Golden Because We're Alive

I walked downstairs to see Adam standing there with Rachel and her boyfriend, Tony. I stared at them and shook my head as my best friend mouthed her sorries. Adam hugged me as my parents left the room. I wanted to just crawl back up the stairs and under the covers of my bed. This couldn’t be a good sign for things to come.

“I told Tony about our plans, and he and Adam decided to make it a double date without your consent,” explained Rachel. I felt like I could strangle her for not stopping it at all.

“Surprise, Em!” grinned Adam once he let go of me. I forced a smile just to keep them from thinking that there was anything wrong with this at all.

Adam gave me a quick kiss then opened the front door for us. Rachel scurried out. She could tell I was pissed at her. Tony and Adam stood talking for a minute after I walked out. The day had just been ruined for me, and these were the last people I wanted to be around.

Before we could get into the car, another vehicle parked on the curb. I knew who the driver had to be. Tyler got out, and I heard Rachel gasp. She now understood why I needed her to cover for me. My boyfriend raised an eyebrow and stared out our company. There had to be a way out of this disaster, but I couldn’t find it. Seguin walked our way smiling. This really wasn’t the right time for that.

“Hey, Emily!” called Tyler once he got closer to us.

The three I was standing with turned to stare at me. I laughed nervously then stopped as I could feel my face heating up. Tyler now stood in the group with us. Adam held his hand out to the fifth person in our now circular group.

“Good luck in the game tonight,” said Adam. He was obviously confused but didn’t want to make a fool of himself. “So why are you here?”

“Thanks. I was coming to take her-“ he pointed at me. “- out to eat. Emily, are you ready to go?”

Adam put his arm around me. Tyler stopped smiling at the gesture. He started to pull at his ear, and I could tell that this was going to go poorly. Rachel and Tony got into the car to avoid the scene that was likely to happen. I shrugged Adam’s arm off of me, and Tyler looked between the two of us.

“Cool. So, I’m Em’s boyfriend, Adam,” said the boy I had been dating for so long.

“Introductions done. Lunch?” I spoke for the first time. The boys both looked at me waiting for a sign as to who I was going to be eating with that day. “Adam, why not have Tyler join the four of us?”

Both of the guys looked at me in surprise. My boyfriend sighed and got into his own car. He talked to his friend and mine. Rachel was campaigning for the boys to let me eat with Tyler alone. Tyler didn’t seem to care. If my lip reading was correct, he really just wanted to go get his lunch. Adam started the car and rolled down his window. He didn’t look too happy with the decision.

“Em, I’ll pick you up for dinner. Go to lunch with him,” said Adam. He waved then left. I could not believe that my boyfriend went down without a fight. It almost hurt to see him give up without any argument.

Tyler watched the car drive away. He looked in the direction my group had left in for a minute after the car was out of sight. The player seemed to be thinking. I felt guilty for what happened. He, Tyler, didn’t deserve any drama. Adam deserved to just never deal with this situation. I should’ve told Tyler that I couldn’t go grab lunch with him. It would’ve made my day simple.

“Let’s go. You can tell me about anything else I may have to deal with in the car,” said Tyler. He walked over to his car and waited for me.

I followed him to his car and got in. A nagging voice in my head told me that I should’ve gone with Adam and them. My boyfriend would ask me all about this later, and it wouldn’t be pleasant. The game would be the next time I saw him. Well, when he picked me up for dinner I would see him. Knowing him, Adam was probably already jealous and assuming the worst about me and Tyler. I couldn’t begin to imagine what sorts of questions he was going to ask me.

Tyler got into the car after I did and started it up. He hadn’t told me where we were going last night on the phone, and I still hadn’t been informed as to where my lunch would be coming from. It wasn’t that I cared, but I wanted to know how long we would drive without talking. At this point, I would have eaten and stayed at home if I had known what happened was going to happen.

“You could have mentioned your boyfriend,” said Tyler to shatter the silence. The void left by the lack of conversation had been filled by the radio until he said that.

“I could’ve, and it’s too late to change not telling you ahead of time,” I sighed. “I should’ve mentioned Adam, but it’s not like I’m cheating on him. This isn’t a date after all.”

I cringed at my words. Most people were used to the way I put things, but people new to my life were generally treated to softer words. My mannerisms were comparable to dating: at the beginning, I was on my best behaviour seeming sweet, kind, and quiet, and after the honeymoon period, I was more comfortable being loud and to the point. Befriending Tyler Seguin was already off to a bad beginning.