Tear Down These Walls

by Carter, Sarah

  “No,” Kellen laughs. “Pajamas on, bed time. We have to go to your parents’ before the gift opening. We can’t look like death.”

  “Party pooper,” Teagan draws out. “I’ll go get us some towels.” She climbs out of the whirlpool and practically skips her way into the bathroom. When she looks in the mirror, she grimaces. “How could you have done all that with me, when I looked like a raccoon?”

  Kellen comes into the bathroom behind her and grabs a towel. “That just happened actually, and it doesn’t bother me. You may want to wash all that off before bed, though.”

  “You ain’t kidding,” Teagan laughs, as she reaches for a wash cloth.

  “I’m going to get our toothbrushes,” Kellen states, as he wraps the towel around his waist.

  Teagan starts to wash her face and watches him leave the room. “That man is so hot.”

  “What did you say?” Kellen calls from the other room.

  “I was just admiring you as you walked away,” Teagan yells out happily. She continues to scrub the make-up off of her face. “The things we do to look beautiful.”

  Walking back in, Kellen says, “If you don’t want to, don’t wear make-up. I will love you either way.”

  Instantly, Teagan freezes and she stares at Kellen. He pays her no attention and walks back out of the bathroom. “What the…..” Teagan exhales. “Did he just say that? No…I’m totally taking that the wrong way.” She shakes her head. “Yeah, it was a slip of the tongue. Totally.” Teagan pauses and thinks about it for a second. “Nahhh, he didn’t mean that,” she finally whispers. With that, Teagan reaches for her toothbrush.

  Chapter 14

  Teagan awakens to her phone going off. She opens one eye and grabs it. It takes a second, but she finally silences the alarm. Exhaling, she puts it back on the night stand. Teagan rolls over to look for Kellen. He isn’t in bed. She sits up and yawns. The shower is going in the bathroom, so Teagan figures Kellen is in there. She climbs out of bed and grabs his shirt off the floor. There are only two buttons left on it, but she puts it on anyway. She walks over to the bathroom door and knocks. She hears a chuckle and then, “Why are you knocking?”

  “I don’t know what you are doing in there!” Teagan exclaims.

  “Honey, I think you can come into the bathroom while I’m in the shower,” Kellen laughs. “If I was doing anything inappropriate, you would be in here with me.”

  Teagan smiles. She opens the door and walks in. “Oh really?”

  He smiles at her through the glass. “Oh yeah.”

  “Are you almost done?” Teagan whines. “I have to pee.”

  Giving her a look, Kellen says, “Then go pee.”

  “Not in front of you!” Teagan yells.

  “Oh dear lord!” Kellen shouts. “Teagan, just go to the bathroom. I’m not even looking.”

  Unable to hold it anymore, Teagan snaps, “Fine!” She sits down and sighs.

  “Girls are so weird,” Kellen grumbles as he washes his hair.

  “I’m modest,” Teagan chirps.

  “After last night?” Kellen teases.

  “Well, okay, maybe not entirely with you anymore,” Teagan giggles. When she finishes, she stands up and flushes. Walking over to the shower, Teagan asks, “How long have you been in there?”

  “I actually just got in here,” Kellen replies. He turns and gives her a look. “Want to join me?”

  Teagan smirks, “Could we do that and not end up having sex?”

  “Sure,” Kellen says. “Come in here.”

  “I don’t know,” Teagan mumbles shyly.

  The glass door of the shower suddenly opens, and Kellen pulls her inside. Teagan screams. Kellen laughs hysterically. “It’s time for you to get clean.”

  With a playful glare, Teagan says, “Your shirt is soaked now. How are we going to explain that to people?”

  “I was wondering how I was going to ask your mom to sew the buttons back on,” Kellen quips, pulling on the shirt.

  “Oh my god!” Teagan yells. “Don’t you dare!”

  He bursts out laughing. “I would never! We’re going to leave the shirt here.”

  “I kind of wanted to keep it,” Teagan mumbles.

  “A piece of me to keep with you,” Kellen chuckles.

  “Sort of,” Teagan whispers. “What happened between us…it means a lot to me.”

  “I know, Baby, me too,” Kellen says. “You can have anything of mine that you want.”

