Don’t Cry Baby

It is cold today for the first time in almost a month, rain breaking the hot dry streak we've had. The smell of the cold damp earth is overpowering but, it has always been my favorite scent.

While walking to the grocery store, I listen to the patter of rain drops on the hood of my rain jacket and suddenly I'm so focused on that, it's all that I can hear. I am so lost in the beautiful sound and the way it feels against my face as I look up; loving the cold jolt the drops send through my body. I don't even notice him come up behind me until he grabs me by my shoulders and spins me around.

"Jesus Christ Ty you scared me half to death." A deep laughter breaks through the sound of the rain. He smiles down at me, because he's at least a foot taller than me.

"Sorry baby I saw you from my kitchen window completely lost in your own thoughts and I couldn't resist taking my chance." I roll my eyes. I do it often, daydream about nothing and everything. "Hello, earth to Ashley." I punch Ty in the arm, and he acts like I stabbed him, of course, typical Tyler. How I put up with this dweeb I do not know. He grins and pulls me into him. His soft lips planting themselves gently on mine. I feel the warmth only for a second before he pulls back smiling. I take a minute to scan his features as he smiles down at me. The light stubble I can see on his skin makes him look even older. His beautiful blue eyes dressed in thick lashes hold my attention.

"Where are you off to my love?" He takes my hand in his and squeezes gently.

"Grocery store, care to tag along?" He nods and kisses me gently on the cheek. I enjoy the feeling of his calloused hands against my innocent unscathed skin. The warmth of his body brings me comfort. He falls in step beside me as we walk in a comfortable silence through the rain towards the store.

We really shouldn't be going to the store together, the looks that we get from the people around here. My parents are well known in our small community, they own a small flower shop on main street and donate to the community centre often. When news about our relationship surfaced and we started to be seen together around town, people were not happy, my parents included. There is a bit of an age gap between us, Tyler is 21 and I'm just 16. Tyler has always said I am mature for my age so we try our best to ignore what other people say but, it can get hard to see each other when my parents try to keep us apart.

I brought him over once for dinner at our house, it ended in an argument and my dad throwing him out. Since then, we've had to sneak around and act like we aren't together.

We near the grocery store, the closer we get the more anxious I feel. Ty stops us before we get to the front door. He turns to face me and holds both my hands gently in his scanning my face. His eyes stop on mine and he rubs his thumb across the top of my hand.

"You're nervous about us being seen together." I nod sheepishly and look down at me soaked sneakers. Ty places his hand under my chin and lifts my face up to hers. He places a kiss on my lips and smiles at me. His hand lingers under my chin before dropping to his sides.

"I won't go in with you, okay." I crack a small smile and stand on my tip of my toes to place a small kiss on his cheek.

"Thank you, baby, I am sorry we always have to sneak around. I wish things could be different." He pulls me into a hug, and I melt into him enjoying the feeling of his strong arms around me. I breath in his scent and let it calm me down. He squeezes me tighter before letting me go.

"Me too." He says and we part ways so I can go into the store.

I walk slowly towards the store; I really hate leaving him. If things were different, I would want to be seen with him everywhere we went. As I near the store I see that it doesn't seem to busy, which is good, I really don't like going to the store that much. My parents sent me off to grab a couple things.

I make my way through the parking lot and just as I am walking into the entrance, I see one of my mother's friends, she stops me and gently places a hand on my arm.

"You deserve so much better you know." I look up at her, her brown eyes hold so much pity. I pull my arm from her grasp and take a step away from her.

"I appreciate that you care but, with all do respect you have no idea what you're talking about." She nods with a sad smile and with one last look towards me she walks to her car. I shake my head and walk into the store. I never liked her anyway, she always brings her kid to our house when she comes to visit my mom and I am forced to entertain her.

I'm glad Ty wasn't with me when she said that it would have hurt him.

When I got back from the store my moms friend Cheryl, the one from the store, had already called to inform them she had seen me with Ty. Of course, I had to sit through a lecture before dinner about what company I keep and how he is bad news. After their lecture I endured the most awkward dinner, we sat the entire time in silence. The only thing that could be heard was the horrible sound of metal screeching across our plates.

I finished dinner fast and excused myself so that I could go and hide in my room. I couldn't bear the awkward silence for a minute longer.

I lounge in my room in my favorite one of Tyler's t-shirts he gave me and a pair of underwear, my hair tied up in a messy bun that sits atop my head. Quiet music plays from my record player that sits on a shelf to the left of my bed and I hold my favorite book in my hands. Just the feeling of the pages beneath my fingers can make even the worst day better. I have probably read it over 100 times but, I just can't stop. Tyler doesn't understand why I would want to read the same book over and over. He just doesn't understand the power of a good book.

"How could it possibly be exciting anymore when you know what happens?" He always says but, I've fallen for the beautiful characters and I can't bear to part from them for longer than a month. I have read it so many times that the cover has begun to crack, there are certain pages with highlighted quotes and small notes. You can tell that I have read and lived in each page.

I try to explain to him how a good book can help you escape reality, it transports you into its world. He doesn't read so he just thinks I'm rambling when I go on about literature. It is one thing we do not have in common. He does like when I read to him though, he says he likes the sound of my voice when I read.

