Short story . . . or not.

(I totally didn't have to go and look at the schedule to see what I was supposed to post today. *clears throat* Not at all.)
*waves* Hello all. Yes, I missed last week. No, it wasn't on purpose. I had a post I was gonna write but I didn't get a chance to write and schedule it on Friday night like I normally do, and dad decided on Saturday it was time for a family day out. Which meant I wasn't able to get anything written. So yes. That's the explanation for last week. ;)

Anyway. today was supposed to be a short story. And if everything had gone according to plan, I would have had it ready. But see, the story disobeyed me and rebelled. It decided it had a lot more that needed to happen. It decided to turn into a novella. So yeah. The short Valentines day story has decided to turn into a longer contemporary romance type story. From a guy's POV. All new things for me.
As of right now I'm honestly not sure how it's gonna turn out or end. Hopefully next week I'll be closer to finding an answer. xD
For now, here's the first chapter of it. I'd love to hear your thoughts!

The moon was shining bright overhead, slicing a streak of white light through the window pane. 

 Tyler lay awake, tossing and turning in his bunk. Shifting his position to his back, he winced as the bed creaked. From up above, he heard a frustrated groan. “Ty, man, can you worry about the girl some other time?”

Some other time? Ty refrained from uttering the words he wanted to reply with, and gave a rough, “sure, sorry.” 

The only problem was . .  . no, he couldn't worry about her another time. Doing his best to make sure the wood didn’t creak, he slipped out of bed and grabbed his phone off the side table, tucking it in his pocket. Then, he slipped his feet in his boots. The March air threatened to be chilly, and he grabbed his jacket before he opened the door and stepped out into the hall. 

The house was silent, and he was thankful the the fact that his buddy's parents slept on the other side of the house. For that he was grateful; he could slip outside without bothering anyone else. 

It was only a handful of footsteps to the backdoor, and he placed a hand on the knob, opening it with no resistance. Apparently, the town was small enough that people didn't bother to lock the doors. The thought made him smile and long for home. It was spring break, for goodness sake,. Why did he ever agree to come home with his roommate and meet his family when he could be spending the time home with his own family . .  . and Jenny. 

Jenny. As he shoved his arms into the jacket sleeves, he let out a deep breath. It frosted in the air around him, and disappeared into the moonlight. She was the reason he couldn't go home yet. He had to figure out what to do first. 

Taking his phone from his pocket, he unlocked it and turned it off sleep mode. While he waited for the apps to load, he made his way down the steps and then took a seat on the bottom one. 

It was times like this that he loved being awake while others slept. To see everything silent. In the twenty-first century, it wasn’t often anything took the time to slow down. But then, everyone needed sleep. And at night, the world slipped into an enchanted state of silence that never failed to leave him in awe. 

Life looked different through the eyes of the night. 

His phone vibrated in his hand, and his eyes cut to the screen. Instagram. One new message. He clicked the notification, reminding himself for the tenth time that he really should turn them off. He spent too much time on here. 

As he had expected, the message was from Jenny. She was telling him in detail about how her last class had gone at the university. A grin tilted his lips as he scanned the message. 

I don’t mind the hands on classes, and I love the science. Sometimes, though, I wonder if there’s even any reason for me to take more English, but it’s required for graduation. I ended up spending the day diagramming sentences. And to think, I thought I had bid them goodbye when I finished high school. 

Anyway, I’m sure you don’t want to be bored to death hearing me complain about English. 

How’s life for you? Any idea when you’ll be back? Everyone here misses you!

His smile grew even bigger at the last line. Everyone. Did that include her? His hand hovered over the keyboard, but instead of typing, he clicked her name and was redirected to her profile. He’d seen the pictures more times then he cared to know. Most of them had to do with books, school, or her family. Four younger siblings sure kept her on her toes. He remembered the night he’d offered to help her babysit. She’d been so adorable taking care of everyone. 

A sigh started from somewhere deep inside, and escaped his lips. A good friend. He knew that’s all she’d ever seen him as. And for year it had been how he saw her, too. 