  Crossing her arms, Teagan asks, “What do you have to offer?”

  Tilting his head to the side, Kellen says, “I have no idea. If you come across something, let me know.”

  “Okay.” Nervously, she undoes the two buttons and lets the shirt fall to the floor. Feeling bashful, she doesn’t look up at Kellen.

  “Hey,” he says softly. “You can look at me.” He puts his finger under her chin and lifts her head up. “Don’t ever feel like you need to be shy around me.”

  “I don’t have a whole bunch of liquor in me right now,” Teagan mumbles.

  Taking a step back, Kellen asks, “Did last night happen because of the liquor?”

  “Well, sort of,” Teagan replies.

  “Wow,” Kellen exhales, stepping farther back. “I didn’t know that. I thought it meant something….”

  “NO!” Teagan exclaims. “No! That’s not what I meant! The liquor made me brave! I wanted to do all that. Oh please, don’t think that I didn’t.”

  “Oh good,” Kellen exhales. “You were going to break my heart there.”

  She stands up a little taller. “Break your heart?”

  “Well yeah,” Kellen stutters. “What we did last night has to be the most meaningful thing I have ever done.”

  “Why do you say that?” Teagan asks, stepping up to him.

  Kellen starts to take the pins out of her hair, letting the curls fall. “I’ve never cared about anyone before.”

  “What about your ex?” Teagan whispers.

  He continues to take the pins out. “I wasn’t with her because of feelings. I tried, I really did, but that woman is like nails on a chalkboard for me.”

  “Then when why were you with her?” Teagan asks.

  Taking in a deep breath, Kellen says, “I thought I was doing the right thing.”

  “Why do you say that?”

  With a heavy sigh, Kellen replies, “It’s better if I show you versus tell you, or maybe it’s better if I just told you. I don’t know. Let’s enjoy today. I want that in case you decide to leave me.”

  “I’m not going anywhere,” Teagan assures him. “I promise.”

  Kellen sighs, pulling out the last pin. He runs his fingers through her hair to loosen all the curls. “I want you to enjoy today, okay?”

  “What’s the big secret?” Teagan inquires.

  Looking into her eyes, Kellen says, “Tuesday, come over to my house after class.”

  “Okay,” Teagan giggles. “It’s a date.”

  “We should actually go on some of those,” Kellen sighs happily. “That’s if you want to.”

  “Where are you going to take me?” Teagan asks, giving him a huge smile.

  Kellen smiles back at her. “Wherever you want to go, and I mean anywhere.”

  “I’ll have to think about that. Now, we should shower. I probably smell.”

  Bending over, Kellen sniffs her neck. Breathing out against her skin, he whispers, “Nope, you still smell delicious.”

  Teagan’s skin tingles under his breath. “Well then,” she exhales.

  “Hmmm,” Kellen hums before kissing her gently. Teagan arches her neck to give him easier access. “Enthusiastic?”

  “Yes,” she breathes out.

  “Good,” Kellen murmurs, pulling her to him. “Ready for some fraternizing?” She starts to laugh and then gasps as his hands begin to wander.

  * * * * *

  As Kellen puts their last suitcase in the trunk, he looks at Teagan. “I think your mom likes me.”

 
“I think she would date you if she weren’t married to my stepdad,” Teagan retorts.

  “Sorry, I’m taken,” Kellen chirps as he shuts the lid.

  Teagan raises her eyebrows. “You’re taken?”

  “Well, that’s if everything works out on Tuesday,” Kellen states as he walks to the driver side of the car. “Come on, let’s get going.”

  She turns and walks to the passenger side. After Kellen climbs in, Teagan mumbles, “Taken huh?” That makes her smile. “Awesome.”

  They ride in comfortable silence before they pull up to Georgia and Dwayne’s. Kellen looks at Teagan. “Do you think Dipshit will show up?”

  “I can’t imagine that he would. He’s banged up pretty badly. It may cause some problems.”

  “Only if he says it was me, but I doubt he will,” Kellen replies. “Who really wants to admit they got their ass kicked by an MMA fighter?”

  “True,” Teagan laughs. “We could always tell people it was me.”