The sound of something hitting my window knocks me out of my reverie and back into reality. I stand up from my bed and walk towards the window and look down below. There standing with that grin he knows I love is my boyfriend. I roll my eyes and smile back at this mischievous boy I love.

I open the window and the cool breeze whips into the room sending chills through my body. As I lifted my arms to open the window, Ty gets a good view of the underwear I am currently wearing under this baggy t-shirt and grins. As he climbs up the side of the house towards the window, he winks at me. Using the tree that's planted directly outside my window he pushes himself inside my room. As he comes through the window he manages to, not so gracefully, fall onto his face. I freeze as I wait to make sure I can't hear footsteps running towards my room to throw him back out the window he just fell through. Once I realize no one is coming I let a small giggle escape my lips. I help him stand up, he gets to his feet and looks down at me with a grin.

"Hey there baby doll." He looks me up and down as he says this, the lust evident in his blue eyes. I grin and step towards him as if to give him a kiss and then I lick his cheek and let out a giggle. He wipes the spit off and gives me an evil grin. He picks me up and throws me over his shoulder. I let out a gasp as I am lifted easily off the ground. He walks towards my bed and climbs on top of me, pinning my hands above my head. He leans down and licks my cheek; he lets out a laugh as I struggle to free myself.

"Nice try baby, I will always win this game." I smile sweetly before lifting my hips and grind them in all the right places. He lets out a growl and his eyes darken. He leans down towards my ear to whisper quietly. "Oh, baby doll, you have started something you know you'll never win." My breathing deepens and goosebumps develop on my skin down my body. I bite my lip as I look up and am met with lustful blues. He begins to kiss and nibble the sensitive skin of my neck, his grip on my wrists tighten as I let out a soft moan. The stubble on his face scratching against my skin and giving me chills. He pulls away from my neck and sits up, he looks down at me and my eyes meet his. He smiles down at me before crashing his lips against mine. I pull his bottom lip into mine and bite down. I low growl escapes his throat. I wrap my legs around his waist as he pushes himself against me causing another moan to escape. He pulls away from my kiss breathless.

"If you keep doing that, they are going to know I am here. Try and be quiet baby." I nod and his lips come back to mine. I slide my hands under his t-shirt, and he takes the hint. He sits up and takes his shirt off throwing it somewhere in the room. His lips meet my neck once more, he trails them down my neck towards my collar bone. He slides my t-shirt up as his mouth continues to explore my skin. His lips find my chest and soon they're on my nipple. I bite my lip to stop the moan from escaping as his teeth graze the nipple causing a shudder to ripple through my body. I feel him grin against my skin as he trails kisses towards my other breast. He kisses and sucks, I can't help but allow a moan to escape. His lips meet mine once more muffling my noises. I notice just how much he is enjoying this as he presses his hard on against me. He reaches down between my legs and moves my underwear to the side to grant his fingers access. He slips them into me causing my head to roll back as I feel the pleasure, he gives me. "God baby, you're so wet..." He grins and continues to pleasure me with his fingers. He removes them and I whimper, he chuckles and puts his fingers that were just inside me, into his mouth. "and so sweet." He rips my underwear off me and slides his jeans off before discarding both sets of clothing across the room. Without skipping a beat, he slides himself into me. He places his hand over my mouth muffling my moans as he begins to roughly pleasure us both. I arch my back allowing him deeper access and he bites hard down on his own lip. His hand leaves my mouth and wraps around my neck choking me as he continues to pump himself inside of me. I feel him squeeze the sides and bite down on my lip as I close my eyes, taking in the pleasure and the feeling of his hand on my neck. Suddenly, he pulls out and flips me over onto my stomach. He lifts my hips up and grabs a hand full of my hair causing my head to tilt back. He plunges himself into me once more and continues to grind his hips against me behind.

I feel the pressure begin to build up, his hand lets go of my hair and grabs hold of my hips at both sides. As we both finish his grip tightens and we ride out both of our highs. Once we're finished, he pulls out and lays down pulling me down with him so that my head is resting on his chest. Our breathing heavy and in sync.

"You owe me a new pair of panties." I say breathlessly. He lets out a chuckle and kisses me gently on the cheek.

"I'll buy you as many pairs as you want." I nuzzle into the crook of his neck and place a small kiss.

"Good." He squeezes me closer to him and rests his head on mine.

We slip into silence as we lay in bed, enjoying each other's company. Tyler lays on his stomach at the end of the bed flipping through the delicate pages of my favorite book full of highlighted quotes and small notes in the margins. My head rests on his back reading over his shoulder, watching him gently turn the pages, licking his thumb when a page gets stuck. I trace the jagged scars that are scattered all over his back, the small movements of my fingers along them causing him the shiver slightly.

"I've always wanted to ask you...what are these from?" I feel his body tense under me, I instantly regret the question. He places the book at his side and turns over so that my head is resting on his chest, his heart beating in my ear.

"Nothing you need to worry about."

"Okay..."

Tyler kisses the top of my head softly and wraps me tighter in his arms.

"I love you baby. Forever and always."

"I love you too Тy."☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