by Ireland Gill
The thought occurred to me that maybe it had been a set-up. He wanted me to walk in on him taking that shower, and strategically left that crack open in the door just to taunt me even more once I walked in on him. But I cleared the theory. Why would he do something like that?
I looked at him incredulously. “What is it that you want me to say, Hayden?”
He grinned, took a sip of wine, swallowed and looked me dead in the eyes. “The very first thing that came to your mind.”
Oh, you mean like the fact that I wanted to become the water that was spraying all over your body and cascade down every part of you? That I wanted to run my hands all over you and lather you up with that soap? Oh God, Evika! Just answer him! Say something poetic! Say what you felt!
I looked him square in the eyes. “I thought you were the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen.” And that was the God-honest truth.
Hayden gave me a surprised expression. I think it was the first time I'd seen him speechless. A smile grew on his face as he stared at me. I could tell it was genuine. No tricks.
“That's all I wanted to know,” he lifted his glass to mine, “so, thank you.”
I bobbed my head once in response and looked at him curiously. I waited for more on the discussion, but it never came. I was relieved, but still eager for more on the subject after I'd seen Hayden act that way. It was like he didn't expect me to say that to him, my honest answer. If he didn't expect me to compliment him, then he must have anticipated a disparaging remark from me, something I'd normally do just to get off of the subject and move on. But I was done with those games, and it was hard enough for me to express anything the way I wanted to.
I held up my glass. “A toast....to a fun evening.”
“I'll toast to that,” Hayden clanked his glass to mine.
We finished our wine and headed for the reception in the banquet room down the hall. The receiving line was already there, greeting the guests as they walked in. The bridesmaids were first.
“Hey, girls! Long time, no see.” I was greeted by a group hug.
“Oh, Evika! We couldn't wait to see you!” Clara exclaimed.
“Yeah, Brit said you were coming.” Shelby jumped.
“You look so great!” Demi gave me another squeeze.
“Thanks, guys.” I smiled. Despite our fair-weathered friendships, it was still great to see them. “This is Hayden.” I gestured by pulling him closer.
“Pleased to meet you, ladies.” Hayden said.
Demi's, Shelby's, and Clara's bottom jaws dropped.
“Wow,” Clara held out her hand to him. “Pleased to meet you!”
Next was Brittonia and Christian. “Hi, Brit.” I beamed.
Brittonia turned to me after welcoming the guest before me and her face lit up like a holiday tree. “Oh. My. God! Evika!” She wrapped her arms around me and squeezed tightly. It made me laugh. “I'm so glad that you came!”
“Brit, we wouldn't miss it!”
“We?” Brit's eyes moved to Hayden and she smiled widely. “Ah, this must be the roommate?”
I giggled nervously. “You must have been talking to Joel.”
“But of course!” she teased me. “It's nice to meet you, Hayden, is it?”
“A pleasure, Brittonia.” Hayden took her hand and kissed the top of it like an old-fashioned gentleman. “You look absolutely stunning this evening.” Brit smiled and blushed.
Oh, the swooning. It was kind of cute and priceless.
“And this,” Brittonia gestured to her new husband, “is my Christian.” She said it so proudly.
“Evika, I've heard so much about you. It's great to finally put a face to the name.” Christian said. He was an absolute gem. I could tell this right away.
“Christian, it's great to finally meet you. Now I can finally stop worrying about this girl.” I thumbed over to Brittonia, who kiddingly stuck her tongue out at me.
“Christian, Hayden. Hayden, Christian,” I said.
The two men shook hands and smiled.
“The wedding was magnificent, Christian. Thank you for having us.” Hayden said.
“Our pleasure. Hey, you guys are staying at the hotel, aren't you? We tried to reserve enough rooms for the people coming out of town.” Christian's concern was a trait I could see that I liked.
“Oh, yes. We got in yesterday and we're staying for one more night. Beautiful hotel.” Hayden said.
We had to start moving, as the majority of the guests were filing in. I tugged on Hayden's arm.
