CLXIII- To Date or Not to Date

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I only remember staying awake for half of the movie. I had fallen asleep on the couch, presumably with Ty. This morning I wake up in my bed and Ty is gone. He must've moved me here.

I check my phone and there's a text from him saying to call him when I'm up. So I find his contact and wait for Ty to pick up. He answers on the second ring. "Good morning." He immediately says.

"Morning. What time did you leave last night?"

Ty chuckles, "When I couldn't take the snoring anymore."

I scoff, "I don't snore."

"Yeah that's what they all say." All being women? I shake the thought off. "I actually left after the movie. Didn't want to overstay my welcome."

"No I-" I pause to get my thoughts together. "I liked hanging out. Even though it was short lived."

His tongue clicks, "Well, why don't we get together again? Do you work at the diner today?"

"No, I'm off. Get together as in...a date?" I don't know if I'm ready for that. My palms begin to sweat and my heart races as I wait for his reply.

Ty leaves me hanging for thirty seconds, "We're friends right?"

"Right." I let out a deep breath. "I have class until two."

I begin to play with a loose thread in my blanket. "Until then."Our conversation ends and the phone clicks.

The call clicks and disconnects. I pull the phone away from my ear and look at the screen, "Very mysterious, Ty." I say more to myself.

I'm in the shower when I hear a knock on my front door. I get out and dry off before getting in a robe so I can answer it. "Coming!" I yell as the knocking continues. The second I open the door, I freeze.

"Hey, Livia." Hunter half smiles and looks up at me with a black eye.

I suck in a breath at the sight of him. My immediate thought is-"What did Seth do?"

At this, Hunter's half smile fades and he shakes his head. "Oh no. I'm sorry I didn't mean to make you think-" He sighs. "I got into a fight with someone at school." Hunter points to his eye. "And I obviously lost."

My shoulders relax at his words. Not because he's hurt but because it wasn't Seth. "Are you okay?"

"I'm great actually. I'll take the fact that you still care as a sign we're still friends?" I see the guilt behind his eyes and feel it too.

I open my door and let him come inside. "How did you find my place?" I changed the subject, not wanting to talk about Seth, or what happened.

Denial is my defense mechanism. "I ran into Katie and she told me you got your own place near campus. I asked her for the address." Hunter looks around and stuffs his hands in his pockets. "It's nice."

"Thanks.." This is so awkward. Us tiptoeing around each other. I shake my head and move into the kitchen, grabbing two waters from the fridge and handing one to Hunter. He takes it. "So why did you stop by?" We move over to the couch and take a seat.

Hunter takes a drink of his water before answering. "I wanted to see how you were doing. Maybe get a read on our friendship?"

I pause. I feel terrible that Hunter and I stopped talking. I guess I've just been uncertain of his thoughts on the situation. "I'm not mad at you, Hunter. After everything you've done for me, I wouldn't end our friendship over a guy."

Hunter puts his hands in his lap and looks down at them. "He wasn't just a guy though. He was your friend too." Not to mention the fact that Hunter is in love with him.

That much changes everything. "I know, Iays 'm sorry."

Hunter looks back up at me, "Seth is too. He never wanted to make things worse."

"Seth did what he thought was right." If it were anybody else, I might've too. We always knew we would get caught the more people found out. I just never thought it would be Seth. "I'm not mad at him either. I was at first, but now I just want everything to blow over. I want us to move on."

Hunter sits back and lowers his previously tense shoulders. "Wow, you're really good at taking the high road." I don't agree with him but don't add anything else to the conversation.

How I feel about Seth right now is undetermined. However, I also remember feeling estranged towards Hunter just last year. I know it's different but I almost lost him as a friend. Who knows, maybe Seth and I can work past this.

Changing the subject, I ask, "So this fight of yours...what happened?"

Shawn's P.O.V.

"Okay and this is his favorite blanket. He won't fall asleep without it so Do. Not. Lose. It." I smile so that I still seem friendly but I mean it. If Matthew doesn't sleep, I don't sleep. So he really needs that blanket. "If you have any questions, call me."

I'm halfway out the door. Mom is holding onto Matthew, he's smiling up at her. "You forget I've had two sons of my own?" Her eyes narrow on me, "I recall a certain stuffed animal that you never let go of. What was it...? A giraffe? No..."

I laugh dryly, "Ha, Ha, mom. It was a monkey and his name was Goose. I was a kid and it made no sense." I smile at the memory. The monkey was Jack's before mine. "Thanks again, for babysitting."

