Timing Is Everything
Readiness and Difficult Sells
~Tyler~
"Aud, will you be my girlfriend?"
The question lingered in the air and she stared back at me. She parted her lips to respond but no words came out. She paused before she closed her mouth and looked down. I swallowed hard and searched her face for any type of response. "Aud?"
She seemed to snap back to reality and stared at me. I was about to ask her again but she cut me off.
"Are you really ready for a relationship Ty?"
I look at her confused and before I can ask her what she meant, she continued to speak.
"I'm serious Ty, do you really want a relationship? Last night," she paused and took a deep breathe, "last night you spent all of your time with other girls. You flirted with them, drank with them, danced on top of tables with them, hell, maybe you even kissed some of them. And God only knows what you did at your after party. You did all of that and you had the time of your life." She paused again. "So be completely honest with me Ty. Are you asking me because you seriously want me to be your girlfriend? Or do you feel some weird obligation to ask since we’ve known each other for some time now and we feel comfortable around each other? Are you really ready and willing to give up your single life like that? Give up the shameless flirting, the sensual dancing, the taking home and sleeping around with other girls?"
Did I really spend all of my time the other night with other people? Other girls? I mean I did take shots with all of those fans, and most of them just so happened to be girls. I do remember dancing a lot with Brad by my side, but a crowd of girls around us. I did flirt with a lot of girls, yeah...that was a lot of girls...I don’t remember kissing any of them, but again I did have all those shots...And there was that moment of damn-near shirtlessness while with that one group of girls. They couldn’t seem to keep their hands to themselves, now that I think about it.
All in all, I did have an amazing birthday party. All the attention, all the love and lust that came my way, was I ready to give all of that up? I'm still young, I got time until I really need to get into a relationship, right?
My hesitation to respond seemed to give her all the answer that she needed.
"Look, I don't hate you if you're not ready. I just want you to be honest with me, and with yourself. You're a young NHL hockey player for Christ's sake. You're enjoying your life and the fame that comes with it." She looked down at her hands in her lap. "I understand. I'm not gonna try and force you into something you're not ready for. But I want you to know that I still wanna be friends."
I looked at her confused but she continues. "We've been talking almost everyday since we met in October, and I don't know, I feel like we have a strong connection. We know a lot about each other, things that we haven't told other people. You've become one of my best friends and I don't wanna lose that. I don't wanna lose you."
The silence that filled the car was almost deafening.
"You won't lose me, I promise you that." Was what I said before we said our goodbyes and she left to go up to Chloe and Olivia's room.
------------
"The next day I rationalized what happened, as her being a good friend and looking out for me. It took me like two years after that to realize: I was the biggest fucking idiot."
“Meanwhile that night and the following morning, I panicked and told Chloe, Olivia, and Viv about what happened. I came to the conclusion that he never wanted to see or talk to me again."
Tyler rubbed my back as he drank some more. "That's where part 3 of our story comes, Summer 2012. Also known as: Meeting the families."
"A terrifying time for both of us. The only good thing that really came out of that hot mess of a summer was finding my first true love." Smiling, I turn from the camera. "Marshall."
Marshall perks up at the sound of his name and goes to lick my face. I laugh and make faces at him while scratching behind his ears.
"He gets all the ladies." Tyler commented with a light smile.
-------------
The first few months after Tyler's birthday were a little rough. We didn't talk as much because both of us still felt awkward about what happened. As the semester went on, it slowly became easier for things to revert back to the way they used to be.
"We should hang out this summer."
"Well hello to you to Ty." I laughed as I answered my phone.
"Hi. Hey. How's it going? But in all seriousness, we should hang out! I'm gonna get a dog!"
"Damnit Ty! You know I can't resist dogs!" I laughed some more.
"The season is about to end and I head up to Toronto like mid-June so we need to hang out before I leave."
"I'll be gone all of June. I'm going on vacation to Hawaii then the Philippines to visit family. I won't be back until the first week of July."
"Hawaii and then the Philippines? Sounds like such a rough life." He laughed. "Well we need to hang out and you need to meet my future dog!"
"When are you free in July then?"
"Pretty much all of July. Are you gonna come up to Toronto then?"
"Oh, I forgot you'll be home in Toronto. Ummm, I don't know. That may be a little difficult to sell to my parents."
"What do you mean it'll be a 'difficult sell'?"
"Ty, my dad won't be too keen on letting his youngest child, his only daughter mind you, go to another country to hang out for a few days with a guy that he's never met before."
Silence filled his end of the line, and was followed by an, "Oh."
"Yeah, that's not really gonna fly with my parents. There may be some sliver of hope if you meet them beforehand, but it's still not looking too great."
"We'll come up with something that works."
---------------
"Ty's 'something that works' meant a surprise visit to help me move out at the end of the year. It didn't occur to him that he would not only meet my parents, but my 3 older brothers too." I spoke before finishing the remainder of my cup.
"In my defense, you could've gave me a warning that your dad resembled Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson. I was like a baby deer facing an 18-wheeler. I was about ready to shit myself when I first met him! And your brothers were no less intimidating!" Tyler exclaims, throwing his arms in the air. "How in the world did your tiny, sweet, always smiling mom give birth to 3 fully grown lions? Seriously Mama Jo, how did that work out?" He leans towards the camera, as if trying to ask my mom through the screen.
"Back up babe, before you fall off the couch and break your pretty face." I laugh, pushing him back.