  Kellen gets a wicked grin on his face. “I think that’s the story that we should stick with. That is much more embarrassing than it being me who broke his face.”

  Teagan sighs and shakes her head, “Come on, we’re late.”

  “I wonder why,” Kellen teases. “Someone didn’t want to get out of the shower,” he adds as he winks at her.

  When they get inside, they find everyone in the living room. “We were wondering if you were going to show up!” Georgia shouts joyfully.

  “Sorry, we had to stop by my parents’,” Teagan declares, rolling her eyes.

  Kellen mumbles in her ear, “Sure, that’s why we’re late.” Teagan elbows him in the side.

  “Well, everyone’s here,” Georgia says with a satisfied smile. It is obvious that her wedding night was everything she wanted and more after Teagan and Kellen left the reception. “We’re one person down though.”

  “Yeah,” Georgia’s mom interjects. “I feel so bad for Justin.”

  Teagan instantly tenses up. Georgia looks over at her and raises an eyebrow. Dwayne chuckles and says, “Serves him right for drinking so much.”

  “What happened?” Teagan nonchalantly asks.

  “He fell and bashed his face on the steps outside of his apartment,” Dwayne laughs. “He must have been really drunk because he had a hotel room upstairs. I must not be very observant. I didn’t even know he was that tipsy.”

  Georgia gives Teagan a look. Teagan shrugs her shoulders and points to herself. Rolling her eyes, Georgia coyly points at Kellen. Teagan vigorously shakes her head, and points to herself. Georgia’s jaw drops. Teagan shakes her hand and acts like she is in pain. Georgia’s jaw drops even more. A smile spreads across Teagan’s face and she shrugs again.

  “Yeah, he broke his nose and fractured his cheekbone,” Dwayne tells everyone. “Justin must have face planted into the steps. They’re stone, it makes sense.”

  Kellen looks at Teagan and smirks. She does the same in return. “Well, let’s get started,” Georgia’s mom exclaims. “Here’s the first gift.”

  Two hours later, all the boxed gifts are open and there is gift wrap strewn around the room. Teagan turns to Kellen, “You did get a present right?”

  “Yeah,” Kellen replies. Speaking up, he says, “Our card is the one in the red envelope.”

  “Oh,” Georgia says. “Mom, can you grab it for me?”

  “Sure.” Her mom hands it over.

  Happily, Georgia rips it open and takes out the piece of paper. She looks at it quizzically. “What is this?”

  “Well, it’s a vacation,” Kellen states. “I wasn’t sure if you were going on a honeymoon, but it’s a paid vacation to Hawaii. The airfare, hotel room, car rental are all covered in the package.”

  Georgia stares at the paper as it quakes in her trembling hands. Her face is a mask of shock mixed with glee and a side of confusion. It takes her a second before she shakes her head. Georgia holds up the credit card inside of it. “It’s all on this?”

  “No, that’s six hundred dollars for food and such,” Kellen states.

  “Dude,” Dwayne snaps, grabbing the piece of paper. “You are kidding, right?”

  “Not at all,” Kellen replies, swinging his arm around Teagan. “I picked that hotel because the suites have incredible views of the ocean.”

  “We can’t accept this,” Georgia gasps, looking at Kellen.

  Shrugging his shoulders, Kellen says, “It’s nonrefundable.”

  “What do you mean we can’t accept it? Of course we can accept it!” Dwayne shouts. “Holy crap guys, thanks! We were going to try and go somewhere in the summer.”

  “Well, you can go whenever you want,” Kellen declares. “You just need to contact that travel agent. She is based out of Detroit.”

  “Thank you!” Georgia exclaims. She runs over and wraps Kellen in her arms, squeezing tight. “Thank you so much.”

  He hugs her back and says, “No problem.”

  Georgia turns to Teagan. “Did you have anything to do with this?”

  “I won’t lie, no, I had no idea,” Teagan laughs. “Are you happy that I left it up to Kellen?”

  “Hell yeah!” Dwayne high fives Kellen. “Thanks, man!”

  Kellen reaches over and squeezes Teagan’s knee. “I am glad that it made you happy, guys,” Kellen chuckles. He looks down at his watch and says, “Hey, we have to go. We have to return the car at the airport.”