She waves me off and holds Matthew's hand up to wave me goodbye. I wave back as I close the door behind me.


I make it to the bar and head over to where Ty is standing. He's over by the stage, looking behind one of the speakers systems. "This is new." I mention while also letting him know I'm here. He had texted me this morning, asking for me to meet him here when I could. It's noon now. I can't stay for long but whatever he wanted to tell me clearly couldn't happen over the phone.

Ty looks up from the speaker and nods, "Yeah, I wanted a few live bands to come in. Nothing too crazy, maybe one show a month to start." Ty has growing plans for this place. I think it's safe to admit that they don't want this bar to be sold just like the others. There's some kind of attachment both Layla and Ty have here. "I'm done anyway, at least until the technician gets here." He gestures for me to have a seat at the bar, where Layla pours me a glass of water and sets it in front of me.

"Do you know why my brother asked you here?" Layla says with an all knowing grin.

I chuckle, "No."

Layla smirks and throws her towel down before walking into the back. When she's out of sight, I turn to Ty. "Okay...what was that about?"

Ty sighs, suddenly turning serious. "It's about Livia." My body freezes at the sound of her name. People have been tiptoeing around it since I started hanging out here with Jack.

"I already know that she's back in New York." I saw her. When Jack was outside. It took all I had to stay in the car but I had to. If I had gotten out and talked to her it would've been too much. I wasn't ready.

He shakes his head and sits next to me. "It's not that it's...." His eyes dart back and forth between me and the bar counter. What is he trying to tell me? "I wanted to ask you about how you would feel if I maybe wanted to ask her out?" Wow, that soon?

What do I say to that? Sure, you can date the one woman I've ever really loved. Wait a minute, he's my friend. He's coming to me and asking me as a friend. A friend that's always had it out for Livia.

The thought of seeing them together gets under my skin in ways I never thought it could. But how can I tell him no? Livia is a free woman, she can make her own choices. "Of course you can. You don't have to ask me for permission. If anything it's Livia's permission-"

"Yeah, I'm picking her up tonight and I thought about asking her out but-" He gestures to me. "We're friends." And now so are they. Or friends again, considering they were the last time we were on a break. Broken up. I remind myself. This time is real, this time is forever. So she can date whoever she wants.

I force myself to smile, I can't believe I got my mom to babysit for this. "Just do me a favor and don't hurt her okay? She's been through enough."

Ty half laughs, "I knew you still loved her." I wasn't trying to hide it. "I'll back off if you want me to."

"What Livia and I had is over. If you want to date her then that's up to her to decide, not me."

Ty puts his hands up in mock surrender. "Heard." He gets up from the barstool and nods to the door. I follow his gaze and see that Jack has entered the bar. He walks up to us just as Layla comes back out.

Surprisingly Layla doesn't make a big deal out of the situation between me and Ty. Instead she starts talking to Jack about their weekend plans. "You know Shawn, you should start looking into dating again. Get back out there, you know?" Ty says to me.

I turn back to make eye contact, "Not for a while. I just got Matthew, that's a process all in itself."

"It doesn't mean you can't think about yourself every now and then. Sleep on it." I shake my head because trying to date again is the last thing I want to think about. It was harder before with my track record. But now there's Matthew to consider.

I tell Ty I would, to end the conversation before turning to join Layla and Jack in theirs. They're talking about the first band they want to introduce. "It's going to be a huge summer kick off." Layla states proudly. She then pulls the hair away from her face and smiles. "Everyone will want to come."

"Easy Layla. This is a big city, we don't want everyone to come." Layla pushes Ty lightly and shakes her head at him.

Jack nods at me, "I'll be here."

Livia might come too.

"We'll have to see." I say, knowing I wasn't ready to lay my eyes on her the other night. Let alone speaking to her, especially with Ty. Seeing them together...it'll take some getting used to.

I force a smile and look at my watch, "I should probably be getting back to Matthew." I stand up from my seat and say goodbye to everyone.

I recognize that I have no right to have this sinking feeling in my chest. But I do. I thought things were just starting to get to a normal pace without her. Now she's back and in my life again. Only this time we're not together.


Livia's P.O.V.

I open the door for Ty, he's holding a bouquet of flowers. "I have to confess something. I was lying earlier when I said I didn't want this to be a date. And if I haven't completely lost your trust...I'd like to take you out." I look at the flowers, they make me think of Dean and his stalking.

