Four Years Earlier
"Come on, Tyler. You can't be that slow." I teased Tyler as I pedaled my bike through the trees surrounding track towards the park.
Tyler, who was behind me, chuckled. "Slow? You'll see about that." He answered. I grinned widely at his comment as I continued to pedal. Of course, I had cheated when I rode off before him when we had started the race two minutes ago.
A minute after that, we reached the park. I got off my bike and parked it and turned to face him. "Yes, I won!" I shouted in victory as Tyler got from his bike. "Better luck next time, Tyler."
Tyler smiled. "You know I let you win." He said.
"Yeah, right. You're just a sore loser." I replied as I turned to walk towards the swing set.
"Oh no, you're not getting away with that." I heard him say behind me. I turned to see him walking towards me with a mischievous grin on his face. I let out a little shriek and ran away from him.
Of course, he caught me in no time, lifted me off my feet, and threw me over his shoulder. I shrieked again while laughing. "Tyler put me down!"
"What must you say?" He asked.
"Please." I answered, still laughing, knowing exactly what he wanted me to say.
"And?" He prodded.
"Okay. You let me win, you let me win." I said, giving in.
Tyler placed me on my feet again and smiled. "Now, was that so hard?"
I just smiled at him and took his hands in mine, leading him towards the swings. I sat on one, and Tyler sat on the one beside me. This was how it always was. Whenever we come to this park, Tyler and I would always end up in the swing sitting and talking.
I sighed. I was going to miss this. Miss us hanging out together. Miss our fun teasing. Miss talking to him. Miss trying fun things with him. I'm just going to miss him.
"What are you thinking about?" He asked when we were quiet for a while.
"I was just thinking what it's going to be like when you're gone." I answered.
Tyler didn't say anything for a while. He then he turned to face me. "I know that I I said we should do this, and you agreed, but do we really have to do this?"
I looked over at him and met his questioning gaze. I could see the hurt in his eyes even though he was trying really hard to hide it. He was rocking the swing he was sitting on back and forth slowly. I remained still as I watched him intently.
"Tyler," I began, then cleared my throat. This wasn't easy for me. "You know we have to. I'm going to really miss you, but it's for the best. You'll be thousands of miles away, and I'll be here. Us being that far apart from each other won't be easy, and I don't want to put you through that. I don't want to go through it either."
"I know." He replied, then looked in front of him again. He was the one who had made those points when we first talked about it, so I knew he understood. He sighed. "You're right. It's just that I wished things were different."
"Me too." I said in a quiet voice. After that, I became silent. The light summer breeze was cool in the late afternoon, and it was quiet and peaceful. People rarely came to this park, which is why it became "our spot." We come here a lot and hang out, and we were alone most times. This park contains so many memories for us. Memories that I would never forget. Memories that I will cherish no matter where I am.
I smiled sadly. The summer went by so fast. A week after graduation, Tyler got accepted to a university in New York. He was going to study to become a science teacher, and I was going to attend university here to study journalism. It was really hard just thinking that we would be far away from each other, but there was nothing we could do about it because these were the colleges that we applied for. It's what we both wanted.
We spent a lot of time together during the summer, and we avoided the topic for the most part, but we couldn't ignore it anymore. It was right here. It was happening right now. We were nearing the end of August, and Tyler was leaving for New York next week. So, we talked about it.
When we first talked about it, we tried to find ways in which our relationship could work from a distance, but in the end, we both decided that we should end it. It wouldn't be fair to both of us, and I really didn't want to do that to him. He deserved better than that.
My mind came back to our current situation when Tyler stretched his hand to me. I took it. He smiled, and I felt butterflies in my stomach. I would never get over the way he makes me feel. "No matter what, I'll be here for you. Don't hesitate to call me, okay?"
"Okay, I will." I responded. "And you can call me anytime too."
He nodded and stood up. My hand was still in his, so I stood up too. "Come here." He said as he pulled me closer until our bodies were pressed together. He held my face tenderly in his hands before he brought his face closer to mine and kissed me. I leaned into the kiss while wrapping my arms around his neck.
When he pulled back, he rested his forehead against mine and looked into my eyes. "And no matter what, I will always love you." He said quietly.
"I will always love you too." I said, smiling up at him.
He then smiled in a mischievous way again. "We still have a week left before I leave, so we can still enjoy each other's company until then."
With my arms still around his neck, I played with his hair while I lifted my eyebrows in question. "What do you have in mind?"
Taking my hands, he led me towards our bikes. "Come on. I have so many plans and I'm going to do them all with you."
My heart leaps in excitement. I don't know what they are, but with Tyler, it is always something fun or something I've never done before. Something he knew I'd enjoy.
With him, it's always an adventure.
