#reply:tyler

[phantom-overdose]

❛ I swear, sometimes it feels like you’re daring me to react. ❜ -Tabitha / Tyler

@normallyxstranger

Tyler tilted his head inquisitively to his right. Was he daring her to react? Had he been caught? Maybe. Tabitha seemed to think it wasn't intentional and, maybe, it wasn't entirely. But there was definitely at least a little bit of purposeful intent to what he was doing. He wasn't daring her to react, exactly... but he was testing if she would.

There was not a single doubt in Tyler's mind, after all, that he was into Tabitha. The first time they'd met she'd been crying and she hadn't bothered trying to be pretty about it. Not that she wasn't pretty literally all the time, anyway- but it had been real tears. Honest. No space reserved for intentional beauty to it. Tyler was popular back home, like super popular. The youngest of the four most important teenaged boys in all of Ipswich. He was used to girls playing pretty, trying not to look ill put together in front of him. Worse, he was used to girls lying to try to sway his attention.

Tabitha, though maybe not always a fully open book, hadn't lied (as far as he was aware) at any point just to try to win his favor. Not even from that first moment. She was just her. As silly as that may have sounded, it was a nice change of pace for Tyler. Here he didn't have expectations to live up to. And here, a girl like Tabitha didn't feel the need to try to be something she wasn't just for his sake.

It certainly helped matters that she was absolutely gorgeous. And, more importantly, a ton of fun to talk to (and tease).

Tyler took a few strides closer to where Tabitha was seated, placed his hand on the arm of her chair, and leaned down close. "What kind of reaction do you think I'm daring you to give?" He asked simply, voice low, a little quieter, like he might soon dip into a whisper for secret sharing. Then came that mischievous little smirk, and with it, that dare to react.

[phantom-overdose]

I can still smell your cologne on my sheets and it's driving me crazy. Kaylee & Tyler

@southern-belle-outcasts

"If it's driving you crazy, then maybe you should just wash your sheets."

It was a joke, of course, in that nearly deadpan way he had of delivering humor sometimes. Though he followed it up with a wry smile. Then, finally, a small laugh. Maybe he was totally missing the point of what she was trying to tell him, but in his head he was equating her saying it was "driving her crazy" to "this is annoying".

"If I find myself in your bed again, I promise to skip out on the cologne."

[phantom-overdose]

awaiting. our muses making out and grinding while fully clothed. — Tabitha & Tyler

@normallyxstranger

Tyler had been waiting for this. Hoping for it. He had been fine with the softer kisses, the feel of her fingers laced with his. Small intimacies. But could you blame him for wanting more?

He'd pulled Tabitha down onto his lap playfully, and for a time she'd sat there on the couch with him with her legs draped over his thighs, the pair of them talking, stealing kisses. But Tyler had tentatively started prolonging those small kisses. Deepening them. Eventually getting her to part her lips against his so that his tongue could meet hers... And soon, she had finally moved to straddle him, Tyler's hands on her hips, guiding her onto his lap.

He was trying not to move too fast, didn't want to spook her or pressure her into something she didn't want to do. So this had been a slow progression. The kisses. The feel of her in his lap. His hands wandering to grip at her ass, to stroke her sides, to slip beneath the bottom hem of her top, tracing against soft skin (but not yet slipping up to her bra, no matter how badly he wanted his hands against her breasts).

As with most things, he was the one to initiate the grinding. A small press up of his hips, knowing she could undoubtedly feel his growing arousal beneath her. And she had responded by moving against him, too. Soft, more subtle, motions at first.

But by now he was groaning, small moans of her name passing his lips as he more roughly ground up against her, gripped her hips to keep her moving against him, as well. He was angry at the fabric of his jeans for being in the way when all he wanted was to feel Tabitha slick and warm against him. He didn't break the kisses for long, just enough to catch his breath or to tell her how good she felt, to make sure she was as into this as he was. "Gods, I want to fuck you..." He muttered against her mouth, imagining how she'd feel wrapped around him. The words had slipped out unintentionally- if she didn't want to go that far, he was perfectly content with finishing like this... though he'd probably rather get his jeans off so he only ruined his boxers in the process... "Sorry, we don't have to, I just-" Another soft groan, his lips moving to her neck, one hand tracing up her side to grope at her breast through her shirt. Gods, what he wouldn't give to have his mouth on her chest, instead.

[phantom-overdose]

"I said we shouldn't. I didn't say I didn't want to." — Tabitha / Tyler

@normallyxstranger

Oh. Oh!

When she said they shouldn't, Tyler had backed off. He'd been worried that he was making her uncomfortable, that he was moving too fast or seeming too eager. He'd been intimate with plenty of people, but he always tried to be respectful. It was kind of, like, the number one rule. Well, that and consent, of course. But they went hand in hand, really.

"So... do you want to? Or...?" She said they shouldn't which felt an awful lot like saying let's not. And just because she wanted to didn't mean she was ready to go that far. There were a lot of grey spaces here and he wanted to be 100% sure that they were only going as far as Tabitha was comfortable with. "I didn't meant to get to handsy or anything," He assured her. He'd just been testing the waters, seeing what she was okay with. He should have asked more directly, probably, but his lips had been against hers and, in that position, it was kind of hard to ask "hey, is it okay if I put my hands on your ass?"

[phantom-overdose]

“Mh? What's up?”        “Nothing, go back to sleep.” Kaylee & Tyler

@southern-belle-outcasts

Oops. He hadn't meant to wake her up. It was his bad, though, telling her to take his bed while he slept on the couch... then having to get up at 5 because he'd forgotten he promised Caleb he'd start going on morning jogs with him.

He tried to be quiet, using his phone's flashlight to dig through his dresser to find clothes to change into. When Kaylee had stirred, he was careful not to point the light in her direction, even though that had been his initial instinct in his still semi-groggy state. He only had about half an hour before Caleb showed up and he wanted to get dressed and eat something for breakfast before going out. Maybe he'd shotgun an energy drink, too. Ugh... he was not used to being awake this early.

"Mh? What's up?" Kaylee's voice was still heavy with sleep and Tyler felt bad about rousing her.

"Nothing, go back to sleep," He insisted, yanking a pair of shorts from the drawer to add to the t-shirt and boxer briefs already in his arms. "I'll be back in a couple hours. If you're up before then, make yourself at home," Anything in the kitchen was totally up for grabs and if she wanted to shower or just lounge around or whatever, she was more than welcome to.

[phantom-overdose]

❛ I don’t have to pretend with you. ❜ - Tabitha to Tyler <3

@normallyxstranger

The words hit Tyler harder than they probably should. Maybe it was because he shared the sentiment. He'd spent most of his life pretending in some way or another, trying to fit in better with his friends, trying to be likable to girls (and guys) that caught his interest. Trying to come across cooler than he was because he knew he had a name and a reputation to live up to back home in Ipswich.

But with Tabitha... he was just Tyler. Just some guy. And, honestly, it was nice.

He gently nudged her shoulder with his as they walked, a sudden softness settling in over them both. "No. You don't," He assured her. Because he wanted her to know it. To know, whole heartedly, that she never had to pretend with him. "I like you exactly the way you are." With that, he reached over, laced his fingers with hers, and gave her hand a little squeeze.