Chapter 15
HAYDEN
Ihave died and gone to heaven.
Seriously.
Never in a million years did I think that I’d manage to get to her apartment, let alone discover what I did.
Hands down, best day of my year so far.
My heart thumps steadily and happily inside my chest, and my cock is ready and raring to go full steam ahead. I honestly thought I was going to come in my pants when she opened the door.
All those images I had in my head last night about what her body might look like in lingerie have been banished, replaced by ones that are so much better, so real. Because Hailee in that swimsuit…fucking hell.
And hearing her say that she’s proud of me? Yeah, that feels pretty fucking fantastic as well.
“How’s your sandwich?” I ask as I ball up the wrapper mine was in and throw it into the bag.
“Yeah, good. Not quite a peanut butter banana smoothie.”
I shake my head. “You’re ruining it,” I warn, unable to keep the smile off my face.
“Ruining what?”
“The image,” I state as if it’s obvious.
“What image?”
“That you’re my perfect woman.”
She immediately chokes on her sandwich.
“Shit. I’m sorry,” I say, swinging my legs over the side of the lounger and pushing to my feet.
Her coughing ceases, and she looks over, rolling her eyes up the length of my body as I cast her in my shadow.
When her eyes find mine, she swallows thickly.
“Can I get you a drink?” I ask, kicking myself for not thinking ahead and bringing something with me.
It takes her a moment to respond, and I start to think she didn’t hear me, but then her lips part, and her soft voice floats around me. “I made iced tea.”
I nod, taking a step back when she shifts as if she’s about to get up. “I’ve got it,” I confirm, spinning around and marching back into her apartment.
My skin is on fire, and I know for a fact it’s not because of the sun.
“I know you’re staring at my ass,” I shoot over my shoulder.
“W-what?” Hailee splutters, and when I glance back, she’s staring at me with wide eyes. “N-no, I wasn’t.”
“It’s okay,” I say, my cheeks aching from where I’m smiling so big. “It’s a great ass. I’d be worried if you weren’t staring.”
“Ah, there’s the hockey player ego. I thought for a minute that you might have left it at home.”
I turn on my heels, letting her see the front of me. “You’d be disappointed if I did that,” I point out before pulling her fridge open, assuming it’s where I’ll find this iced tea.
“Glasses are in the cupboard to the left,” she calls after I’ve located a jug.
I return with a drink each, and as I pass hers over, her fingers brush mine. I freeze, my eyes jumping to hers, but when I don’t see a similar reaction, my heart sinks, and I slink back to the other lounger.
Lifting the glass to my lips, I take a sip before drinking it all down.
“You don’t need to stop sunbathing on my account,” I say as I rest back and close my eyes.
I’m aware that I really should put my shirt back on and leave. I just…don’t want to.
“Stop trying to get me naked,” she mutters.
Cracking an eye open, I glance over.
“Did I say anything about taking the swimsuit off?” I ask innocently.
Hailee’s cheeks are pink, and as much as I want to think it’s because of me, I suspect it might be the sun.
“Hayden,” she warns.
“I like that,” I tell her.
“Like what?”
“When you tell me off.”
She quirks a brow.
“What? There’s something seriously hot about a woman who knows her worth and isn’t afraid to put a man in his place.”
A smile twitches at her lips. “My favorite thing to do.”
“Can’t say that surprises me.”
She smiles, but it falls faster than I’d like it to. “You should probably leave,” she says, making my heart sink.
But I know she’s right. I never should have come here or sweet-talked her concierge in the first place. She told me to take her suitcase to the arena, and I completely disregarded her.
“Yeah,” I muse, making no attempt to move. “I probably should. Do you know what, though?”
“What?” she asks, exasperated, as if she already knows what’s coming next.
“I can be a bit of a brat when I want to be, and those orders you make…it’s fun to ignore them every now and then.”
“Christ,” she mutters, putting her half-empty glass on the table beside her, along with her half-eaten sandwich.
“Are you going to eat that?” I ask, nodding to the rewrapped sandwich.
“Uh…probably not. I’m full.”
I let my eyes roam down the length of her body. She’s tiny, so I guess it makes sense that she can’t devour an entire sub.
“You mind?” I ask, jerking my chin in its direction.
“Eat your heart out.”
I lean over and swipe it from the table. “Is that right?” I mutter, wiggling my brows.
She groans, and the sound hits me right in the dick.
I need to stop, I know that. But I can’t help myself. She brings out a side to me that I don’t experience very often.
I’m halfway through her sandwich, her eyes on the view of the ocean, when I demand, “Take your cover-up off.”
Her entire body locks up, her jaw popping as her teeth clench.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean—” My words die when she looks at me, and the sudden tension drains from her.
She shakes her head. “Excuse me,” she says before getting up and walking into her apartment, leaving me with nothing but the sight of her ass swaying beneath that sheer cover-up. Goddamn, it’s a sight I want to remember forever.
But the second she disappears, anxiety twists up my insides.
I didn’t mean to make her run; I just wanted her to enjoy the sun like she was before I got here.
I need her to know that she doesn’t have to hide.
Sure, I’m gonna check her the fuck out, but I won’t do anything other than tease her.
I get that she wants to keep the line between us despite what happened last weekend, and the fact that I’ve seen her ass today.
Fuck, such a fucking fine ass.
Absently, I pull my cell from my pocket, and without thinking, I open my chat with my sister. But the second it opens, pain rolls through me, my chest tightening, making it hard to breathe.
“Fuck,” I hiss, dropping my cell to my lap and resting my head back.
Whenever anything happened in my life, Rylee was always the one I told.
