Free What Endures by Katie Lee

really nice rac-. . .ah, pom-poms?” He avoided Megan’s narrowed gaze.
    Tyler laughed. “Oh, yeah, she definitely had really, really nice pom-poms.” Tyler was about to spear a steak from a container when Megan yanked it out of his reach. “Hey!”
    “I don’t feed sexist pigs.”
    “He said it first!” Tyler whined. Megan raised an eyebrow and she and Tyler had a stare down before Tyler sighed. “Fine. I’m sorry. I’m an asshole. Please forgive me.”
    Jason laughed. “Damn, you’re whipped, dude.”
    “Oh I’m whipped?” Tyler challenged. “What about you? You and Megan-“ Tyler had tried again to grab a steak and yet again, Megan yanked it out of his reach. “Hey! I’m hungry.” The look on Megan’s face shut Tyler up quickly. “Sorry, Meg.”
    “Me and Megan what?”:Jason asked, looking between the two of them.
    Megan angled her head at Tyler, as if to direct him to answer the question. Tyler cleared his throat and an uncomfortable silence settled in the room. Finally, Tyler said softly,
    “Just that you bowed to her wishes too.”
    He could press this. He should press this. He had a right to know and it was damn tiring dancing around the edge of whatever it was between himself and Megan but one look at the vulnerability on her face and he couldn’t do it. His eyes met hers and he whispered,
    “I can believe that.”  They stared at each other for a long moment before he took a bite of food. “This is great Meg.”
    She smiled and the tension immediately dissipated. “Thanks.” She handed Tyler the container of food with a warning look. He accepted it mutely. “So you remember Lizzie Jennings?”
    Jason frowned. “I mean, you know, she lived like two blocks from us in Harbor Bay. We went to the same school growing up. My dad and her Dad played golf together so she would come over at times.” He frowned. “She was kind of annoying as a little kid. Cute, but annoying.” Megan chuckled while Tyler smiled and shook his head. “Are we talking about that Lizzie?”
    Tyler nodded. “Yeah.”
    “You hooked up with Lizzie Jennings?” he asked incredulously. “I mean, yeah, she was an annoying little kid, but she grew up nice.” Jason shoved Tyler playfully on the shoulder. “Way too hot for you.”
    “I have hidden charms.” Tyler smiled at him knowingly, which made Megan roll her eyes.
    “And you cheated on her?” he asked.
    Tyler sighed. “It was a mistake, all right? I realize that and I-“
    “Ran away,” Megan injected. She smiled when they made eye contact, but he had caught that strange expression on her face just a second before.
    “And I came back!” Tyler protested.
    “Then you ran away again!” Megan retorted. Jason laughed as she settled into a chair next to him and began to pass the food around. Soon, they were all eating and good-naturedly teasing each other. Just like any other dinner. But that tension that was always lurking beneath the surface – it was becoming harder and harder for him to ignore.
    #
    Megan was in his arms.
    And there was something so perfectly right about that.
    At first, he had thought he was dreaming. His dreams had been such jumbled messes that sometimes they literally startled him awake at night. And now, as he stirred into semi-consciousness, he wasn’t quite sure if he were awake or still dreaming.
    But there he was, stretched out on the large, comfortable couch in the living room, with Megan sprawled across him, their legs intertwined, her head resting comfortably on his chest and her arm draped across his stomach. Her small, soft body felt so good against him. He looked down at her in surprise for a few seconds before last night’s events came back to him.
    They had dawdled over dinner, and then had decided to watch a movie together. Not soon after the movie had started, however, Tyler’s girlfriend, Lucy, had called and Tyler had gone upstairs to take the call. That happened on most nights, so neither he nor Megan had been