“We'll talk to you guys later when we make our rounds after dinner!” Brit called to me. I gave her a thumbs-up.
The hall was gigantic. All the chairs and round tables were draped with white cloths and the centerpieces were large glass bowls filled with water and a floating candle with clear, white and violet rocks layered on the bottom. The dance floor was massive and looked of dark wood, clean enough for you to eat on. We looked for our table and found that we were seated with Joel's parents, Rick and Wendy. I saw them sitting there chatting with their wine glasses in hand and bounced over to them.
“Hi, Mr. and Mrs Coleman!” I squealed.
They both turned to me and beamed. Wendy darted out of her chair and embraced me like the daughter she never had.
“Oh, my goodness, Evika. It's been so long.” She held my face with her petite hands.
And from there, we talked until dinner was served. Hayden behaved in such a decorous manner, greeting new people, shaking their hands and making small-talk with all the guests to whom I introduced him. It amazed me how charming he was with everyone; not just the women, but even the men. Any subject thrown at him, he knew it from A to Z. He was genuine and compelling, and the others who spoke with him enjoyed their conversations.
After dinner, most of our table had gotten up to go mingle. Brittonia and Christian sat with us for a while and we talked about how all of us met, our “jobs,” and the remainder of the exchange resorted to me and Brit talking about the good ol' days while Christian and Hayden looked debonair, discussing manly things amongst themselves. And that was the moment I saw it. Both of them stopped talking to watch Brittonia and me. Christian had that look on his face; the expression of admiration for Brittonia that I envied back at the church. Then my eyes moved to Hayden, and I melted as I found he held the same expression for me. I was awestruck by it. Even though it only lasted for a short moment, it was enough to tell me what I needed to know.
Shortly after that, our conversations came to a close and the newlyweds were to continue their table-hopping. The dancing had begun. The father-daughter dance was emotional for both of them. They danced to Rascal Flatts' “My Wish.” It was the perfect song and I'm sure that Brittonia was more emotional than ever at that very moment since it was her mother's favorite song. The DJ happened to mention that little tidbit before calling Brittonia and Mr. Saunders to the dance floor. I couldn't help but feel sorry for myself, that I didn't have either parent to share the moment with whenever my wedding day came. It was a sore spot that I didn't want revealing itself so I stayed quiet and plastered a smile on my face until it was over.
Once the main dances concluded, Hayden leaned into me and said he'd be right back. I watched him walk up to the DJ. Oh, no. What is he up to? I thought. He never ceased to amaze me, and I had a feeling this was going to be another one of those things. They had a quick discussion. I saw the DJ bobbing his head and saying something to Hayden, then the angel came back over to our table, grinning widely.
“You better get up there so you can get a front-row seat,” he warned. “I'm about to perform.”
“What?” I called after him as he sprinted back out to the dance floor. He turned and winked at me. God, he was hot when he did that.
The last song ended and, from what I could tell, the song Hayden requested was on because he made his way out to the middle of the floor. The new song started playing. Everybody Loves Me, by One Republic. I knew the beat right away, and then the song's lyrics started f
looding my mind. Really? He requested this song? I was beginning to see that I'd possibly underestimated his ego. I started laughing when his body took on the rhythm. It was as if he'd already had a routine for the song.
Hayden started stomping his feet to the beat even harder, clapping to get the crowd going and taking up most of the dance floor as he mouthed the words as they were sung. The lights started working in his favor by dimming and the D.J flipped on his strobe light. It had to have been part of Hayden's request.
The crowd was engaged. Hayden directed his arms in choreographed movements and even did that fingers-through-the-hair thing that drove me wild. Hayden readied himself for the main chorus and dropped to the floor on his back.
The gathering crowd was now growing and shouting as he spun on his back, busting out moves like a professional break-dancer. It was unreal.
Guests grabbed their cameras and cell phones, and the photographer was already getting the best shots. Hayden jumped back onto his feet after kicking his legs into the air, arching and balancing back to a standing position. He loosened his tie and unbuttoned the top two buttons of his shirt as he strut along the inner circle of the crowd, which included myself. You would have thought Justin Timberlake busted in on the reception. The mass of women in the crowd were howling in delight. I was still dumbfounded, but I could attest that I was enjoying myself, to put it mildly.
