Chapter Sixteen Hayden
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
HAYDEN
W ho the fuck was I?
I woke up smiling and rested. It had been years since I slept this much. There were no sore muscles or exhaustion headache. There was an energy there that wasn’t there yesterday, and it all had to do with Charlotte.
That five-second kiss three years ago was nothing compared to last night. All my blood traveled south as I remembered the feel of her body against me. The softness of her lips, the little moans that escaped when I nipped her skin. She was the definition of perfection, and my body buzzed with a need to feel her again. I wanted to see her hair down, her skin pressed against mine, and— Calm down . I didn’t need to get a boner right now.
I needed to shower and surprise her with coffee. It wasn’t every day I slept that damn well, and I was calling it the Charlotte Effect. There was no tossing or turning, no lying there thinking about life’s meaning. I had dreamed of her lips against mine and how we could make this work between us. There were a hundred unanswered questions, but I wanted to figure them out. The first step would be getting her coffee.
Charlotte was a fiend for caffeine. The rhyme made me smile as I threw on a hoodie and made my way toward the small café at the hotel entrance. Char preferred oat milk lattes and anything with chocolate. Literally anything. I even requested her drink kid temperature. The first time I heard her order a tea kid temperature at a Starbucks, it confused the hell out of me.
Whistling a Christmas carol, I marched toward her room. Maybe the holidays had finally gotten to me. Or maybe it’s Charlotte.
I knocked on her door and waited. My pulse sped up at the thought of seeing her again. Would she be happy to see me? Or did we need to talk about what happened again? I’d do it if she asked. I never wanted to see her face fall in disappointment again. Knowing I put the frown on there fucking ate at me.
The door clicked, and I adjusted my stance as nerves rippled through me.
“Hi.” Charlotte pushed the door open and smiled shyly at me before her gaze landed on the coffee. “Did you… did you bring me caffeine?”
I nodded, not able to fight my smile. She looked adorable. She wore an extra-long T-shirt with the softball team logo on it and red-and-white-plaid pajama pants. Sleep lines covered her face, and her long, curly hair hung in messy waves around her shoulders. Even in pj’s, she made me want her. My skin heated as I thought about kissing her, and I held out the drink and food to stop myself.
“I brought you an oat milk latte and a chocolate croissant. Your favorites.”
“Wow, uh, thank you.” She cleared her throat and ushered me in. “I’m still in my pj’s, sorry. I wasn’t… I didn’t know. I should go change—”
“No.” I set both our drinks on the counter, along with the croissant, and took her hand, lacing our fingers together.
She stared up at me, her cheeks blushing. “What are you… doing?”
“Saying good morning the right way.” I cupped her face and kissed her softly. She tasted like toothpaste, and her lips were so warm. “Mm, that’s better.”
I ran a hand down her back, guiding her toward the sofa where she sat last night. Then I grabbed the food and handed her a drink. Despite the fact that I wanted to spend hours kissing her and removing every piece of her clothing, we had to talk.
“You seem in a great mood.” Charlotte hummed into her cup. “I don’t recall you being much of a morning person. In fact, I remember you being quite a bear before nine a.m.”
I grinned. “Last night was the best I’ve slept in years.”
“Because you’re away from Gwen?” she asked, tilting her head in the cutest fucking way.
“No.” I sipped my plain black coffee and admired her toenails. They had snowflakes painted on them, and it was charming as hell. “I’m away from Gwen a lot during the season. That wasn’t it.”
“Huh.” She clicked her tongue. “It’s so cozy here. I also passed out, which, ha, I assumed I’d be up all night overanalyzing what happened.” She laughed a bit before inhaling right over the cup. “I can’t believe you knew what drink I liked. This is so kind, thank you.”
“I remember everything about you,” I replied, vowing to be honest moving forward. I had told her my truth last night, so there was no going backward. Only forward. Even if I didn’t know what the hell that meant.
“Hayden,” she said, her voice clogging with emotion, “did you order it… not as hot?”
I nodded. “You prefer kid temps so you can drink it right away.”
“I can’t believe you. No one does that for me.” She stared out the window, a contemplative expression on her face. “Do you know all our friends’ drink orders?”
“No, Char.” I fought a smile as she pieced it together. She complimented me last night on how I remembered small details, and this was a perfect example.
“But you know mine.”
“Yes.”
She tucked her knees up to her chest, holding the croissant in one hand and her coffee in the other. She wiggled her snowflake-covered red toes before facing me. “What are we doing?”
Buzz. Buzz.
My phone vibrated, interrupting the moment. Seeing my mom’s name on the screen shifted my mood. Gwen came first. “It’s my girl. I gotta take this.”
“Of course.” She waved her hand, the red splotches returning to her cheeks. For some reason, the thought of leaving her right now seemed like the wrong decision. She asked the question I didn’t know the answer to myself, and if I left her here with that thought, she could come to false conclusions.
“Do you care if I take it in here?”
“What? Oh, not at all. Please.” She grinned, and I felt like a million dollars. Definitely the right call.
“Hi, sweetheart! How’s Gigi and Geepaw’s house?” I smiled at my daughter’s toothy grin staring back at me. She hadn’t quite figured out how to hold the smartphone, so it only showed half of her face.
“So fun. Last year, we watched a movie that had monsters!”
“Last night, you mean? And monsters?”
“Last year. Last year, we watched Puss in Boots . The monsters were good ones.” She shifted the phone so now I saw up her nose.
