Chapter Thirty-Nine
Ashley
Even though it felt like I had spent the entirety of my life throughout the last two weeks trying to help Tyler train for the competition, once it actually started, I realized I still had little to no knowledge of what was going on.
It didn’t take me long to figure out that I had forgotten to ask what I now thought would be some of the most basic questions, such as how the competition was scored and what to look for in people with talent.
So, instead of trying to figure it out, I just cheered for Tyler and hoped for the best.
It was clear though, that Tyler knew what he was doing, while everyone else seemed to just be winging it. He was definitely the most toned person there and his understanding of how it all worked was obvious.
Throughout the whole competition, Tyler didn’t lose his smile, or his cocky showmanship, but I knew that wasn’t really an indication of whether he was doing well or coming in dead last. I was almost positive, even though I had never seen him fail at anything, that to keep up appearances, no matter how badly he might have been doing, he still would never allow that smile to be wiped off of his face.
After all, if there was one thing I had learned about Tyler through the entirety of the time we had spent together was that he never, under any circumstances took no for an answer.
In a way I admired that about him, but in another way completely, I found that part of him to be a total pain in the ass.
When it came to the deadweight competition, I held my breath and hoped that he was winning the competition. Once again, his form was better than anyone else’s, but I did know that there was more to what was going on besides just form. I knew that there was some kind of scoring system, but I realized that no matter what happened with him, others in the crowd continued to cheer him on.
In a way, even though I wasn’t completely sure what to be proud of, I still felt an immense sense of pride toward his work in general. I knew how hard he had trained for this and therefore, win or lose, I was going to be thrilled.
At the very end there was the pulling challenge, which had each contestant pull a truck with just their body weight and strength. Once again, I was sure that Tyler had done magnificently, but I couldn’t be completely sure until the winner was announced.
When the competition was over, the judges deliberated for a little while until finally, they came out with a first, second and third place.
Of course, they waited to reveal first place until last and as they carefully laid out the winners of the first two places, I held my breath, both hoping to hear Tyler’s name among the winners, but slightly more hopeful that he didn’t get called until the very end.
After a long lead-in, in order to add to the already mounting anticipation that had taken over the area, the announcer made it official. Tyler won and I could barely contain my excitement. I jumped up and down and screamed at the top of my lungs as he moved up to receive his prize.
Yet, I noticed with a sense of happiness that it wasn’t exactly the prize that Tyler had his eye on now; it was me.
Tyler flashed me a wink and I felt my heart flutter while I watched him strut up to be front and center.
The whole crowd was going wild, but I knew that he was looking at me and for the first time in a really long time, I was happy for someone that was actually close to me, besides just a friend. I don’t think that I had ever been prouder of anyone.
In a way, with all of the help that I had tried to provide and the amount of emotion that I held for him, whether I wanted to or not at this point, I was also proud of myself. I felt as though I had done something significant in order for the win to have been attributed to Tyler.
However, after everything that had gone on during this summer, I didn’t feel bad or think that I didn’t deserve this. I had worked hard and so had Tyler. For once in a very long time, I felt as though I deserved every bit of the sensation that I had coursing through my body.
When everything had calmed down and I was able to meet up with him, I was still ecstatic. I felt as though my whole life had a meaning and a purpose that I had never quite been able to contemplate before. It was fantastic and I was ready to take every inch of that pride for myself.
I had the distinct feeling that it wasn’t just me and it wasn’t just him and I anymore; we had achieved something together and that meant a lot to me.
So, as soon as I saw him in the crowd, I was overwhelmed with emotion and excitement. I was happy to see that Tyler also moved with a sense of excitement as I grew closer to him.
When we were within arm’s length of one another, we embraced and, without even thinking, as I was completely overwhelmed by the passion and excitement running through my body from the adrenaline of the win, I leaned up and pressed my mouth against Tyler’s zealously and comfortably.
For the moment, we were the only two people that mattered in the world. There might be a whole crowd surrounding us, but all we saw and all we felt was one another.
The now familiar taste of him was inviting and alluring. Forgetting the world that surrounded us, he grasped onto me and pulled me closer to him.
The moment, for the short period of time that it lasted, was incredibly powerful. I had never felt such an amazing experience coming unto me before, especially in public. All I really wanted to do was tear his clothes off and make love to him right then and there.
However, the moment of such wild, careless desire was short-lived, when I heard my father’s voice booming out to me, loudly and completely shocked.
“Ashley! What the hell are you doing?” he demanded, just before I felt his hand grasp my arm and yank me backwards.
Tyler instinctively moved toward the man who was pulling me backward, but stopped short when he saw that it was my father. “What are you doing here?” He sounded stunned.
“I came to watch you compete,” my father answered heatedly. “But I certainly saw more than I bargained for…”
I looked at my father, who glared between the two of us with a red face, full of fury. I knew that the only reason he wasn’t completely going off on us was simply because he was too shocked to rationalize his words.
Just like us, he couldn’t seem to understand the full extent of what was going on. The world now seemed to be spinning on around us, while we were completely oblivious to it, but for a different reason.
I felt sick to my stomach.
“Come on, Ashley, we are going home,” my father said sternly.
I glanced at him and thought of saying something to the contrary, but figured this wouldn’t be the time. I just nodded and left with him, without saying a word.