I felt a few pairs of hands grabbing each of my arms. It was Clara and Demi mouthing their “oh-my-God” faces and fanning themselves. Okay, so the angel could dance. What couldn't he do?
He was on the floor once again, repeating the break-dancing moves, then switched into a hand stand “walking” along the floor and arching back to his feet for the rest of the song. Only this time, he added some pelvic thrusts to finish his number. I caught myself wishing I could drag him back the room by his loose-fit tie and make sweet, passionate love to his rhythmic body. Oh, sweet, melodic church bells! What am I thinking?!
During the climactic ending, Hayden spun around in multiple three-sixties and ran across the floor sliding on his knees, stopping dead on the last beat of the song. Everyone had witnessed this angel's performance and was ecstatic.
“Ladies and gentlemen, give it up for Hayden!” the DJ bellowed into the microphone.
The crowd cheered and patted Hayden on the back as he sprung to his feet. He gave a few bows as the cheering continued. The hollering slowly died down and a new song started playing. This time, it was a slow-paced song. Most people stayed on the dance floor and met up with their partners.
Hayden walked back to me from the other end of the dance floor. He wore quite a smug look on that angel-face of his. My heart started beating faster as I waited for the moment I would be touching him again, but I didn't let it show. I stood there staring at him with narrowed eyes and a cocked eyebrow.
“Hmm. Your thinking face, I think.” He came close to me. “What's on your mind right now?”
I couldn't hide my smile. “I am just absolutely amazed that you were even able to fit through those doors with an ego of your size,” I jeered. “It baffles me.”
He looked over his shoulder at the entrance, then back to me while curling his lips into a devious grin that made me melt. “They were double doors,” he whispered. “It was manageable.” I giggled at his admission.
Hayden grabbed my hand and held my waist, pulling me close to him. We started swaying to the music. He leaned into my ear, and it sent happy tingles throughout my body. I enjoyed breathing him in, thinking how funny it was that, even after all that dancing, he still smelled like that wonderful scent of rain.
I looked him in the eyes once again. “You know, not only did you conquer the entrance through those doors, you've also managed to charm everyone in this room indefinitely,” I razzed him.
He lifted my arm above my head and spun me during the rest of the main chorus. After a few spins, he brought me back into his arms again. I felt beautiful in my new dress, and being there on that dance floor with Hayden made me feel like I was on top of the world. It felt enchanting, how docile my body was when we danced. It was like I didn't even have to try, as if we'd rehearsed the moves our entire lives.
“What about you?” he asked me.
I looked at him curiously. “What about me?”
He smiled and leaned in slightly. “Have I managed to charm you?” For a moment, I thought he was toying with me, but his face couldn't have been more serious.
“Are you kidding me, Angel-man? You had me at 'get on',” I chuckled nervously as I thought about his rude first arrival on the Harley the first day we'd officially met, but when I offered an assuring smile, I'm quite positive that it would have given him his true answer.
I caught that solemn look in his eyes and realized the moment I'd been waiting for would probably never get any closer than it was right then. That song and that dance was the catalyst to what I truly wanted, his lips. My heart pounded. The confidence in me grew as I readied myself to stand on my tip-toes, to place my lips on his as I'd dreamed of doing. I was going to break my promise to myself. I was going to try one more time to claim that kiss.
I closed my eyes, but before I could even move, Hayden planted his angel lips on mine. The moment they touched, I could feel my body start to intoxicate. It was nothing like the thrilling charge I'd imagined it would be, it was a thousand times better than that. I became happily lost. The kiss was supernal, euphoric and serendipitous, and I didn't want it to end. Ever.
