Tay met me back at the barn a little while later after I had watched the tall, slim figure of Tyler Seguin disappear into the crowd. I felt bad for turning him away, it was rude, but he had a reputation for being trouble and I couldn't trust him to keep me out of trouble.
"What's bothering you, hon?" Tay asked. We had been friends since kindergarten and could always tell when something was wrong with the other one.
"It's nothing," I brushed her off. I didn't want her to know that I was catching feelings for a guy. Tay was a little boy-crazy and she'd push me to go after him and fall in love and live happily ever after, but I knew it would never happen so I hoped she would drop it. Unfortunately, Tay was also very stubborn.
"It ain't nothing. You're mopey. How can you be so mopey when Brad Paisley is on stage?" Then she gasped, "Is it a boy? Did you meet a boy while I was gone?"
"Tay," I complained.
"You did! Spill! C'mon, tell me everything," her eyes lit up and she stared at me intently, waiting for me to come clean; she was practically buzzing with excitement.
"I met a guy, but he was trouble, and you know how I feel about trouble, so I told him to get lost," I explained, leaving out the part about the guy being Tyler Seguin.
"Andi, you do know that not every guy is going to be trouble."
"But he was, trust me," I insisted.
"You say that every time, hon," she shook her head.
"Come on, Tay, let's go back and listen to the music," I dragged her with me back into the crowd, knowing some good, old country music would cheer her up.
Later that night I found myself sitting in one of the more popular bars in Dallas with Tay, who had insisted that we go out and listen to some other music and have a drink. Well, she was going to have a drink. Tay knew better than to think I would drink.
"Keep Austin Weird. That's a funny shirt, darlin'," Tyler slurred from behind me. He wrapped his arm around my shoulders and gave me a sloppy kiss on the cheek. "I missed you," he whispered in my ear.
"What are you doing here?" I snapped, sliding out from under his arm.
"Partying, what does it look like I'm doing? You're in my town, Andrea darlin'."
"Andi, we should go dance!" Tay shouted, turning to face me. "Oh, a boy. Is this the one from earli-"
I covered her mouth with my hand. "Yeah, dancing sounds good." I got up and dragged her away from Tyler to the center of the mass of sweaty, moving bodies.
"That's him, isn't it? The one you said was trouble?"
"Yes," I replied grimly.
"He's a tall glass of water. Mmmm, mmmm! Probably talks sweeter than your auntie's sweet tea."
"Probably," I nodded.
"He looks really familiar," she scrunched her eyebrows together, trying to remember who he was in her not-so-sober state.
"C'mon, Tay. I make you watch all the time," I prodded, hoping to inspire her memory.
"He isn't Tony Romo; you make me watch him all the time."
"Taaaayyy, wrong sport."
"Baseball?"
"No."
"Basketball?"
"Eww, no! Really, Tay? Do the Dallas Stars sound familiar?" I demanded.
She gasped, "He's their hot, little, ladies' man forward! Isn't he? Isn't he?" She was getting excited. I nodded. "Oh, hon, you've got it bad," she shook her head at me, as if she was a doctor telling me I had a bad case of the flu.
"I only just met him today!" I protested.
"Exactly what I'm talking about, hon! You just met him, and yet you've been making moony cow eyes all day like someone stole your puppy. You want him."
"Want, but can't have," I reminded her, referring to the fact that he had a troublesome reputation with the ladies.
Her eyes alighted on something over my shoulder and she smirked, "I wouldn't say can't..." Then she disappeared into the crowd of people.
"Wait, Tay! Where are you going?" I tried chasing after her, but someone spun me around.
"Hey, Andi," Tyler said, "That's a cute nickname. Why didn't you tell me to call you Andi?"
"Only my friends call my that."
"Am I not your friend?" He pouted.
"You're trouble."
"I can be trouble and still be your friend," he smirked.
"No, thank you," I turned and tried looking for Tay.
"How kind of you to politely decline my offer of friendship," he grumbled. I ignored him. "Most girls would pay to be my friend."
"Well, they wouldn't really be your friends then, would they?" I challenged.
"I'd have to pay you to be my friend."
"Excuse me?" I rounded on him, furious at his latest comment.
"N-n-not like that," he held his hands out in front of him defensively. I narrowed my eyes at him, "I mean, I wouldn't object, but..."
