"She's like starin' at the sun
She could easily blind someone
Other women, I see none
She's like starin' at the sunShe gets on you
Under your skin" I sang quietly under my breath.

"Like a tattoo...." I heard a deeper voice behind me. I jumped. "Crap Tyler you scared me!" I said. "Sorry i was just finishing up the floors and i heard you in here. You have a beautiful voice. You know i never pegged you for a country music fan, let alone Jason Aldean." He shrugged.

"Really? And what would you have pegged me for?" I asked. "Mm a pop girl, you know you just have that blonde surfer vibe." He said pulling at the end of my hair. I swatted his hand away. "Hey come on give me some credit." I said motioning. I put the last bite of grilled cheese into my mouth. "How's the floors?" I nodded. "See i taped it all out. I have just a bit more to go. I'll let it dry and then tomorrow I'll do the sealer." He nodded towards the floor.

"Well just keep in mind what i said about the work." I said. He laughed. "I'll be there." He said. "Okay see you soon." I said. I jumped in the truck and headed to the theme park. The bakery was completely done.

The next store was the toy store. I moved everything into the next building. Then i started to paint the walls.. I went with a nice dark muted green. While i waited for the paint to dry i dug through the toys in the boxes. I found several goodies. I saw a display table in front of the window. I'd hook up a miniature train. I'd add fake snow and a few buildings here and there. Maybe some pine trees. That took me an hour.

But when i was done the paint was all dry. I just needed to fix a bit of trim on the wall. Then i could unpack all of the toys. I used the end of a hammer and pulled the trim from the wall. I switched it out for a new piece. I had to hammer it in place with the thin nails. Then i had to use putty to fill it in and rub some new stain over it. I had learned quite a bit over the years. I was ready to get the first nail in. I lifted the hammer up.

The door to the shop opened and Tyler walked in. "Woah you have a hammer do you know what you're doing?" I slammed the hammer down onto my finger. "Ow!!! Oh OW!!" I pulled my finger back. "Blood, blood." "Oh shoot, that was my fault. I am so sorry. Look let me see it. I have stuff in my tool belt." He said walking over to take a look at my finger. "That looks bad. First thing I'm gonna do is wipe the blood with this wipe. It may sting a little bit." He opened it.

"Look at me." I looked at him as he wiped. I winced biting my lip. "Ouch." But i didn't pull my finger back. He wrapped it up in a band aid. He brought it to his lips kissing it gently. "There you go, all better." He said. He didn't let go of my hand. He caressed my cheek. "Y'okay?" He asked. I nodded my heart pounding in my chest. I pulled my finger back. "Thank you." I finished the trim in no time. "Now to put up all the toys on the shelf." I said. "Hey did you do the train set? That's cool!" He said. "Thanks." I said.

"I need some fresh air. Do you think you could start pulling toys out?" I asked. "Sure thing" He nodded. I walked to the back of the building so as to not be heard. I called Haylie. She was the more sensitive of the two girls. "Hello?" She asked. I started sobbing. "What's the matter?" She asked sympathy in her voice. "Okay so i think Tyler likes me." I said. "Why?" She asked gasping. "Well he kissed my finger after i hurt it. He didn't pull back right away. And sometimes he looks at me...i don't want to hurt him." I said.

"Well unless he said something about it you can't assume anything. Maybe he was just trying to be nice? I mean he knows you have a boyfriend right?" She asked. "Of course i told him day one. Not that i needed to it just came up." I said. "Okay, and how do you feel about him?" She asked. "What do you mean?" I asked. "Come on Lexi. That's a valid question. If you have any feelings at all for him you need to tread lightly. I'd hate for you Tyler or Mark to get hurt." She said.

"Yea that's what I'm worried about. I can't deny things with Mark and I have changed but when i move back I'm sure things will go back to normal. It's just because I'm here and he's there." I said. "Is it?" I sighed. "I don't know. I mean we used to talk all the time when i lived there. Now that I'm here it's like radio silence." I said.