I'd forgotten all but who we were and what we were doing as I felt myself leaning backwards, only to have Hayden's strong embrace secure me in my tilted position. He pulled his lips from mine slowly. I opened my eyes to look up into his and saw the most radiant expression. I caught the luminescence of the soft, ceiling lighting shine behind him before he gracefully pulled me upright once again. I was captivated by him, more so than I already was. I loved him. I loved him. I loved him.
His lips turned into that confident smile that I adored, showing teeth and all. “I just had to be sure,” he whispered to me.
Hayden took my hand in his, placed his arm around my waist and we resumed dancing to the song. I was spellbound. I looked deep into those emerald eyes of his, my heart still pounding. At that moment, I was certain that Hayden felt for me the same things I felt for him, and it was everything my heart ever wanted since the day I'd met him.
He chuckled as I gazed at him. “It's very rare to see you this speechless, Evika. Will you please say something?” he pleaded.
Why was it so hard for me to speak? “I-I-” Oh, come on, Evika. Say something! I swallowed hard. “I've wanted that kiss since the day I met you.” It was completely true and only a fraction of what I wanted to say to him.
He looked at me and smiled genuinely. “So have I.”
I wanted him to do it again, kiss me just once more, but we finished out the song by dancing in our own, little world.
We spent the rest of the evening dancing and hardly spoke, but we were comfortable together. We definitely didn't kiss anymore. The one kiss just may have been enough, I guess. Even though I wanted that moment all over again, there were many distractions. The reception moved along for another couple of hours and mostly consisted of new “Hayden-fans.” He had been dubbed “the hot guy who can dance.” I found these things out while Hayden danced a few songs with the flower girl. The younger children at the reception flocked to him and reveled in the attention he was giving them. He was so sweet with the kids, teaching them a few of his dance moves and even help them in doing the limbo. I beamed at the sight, and it just made my heart grow even more fond of him.
The night came to a close and the mass of people dwindled. We said our goodbyes to Joel's parents and to Brittonia, Christian and the girls, promising to keep in touch. As we walked to our room, my nerves set in, reminding me of the possible awkwardness that awaited us, if not handled with care. As much as I thought I was ready for that kiss, I wasn't truly ready for what it inevitabil
ity led to. Although I trusted him, I wasn't sure what Hayden was thinking, and I was reluctant to ask. As we rode up to our floor in the elevator, you could hear a pin drop. I was even afraid to look at him.
Hayden sighed and lifted my chin. “Evika,” he said, “I can tell you're nervous, but you don't need to be.” He said it so assuringly. How did he know what was bothering me? I wasn't even sure of what was truly bothering me.
“I don't?” I asked him. I sounded so helpless.
He shook his head. “It was just a kiss. That's all.”
My expression changed. “Oh.” What, exactly, did that mean? Just a kiss? Really? Really? I felt my heart sink and my timidness start to evade.
We reached our floor and I was first into the room, grabbing my bag and heading for the bathroom. I hastily removed the necklace Hayden had given me and tossed it onto the bathroom counter, satisfied after hearing the hard knock it made against the granite. I was sure to lock the door, checking it twice before starting the shower. I needed one, and it was the only excuse I had to get out of the main room, away from him. I needed to think. Just a kiss? Was he crazy? I was rather perturbed that that was all he had to say about it. After all of our time together, he had the audacity to kiss me with those sweet, angelic lips at a wedding reception while we slow danced and tell me “it was just a kiss?” How in the hell was I supposed to carry on with him after that? I felt slighted, used and ignorant. Our “relationship” from that point on would be incurable and unmanageable as far as I was concerned.
After turning off the water and towel-drying my hair, I stepped into my pajamas with a slight haste and swung open the bathroom door, only to find Hayden standing there waiting for me with nothing but his naked chest and flannel pajama bottoms. God! What did I do to deserve this?
“Okay, look,” he explained with his arms up in surrender, “Evika, that came out completely understated. I didn't mean it that way at all. I'm so sorry.”
“Really, Hayden?” I gave him a disbelieving glare as I whipped past him. “Why would I care anyway? It was just as trivial to me as it was to you, you jerk.” I slammed my bag onto the floor and smacked the power button to turn the TV on.