Smiling, I look down. I swipe the tear that streams down my face and play with the hem of my shirt until I know the tears have stopped. “You’re right, sorry, I don’t want to fight anymore,” I say.
“You’re what? I couldn’t hear you,’ he says, laughing.
I join him in laughter. We let too many things get in the way of what’s important. It may take time but we have to work on it. I can’t get upset every time I hear something…and he can’t give waiters dirty looks when they smile at me.
I shake my head at him. “That was a one-time apology.”
He slides over on my side of the booth and kisses me. It’s not a long kiss, it’s one reserved for public places, and yet, it still leaves me breathless. “I need you to trust me, Taylor, I’ll tell you anything you need to know,” he says. His eyes are wide, the way they look into mine, willing me to trust him, almost makes me break down into tears again.
“I trust you.”
His mouth quirks into a smile and he presses his lips to mine. A simple white lie erased all doubt from his mind. I trust him as much as I can, but I’m incapable of fully trusting anyone. I hope more than anything that when I let go of everything, the first person I trust is Hayze. But my overactive mind won’t allow it right now, especially when I hear things like my roommate got arrested for coke casually flow from his mouth as if it’s the most natural thing that’s ever happened.
“Do you need more time to look over the menu?” Rance asks, looking at Hayze.
“You know what you want?” Hayze asks me as he glances over the menu one more time.
“Yeah, I wanted to try this pasta last time I was here,” I say, pointing to his menu. “But we left before we ordered.” This piques his interest and I mentally kick myself for bringing that up.
“When did you come here?” He asks, his eyes boring into mine.
“I can come back if I need to?” Rance asks. Hayze shakes his head and tells him our orders. Without another word Rance walks off, leaving me alone to an interrogation. Much to my surprise, Hayze doesn’t bring up the date. I don’t forget about it though; I feel more anxious as time passes. He’s putting off the inevitable.
“Do you have your schedule for next semester?” He asks, smirking like he already knows the answer. A food runner sets our food in front of us and wishes us a great dinner.
“Of course. I met with my advisor the first day of early registration, and I…When you and Lea were gone, I ordered my books and found the buildings.”
He looks at me apologetically and nods. “Sorry,” he murmurs, surprising me. That is a huge step for him.
“What about you? Everything set for your last semester?” I ask and his eyes light. I still can’t believe he’s graduating next semester and I had to find out at a family dinner. But everything is need to know basis, or a surprise with Hayze. He could’ve showed up at my dorm on his way to graduation and told me, and he would think that’s fine.
“Yup.”
“I can’t believe I didn’t know.”
He laughs, “Why would I tell anyone? It’s not a big deal…”
“That’s a huge deal! Were you just going to tell me that day or what? Oh, surprise I’m graduating and moving away,” I say, sarcastically.
He looks at me with his brows raised. “I’m graduating and immediately coming back in the fall…I still have three more years of being here…”
“I see your point…It’s stupid but I see it,” I laugh. I take the first bite of my food, moaning in approval.
“It’s good, right?” Hayze asks and I nod. And that’s how dinner goes. No more fighting. No more surprises.
We leave the restaurant, looking for something to do.As we leave the parking lot and pull out to the main road, I look to my right, seeing police cars parked outside of a bar. “What’s going on over there?” I ask.
He stops at the red light directly in front of the bar and looks. “The building right there,” he says, pointing to the building in front of the bar. “Is a police station. Cops are always outside. They just sit there and wait for it to close and arrest people.”
I laugh, “Who puts a bar by a police station?”
“The same person that would open a dance hall…In any location,” he deadpans. The light turns green and I catch the sign as we pass by.
“Lea talks about that place all the time! She wants to take me there,” I say, laughing at him. He clearly doesn’t like the place, but I don’t think Hayze likes anything country.
“Of course she does,” he mumbles. He jerks to the left last minute, sending me flying to the middle console. “Shit, sorry, I don’t wanna go that way. The brick fucks with the car’s alignment.”