"I think you should read more into that. Don't push Tyler away because you've always been with Mark. I know you don't want to hurt Mark but maybe don't completely ignore the idea of you and Tyler. I mean have an open mind." "I'm surprised to hear you say that." I said. "I'm not saying cheat on Mark geez that's cruel. But look you don't have to stay with your first boyfriend forever i think were supposed to date a few guys so we know what we want. And if it's Mark then great. I'm happy for you. I'm just saying You've tried to prove you can make it on your own but what's Marks excuse don't you think he should care a little more that this move was tough on you?" She asked.

"I guess you're right. I haven't even looked at Tyler that way because of Mark." I said. "You should." "It feels wrong." I said crying again. "I only said that because I'm worried about you. If you don't want to consider it then don't. But can we for my sick fantasy talk about it. He's so hot. I mean geez. He's nice?" She asked. "Yea, nice, caring helpful and funny. He opens the door for me. He gets my jokes. He even likes the same kind of music i do." "Right i may have to come down there." She said. "What? No leave him alone." I said. "Why you got claim on him? I thought you didn't like him..." She said. "I don't know what i feel I'm just confused. It's hard to ignore that he's cute and great. But if i open myself up to him i don't know what will happen." I said.

I would open myself up to the idea. But i knew if i liked him i most likely wouldn't do anything about it. Mark deserved better than that. And the fact that i was leaving soon meant it wasn't a good idea. I thanked Haylie for listening and let her go.

I headed back into the store. "Hey are you okay?" Tyler rushed over looking pained. "You look like you've been crying, is everything alright?" He asked. I took a breath. "I don't know yet. I'm just in my head. Let's get back to work." I waved him off. Because one, i didn't know if he liked me I just had my suspicions. And if i was wrong I'd look stupid. And two he hasn't made his feelings known so i don't need to say anything to him until he made his feelings known.

We spent a few hours unpacking everything and organizing it. Some toys with smaller boxes could stay in there boxes. But kids wanted toys they could touch so they could beg mom 'look how much fun I'm having.' We had a mess of boxes. BOOM Thunder? "Is it supposed to rain?" I asked. "I don't know. Do i look eighty?" He laughed. I pulled up the app on my phone. "Woah, this looks like it's going to get pretty bad. Like a big huge storm and lots of tornadoes. We'd better go." I said sliding my phone into my pocket.

"Okay, it'll just take me minute to pile all of this into my truck." He said. So i quickly grabbed the boxes and we ran them out to his truck. As i headed back to lock the door i felt the first few drops fall. And then it was like the sky just opened up. The sun goes down and it cools off a good bit. I ran back into the building. Tyler followed behind me. "Okay that wasn't cool." I said. Tyler pulled his phone out of his pocket. "Hey mom? I'm at the park. It's raining cats and dogs. I don't think I'll be home for dinner." He said.

"Stay there until it eases up don't try to come home. We just had a tornado watch. It's supposed to be really bad all night. You may need to stay there for the night. I don't like this. My baby." She said. I could hear her as she was talking loudly. "Mom I'll be fine. Okay well stay indoors don't try to go outside if you get soaked you could catch a cold or worse." She said. We looked down at our wet clothes. Great.

I called my mom when he got off the phone with his. "Hey i was at the park finishing up when the rain came down. I can't come home it's raining to bad to drive. The weather app on my phone says it's supposed to be bad for a while." I said. "Then you should stay there. I Hate that you are gonna have to sleep on the floor. Yea just camp out there tonight and come home in the morning." She said. "Okay thanks." I hung up. "Well on the bright side, it can't get worse." I said.

Another boom of thunder and the lights went out. "Why did i have to open my big mouth!?" I i groaned. "Don't worry i have the electric company on speed dial." "May i ask why?" I asked. "Well during harsh winters sometimes all the snow knocks the power out." The phone rang. He told them our location and asked if they had an eta. "What? Are you kidding. Great, okay thank you." He said hanging up.

