He Will Be Mine (New Horizon Book 1)

Date Night: Aly

I arrive at Tyler’s apartment building a bit early. I don’t care if the other guys are still there, we’re friends anyway, and I want to see Tyler. I make it to the second-floor hallway before I feel a sharp pain in my stomach. I would worry more about it except I already know what it's from. This is the way the pain begins to set in when my mate is having “relations” with someone else. I panic a little and wonder if I should try to make it back outside to ride it out in my car, but then the second wave sets in and it gets too hard to breathe.

About ten seconds in, I can’t stay on my feet any longer and drop to the floor, crawling the rest of the way to the door of their apartment. I’ve decided at this point that though I don’t want to get closer to where Matt and Jessica are doing whatever they’re doing, and I really don’t want anyone to see me like this, I would much rather be inside their apartment than out here in the hallway for a bunch of strangers to gawk at. It seems like this pain gets worse every time, and I feel too vulnerable out in the open.

I sit in front of their door and knock just as another wave of pain courses through me. This one’s bad. I fall over onto my side and curl up into the fetal position just trying to focus on breathing. I hear the door open and I can’t even say anything or tell who is standing there. Not Matt, I’m guessing.

I hear Trevor yell, “Hey Tyler, your girl is out here, and something is up with her.”

There’s some talking back and forth and shuffling around, and next thing I know Tyler is scooping me up into his lap. He leans his back against the wall next to their door and holds me against him. He tilts my face up to look at him and I try to speak to tell him not to worry, but the words won’t come out. I only manage to sob as tears stream down my face.

“Shh, it’s okay, baby,” he tries to soothe me, resting his cheek against the top of my head as he gently strokes my back. “I just need to know if you need me to call an ambulance. Is this an emergency?”

I shake my head and manage to force out a no. That’s the last thing I need. I just need to wait it out until this passes.

“Okay. I’m here. I’ve got you.”

I lean into him and try to relax. It does help having him rub my back and help me breathe. I try to focus on the feel of him and not on the pain. Eventually, it starts to ease up and I can take in deeper breaths again. Once I can finally hold myself up, I pull away from him and look him in the face.

“I’m okay now,” I tell him. “It’s fading a little bit.”

“What was that, Aly? I’ve never seen someone in so much pain before. Are you sure you don’t need to go to the hospital and get checked out?”

“I’m sure. I know what caused it, and it’s, er, I suppose you could say it’s a chronic problem I have. A condition of sorts, and I don’t really want to go into details about it.”

“Okay, fair enough. Just know I’m here, you can trust me, I would never tease you about it no matter how embarrassing you think it is, and I want to help in whatever way I can. But if you still don’t want to talk about it, I won’t press you on it.”

“Yeah, I still don’t want to talk about it. Sorry. But I appreciate you, so much. Thank you, Tyler.”

“Of course. Did you want to head inside and relax?”

“Yes, please.”

He chuckles and teases me for being so polite. Once we are both on our feet, he scoops me up and carries me bridal style into the living room, me giggling the whole way and telling him to put me down so I can walk. He refuses, and honestly, I’m enjoying him being so overprotective and taking care of me.

Once he sets me down on the couch, he starts unbuttoning my pants.

“Wow, seriously? That’s the first thing on your mind?” I tease him. “And right here in the living room?”

He laughs and shakes his head. “No, p*****t. I was thinking maybe you should take these off, so they don’t push on whatever you have going on in your belly in case that pain comes back. I can grab you some of my sweats to put on so you can be more comfortable.”

Though I know the pain likely won’t be coming back, and even if it did, having looser clothes won’t help it, I like the idea of wearing his clothes. I also like that he’s being so thoughtful and still taking care of me. So, I agree to his plan.

He pulls my pants the rest of the way off and steals my top too, leaving me sitting there on the couch in just my tank top and panties. At the moment, no one else is around, so I’m not too worried about it.

He disappears down the hall with my clothes and heads to his room to exchange them for some of his. Jessica makes her appearance only seconds later, much to my disappointment. I realize I should have insisted on going with him to his room so that I wouldn’t have to sit here and talk to her in my underwear.

She scoffs and rolls her eyes as she comes into the living room and plops at the far end of the couch, picking up a remote and turning on the TV. She looks all dressed up and ready for date night in a short black skirt and sparkly top that’s open in the back. Her hair is a little mussed, which is to be expected considering what she and Matt were up to a few minutes before, but somehow her makeup still seems flawless.

“Hey, Jess,” I greet her, deciding to go the friendly route instead of the all-too-tempting passive aggressive and bitter way of doing things.

After all, it’s not like she knows it causes me pain when she is intimate with her fiancée. I can’t hold that against her, but it sure is tempting considering that she never gives me any reason to like her.

“Ugh, don’t call me that,” she responds, seeming disgusted by me.

“Sorry, it’s just what I hear everyone else call you, so I assumed it was your preferred nickname,” I explain, still trying to be polite and friendly, though I don’t know why at this point.

“It is, for my friends, but you and I are not friends.”

“You know what? You’re right. We’re not. For the record, my name is Alyssa to you. Don’t call me Aly.”

“I try to pretend you don’t exist and not call you anything,” I hear her mutter under her breath.

She turns her body away from me, physically trying to ignore my existence, it seems. She makes a point of turning her full attention to whatever is on the TV as though it is the most interesting thing in the world. Alright then. I can’t say I’m sad about this development. If she would prefer we not talk, ever, then I can get on board with that.

Tyler comes back with some fresh clothes for me to put on, followed by Matt and Trevor immediately after. I mentally face-palm when I realize that the whole household is here to watch me get dressed now, but I figure I might as well just do it. Running away to change in the bathroom would just be silly at this point, and it’s not like it actually bothers me. I get full-on naked in front of my pack at least once a month. I just know it’s a little more taboo to be open about nudity among humans.