“Oh, we can’t have that. Please slam me around the car to protect your baby,” I say, patting the dashboard.
He laughs, “I appreciate your cooperation, but I was going to do it anyway.”
“Are we going back?” I ask, noticing that we’re approaching the campus.
“We’ll do whatever you want,” he says, shrugging.
“I never do anything,” I frown. “I don’t even know what there is to do here…All I do is go to work and class, and sometimes Lea drags me to a bar.”
“Well, let me show you around.” He looks at me for approval and I nod.
He drives through the narrow, main road, telling me about the town. He seems to have a story about every building and street we pass. The further away from campus we get, I perk up.
“Oh my god, there’s a miniature golf and bowling alley here?”
“Yeah…”
“Is the bowling alley open? Do you wanna go bowling?” I ask, bouncing in my seat.
His face twists into disbelief as he watches me. “Bowling?”
“My Nana used to take Scott and me bowling all of the time. I haven’t been in forever!” He sighs and pulls into the parking lot.
“What about Sean?” He asks, smirking. We get out of the car and walk toward the building. The parking lot is almost empty, so we’ll get a lane immediately.
I laugh, remembering my childhood with her. “She didn’t get along with him. She stopped asking after he told on her to my dad. She liked to drink, but according to her it was for medical purposes,” I say through laughter. “Sean wasn’t having it.”
“I need to meet this lady. She’s probably the only one in the family that would like me,” he says, holding the door open for me.
“She passed away.” I look down as I walk through the door. It doesn’t matter how long it’s been or how many times I say it; it still hurts just as bad as the day it happened.
He cringes. “Shit, I’m sorry, I didn’t know.”
I rub his arm, hoping to take the tension from the air. “You didn’t know. And by the way my mom likes you and so does Scott.”
“Half way there,” he says.
“I break the tie.”
“Great, so half of the family hates me most of the time,” he laughs and I nudge him. We walk to the tall counter and Hayze tells the man our shoe sizes. The man acts like he knows Hayze, calling him by his first name. Given his appearance, it makes me uneasy. I grab the purple, seven-pound ball and find our lane. I bypass the name selection and start our game just as he walks up.
“Why’d you leave our names as one and two? I had the perfect names picked out,” He chuckles, knowing why I did it.
“I thought you were trying to be nice to me,” I say with narrow eyes.
He shrugs, “I am. This is as nice as I get. Besides, you don’t know what I was going to name you. I would have to tweak it a little but something like your tits are…” I run over to him and clamp my hand over his mouth and he bursts into laughter. I look around, seeing no one is within earshot, I feel better.
“Hayze,” I say, hushed and daring him to continue. I pull my hand back and point a finger at him as I walk away. I can still hear him laughing as I pick up the ball and try unsuccessfully to hit a pin. Hayze tries to look sincere, but I’m not fo
oled. To my dismay he gets a strike on his first bowl.
“Seriously? You didn’t even want to bowl,” I say, throwing my arms out. I’m smiling and playing it off as a joke, but I really hate losing.
He walks back, grinning and cocky as ever. He wraps his arms around my middle and I swat at him, giggling. “I’m good at everything,” he whispers, then walks off.
I watch him skeptically. “Name one thing I’m not good at,” He says, his smile is devious. I roll my eyes, suddenly embarrassed and grab my ball. “That’s what I thought,” I hear him say as I roll the ball.
“Ha! I’m warming up,” I say, clapping as the ball makes contact with at least one pin.
He sits up in the seat with his eyes on the screen. “Wow, three pins. That brings your grand total to three.”
“I still have one more!”
I toss the ball down the lane and it goes straight into the gutter. I curse under my breath and turn around to walk back. My eyes are avoiding Hayze, because I know he’ll have a comment.
“I really didn’t see that one coming,” he says as I get back. I collapse into the chair and fold my arms across my chest.
“Obviously competitive dates are going to be a problem for us,” I say, shooting a glare in his direction.