"How bad?" I asked bracing myself. I wrapped my arms around me to keep from shivering to much. But it was really getting cold the longer time went on. "He said it could be at least four hours. A theme park with two people isn't exactly high on the list." He said. I felt him get closer to me. "Are you as cold as i am?" He asked. "Y-yes." I said. "Okay look the lights are out. What if we just shucked our wet clothes? It'll give them a chance to dry out." He said.

"I guess it couldn't hurt." He couldn't see anything. And i hate that survival 101 was body heat. This just felt wrong to me. But i was to cold to care at the moment. I pulled my shirt and shorts off setting them on the counter. "Okay come here." He said holding his arms out. I reached blindly for him. I grabbed abs. Lots of abs. He put his arms around me. "Oh you're so warm!" I said. "So are you." As the seconds ticked i started to get slightly warmer.

"Let's play 20 questions." He suggested. Fine. In the dark it made it seem less scary to be open. "Okay go for it." I said. "What's your biggest fear?" He asked. "Well up until an hour ago it was needles but now it's this." I said taking a shaky breath. "Hey you know were gonna be okay right?" He asked. "No, i just keep thinking what will happen if a tornado comes? I mean do we try to run out of here in our underwear?" I asked. He burst out laughing.

"Oh my goodness wouldn't that be a sight. I already had the thought we should try to run to my truck and cut the heat on. But that rain is intense." He said. "It is, what's your biggest fear?" I asked. "Spiders. I know i look all tough but i had one crawling on my face one night in my sleep. And i just couldn't get the image of it laying eggs in my ear out of my head." He shuddered. "Your turn." He said.

"What's something you're glad your mom doesn't know about you?" I asked. "Ooh probably about the girls I've kissed. I can just hear her saying 'Tyler you gotta treat women with respect.'" He said laughing. "You?" He asked. "Probably that i snuck out to go see a Rascal Flatts concert." "Okay but that's super cool. Have you ever cheated on someone?" He asked. Have I or would I? "No, i don't believe in cheating. If you love someone you won't cheat on them. You'll respect them and break up with them and go for the other person i mean i get it. How do you know you like the other person until you go for it? And if you don't like them then you were wrong and you can go back to dating the person your with but that's not fair. You don't get to do that." I said. "Why? Have you been cheated on?" He asked.

Was it that obvious? "Yes before Mark. I was dating a guy, Jacob. I really liked him. But while at a party he got caught kissing another girl by a classmate of mine. He lied and said it was for a game of seven minutes in heaven, spin the bottle or truth or dare i can't remember now. I believed him because why would he lie to me? Then one day at school this girl comes up and slaps me. Says I'm a homewrecker. I pulled back shocked. I told her we'd been dating six months she said crap four months I'm the homewrecker. We both ended up dumping him. You?"

"No, and no. I agree cheating is ridiculous. And look tell Mark I'm really sorry. I know he would be really hurt if he knew we were you know..." He said. "Yea, i don't think I'm going to tell him. I don't know how you spin this in a good way. And i don't want to hurt him." I said. "Okay then." "What's the most intimate experience you've ever shared with someone?" I asked.

"Truthfully? This." He said. "Oh." I said. I could see that. "You?" He asked. "Well i started trying to think, but no you're right it's this." I said. "Okay I'm getting tired of standing. Wanna lay down?" He asked. "Yea that'd be great. I'm getting tired." I said. "Me too." We laid on the floor and tried our best to get comfortable. It was still chilly as my underwear was wet. So we had to end up snuggling again.

In the morning I'm grabbing a coffee, a good book and taking a really long hot bath. We asked a few more questions but we both started yawning so we tried to get some sleep. The next morning the storm was quiet and gone. I opened my eyes to find Tyler staring down at me.

"Oh." I said surprised. He smiled. "Sorry, you're just beautiful." He said. "Oh um thanks." I said. He pulled back. "Sorry, i wasn't um trying to stare at you. I just couldn't help it. You were just right here in my space. And you have um...nice curves." He said. I blushed. "Look you're nice." I said. He put his hand up. "No need to explain that you have a boyfriend. I got caught staring and i didn't want to lie to you." He said. "I appreciate that." I said.