  “Awww,” Georgia whines. “Are you guys going to come back soon?”

  “I don’t know,” Teagan replies. “I wanted to for Christmas, but I will have to see how much money I can save between now and then.”

  “We’ll try and come back over the holidays,” Kellen interjects. “We would love to see you guys.”

  Clapping her hands, Georgia says, “Perfect!”

  They get up and say their good byes. When they get into the car, Teagan turns to Kellen. “So, overall, how was this weekend for you?”

  “I would have to say this has been one of the best weekends in years. I mean, we finally came clean with each other. We had a wonderful night last night. I got to meet your friends and your awesome parents.”

  “Plus, you beat up Justin,” Teagan quips.

  “That was definitely a perk,” Kellen chuckles. “Did you enjoy it?”

  “Like you have no idea,” Teagan sighs relieved. “Thank you for last night and this morning.”

  He gives her a devilish smirk, “I’m happy that I could give you a proper introduction.”

  “That was definitely an introduction,” Teagan giggles. She leans over and kisses him on the cheek. “Now, I have to wait in anticipation to find out what the big secret is on Tuesday.”

  The smiles on Kellen’s face falters a little. “Yeah, we’ll see how Tuesday goes.”

  “Whatever it is, I’m not leaving you,” Teagan states softly.

  “I hope not,” Kellen exhales, as he pulls away from the curb.

  * * * * *

  Later that night, they are back at his house. “Do you want to stay over?”

  With a glint in her eyes, Teagan inquires, “Do you have protection here?”

  Kellen looks down and says, “Yes.”

  “Then, HELL YEAH, I’m staying,” Teagan exclaims.

  He shakes his head. “I won’t do that until I know you want to see this through because I don’t want to share that moment with you and then you leave me.”

  “I didn’t realize it meant that much to you,” Teagan whispers in awe.

  “Of course,” Kellen replies back softly. He puts his hands on the sides of her face. “You mean so much to me. That is the greatest act we can share. I wouldn’t want that to happen and then have you walk away. It would break my heart.”

  “That’s really…..deep,” Teagan says.

  “So, can you stay with me even though I want to wait a few more days?”

  Teagan gives him a small smile. “I want to say yes, but I don’t think I can control myself. You have opened Pa
ndora’s box.”

  Narrowing his eyes, Kellen tries not to laugh. “I’m not saying anything.” He kisses her gently. “I’ll miss you.”

  “I will miss you too, and I was only joking. I need to get my homework in order and unpack my bags.”

  He gives her a soft smile. “I know babe.”

  “Can I see you tomorrow?” Teagan asks.

  “Only if you come to class,” Kellen replies. “That is the only time that I’m not working or doing other stuff.”

  “All right,” Teagan sighs dramatically. “I will show the girls that you’re mine, damn it.”

  “We have to keep it professional,” Kellen teases. Teagan rolls her eyes. “You know what, if you have free time in the afternoon, you can stop by the office. I’m going to be doing paper work and research for most of the day.”

  Teagan smiles, “You won’t mind?”

  “Not at all,” Kellen assures her. “It will be an appreciated break.”

  “Coffee?” Teagan asks.

  He nods, “Sounds great.”

  “It’s a date then,” Teagan giggles. “I have class until 1, so after that?”

  “You can come whenever,” Kellen responds. “I will let the front desk know.”

  “Okay.” She grabs her suitcase. “I had better go then. I should study a little bit. Start on a paper.”

  Kellen gestures to her car, and they walk towards it. After she throws her suitcase in the back, Teagan turns around and looks at Kellen. He gazes down at her. “I was never happier than when I finally admitted that I care about you. I have been holding it in for so long, pushing against it, battling it. I give up. I can’t resist you any longer.”

  “I have wanted you this whole time,” Teagan murmurs back. She steps up to him and places her hands and head on his chest. “You make me feel so happy and safe.”

  “You’ll always be safe with me. I won’t let anything happen to you. I promise,” Kellen whispers, as he wraps his arms around her and kisses her head. “I don’t want to lose you. I have had a very strong wall around my heart for the last five years, and with you, I WANT to tear it down.”

  “I’m not going anywhere Kellen,” Teagan says. “I don’t know how many times I have to tell you that.”