TWELVE
MADDIE WAS HAVING AN OUT-OF-BODY EXPERIENCE.
Sitting in the quiet stillness of the town car’s backseat, she could still hear her own shrieks as the Thunderbolt had twisted them upside down, Hayley’s wild laughter ripping through the wind beside her.
She could feel Hayley’s fingers grip her thighs again as they plunged down the ninety-degree drop and tore into the three-hundred-and-sixty-degree loop.
But nothing that evening came close to the thrill Maddie felt in that very moment, her hand intertwined with Hayley’s atop the leather interior. Maddie marveled at how alive she felt as they neared the West Village, her heart beating faster than it had on any of the rides.
The muffled hum of the city vanished behind them as soon as they crossed Hayley’s threshold, the door clicking shut softly.
Maddie let out a sharp gasp as Hayley’s hand immediately fisted her hair and pulled her in with a sudden, desperate hunger. Maddie’s fingers roamed beneath the hem of Hayley’s shirt, the scorching heat of her skin burning away the last of the evening’s chill.
Hayley claimed the side of Maddie’s neck with her mouth while she stripped off her clothes layer by layer, leaving a path behind them as they stumbled down the short hallway.
When Hayley pushed Maddie backward onto the bed, the intensity in her gaze made heat rush through Maddie’s body.
“Put your feet up,” Hayley demanded, her voice sharp.
Maddie obeyed, her soles pressing into the quilted comforter.
Hayley slid between Maddie’s legs, using her hips to spread them further apart. She dipped her head low and bit down into the nape of Maddie’s neck as Hayley pushed three fingers inside her.
Maddie moaned as Hayley fell into a relentless, driving rhythm. She clawed at Hayley’s back, trying to draw her impossibly closer as Hayley flattened her palm against her clit. A broken sob escaped from her throat.
“Oh my God, Hayley. Don’t stop,” Maddie groaned.
Hayley thrust her hips faster, her fingers moving with a frenzied urgency as she sank deeper, curling inside her.
Seconds later, Maddie’s body shook as she came undone, and Hayley fell beside her, breathless.
“Fuck,” Maddie choked out. She released a long, ragged breath, her body feeling weightless against the satin sheets.
Maddie rolled onto her side and faced Hayley. She trailed her fingertips along Hayley’s bare thigh, smiling as her own skin still hummed from the heat of Hayley’s touch.
For a moment, everything else in the world ceased to exist. Their gazes locked, and Maddie smiled at a bright new sparkle in Hayley’s dark eyes.
Hayley’s breath grew shallow as Maddie inched her hand higher, slipping between her legs.
Then something shifted.
Hayley’s face turned ashen with panic, and she bolted upright, leaping off the bed and away from Maddie’s touch.
Maddie watched in bewilderment as Hayley lurched toward the bathroom and closed the door behind her.
In Hayley’s absence, the air in the room turned unbearably icy. Maddie curled tightly into herself and stared at the closed door that separated her from Hayley. Her chest, bursting with euphoria only minutes ago, was now hollow with a dull ache.
She stayed like that until she heard the shower turn on, taking the running water as her cue to leave.
You knew what you were signing up for, Maddie reminded herself with a deep sigh.
She slid off the bed, slipped back into her jeans and T-shirt, and saw herself out. She let the door shut behind her with a heavy thud, and in the sudden silence, a tightness squeezed her throat.
A WEEK PASSED, AND MADDIE TRIED her best to give Hayley space, but she was growing impatient. She only had a limited amount of time left in New York, after all.
She had cautiously reached out again—a text here asking how the Brooklyn apartments were selling, another there planning logistics for Caitlin and Gemma’s bachelorette party. Slowly, a tentative routine began to form.
Hayley started to open up, venting to Maddie about other real estate agents in her group, and Maddie would respond with her own similar stories from chaotic movie sets. Each night before bed, Maddie sent Hayley the same soft text.
Maddie: Goodnight xx
Sometimes she got a reply, sometimes she didn’t. Yet each morning, Maddie would wake up to a new message.
Hayley: Good morning
It wasn’t much, but it was enough to keep Maddie hopeful.
Saturday afternoon, Maddie stepped outside into the concrete jungle with Caitlin, already sweating.
It was ninety-eight degrees that day, the humidity was intense and sticky, and the sun blazed against the blue sky.
Caitlin had an appointment at Kleinfeld’s for her second dress fitting, and Maddie sent up a silent prayer of relief when they walked into the boutique, and a blast of air conditioning greeted them.
While an assistant helped Caitlin into her freshly altered gown, Maddie sank into the lounge sofa and texted Hayley, who seemed to have taken up full-time residence in Maddie’s mind.