"Tell me what you need from me?" I asked. "Nothing. You and I are just going to be friends. I just need some time to get over you. I mean what's not to like? You've sweet, funny, caring, beautiful, sexy. I just have to figure out a way to navigate this right? I mean shouldn't we be friends? I need to figure out how to do that and sometimes you don't make it easy. It's not your fault and i doubt you even know that you do it." He said.

"Okay, well how about we come up with a code word...you know. If it get's to much and you can't handle it then you can just use it and I'll back off." I said. He sighed "Why not?" He said. I rolled over and started pulling my slightly damp clothes on. "Okay how about Gingerbread." I said. "Why? Because were fixing up a Christmas town?" He asked.

I laughed. "No because of the story. You know?" I asked. "No." "A farmer bakes a gingerbread man and it leaps up off the pan. He says run run as fast as you can, can't catch me I'm the gingerbread man. He ends up getting eaten by a clever fox." I said. "Oh yea? How's that?" He asked. "Well he tells him he'll save him. So he jumps in the water tells the Gingerbread man that he'll take him across. He says it's getting deep, better jump on my head. So he does and then he eats him." I finished. "Are you saying i should run from you?" He asked turning around. He was holding his shirt in his hand. Maybe i should stay away from you. Oh those abs.

"No, but you get the point." I said. "Okay then Gingerbread it is. I'm gonna be late for work today." He sighed. "You and me both. Let's get out of here." The damage outside wasn't to bad. The decorations and lights had come down. There were a few limbs down. "I'll get my dad to get someone to come clean all this up." He motioned. "Great thanks, I'll see you later." I said waving.

I called the girls on the way home. I had to tell someone. "Okay I'm enacting the pp code." I said. We had all been friends since we were little and as kids we called it that for Pinky Promise code. And we'd pinky promise as we got older we kept the name but it just meant that whatever was said wouldn't go beyond us.

"Is this about Tyler liking you? Did he say something?" Asked Haylie. "Wait what? Did i miss something?" Jenna asked. I gave her a play by play of our earlier conversation only stopping to order a coffee and cherry Danish thing.

"So is that the pp? Because Haylie knew that already and we'd never tell Mark." Said Jenna. "No, and I've thought about telling him myself. But the last time this happened he shrugged and said he wasn't surprised." I said. "Oh, well so wait there's something new?" Haylie asked. "Oh yea and i need you guys to not freak out." I said. "Wait did you kiss him?" Jenna asked. "Please I'm not gonna cheat on Mark. But it kind of feels like i did. But just know i didn't have a choice." I said.

"Well whatever it is we will keep it a secret." Said Haylie. "Thanks. Okay so last night we were finishing up the toy store. As we were loading the boxes into the truck rain came down and i mean RAIN. We ran back inside the shop soaked. Then the lights went out and it was freezing. So we had to take our clothes off and use that whole body heat thing." I said. "You what!?" They both said at the same time. "I know i know it's really bad but it gets worse." I said.

"When i woke up he was looking at me. Like all over and i could just see this look. It's the look you get when you really really like somebody. So i just asked and he told me the truth, that he did like me. So he said he needed some space sometimes so that he could get to a point where we're just friends." I said. "Oh boy i have so many questions. How hot was his body?" Asked Jenna. "What? No I'm not doing this." I said. "You don't want to admit it was ripped i get you because well Marks not and that would be mean. Right on." Said Haylie.

"Rude, but yes he's ripped." I said. "How did you sleep?" Jenna asked. "Wrapped in his arms." I said. "And you didn't feel anything? Because it's okay if you did. That's such a personal thing to do with somebody." Said Haylie. She kept insisting i admit i liked him. But i didn't. "No, i was just trying to keep warm. And i was scared of the storm. He was comforting." I said. "Well okay then. We'll keep it. Mums the word." Said Jenna. "Thanks you guys. I'm gonna go get a hot bath. I'll call Ya'll later." I said pulling the truck into the driveway.