Instead, I try to think of these as a nice gesture. "I'd like that." I decide, knowing at some point, I'll have to move on from Shawn. He'll have to do the same. I take the flowers and set them in an empty vase before grabbing my purse and leaving with him. "Where are we going?" I ask as we get into his car.

"That's a surprise." Once again Ty becomes a mystery.

After twenty minutes of driving, we pull up to Ty's place. I'd ask why we're here but I'd just get another cryptic answer. So I go with the flow and follow him up. He grabs my hand as we're in the elevator and leads me inside his place. There isn't a single light on but he doesn't need help navigating to the patio.

This is when he turns the lights on, more than a hundred string lights wrap around his patio, but most of all, his pool. I knew they had a lot of money, but a pool in New York like this must've cost a fortune. "Wow." I say for a lack of better words.

"I hope you know how to swim." Ty says with a smirk.

I look down at my clothes, "I don't have a bathing suit."

Ty waves me off and begins to undress in front of me, starting with his shirt. "Neither do I." I laugh at this. Only Ty would own a pool and not a bathing suit. "If you decide to leave your clothes on, you can borrow mine to change into. If not then..." He looks me up and down. "Well that's fine too."

I shake my head at him, not knowing whether or not to take him seriously. "This is your idea of a date?"

Ty shrugs and takes off his shoes and socks. "If my parents' death taught me anything, it's to not waste time on the people you like."

"Because life is short."

"It's a cliche but...exactly. I like you Livia, and I think you like me too." He takes his pants off and sets them aside with the rest of his things.

I don't know how I feel towards Ty. I know he's cute, smart, and nice. He has a good heart and a fun sister. They live on the edge. Maybe I could learn a lot from him.

The next thing I know I'm taking my shoes and socks off. "I'm staying in my underwear." I warn. Then I grab the hem of my shirt and lift it up over my head. It falls silently. Ty looks at my eyes the entire time I undress. I hope it's out of respect.

Once I'm finished, he reaches out his hand and smiles at me. "Ready?"

I nod. Slowly we walk to the edge of the pool and jump in. Our hands break just before we hit the water. It's cold, causing goosebumps to form on my body. I'm quick to rise up. I laugh as I move my hair out of my face and search for Ty. He's barely a foot away, but he swims to me. "That wasn't so bad was it?"

"Ask me in a few minutes when my body gets used to the water."

Ty's eyebrows draw in together. "You're cold. Here." His hands come up and grab my arms for the body heat. He rubs my arms up and down a few times. I instantly feel warmer. "How's that?"

"Much better." I replied. There's barely any space between us now. The proximity scares me and excites me at the same time. I admire Ty, he's beautiful inside and out.

When he notices I've been staring at him he smiles and begins to lean in. Do I want him to kiss me? I ask myself as he inches closer and closer in. At the last second I turn my head, his lips land on my cheek. "I'm sorry." I apologize. "I thought I wanted this."

Ty looks defeated. As if he's taken a massive blow to his ego. He removes his hands from my body. "You're still not over Shawn." He says matter of factly.

Only he's right. "I'm not sure I ever will be."

Just when I think he's going to get mad and kick me out, he says, "I get it. You told me it would always be him. This time just felt different."

"This time is different. Shawn and I are never getting back together." Saying it out loud sends a pang in my heart I didn't anticipate. It makes things more real.

Ty takes my hands and looks me in the eyes. "You're nineteen Livia. You shouldn't be this hung up over a man you could never really have. Not when someone that wants you, every traumatic piece-" We both laugh lightly at his comment. Then he continues much more seriously. "-Is standing right in front of you." He lets go of my hands and cups my face so that we're staring right at each other. So deeply that it sends chills down my spine. What do I make of this? "I've wanted to be with you since the second I saw you. Why can't that be as real as you and Shawn were?"

Without a word, I press my lips against his. He's surprised at first but gathers himself quickly. Ty wraps a hand around my waist and pulls me in closer. I'm doing this because I want to. Ty has never made me feel unsafe or unwanted. I'll never have to hide or lie to the people close to me. This feels right...it has to be. I pull away first, placing my hand firmly on his chest. "Wait, I want this-"

"But?" He senses.

"But I need to take this slow. I've never had a normal relationship. Not with Shawn and definitely not with Dean. If we're doing this, let's do it right." At this point I'm not even sure what the right way is. I just know that slow is good.

With a quick nod, Ty says, "I think that's a good idea." He agrees, making me feel good about this. "Now come on. Let's dry off and grab some dinner."

"Oh, I'm starving." I laugh as we get out.

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