Missing Pieces - Chapter 34
Tyler
Wednesday
"There is no way in hell that I'm wearing that," Hailey said as she stared at the red dress I was holding up.
I laughed. "If we're going to Vegas, we should do it right." I tossed it at her.
"Why does doing Vegas right mean I have to dress like a hooker and you get to wear that."
I pulled on the lapels of the $20 suit I had just picked out from the thrift store. "I can't help it that I look good in everything." I winked at her.
She rolled her eyes.
"Plus...I'm paying," I said.
"You're not my pimp, Tyler Stevens. I can pay for my own clothes. And I like this one." She gestured to the froufrou skirt she was wearing. It covered way too much of her perfect legs. It was almost sinful.
I leaned against the doorjamb of the changing room. "At least try on the red one."
"Fine. But I'm not going to like it."
I laughed and stepped away from the door as she slammed it in my face.
I wasn't exactly sure how we had ended up in a thrift store just minutes away from the Las Vegas strip.
Hailey had insisted she wanted to do the Las Vegas scene right, and now she was suddenly being shy.
Why she felt uncomfortable showing off her perfect body, I had no idea.
The door to the changing room opened a crack. "Seriously, Tyler, it shouldn't even count as a dress. There's not enough fabric for it to garner that definition."
I pushed the door open. She was breathtaking. The tight red fabric plunged low in the front and tied around her neck, leaving her back completely bare as well. And the hem of the skirt landed right below her ass.
She shifted, trying to pull the fabric down her thighs.
"You look sexy as hell."
Her face turned red. "Stop it."
"Hails, seriously, you have to wear that."
"Wear what? This isn't a dress!"
I laughed and pulled her into my arms. "You're perfect, you do realize that, right?"
She blinked up at me. Her eyes were such a warm shade of brown. Almost caramel colored. Every time they landed on me, I got completely lost in them.
"So you want me to walk around...in public...in this dress?"
"Absolutely." I let my hands slide to her ass. "And in those shoes." I nodded to a pair of stilettos I had placed by the dressing room door.
She laughed. "Fine. But only if I get to pick you out a bowtie to wear."
"Done. I can rock a bowtie."
She reached around me and grabbed the most ridiculous red and black polka dot bowtie I had ever seen. She pulled one of my hands off her ass and placed the bowtie in it.
"It matches your dress. Couldn't get any better than this." I looped it around the collar of my shirt and tied it in place.
Hailey put her hands on her hips. "I'm impressed. I didn't think you'd have any idea how to tie it."
"Being in a frat had its perks. I know how to dress to the nines." I watched her strap on the matching red heels. Her legs looked even longer, if that was possible.
She laughed. "Right. Well, we better get going." She grabbed the clothes she had been wearing and walked toward the checkout. "The night is young," she said over her shoulder with a seductive flip of her hair and a sway of her hips.
I smiled as I followed her. I ignored her protests as I paid for our outfits. And I looped my arm around her waist as we walked back to the car.
"You look so pleased with yourself," she said with smile. "Just for the record, I'm going to make you work for it tonight. I don't just put out for a nice dress."
"I never imagined that you would. That's not the type of girl you are at all."
"And what type of girl am I?"
"Oh, you're definitely a ball buster."
She laughed. "I am not. Although with these shoes, I'm sure I could bust a few."
"Remind me not to upset you tonight." I opened up the passenger side door for her.
"Well aren't you quite the gentleman?" She straightened my bowtie and then climbed into the car.
I wasn't sure what changed her mind about stopping in Las Vegas.
She had completely thrown the fact that she was in a hurry out the window.
Maybe she screamed away whatever was bothering her at the Grand Canyon.
I know that I did. God, it felt so good to scream at the top of my lungs.
I don't think I had done that since I was a kid.
Maybe everyone needed to throw a temper tantrum every now and then, even as an adult.
Either way, tonight was going to be so much fun.
Hailey was in a great mood and it was definitely contagious.
I couldn't not smile when she was smiling.
One last night with her before she went back to Indiana.
I ignored the sinking feeling in my stomach as I climbed into the car.
I just needed tonight to count for something.
Even though I wasn't going to ask her to wait for me, I wanted her to remember me.
Maybe when she was old and gray she'd look back and think this was one of the best summers of her life.
I knew I didn't need to wait that long to feel that way about this summer.
What had started out as one of the worst summers of my life had been completely transformed by her.
"What are you looking at?" she said.
I shook my head. "Nothing."
"I'm pretty sure you were looking at my breasts." She folded her arms across her chest.
Maybe with some other girl I would have been. But it was more than just physical attraction with Hailey. I was attracted to who she was as a person. Everything she was just made her that much more beautiful.
"It's too low, right?" She adjusted the straps.
"Hails, you look gorgeous."
"It's really unnerving when you call me gorgeous."
"Why?"
"Because no one ever has before."
How could her ex boyfriend not have told her how beautiful she was on a daily basis? Did he really not see how lucky he was? "What about your ex boyfriend?"
"No. He'd call me sexy sometimes. Or hot. But never gorgeous."
"Well, he sounds like an asshole. I hate to break it to you, but you're the most beautiful girl I've ever met." I swallowed hard when she didn't respond. It had just kind of spilled out. But it was true. The only reason I wanted to unsay it was because of how she was staring at me.
She leaned her head back on the headrest. "What about Penny?"
What about Penny? The question seemed to echo around in my head.
I used to think about her all the time. But I hadn't thought about her once since Hailey and my conversation this morning.
She hadn't even crossed my mind. For a second I let myself feel guilty.
I should have been worried about her. I should have been wondering how she was.
But I didn't feel guilty. I felt...free. I exhaled slowly.
"Sorry," she said with a laugh. "That was a dumb question." She turned her head to stare out the window.
"Hails?"
"Really, Tyler, it's okay." She tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. "I've seen her on TV and in magazines and...everywhere. She's stunning."
Apparently Hailey was as blind as her ex boyfriend. "I meant what I said. You're the most beautiful girl I've ever met."
She laughed.
"I mean it, Hails. It's hard driving because all I want to do is stare at you."
Her cheeks flushed. "You're not so bad yourself."
I laughed. "It's probably the bowtie."
"For sure."