Chapter 11
Nate
Two months later…
This is torture and should be illegal. It isn’t fair. Since when had I firmly placed myself in the friend zone? How do I know I’m in the friend zone, you ask?
Hayleigh.
Walking around in one of my t-shirts that she swiped from the clothes hanger. It hits her mid-thigh, and every time she stands on her tiptoes to get something from the cupboard, it rides up, and I have to bite the inside of my cheek and look away because I’m not a complete pig.
Okay, maybe I’m a bit of a pig because I'm standing in the shower fisting my rock-hard dick?
Yes, I am.
Luckily, I have an ensuite, so I don’t need to worry about being caught.
I think about seeing her in my t-shirt earlier on, when she bent down to grab something from the freezer, and that hot pink lace peeked out from underneath.
I squeeze my dick tight as I stroke it up and down, slowly.
The pleasure builds at the base of my spine, and I let out a low groan as I imagine her lifting that t-shirt, showing me more of that delicious arse covered in lace.
Fuck.
I have to steady myself with one hand on the shower wall as I set a punishing pace, grunting as the pleasure takes over my body. I imagine Hayleigh on her knees, her hot mouth on my dick as she looks up at me. My balls tighten, and I relax my grip enough to set my orgasm free.
“Fuck, Hayleigh.”
Needing a minute, I turn the shower on to the coldest setting to blast my body before I step out and realise there are no towels.
Picking my way across the slippery floor, I quickly open the door, and out of nowhere, there’s a flash of hair, a squeak and then Hayleigh’s face is pressed against my chest.
My bare chest. Because I’m stark bollock naked.
Neither of us is talking or moving, but someone needs to because all we need now is Archie bursting in at any moment to make this even more awkward. He’d find me, holding Hayleigh up with my junk hanging out, my cheeks blazing red, and my eyes closed so tight I swear I’m seeing spots.
This is mortifying. Maybe this isn’t real, maybe I slipped in the shower and banged my head, and this is all just some horrific nightmare.
Oh shit, it’s not a nightmare. Hayleigh gasps as her body shifts slightly.
“Hayleigh, I’m going to help you stand back up, then I’m going to need you to turn around and grab the towel from the bed for me, okay?”
Hayleigh nods as best she can before squeaking out. “Sure.”
“Okay. So on three. One…two…” I don’t get to three before Hayleigh’s feet slide backwards on the laminate flooring, thanks to the water I’ve been dripping all over, only now she isn’t standing at all as her knees hit the carpet and she jerks out of my grasp.
Bracing her hands on her thighs, she brings her face up and level with my now hardening dick.
Fuck me. Do not twitch, do not twitch…fucking hell, he’s twitching on his own.
What the fuck do I do now?
Hayleigh gulps as she whispers. “Holy fucking trousersnake.”
It catches me off guard, and I bark out a laugh before covering myself with my hands, which does absolutely nothing because I’m rock solid and not exactly small in this department.
My cheeks are blazing because that look in her eyes is far from embarrassment, but then she quickly recovers and scrambles to stand.
“I was coming-I mean, entering your room to return your t-shirt…” She makes it sound like a question.
I can’t help but smirk. “You mean the one you’re wearing?”
She looks down at herself and, yep, busted. “Ha! Would you look at that? I forgot to take it off.” She spins on her heel and walks out.
“Hayleigh.” She stops when I call her, but doesn’t turn. “You know, it’s not very polite to steal someone’s clothes and then sneak into their room and listen to them shower.”
She whirls round, face red, hands on her hips. “I did not! I was merely there for…for two seconds! That’s it! Also, you said you didn’t mind me stealing your t-shirts, or should I ask Archie for a spare?”
I bristle.
Over my dead, naked body.
“That’s not very funny.” I point my finger at her because, for some reason, the idea of her wearing Archie’s t-shirt has me breaking out in hives.
One thing Hayleigh loved to do when I first met her was to wind me up and watch me go, and that’s exactly what she’s doing now, but I can’t help but bite.
Not because I’m annoyed with her, but because I’m seeing that sass come back that she lost after Pete the Prick, and it makes me feel fucking proud of her.
She lifts the hem of the t-shirt as she smirks at me. “Actually, I think I’m done with your t-shirt now, if you want it back, that is?”
Oh, is she calling my bluff?
I nod once. “Yep.” I pop the p, and her eyes widen ever so slightly.
She gulps. “Fine. Have it back.” With one swift movement, she lifts it over her head and chucks it at me, then stands there with her hands on her hips.
I don’t move, I can’t. Not when she stands there without a care in the world with the most perfect tits I have ever seen in my life, and fuck me, her nipples are pierced. My mouth waters, and I take a step forward, but she holds up her hand, and I halt.
Her chest heaves, and she’s flushed, but she closes her eyes for a moment, and when she opens them again, she covers herself and runs out of the room.
What just happened?
**********
I’ve been keeping myself busy for the past three hours in my work garage, but nothing is erasing the image of Hayleigh half naked in my bedroom, and every time I do think of it, Mr Happy thinks it’s playtime.
I need to clear the air. I need her to know she’s safe in my home with Archie and me and that nothing will happen between us if she doesn’t want it to.
I throw my rag down and decide to head back up to the house to check on her.
When I walk in, the house seems empty, so I head upstairs to check if she’s in her room. When I do, there’s a murmuring behind her door that’s cracked open ever so slightly, so I do what any normal person would and listen in.
“You don’t get it, I’m mortified! What are people going to think? I moved in here, and now I’m throwing myself at him, naked, might I add, and I have no idea why I did it. I can’t stay here…” Who is she talking to? Is it Archie? Shit, why does that make me feel sick?
