Rose Garden

By the time Tyler got back to Toronto, Andrea was already preparing to leave. She had to be out in L.A. for a series of interviews that she had only just found out about.

“So you’re just leaving, then?” he asked, a little hurt. He hovered in the doorway of her bedroom, a place he had never seen before.

“You say it like I’m never coming back,” she laughed, her back to him as she packed her suitcase. “I’ll be gone 5 days, a week tops.”

“But I’ll be getting ready to head back to Boston,” Tyler protested. “What use is the summer then?”

“Ty,” Andrea straightened up and walked to her closet. “We’ve spent nearly every day together for practically the past month. We both got to forget about our real responsibilities and work and that was great, really it was. But now, it’s over. I have things that need to be done and so do you.”

That stung a little. “So that’s it then? We’re back to not speaking?”

Andrea sighed. She knew he would react that way. “No, I don’t think so.” She flopped onto her window seat, motioning for Tyler to join her. “Listen, I know I haven’t exactly been easy on you. I get that. But what you have to understand is that on that night, when we ended things, you broke me in half. Almost literally. I spent that entire night on the floor, sobbing. Sure, I probably deserved you slamming the door, but I didn’t think you would say some of the things you did.” She took a deep breath. “I’m happy you want to try something again, but you just have to be willing to wait a little bit.”

“So you’re saying I have a chance?” he asked, a hopeful grin sliding onto his face.

Did he?

Andrea thought a moment about what she wanted. She wanted someone that understood what it was like to get that overwhelming feeling that you got from being in front of a crowd, how, in some crazy way, people enjoyed watching you. And why couldn’t Tyler be that person?

“Yeah,” her voice was quiet. “You do. Just don’t screw it up.”

The little grin that had been on his face moments before turned into a full on, ear to ear, smile. Leaning in, his lips almost touched her skin.

“Take me back?”

It wasn’t the first time he had asked that day, nor would it be the last, but it was probably the time where Andrea struggled the most to say no.

“Not today, Ty,” her answer wasn’t as quick, wasn’t a reflex. “Drive me to the airport tomorrow? Taylor flew out today.”

“Sure,” anytime with Andrea was time well spent. “What time?”

“10 tomorrow morning. Don’t be late,” she said, following him down the stairs.

Waving goodbye to her parents, Tyler turned to her at the front door.

“Never,” he looked at her for one long moment, and then, he was gone.

*~*~*~*~*~*

Walking into the kitchen, Andrea found her parents seated at the table.

“He’s a nice boy,” her mother consented. “Why don’t you like him anymore?”

“Because she’s smart,” her father huffed.

“It’s not that I don’t like him,” Andrea said filling herself a glass of lemonade. “It’s just that I’m making him sweat a little bit. And if he’s willing to work, then why not?”

“So you’re going to take him back?” her father arched an eyebrow while her mother smiled.

She shrugged. “Who knows? I’ve got to wait and see how much I trust him.”

Her parents didn’t know about after the concert and if they had, they might have had different reactions all together. Andrea didn’t see the need to tell them, it was none of their business to know about a mistake Tyler might have made.

*~*~*~*~*~*

Tyler got back to his condo to Marshall and Rosie sleeping soundly on the couch. Leaving them be, he retreated to the kitchen with the hopes of finding dinner. Frozen pizza didn’t sound all that appealing to him, so instead, he began rooting around in the fridge. The time spent in Andrea’s kitchen in Biel hadn’t been totally lost on him and he still remembered a thing or two. Taking out a piece of fish and some other ingredients, he decided to try his hand at the dish they usually would end up eating a few times a month.

It had been the meal they were making when he first kissed her and, later on in their relationship, said I-love-you over. Not totally storybook, but it was sweet either way.

As the fish sizzled in the pan, Tyler skimmed through his Twitter when a new mention popped up.

‘@AndreaDarlingMusic- @tylerseguin92 being relentless. Not sure how to react to it. #um #missinghim #waitwhat’

That tweet could not be meant as playful. Andrea herself had said that they shouldn’t do things that were so pubic and easily misinterpreted. And yet, here she was tweeting about him.

If that’s the game she wanted to play, then Tyler was all for it.

‘@tylerseguin92- What happened to your most recent rules @AndreaDarlingMusic’

‘@AndreaDarlingMusic- I’m a rule breaker, Mr. Seguin. Shouldn’t you already know that? @tylerseguin92’

Oh, she certainly was playing a game. But this was one Tyler knew he could win.

*~*~*~*~*~*

The next morning, Tyler helped Andrea unload her suitcase from the back of his car at the airport entrance. Families bustled about, getting ready for a summer vacation or heading home from one. The noise was loud, but that was okay. It just meant Tyler could stand closer to Andrea.

They stood for a moment talking. Andrea let him hug her for a few, lingering seconds before stepping back.

“I owe you one,” she enunciated her words carefully so that he could hear.

“You already know what I want,” he said. “It’s just up to you agree.”

Andrea laughed. “We’ll see about that one. Say goodbye to Rosie and Marshall for me, will you?”

“They’ll miss you almost as much as I will,” time had certainly not turned Tyler into any less of a cheesy romantic. But it still managed to make Andrea smile.

“See you soon, Ty,” she brought her suitcase up onto the curb and waved, walking into the airport.

There was no way he was letting her walk away that easily, not this time, at least.

“A!” he called out. “Wait up!”

She halted, turning around slowly. Tyler jogged towards her, coming to a screeching stop just short of bowling her over.

“What’s up?” she asked with a little shake of her head.

“This,” he grabbed her by her shoulders, bringing her close. In one swift motion, he had their lips against each other.

It was the closest contact they’d had in their time together that summer and it took a lot of self-control on both their parts to keep things publicly appropriate.

“Have a good trip,” he backed away slowly, watching her.

Wordlessly, she nodded and began her trip into the airport once again. Had that really just happened? She wasn’t able to process anything until she was through baggage and security and sat waiting in the terminal at her gate, ready for her flight.

Tyler sat in his car, smiling to himself. Yes, he had just done that. Before he pulled out of the airport, he pulled out his phone, ready to leave Andrea with one last sentiment.

‘@tylerseguin92- How ‘bout them apples? @AndreaDarlingMusic’

Yes, Tyler could certainly play this game.