If I needed advice, or just to talk things through, I went to her.
And just now, all I wanted to do was message her with where I am and what I’m doing.
She knew about my crush on Hailee. She’s the only one I ever told, the only one I ever talked about my forbidden PR Director with.
Rylee used to make it seem like something could happen, that it wasn’t completely impossible that a woman almost ten years older than me would be interested.
Of course, she was just trying to make me feel better, and I appreciated the fuck out of her for it. But I know the truth.
With Hailee still gone, I get to my feet and begin tidying up. I’m at the sink washing our glasses out when she emerges.
“What are you doing?”
“Skydiving,” I deadpan, keeping my eyes focused on the task at hand. I don’t need to turn around to know she just rolled her eyes at me.
I place the glass on the drainer and then turn around, resting my ass against the counter. Disappointment floods me when I find that she’s now wearing a tank and shorts.
I didn’t pull my T-shirt back on, though, and before Hailee meets my eyes, she blatantly checks me out. It’s the boost I need after what just happened.
“See something you like?” I tease, making her eyes jump to mine.
“I’m sorry. I freaked out a little back there. I don’t…”
“You don’t owe me an explanation,” I say when her words trail off, and her gaze drops to the floor.
She doesn’t continue straight away, and I assume she isn’t going to. And that’s fine; what I just said is true. She doesn’t owe me anything.
“I don’t do well taking direction from men,” she finally says.
“Prefer to be the one dishing out the orders, huh?”
“I don’t like giving up power,” she explains, looking up again.
“Makes sense.” I search her eyes, looking for more, desperate to learn more about her.
She’s such an enigma at work. A powerhouse of a woman who isn’t afraid to tell anyone how it is.
I’ve never seen her cower or back down, no matter how big and intimidating the man she might be going up against is.
It’s hot as hell, but it never really occurred to me that there could be some hidden reason behind it all.
I assumed she just got a kick out of it—which, I’m sure, she does.
But there’s more to it; I can see it hidden in the shadows, darkening her eyes.
“I should probably go,” I offer, feeling like I’ve probably outstayed my welcome. If I were even welcome in the first place.
Hailee’s lips part as if she wants to say something. My heart jumps with the hope she’s going to ask me to stay, but those aren’t the words that come out of her mouth.
“Yeah. I’ve got a load of work to do.”
I nod, hoping like hell I don’t look as disappointed as I feel.
Pushing from the counter, I walk toward the front door, but a book sitting on her coffee table catches my eye.
“Dark romance, huh?”
“W-what?” she stutters as I walk toward the book, pick it up, and start reading the back. “Oh…um…” This time when I look up, I know for a fact that the blush on her cheeks has nothing to do with the sun.
“This is on our Tbr list,” I explain as I place it back down again. “Rylee hated cliffhangers, so she was waiting until this final one came out before we started.”
“It only came out last week,” Hailee says sadly.
“Yeah,” I agree, rubbing at my chest where the constant pain gets worse again.
“I promised her I’d read everything on her Tbr list, no matter how long it takes me. Maybe I should move this series up. We could talk about it then.”
“I don’t get a lot of time to read. That’ll probably take me months to get through,” she admits.
“That’ll give me time to catch up,” I say, my grin growing.
It’s stupid, but doing something as simple as reading a book I know someone else is reading makes life feel a little more normal.
Hailee watches me as I close the space between us, her eyes bouncing between mine.
“You’re not joking, are you?”
“Why would I be joking? Rylee and I have read hundreds of books over the years.”
“All romance?”
“Mostly. We’ve dabbled with other genres, but we always end up back with romance. Rylee never really got the chance to date or all that stuff, so she lived vicariously through the stories.”
“And what about you?”
“What about me?” I ask.
“With the dating. And stuff.”
Silence falls between us.
“I…uh…I’ve been on a few dates. But I was always too busy with hockey or hanging out with Rylee. And…”
“And what?”
“Rylee was always my best friend. We did everything together and supported each other through everything. I think…that gave me an insight to girls that most other guys didn’t have, and I was always friend-zoned pretty fast. Which is hilarious, because whenever you hear a woman say what they want out of their partner, they pretty much always want a man who understands.
But in reality, they want the bad boy who doesn’t give a fuck. ”
“That’s not true,” Hailee argues.
“Isn’t it? Well, if you find a woman who wants understanding instead of the bad boy, you send her my way.”
Hailee bites down on the inside of her lip as if she’s holding back from saying something. But as much as I want to hear the words, I side-step her and walk toward the door.
That is, until her hand darts out, her fingers wrapping around my forearm. I freeze and look down at her, waiting for what she needs to say.
“As someone who’s experienced the asshole who doesn’t care…”
My heart slams against my ribs, and my fists curl with the need to hurt anyone who’s treated this incredible woman badly.
“I just…there are a lot of women out there who want a partner who listens, who understands, and who treats us right.”
“Hopefully, one will find me sometime.”
“Hopefully,” she echoes, her warmth dropping from my arm, leaving me cold.
I force my legs to carry me toward the door. I have my fingers around the handle when she calls my name.
Hope surges inside me that she’s going to stop me from leaving, but that’s not what happens.
“Your T-shirt,” she says, and when I turn back, I find her grabbing it from where I left it hanging over the lounger.
I take it from her, letting my fingers brush hers again, craving that connection from earlier.
“Thanks,” I mutter. “Probably for the best I don’t go out there like this. I’ll have women chasing me down.”
A smile twitches on one side of her mouth. “You absolutely would.”
“Shame I’m not interested in any of them, huh?”