A tap on my shoulder has me jumping out of my skin, but when I turn around, it’s Archie, and relief courses through me that she isn’t talking to him.
He nods to the door. “Why are you spying on-”
I cover his mouth with my hand and push him into the bathroom, closing the door in time as I hear Hayleigh’s feet padding across her room.
He licks the inside of my palm, and I recoil in disgust. “What the fuck did you do that for?”
Grinning at me, he takes a bite of the apple in his hand. “Hayleigh taught me that. Why were you spying on her?”
I blow out an exasperated breath. “I wasn’t spying on her. I went to apologise for…something that happened earlier.”
Archie’s eyes widen, and I know he’s about to blow because he flaps his hands about and almost drops his half-eaten apple. “Did you two have S E X?” He spells the word out, enunciating each letter.
Rolling my eyes, I huff out, “Grow up, why didn’t you just say sex?
No, actually, we did not have sex…but she did listen in when I was practising self-care in the shower and then saw me naked outside of the shower and then took my t-shirt off what she was wearing and chucked it at me, but there was no touching.
” I suck in a deep breath after the words tumbled out of me at a rapid rate.
He screws his face up. “That was way too much information, but you cannot have sex with our roomie, and you certainly shouldn’t be listening in to her conversations.”
I wipe my hand down my face and groan. “I know. I know. Trust me. I wanted to let her know that it’s all forgotten and that we can move on from it.”
“Okay, well, remember to think with the brain in your head and not between your legs.” He opens the bathroom door, and we both walk out at the same time as Hayleigh exits her room.
She stops dead, looking between us both and then to the bathroom behind us. She shakes her head, raising her hands as if in surrender. “I don’t want to know.”
Archie throws her a wink. “I saw that Why Choose book in your bag earlier. Don’t tell me you don’t want to know.”
A high-pitched laugh leaves her as Archie saunters away. “Why Choose. He’s funny. I have to go now.”
I gently grab hold of her hand to stop her. She doesn’t pull away from me, but steps closer as if gravity is pulling her in.
“I have no clue what a why choose is, but I wanted to let you know that earlier is forgotten, and I’m sorry if I made it weird.”
She blushes but doesn’t meet my eye. “It’s fine. I need to go and look at a viewing now, so I’ll see you later.”
I don’t let go. “Great. Let’s go and tick off that list.” And like that, she’s smiling, causing something in my chest to bloom.
**********
Every single time this smarmy estate agent opens his mouth, I want to punch him.
He hasn’t stopped ogling Hayleigh, constantly looks at her backside or chest when he thinks she isn’t looking, but I am, and any minute now, he and his fake Gucci suit are going headfirst down the stairs. I could totally stick my foot out and make it look like an accident, or maybe I could…
“What do you think, Nate?” Hayleigh eyeballs me like I’m the one being rude, then she nods to the stairs. “Aren't those stairs pretty?”
Mr Dickwad opens his mouth. “Oh yeah, real, solid oak. Very expensive, definitely worth the price tag alone.”
I snort, and Hayleigh shoots me a glare.
I shrug. “Actually, they’re oak veneer. Not solid and they’re definitely not worth the price tag, especially not with the black mould that’s growing in the upstairs bedroom and over there in that corner.
” I throw him a smile and take hold of Hayleigh’s hand.
“Come on, I found another place that I think you’ll love. ”
She follows me outside, trying and failing to keep her smile hidden. “You didn’t have to be so mean to him.”
I roll my eyes. “Please, if he spent half as much time looking at the property and not your butt and tits, then he’d have noticed how much of a shit property it is, but this one, the one I found. You’re going to love it.”
It’s only a short drive to the property I picked out for her weeks ago; I just didn’t tell her until I knew she was ready to start looking, and today is the perfect day for it.
When we arrive, I park up and run around the car to open Hayleigh’s door, and when she steps out, her eyes widen as a smile blooms on her face.
The property is an end-terraced house with on-street parking.
The front garden is small but full of wildflowers; there’s a bay window, and the front door is from the 1950s in a dark emerald green.
To the side of a property is a tall wooden gate that leads down the side of the house and out into a massive back garden.
I usher Hayleigh inside. There’s no furniture in here; it’s an entirely blank canvas, but it does need work. I watch her face as she takes the place in, and I can see the cogs turning and the ideas flaring up.
She rushes through to the kitchen. It’s old and hasn’t been touched for years. She runs her hands over the cabinets like they’re everything she’s ever wanted. The view of the back garden is above the sink, and a sigh leaves her lips as she takes in the sight.
Nerves flare inside of me. “What do you think?”
She turns and smiles, and it’s fucking beautiful. “I love it. Obviously, I need to see upstairs, but it’s beautiful.”
I smile back at her. “I’m glad. The seller is getting rid of it because their dad is in a care home now. They need the money for his fees. It’s an old Victorian property, built in 1888, but they’ve owned it since the fifties. It needs work but…”
“I’m glad it needs work; it gives me something to focus on.” She nods her head once, setting her jaw as her determined gaze wanders the room.
I nudge her. “I’ll help too, if you want it that is.”
Her smile fades, and my stomach churns as the nerves kick back up again, but then she asks me. “Do you think it’s worth it? To do this place up, I mean?”
“Hayleigh, just because it’s a little broken, it doesn’t mean it can’t be fixed; it means that someone needs to be willing to help it become whole again, and I’m fully invested in making sure this…
home, becomes whole again.” I wrap her in a hug, my arms tightly around her as she rests her head on my chest and for a moment we stand, softly swaying, her eyes on the room and mine on her.
I hope my words hit the mark.
Hayleigh hums slightly before she whispers. “Kintsugi.”