"Aud, will you be my girlfriend?"
The question lingered in the air and she stared back at me. She parted her lips to respond but no words came out. She paused before she closed her mouth and looked down. I swallowed hard and searched her face for any type of response. "Aud?"
She seemed to snap back to reality and stared at me. I was about to ask her again but she cut me off.
"Are you really ready for a relationship Ty?"
I look at her confused and before I can ask her what she meant, she continued to speak.
"I'm serious Ty, do you really want a relationship? Last night," she paused and took a deep breathe, "last night you spent all of your time with other girls. You flirted with them, drank with them, danced on top of tables with them, hell, maybe you even kissed some of them. And God only knows what you did at your after party. You did all of that and you had the time of your life." She paused again. "So be completely honest with me Ty. Are you asking me because you seriously want me to be your girlfriend? Or do you feel some weird obligation to ask since we’ve known each other for some time now and we feel comfortable around each other? Are you really ready and willing to give up your single life like that? Give up the shameless flirting, the sensual dancing, the taking home and sleeping around with other girls?"
Did I really spend all of my time the other night with other people? Other girls? I mean I did take shots with all of those fans, and most of them just so happened to be girls. I do remember dancing a lot with Brad by my side, but a crowd of girls around us. I did flirt with a lot of girls, yeah...that was a lot of girls...I don’t remember kissing any of them, but again I did have all those shots...And there was that moment of damn-near shirtlessness while with that one group of girls. They couldn’t seem to keep their hands to themselves, now that I think about it.
All in all, I did have an amazing birthday party. All the attention, all the love and lust that came my way, was I ready to give all of that up? I'm still young, I got time until I really need to get into a relationship, right?
My hesitation to respond seemed to give her all the answer that she needed.
"Look, I don't hate you if you're not ready. I just want you to be honest with me, and with yourself. You're a young NHL hockey player for Christ's sake. You're enjoying your life and the fame that comes with it." She looked down at her hands in her lap. "I understand. I'm not gonna try and force you into something you're not ready for. But I want you to know that I still wanna be friends."
I looked at her confused but she continues. "We've been talking almost everyday since we met in October, and I don't know, I feel like we have a strong connection. We know a lot about each other, things that we haven't told other people. You've become one of my best friends and I don't wanna lose that. I don't wanna lose you."
The silence that filled the car was almost deafening.
"You won't lose me, I promise you that." Was what I said before we said our goodbyes and she left to go up to Chloe and Olivia's room.
------------
"The next day I rationalized what happened, as her being a good friend and looking out for me. It took me like two years after that to realize: I was the biggest fucking idiot."
“Meanwhile that night and the following morning, I panicked and told Chloe, Olivia, and Viv about what happened. I came to the conclusion that he never wanted to see or talk to me again."
Tyler rubbed my back as he drank some more. "That's where part 3 of our story comes, Summer 2012. Also known as: Meeting the families."
"A terrifying time for both of us. The only good thing that really came out of that hot mess of a summer was finding my first true love." Smiling, I turn from the camera. "Marshall."
Marshall perks up at the sound of his name and goes to lick my face. I laugh and make faces at him while scratching behind his ears.
"He gets all the ladies." Tyler commented with a light smile.
-------------
The first few months after Tyler's birthday were a little rough. We didn't talk as much because both of us still felt awkward about what happened. As the semester went on, it slowly became easier for things to revert back to the way they used to be.
"We should hang out this summer."
"Well hello to you to Ty." I laughed as I answered my phone.
"Hi. Hey. How's it going? But in all seriousness, we should hang out! I'm gonna get a dog!"
"Damnit Ty! You know I can't resist dogs!" I laughed some more.
"The season is about to end and I head up to Toronto like mid-June so we need to hang out before I leave."
"I'll be gone all of June. I'm going on vacation to Hawaii then the Philippines to visit family. I won't be back until the first week of July."
"Hawaii and then the Philippines? Sounds like such a rough life." He laughed. "Well we need to hang out and you need to meet my future dog!"
"When are you free in July then?"
"Pretty much all of July. Are you gonna come up to Toronto then?"
"Oh, I forgot you'll be home in Toronto. Ummm, I don't know. That may be a little difficult to sell to my parents."
"What do you mean it'll be a 'difficult sell'?"
"Ty, my dad won't be too keen on letting his youngest child, his only daughter mind you, go to another country to hang out for a few days with a guy that he's never met before."
Silence filled his end of the line, and was followed by an, "Oh."
"Yeah, that's not really gonna fly with my parents. There may be some sliver of hope if you meet them beforehand, but it's still not looking too great."
"We'll come up with something that works."
---------------
"Ty's 'something that works' meant a surprise visit to help me move out at the end of the year. It didn't occur to him that he would not only meet my parents, but my 3 older brothers too." I spoke before finishing the remainder of my cup.
"In my defense, you could've gave me a warning that your dad resembled Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson. I was like a baby deer facing an 18-wheeler. I was about ready to shit myself when I first met him! And your brothers were no less intimidating!" Tyler exclaims, throwing his arms in the air. "How in the world did your tiny, sweet, always smiling mom give birth to 3 fully grown lions? Seriously Mama Jo, how did that work out?" He leans towards the camera, as if trying to ask my mom through the screen.
"Back up babe, before you fall off the couch and break your pretty face." I laugh, pushing him back.