Tyler tosses me some gray sweats and a black t-shirt, and I stand up and pull them on. I notice that Matt watches me, though he is trying not to. It’s like he can’t help himself, even though Jessica is right there. I take secret pleasure in that. Trevor, on the other hand, seems completely oblivious like it is totally normal to have a half-naked woman in the living room, and knowing him, it might be.

Once I’ve finished, I sit back down next to Tyler, and he pulls me into his lap. He winds one hand into my hair and draws me close so he can pepper kisses along my cheek and neck, and his other hand holds my hip possessively. I can’t help but giggle at how affectionate and playful he is being, and I also can’t help but sneak glances at Matt to see if he is still watching. Judging by how he is sitting stiffly next to Jessica and trying to make a point of looking at the TV whenever I look at him, I would guess that he is riveted to the show we’re putting on.

Once the program on TV is over or goes to a commercial break, I wasn’t paying attention so I can’t say which, Jessica stands and holds out her hand to Matt.

“We’d better get going so we can make our reservation, baby” she says to him in that sickeningly sweet voice she likes to use on him.

He mumbles something back to her and stands, taking her hand and heading to the door with her. He turns and tells the guys goodbye, but simply nods at me. Apparently, he knows better than to address me directly when Jessica is right there. I can’t help but wonder if I’m such a sore topic for her because she somehow knows that there’s something between Matt and I, or if she just acts like that to all other women besides Meredith.

Trevor eventually heads out as well, off to his party I would presume, leaving just Tyler and I together. He turns to me, waggling his eyebrows at me and smirking.

“You know what that means, don’t you?” he asks suggestively. Then he leans in as though he is going to kiss me, and I fall for it.

I pucker my lips and get ready for him to rock my world, my heart pounding, goosebumps breaking out all over my skin. He comes close enough that our lips are touching and stops, still smirking at me.

“That means it’s time for ice cream,” he declares softly, seductively. Then he jumps up from the couch and turns to me, excited. “There’s only two pints for us in the freezer so we had to wait for those guys to all leave, but now it’s on. We’re going to get fat and freaky.”

He emphasizes the word “freaky” making it sound more like “free-kay” as he says it.

He does a little excited dance and heads off to the kitchen, and meanwhile, I’m still sitting stunned on the couch. I know the guy can be playful, but he has never done anything quite like that before. Usually, he wouldn’t pass up an opportunity to kiss and make-out.

I follow him to the kitchen, finally laughing at what he did. He turns around and smirks at me again, holding out one of the promised pints of ice cream. I turn it around to see what flavor it is. Cookie dough, nice. Fat and freaky is sounding pretty good to me.

Back to the couch with our ice cream, both of us flopping down ungracefully. I lean against him and happily work on my ice cream while he messes with the TV and whatever movies he has queued up for us.

“Okay, so, I don’t know a whole lot about your movie tastes, so I have a few options here. There’s new sci-fi, old sci-fi, two campy horror films, a ‘captivating drama’ according to the critics, and -”

“Tell me about the campy horror films,” I cut in. I was paying attention earlier. I know he’s kind of into them, and I’m curious about what he likes.

He grins at me, obviously pleased by my choice. “Well, basically it’s a choice between old-school vampires or old-school low-budget slasher horror.”

“I want the second one. Bring on the scream tracks and delightful low-budget effects.”

“Your wish is my command, m’lady,” he teases, then turns his attention to the remote so he can set up our movie.

The ice cream is delicious, and I enjoy the movie, too. If you look past the low-quality sets and visual effects, it’s actually pretty entertaining. It’s a good mix of drama, humor, romance, all the elements of a good story. Plus a bit of suspense and gore, of course. I notice Tyler glancing at me regularly out of the corner of my eye. It’s as if his favorite part of watching this with me is seeing how I react to it.

My favorite part is that we’re just comfortable with each other. I’m wearing his clothes that aren’t flattering and don’t really fit, we’re eating junk food, cuddling together, and it feels good. Relaxing. I can’t help but wonder if he feels the same.

By the end of the movie, I am lying down with my head against the arm of the couch and he is cuddled up behind me, his arm draped around my middle. He has been running his hand up and down my side, grazing my bare skin with his fingers. By the time we get to find out which of the college kids in the movie manage to make it out of the woods alive, Tyler is busy kissing and sucking on the soft spot of my neck while he has a hand down my pants toying with the elastic of my panties. He has no idea how crazy this is making me.

I don’t want to ruin Matt’s date night with another case of indigestion, but screw it. I’m taking this sexy man who only seems to have eyes for me to bed, and we’re going to have an amazing night.

The credits start to roll on screen, and I flip around on the couch so that I am face-to-face with Tyler.

“You know what that means, don’t you?” I ask him as I start to bring my lips closer to his.

He laughs and humors me, seeming to understand that I’m making a call-back to his joke from earlier. “What does that mean, Aly?”

“That means it’s time for you to take me to your room and have your way with me,” I tell him seductively.

 It’s my turn to smirk at him when I see his eyes bulge and feel his excitement stirring against my leg. He leans in to kiss me and I attack his mouth, plunging my tongue in deep and swirling it around. He only puts up a slight struggle for dominance before just giving in and letting me have my fun. The way he is moaning tells me he is enjoying it.

I find it amusing that both our mouths taste like ice cream and make a mental note to hit the bathroom to brush my teeth on our way to his bed.

He pulls away, grinning at me. “Yes ma’am,” he finally responds to my proposition. “Lead the way.”