Four Years Earlier
“Come on, Tyler. You can’t be that slow.” I teased him, pedaling ahead on my bike as we wound through the trees surrounding the park.
Tyler, trailing behind, chuckled. “Slow? You’ll see about that.” He called out. I grinned, already feeling the thrill of victory. I’d cheated, of course – I’d taken off before him when we started the race two minutes ago.
A minute later, we reached the park. I hopped off my bike, parked it, and turned to face him. “Yes! I won!” I shouted, triumphant. “Better luck next time, Tyler.”
Tyler smiled, a familiar warmth in his eyes. “You know I let you win.”
“Yeah, right. You’re just a sore loser.” I replied, already turning toward the swings.
“Oh no, you’re not getting away with that.” I heard him say, and turned to see him walking towards me with a mischievous grin. I let out a little shriek and ran away from him.
He caught me in no time, lifted me off my feet, and slung me over his shoulder. I shrieked again, laughing. “Tyler, put me down!”
“What must you say?” He asked, his voice teasing.
“Please.” I answered, still giggling. I knew exactly what he wanted.
“And?” He prodded, holding me securely.
“Okay. You let me win, you let me win.” I conceded, 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 came to this park, Tyler and I always ended up on these swings, talking.
I sighed, a small ache in my chest. 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 was just going to miss *him*.
“What are you thinking about?” He asked, breaking the quiet.
“I was just thinking about what it’s going to be like when you’re gone.” I answered, my voice barely a whisper.
Tyler didn’t say anything for a long moment. Then he turned to face me, his own gaze intense. “I know 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 so hard to hide it. He was rocking his swing back and forth slowly. I remained still, watching him intently.
“Tyler,” I began, clearing my throat. This wasn’t easy. “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 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 down again. He was the one who’d laid out all the reasons when we first talked about it, so I knew he understood. He sighed. “You’re right. It’s just… I wished things were different.”
“Me too.” I said quietly. After that, I fell silent. The late afternoon summer breeze was cool, and the park was quiet and peaceful. People rarely came here, which is why we called it “our spot.” We came here a lot, and we were usually alone. This park held so many memories for us. Memories I would never forget. Memories I would cherish, no matter where I was.
I smiled sadly. The summer had flown by. A week after graduation, Tyler had gotten 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 so hard just thinking about being so far apart, but it was what we both wanted.
We’d spent a lot of time together during the summer, avoiding the topic for the most part, but we couldn’t ignore it anymore. It was here. It was happening now. We were nearing the end of August, and Tyler was leaving for New York next week. So we talked.
When we first talked about it, we’d tried to find ways to make our relationship work from a distance, but in the end, we both decided it should end. It wouldn’t be fair to either 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 reached out his hand to me. I took it. He smiled, and I felt a familiar flutter in my stomach. I would never get over the way he made 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, pulling me closer until our bodies were pressed together. He held my face tenderly in his hands before bringing his face closer to mine and kissing me. I leaned into the kiss, 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 smiled mischievously 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 lifting 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 leaped with excitement. I didn’t know what they were, but with Tyler, it was always something fun, something I’d never done before. Something he knew I’d enjoy.
With him, it was always an adventure.