“If you don’t like losing, yeah, they will,” he says, amused. He walks over and sits next to me. Without permission, he pulls me into his chest, it’s vibrating with bouts of laughter. “I won’t say anything else, promise. You can stop pouting.”
“I’m not pouting! It’s your turn, so I just sat down over here,” I say, defending myself.
“Whatever you say,” he says. He grabs the bowling ball, turning to see that I’m watching him and I roll my eyes. He rolls the ball down the gutter and looks back at me, shrugging.
“Hayze! Don’t lose on purpose,” I say, complaining.
He looks at me and laughs. “I already have ten points; it would be impossible to lose.” I glare at him and he holds his hands up feigning innocence. “Let me help you.”
We spend at least ten minutes going over my wrong form until he’s satisfied. After my first strike I have to endure a round of I told you so. Even though we have another game, we leave after our first. I pull the grimy bowling shoes off and hand them to Hayze to take to the front desk. I put our bowling balls up and grab my purse. Realizing he’s been gone for a while, I look around for him and find him at the desk. The man points to me and Hayze jogs over.
“Ready to go?” He asks, reaching for my hand.
I nod and walk beside him. “Who was that guy?”
“That guy,” he says, pointing behind him. “Oh…He use to work at the bar.”
He holds the door open for me and I walk through. I have a hard time believing he worked at the bar. Only college students work at Mystic. But I refuse to say anything, we’ve both made promises to each other. Other men have lied and let me down before, but that doesn’t mean that Hayze will. I have to remind myself that before my accusations ruin us.
On the drive back to the dorms I notice he seems nervous. He holds my hand, kissing it at every stoplight. “Why are you being so nice?” I tease him.
He shrugs as he parks his car in front of the dorm. “I don’t want tonight to end. We’re actually getting along,” he says.
I smile, thinking I feel the same way. Tonight was perfect. It started out rocky, and after the fight at the restaurant I was unsure how the rest of the date would play out. But I’m ending the evening pleasantly surprised, maybe we fight more than other couples, but this proves we can work through it. We’re the two most mentally fucked up people I know, but that doesn’t mean we can’t have a happy ending together. I press my lips to his. He’s surprise at first, but he melts into it, without holding back.
“I love you,” he says, brushing his lips across mine.
“I love you, too. Thanks for the perfect evening.” I grab my purse and place my hand on the door handle, considering inviting him inside. Lea’s home, but we don’t have to do anything. I just don’t want tonight to end.
“What are you doing tomorrow?” He asks.
I look up, thinking. “Lea mentioned doing something, why?”
He cocks an eyebrow, leaning across the counsel, he looks me in the eye. “It’s New Year’s Eve you’re not going out with my sister.”
“Don’t tell me what do, Hayze,” I warn him.
He falls back in his seat, groaning. He pinches the bridge of his nose, before responding. I know it takes every drop of restraint that he has to not yell or fight with me, and I appreciate him trying, but he still can’t tell me what to do.
“If you respect the last ounce of sanity I have, you’ll go out with me tomorrow,” he says. I laugh at him and he looks at me, confused. I swipe my eyes and try to stop laughing long enough to speak.
“Do you hear yourself when you talk? You can go out with us,” I say.
He shakes his head, sighing, “I’ll go. The last thing I wanna do is piss you off after the night we had. But, Taylor, I’m always lookin’ out for you, I’m not letting you and Lea go off together on New Year’s Eve night. You probably haven’t thought about a DD or the idiots that go out.”
“C’mon, do we ever plan ahead?” I look at him in disbelief.
“My point exactly, what time do you wanna meet up tomorrow?” He starts the engine in his car. Apparently he’s done with the conversation.
“I’ll have to talk to Lea,” I say.
“Or you could just stay over tonight. You wouldn’t have to worry about…”
“Hayze!”
“No?” he asks, amused. I know he’s kidding, but my face still heats. There’s an unsaid promise between us to take things slow until we figure this out. But tonight…Tonight changed things. I bite my bottom lip and shake my head as I climb from his car.