"Whatever, Seguin," I scoffed. "Leave me alone."
"Can I have, er, may I have your number?" He asked in a last ditch effort to keep my attention. "Please?"
I turned back to face him, "Is that what it will take for you to leave me alone?"
He looked like there was something he wanted to say, but he just pressed his lips together and stared at me, a glint of mischief in his eyes. I sighed and held my hand out. He placed his phone there and I typed in my name and my number. I probably should have given him a fake number, but I didn't want him accidentally calling some random person and having his number spread across the internet like wildfire; I wasn't that mean.
"Thanks, darlin'," he lingered for moment, like he wasn't sure what he should do for a parting gesture, but he decided to just head back to the bar.
Tay appeared by my side a second later, "You got his number?" She asked excitedly.
"No, he has mine. It seemed like a small price for him to leave me alone so I can get on with my life," I shrugged and walked over to a booth so Tay and I could sit down. She snorted, which was very unladylike, though neither of us actually cared. "What?" I asked. Tay started laughing uncontrollably. "Tay, what is it?"
"You, hon. Sometimes, no offense, you're really, really blonde. You thought he'd leave you alone if you gave him your number. Did you at least give him a fake one?"
"No, that'd be mean," I replied, shocked that she'd even suggest it.
"Oh, goodness, Andi, what am I gonna do with you? Giving him your number lets him reach you more easily! He's never gonna leave you alone!"
"Oh, Lord, what have I done?" I put my head in my hands. At that exact second my phone went off.
"It's him, isn't it?" Tay said.
"Tay, calm down, I haven't even looked at it," I pulled out my phone. 'Hey, darlin'. Wanna dance?'
"It's him," Tay smirked. I glared at her and she laughed. "I told you giving him your number wasn't gonna make him leave you alone, hon. What does he want?"
"A dance," I muttered.
"You love to dance, Andi, why don't you say yes?"
"Because he's trouble," I replied stubbornly.
"But you like him."
"Yeah? So? I liked Jake, too," I shot back.
"He's not Jake."
"He sure acts like him," I muttered.
"Andi," Tay said sympathetically, "Not every guy is trouble. Not every guy is going hurt you like that."
"No one else can," I crossed my arms, my mood turning stormy.
"Andi," she said sternly. She hated it when I acted so negatively.
"Don't 'Andi' me. I lost everything!"
"No, you didn't. You didn't lose me, and you didn't lose God. It's been years, Andi, I know it still hurts, trust me, I do, but you need to move on. What would Momma say?"
"Stay out of trouble."
"Besides that," she shot me an exasperated look. I sat there stoically, refusing to answer because I knew she was right. "Momma would tell you, 'don't forget to live life, time goes by before you know it.'" I teared up. "Aww, naw, hon, don't you cry on me. I know for a fact that your mascara isn't waterproof," Tay said, giving me a hug. "Go have a little fun; a little party never killed nobody. Go on, I know you want to."
"Thanks, Tay," I sniffed and dabbed at my eyes.
"What are friends for?"
I wove my way through the crowd over to the bar. Tyler was waiting; he killed his beer and walked over to me. He seemed surprisingly steady on his feet considering the fact that he'd seemed a little drunk earlier. "Hey, darlin'," he smirked.
"Hi, Seguin."
"I see you got my text. Wanna dance?" He took my hand and spun me around.
"Sure," I replied. He led me to the dance floor and we started moving to the beat. I kept as much space in between us as was possible in the crowd, which wasn't much.
He leaned in, "You smell good, Andi," he placed his hands on my waist and pulled me a little closer.
"You smell like beer," I muttered, feeling a bit uncomfortable. He was totally drunk and I didn't want to be near him like this. I hadn't minded him at the music festival today, but this was too much.
"I love this song!" Tyler cheered, shaking his hips.
"This isn't even music, it's just noise!" I yelled over the erratic thumping of the bass; I couldn't even make out any lyrics.
Tyler leaned in to kiss me and it was too much. I pulled away. "Bye, Seguin."
"Again?" He asked, crestfallen.
"I- I'm sorry," then I turned and disappeared into the crowd, leaving him standing there.
Author's Note
Hey, hey, hockey fans! I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Please vote and comment to let me know what you thought :) Thanks y'all! A new update is in the works and will be up soon!!