But not now. Time away had made him realize how much he missed her. More than just a friend. Problem was, he was sure she didn’t feel the same way. 

His eyes scanned the pictures, and a new one caught his eye. She was standing next to her dad, and on her other side was a guy he didn’t recognize. His brow furrowed as he read the caption. "Having fun with my two best guys!"

There was someone she hadn’t told him about? As soon as the thought hit him, he shoved it aside. It’s not like she was entitled to tell him anything at all. Though . . . It was strange that she hadn’t said anything about him. With as much as they talked, there wasn’t much he didn’t know about her. 

He sighed as he closed the app and switched over to the phone. It was there. The ten digit number he needed to call before he put another step toward the direction of home. 

Her dad.

But what if there was already someone else, and he was too late? What if he said no? Ty knew Mr. Davis had some strict standards for any potential suitors.  And the fact that he wore a uniform may complicate things. 

What father wanted to give their daughter to a man who may be spending months and years on the other side of the world? Jenny deserved so much more. 

The door behind him opened with a protest, and Ty swung around. Behind him, a bleary Mike, rubbing sleep from his eyes stepped out onto the deck. “Man, you woke me up and I can’t get back to sleep.”

Ty winced. “I’m sorry, man.” 

“Eh, don’t worry. I’ll make you pay for it.” Mike flopped down next to him, and motioned to the phone. “That her dad’s number?” 

Looking down, Ty realized he still had the screen open. He nodded, “yeah.”

“All right, you may be right in saying I know nothing about romance. But you know what, you need to make that call. I’ve seen how you’ve been struggling with this, and it’s not gonna end till you’re honest. Take the risk, Ty. The worst he can say is no. But,” Mike leaned close as if sharing something for his ears only. “I’d wait till a decent hour. If a man called me at two in the morning to ask if he could start a relationship with my daughter, I’d probably feel like shooting him.”

Ty shook his head and shoved Mike away. “You’re annoying, you know that?” 

Mike shrugged and grinned. “Hey, what can I say? Observing other’s love life is a hobby of mine. I can’t help but meddle in your affairs.”

Before Ty could stop him, Mike had grabbed the phone. The open Instagram window instantly lit up her page and the picture he had been contemplating. Mike like out a low whistle. “Better make your move, man. This guys isn’t as ugly as you are.”

A snort was Ty’s only reply and he wrestled the phone away. When it was safely back in his hands,  he locked it and slid it into his pocket. “You know, back in training I tried for the ugliest guy award, but they informed me you’d already won that.”

For a moment Mike didn’t reply, and when he did he shook his head. “One day you’re gonna regret that so bad. Just sayin’.” He stood and ran a hand over his face. "Well, now that you’ve decided what you’re gonna do, think you can get some sleep and stay quiet so I can get some, too?”

Ty shrugged. “You go in. I’m gonna stay out a little while longer.”

Mike nodded. “Just stop worrying. It’s getting on my nerves. And I swear, if you don’t call her dad tomorrow, I’m gonna look her up on Instagram or Facebook or some such thing and tell her how you really feel.”

The spark of mischief in Mike’s eyes left no question in Ty’s mind that he’d do just that. “You send her a message and I’ll--I’ll” He couldn't think of anything bad enough, and Mike snickered. “Looks like I got the last word this time.” The self assured smirk that made Ty wanna pound him lit up his face. “I’ll be waiting to hear how that phone call went.”

With that he walked inside, closing the door softly behind him. 

Alone again, Ty returned to his quiet vigil of the town. Well, he was calling her dad tomorrow. It wouldn't be that hard . . . would it? 

Mr. Davis was very easy to talk to most of the time. But he had a feeling it wouldn't’ be quite the same with the phone call. 

He wasn’t calling to talk about work or fishing. He was calling to ask permission to talk to his daughter about forever. 

Yeah, this was every bit as terrifying as everyone had made it out to be. 

Sooo...thoughts? I'd love to hear 'em!