“Gwen, baby, hold it a little farther from your face. I see your boogers.”
“Boogers!” She giggled before dropping the phone. “Oops!”
“What are you and Gigi doing today?”
“Gigi is taking me to the park. Gigi is. We have yummy bread and milk, and Gigi and we’re going to the park. The bird park.”
My daughter and parents named the parks around their house. The bird park was the larger one with a swing set. One time, Gwen saw birds there, hence the name. The other park was swing park (even though they all had swings), and the third one was Gwen’s park because my daughter thought she owned it.
It all made sense in the mind of a three-year-old, and that’s what mattered.
“Are you going to wear your coat? And your gloves?” I asked. “It’s cold out there.”
“Yes. Gigi will tell me.”
“I miss you. Are you having fun?”
“Yes. Gigi and Puss in Boots , and last year, we played with friends.”
“I’m glad you’re having fun, sweetie. I love you. I’ll see you tomorrow!”
“You too, Daddy. You bring me present? A big one? Red?”
“Yup. I’ll bring you a present. Can I talk to Gigi for a second?”
“No. She’s pooping.”
I snorted. I covered my mouth with my hand as Charlotte’s eyes danced with amusement. Gwen was an absolute gem. For three years old, she spoke well but she was a hoot. My mom would die of embarrassment, which somehow made this so much better.
“I am not pooping. Gwen. We don’t share that about people. We say they are in the bathroom.”
“Bassroom.”
“Bath.”
“Bass.”
“Ah, you sweet girl.” My mom laughed. “You look well, Hayden. Maybe you need to actually do things for yourself more often.”
“Ha, I don’t know about that.” I grabbed the back of my neck, not sure how I was gonna do anything if I didn’t find help. That was tomorrow’s problem though. “I slept seven hours.”
“Holy Batman, that’s… Whatever you did, do it again and again. You seriously look great.”
My attention flicked to Charlotte for a beat, and she quickly pretended to study the bathroom door. It would almost be funny, if I weren’t unsure about our future.
“I feel great. But hey, is Gwen still using the bathroom on her own? I know she loves when you two baby her.”
“She’s been doing okay. She woke me up at four to get help, which I don’t mind, but she seemed independent.”
“Okay, good. I can’t have her regressing. And whenever I’m away, I feel like she does something like that.”
“No, it’s not because you’re away. It’s normal for her to go through ups and downs. “Hayden Orion, I swear, you need to do more stuff like this. I will fly back once a month to get your butt out of the house. I like this side of you, where you don’t look twenty-eight going on eighty-seven.”
“Wow, you keep me humble.”
“Shut up.” My mom laughed. “Now, how is Charlotte?”
Charlotte choked, coughing into her fist as my stomach dropped.
“Have you finally pulled your head out of your butt and told her you like her?”
Well, shit. Never thought my mom would be the reason I’d confess everything to Charlotte. Chewing the inside of my cheek, I debated my next move. I could admit it, deny it, or downplay it. I wasn’t quite sure how I felt about everything, but I for sure regretted not leaving the room when I had the opportunity.
“It’s complicated, Mom.” I gripped the back of my neck, Charlotte’s gaze boring into me.
“Most things in life are, hon, but this weekend is the perfect time to tell her. I’m sick of watching you pretend you aren’t into her. It’s been years, Hayden.” She clicked her tongue, her telltale sign of disapproval. “With your dad and me leaving, I’m worried you’ll let fatherhood be the excuse for not putting yourself out there.”
I ran a finger over my eyebrow, a dull throb starting from stress. “Going right at me, huh?”
She shrugged. “I want a daughter-in-law when we come back next year.”
“Mom,” I spat out, “good God, reel it back.” My neck burned as I tried to come up with an excuse to end this call. My mom wasn’t someone you hung up on.
“No. I’ve seen the way she looks at you. You’re your own obstacle in this scenario, and I’ve been nice for years. Do something about it. Especially this weekend, before you’re totally on your own.”
“Wait.” I shook my head. There was a lot to unpack, but one thing stuck out the most. “How she looks at me? What do you mean?”
“Whenever you’re in the room, she’s always watching you with longing on her face. She also loves Gwen. Remember that weekend last year, when you were out of town with the team and we were sick? Who do you think I called to help? Charlotte. She dropped everything she was doing to bring food and medicine. Why? Because she loves Gwen. Plus she blushes whenever you touch her.”
A strangled, dying cat sound came from Charlotte, and I smiled. “Oh hey, did I tell you I’m in Charlotte’s room right now?”
My mom blinked three times, her mouth parting, before she laughed. “It’s awfully early to be in her room, Hayden.”
“Sure is.”
“I’m hanging up. Tell… tell Charlotte hello for me.” My mom blushed, and it felt a little validating to pull a fast one on her.
“No need. She’s heard this whole conversation.”
“Mm, well, we’ll chat about this later. Bye.”
I hung up and set my phone face down before turning toward Charlotte. Her eyes were the size of saucers as she gripped her coffee cup like a lifeline. I opened my mouth to say something, but nothing came out. I tried again before she burst out laughing.
“I’m so uncomfortable,” she chuckled. “I don’t even know what to do.”
“This had junior high levels of embarrassment.” I joined her laughter and relaxed into the chair. “My palms are actually sweating.”
She snorted and reached for my hand. I opened it, and she trailed a finger over it. “Hayden, what the heck.”
“Told you.” I wiped the moisture on my hoodie before facing her again. “Now that you’ve had some coffee and food, I think we should talk about us.”