“Goodnight babe,” he says as I close his door. I wrap my arms around my middle as the wind picks up. Within the last week the temperature has dropped drastically, sending us into the miserable month of January. I run up the steps, shielding myself from the cold and watch his taillights disappear. My heart drops when he pulls on the main road, I know this is good for us but a part of me wanted him to come back and talk me into staying over. Sighing, I walk inside, maybe tomorrow night.
eighteen
“I don’t understand why you don’t just stay here…They have one bedroom apartments and you wouldn’t have to move your stuff far,” I say, popping another chip in my mouth, I flip through the listings again. I don’t want to be negative, but these places aren’t as nice as his apartment now. Hayze collapse beside me on the couch, leaning over my shoulder, he looks with me.
“This place is only college students. All anyone does is party here and I wanna get away from that. Besides, when you come to your senses and move in, you’ll want a quiet place.” He brings the rim of his glass to his mouth, taking a sip to cover his grin.
“I’m not moving in with you,” I say for the millionth time today. “And why are you drinking already?”
“Babe, everyone will be here in an hour.”
I gasp and jump from the couch. “What? I haven’t even started getting ready!” He chuckles, shaking his head. I walk in his bedroom and he follows behind me.
He was at my dorm this morning, convincing me to help him pick an apartment. I grabbed the essentials for tonight and left with him. He’s keeping his word so far, that includes breaking his lease with Joel. I tear my clothes off and grab my dress from the hanger and pull it on.
“Will you zip me?” I ask, holding my hair up.
His hands find my back, they’re cool from the glass, making me shiver. His fingers deliberately trail up my back as the pulls up the zipper. He places a kiss on my neck and steps away, I sigh in frustration and he grins.
“Why are you puttin’ your dress on right now?”
“I’m about to touchup my hair and I don’t want it to get messed up,” I say, pawing at my hair. To my surprise i
t’s still curly, all I need to do is touchup a few strands. I plug in my wand and pull my makeup bag out. I look in his full length mirror, turning in every direction to inspect this dress. It screams New Year’s Eve. The black metallic jewels catch light from all angles, the thin spaghetti straps are black. And the back…well, its nonexistent, only a thin strap connects each side. I tug a little on the bottom hem when I slip my nude heels on. It’s short, much shorter than I remember.
“What do you think?” I ask, looking at Hayze through the mirror. He’s leaning against the wall with his arms crossed. When his eyes meet mine, I already know the answer. I pull my bottom lip in my mouth, bracing for his reaction. His arms drop to the side then he stalks over, I watch from the mirror as his arms snake around my waist and falls down my thighs. The gesture is so simple, it’s one he’s done countless times, but there’s something about watching him touch me that makes it erotic. The girl that stares back at me, isn’t me, her eyes are wild, and she’s confident as the thin fabric grips her curves.
His face falls into the crook of my neck, his breathing picks up. “I think you know how I feel about this dress,” he says, meeting my sight in the mirror. “You’re the sexiest fucking thing I’ve ever seen, but if you leave out of my apartment with this on, we’re gonna have problems.”
I pull away from him, giggling, I sit on the floor in front of the mirror that stretches across his closet. I wrap a strand of hair around the wand, Hayze watches me with amusement. “You’re going to be on your best behavior tonight,” I say, teasing him, but at the same time, I’m serious and he knows it. This might be the longest we haven’t fought and I don’t want to mess that up.
He walks from the room without a word and I continue to touchup my curls. When I’m satisfied, I start on my makeup. I’ve always been the worst at this part, Lea makes it look so easy. I, on the other hand, couldn’t draw a straight line to save my life. Still, I try in vain. It was against the rules to wear makeup in my house. I roll my eyes, angry that my father deprived me of the ability to wing my freaking eyeliner. Hayze walks back in the room, his glass is filled to the top.
Hazed (Hazed & Unfazed #1) Page 19