leaving Tyler and I to be alone once again.

"She's quite bubbly," Tyler comments, trying to hold in a laugh.

"She's something," I comment, still feeling annoyed.

"You okay?" Tyler asks, reaching his hand across the table to grab mine.

"I don't know why I got so annoyed with her," I say, starting to regret the way I was acting just seconds ago.

"Jealousy?" Tyler asks and I nod. "Babe, believe me when I tell you that you don't have to worry about any other girl. My eyes are only for you," he assures me.

I smile, my cheeks burning from his comment and my stomach filling with butterflies. Tyler always knew what to say, it was something I admired about him. I would get choked up on words, meanwhile he's talking like a man from a romance novel. It really wasn't fair.

"Besides, I get you all to myself tonight," he says, making me remember my comment about not showing up to work.

"I'm all yours," I say.

I'm all his and he's all mine. What else could I need?