"Naturally."

"It's been good for me, I think, to reconnect with old friends." Never mind that he wasn't technically an old friend. "Tyler's waiting, so I should go. Goodnight."

She carried on out the front door before any further questions were asked. Tyler stood outside, looking gorgeous in a blue crew neck top that highlighted his eyes and tight, dark jeans. Alexis wondered what was inside the black bag slung over his shoulder.

He whistled appreciatively as she approached him. "More beautiful by the day."

She blushed. "You don't look too bad yourself."

"I try not to disappoint. Wouldn't want you to forget me again."

"No golf cart?" Alexis queried.

"We're bipeds tonight, my lady."

She tried to think where they'd be going within walking distance and came up empty. She was glad that she chose flat shoes, a fact that Tyler noticed immediately.

"You're picking up my casual vibe," he said, nodding toward her aqua flip-flops.

"I like it."

"I've realized there's something soothing about the sound of flip-flops," she admitted. "Certainly better than getting my heels stuck in the sand."

His eyes widened. "Oh, so you think we're headed to the beach. Well, smart girl, not so smart after all." He held out his arm and she looped her arm through his.

"Okay, you've outwitted me, Barnes. Are we going to raid Jo's Convenience

Store? Lowry's? Because there aren't many places I can think of nearby."

"How quickly we forget," he said, clucking his tongue with disappointment.

The stars shone brightly against a black sky as they walked to the end of her road and turned right. When he reached for her hand, a jolt of electricity coursed through her. She felt the rough skin on his fingers from years of playing guitar and instinctively wanted to bring them to her lips and kiss each one, but she withstood the urge. Alexis noticed a couple of dog walkers coming toward them, illuminated by the streetlights.

"God, I had such a flashback of passing all the dogs on my way to school every morning. I guess that dog park is still there."

She glanced at Tyler and noticed his sly smile. "Are we going to the dog park?" she asked in disbelief.

He shook his head and could hardly contain his laughter. "Not quite."

As soon as she realized their destination, she felt like an idiot. School. He was literally taking her back to high school.

"You can't be serious," she said.

"C'mon," he urged her. "It'll be fun. I think you need to replace some of those twisted memories of yours with better ones."

He squeezed her hand as they carried on walking toward the school. Alexis surveyed the neighborhood on the way.




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