Free Painted Memories by Loni Flowers Page B

which I tore the house up looking for. Somehow, they ended up under the couch. I found them just in time, because ten minutes later, a knock rapped on my door. I sprung it open. “Oh, there you are. I was thinking you got—.”
    My mouth hung open in total surprise to see Drew standing in front of me. “What are you doing here?” I demanded as I peered around him.
    His eyes narrowed and he followed my gaze. “Oh, you were expecting someone else, I take it?”
    “And if I were?”
    “You seem a little paranoid, that's all.”
    “I am not paranoid,” I replied, my hand on my hip, feeling aggravated now. I heard footsteps approaching and silently cursed to myself.
    “Lilly? Oh, finally! I got all turned around in this place,” Tyler said as he walked up beside me. He glanced at Drew before kissing me on the cheek. “Sorry I'm late.”
    I was speechless, with my mouth hanging open as I looked from Drew to Tyler and they appraised each other. I had no doubt Drew knew this was the guy I mentioned earlier, but what did Tyler know? Nothing. Leave it to a guy to assume more was going on than met the eye. Typical... and men thought women were bad. Yeah, right.
    “Tyler this is Drew, my upstairs neighbor and co-worker.” Drew's eyes squinted slightly at the introduction. “And Drew, this is Tyler, my... date for the night.” They offered each other tight-lipped smiles before nodding politely.
    “Lilly, we had better head out before we miss the movie.”
    “Oh, right, don't let me hold you two up. Lilly, I want to give you back your sweater and sunglasses; you left them in my car this afternoon.”
    He handed them over and I forced a grateful smile. I didn't even notice he was holding them in his hand. But could it not have waited until Monday? “Thanks Drew. I appreciate it.”
    “No problem. Enjoy your night.” He put his hands in his jeans pocket, then turned and walked away.
    I looked at Tyler and moved to open my door. “Let me put this up and grab my—.”
    “Oh, Lilly, I forgot,” Drew called from behind me. He pulled his hand from his pocket, bringing out a tube, wrapped with a red label. Walking closer to me, he said, “You're going to need this.” Then he dropped his voice lower “for the lunch date I owe you.  A deal’s a deal.” He winked at me with a smirk and walked away without another word.
    Sneaking a look in my hand, I read the label on the tube and felt the temperature rise twenty degrees in my cheeks.
    Strawberry ChapStick.
    I didn't even look at Tyler. I couldn’t bear to see his reaction, if he had one. Instead, I slipped the tube in my pocket and grabbed my purse from the kitchen counter before throwing the sweater on the couch. “Sorry about the delay. Are we still going to have time to see the movie?” I asked, pulling the door shut.
    “I don't know,” he said, looking at his watch. “It's already ten to seven. If I hadn't gotten all turned around coming here, I would've been here sooner. We might miss the previews, but that’s probably all.”
    “Oh, I don't care about that. I'm starved.” Remembering how things ended at the studio, lunch was the last thing on my mind. Up until that moment, I didn't even realize I was hungry.
    “We can grab a quick bite to eat somewhere. Where would you like to go?”
    Tyler rested his hand on my lower back as we walked through the courtyard to his truck. “You decide,” I said. “Take me someplace I haven't been before.”
    Opening the truck door, he watched and waited as I hopped into my seat. “I think I can do that, but we'll miss the previews for sure.”
    “Not a problem,” I assured him. “In fact, we can skip it all together; it doesn't make a difference to me.”
    After about a twenty-minute drive, we ended up at Tacos and More, a Mexican restaurant. By its name alone, I was convinced it was one of those hole-in-the-wall places. Tyler told me not to let the outside deceive me, because they had authentic Mexican cuisine,