Maddie: Thinking about you... What are you wearing? ;)
Hayley: Seriously? I'm with clients right now.
Maddie: Sigh, fine. Later, then?
Maddie smiled, biting her cuticles as she watched three dots pop up on her screen, waiting for Hayley’s reply.
“That woman really got her claws in you.”
Maddie looked up to find Caitlin glaring at her, her arms crossed in a pout over her white gown.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Maddie deflected, standing up and taking Caitlin’s hands in her own. “But I know that you are absolutely stunning, Cait.” She watched as Caitlin examined the dress from every angle in the floor-length mirrors, scrutinizing the fit.
A ping rang out from the couch behind Maddie, and she resisted the urge to turn and reach for it. She really didn’t want to give Caitlin any more ammunition, but she was itching to see Hayley’s response. Her foot tapped impatiently.
Caitlin eyed Maddie through the mirror, reading her mind. “Go ahead, I know you’re dying to see what Hayley said.”
“How do you even know it’s from Hayley?” Maddie asked petulantly.
Caitlin shot her a look and held her arms out wide so that the seamstress could pin her dress down the side. “Tell me it’s not with a straight face and I’ll believe you.”
Maddie locked eyes with Caitlin through the mirror in a silent stare down, trying her hardest to suppress her growing grin. She didn’t even last ten seconds before breaking into a chagrined smile and reaching for her phone.
Hayley: Be ready at 5. You're going to get a proper NY experience tonight.
Maddie’s stomach flipped with giddy weightlessness as if she were back at Coney Island, strapped into the Soarin’ Eagle on her stomach beside Hayley and flying high above the crowded boardwalk.
She slid her phone into the back pocket of her jean shorts and spun toward Caitlin. Maddie flinched, unexpectedly face-to-face with her best friend, who had clearly been reading the message over her shoulder.
“Mads…” Caitlin sighed, then shook her head.
“What?”
“I’m just worried about you, that’s all. I’m worried that you’re catching feelings for her, and I’m worried that you’re going to get hurt.”
It wasn’t the first warning Caitlin had given her, but it was the most direct.
“I don’t have feelings for Hayley.” Maddie looked her best friend in the eye, trying to convince Caitlin just as much as herself. “We’re just… friends.” The word left a sour taste on her tongue.
Caitlin’s silence spoke volumes, and Maddie knew she hadn’t fooled either of them.
——
At exactly five o’clock on the dot, Maddie stood on her tiptoes to peer through the peephole of Caitlin and Gemma’s brownstone and saw Hayley climbing the last stair. Maddie yanked the door open right as Hayley raised her fist to knock.
Hayley took a step back in surprise, then gave Maddie a crooked grin. “Hey.”
Maddie’s mouth fell open.
She’s not wearing a suit.
Hayley Maddox stood in front of her in light-washed blue jeans—blue jeans—that pinched above her waist and tapered at the ankle. She paired them with a white stretch T-shirt that clung to her body in a way that left little to Maddie’s imagination.
She is so incredibly sexy.
“Ready?” Hayley asked with a sly, knowing smile. She slid her hands into her front pockets and waited patiently, allowing Maddie a few extra heartbeats to compose herself.
Maddie nodded, still struggling to process the exclusive, relaxed version of Hayley on display. She looked up and down the street for a driver, then back at Hayley in confusion.
“I want you to feel like a real New Yorker tonight,” Hayley explained before leading her down the sidewalk.
The subway car was already full when Maddie and Hayley squeezed into it, and Maddie clung to Hayley’s arm to avoid getting separated.
She wrapped her fingers tightly around a metal pole and focused on keeping her balance as people jostled past her.
The air was thick with the heat of too many packed bodies, and Maddie started to feel claustrophobic as she struggled to find a pocket of fresh air.
A cool, steady hand found the small of her back, and Maddie turned to see that Hayley created a perimeter of space around her.
Maddie gave her a grateful smile right as an automated voice announced, “34th Street—Penn Station.”
Hayley grabbed Maddie by the hand and intertwined their fingers securely before leading them off the platform and through the subway station.
It felt so natural, the way Hayley weaved them through the crowded streets of Manhattan with expert precision, never once letting go of Maddie. Hayley led them around the outside of a massive circular building, finally pulling her to a stop under a black awning with white lettering.
VIP Entrance.
Hayley released her hand, and Maddie immediately missed the calming pressure. Retrieving her phone from a small Prada clutch, Hayley flashed the screen to a security guard, who held the door open for them.
Hayley stepped aside, her fingers brushing Maddie’s lower back as she guided her inside.