Again
Chapter twenty-nine
Aurora Driscoll
After our date, Hayes dropped me off back at my apartment building.
I didn’t say a word about it to any of my roommates.
My next class with Hayes came and went, with him not saying a word about it either.
He was his normal self. Touching me far too much throughout class.
Whispering jokes and teasing words that made me shiver.
All the while, I was spiraling because I know for a fact if we hadn’t been interrupted, I would have kissed him in the middle of Haymakers.
Not a care or concern about anyone watching or what would come after.
I smooth a piece of hair that doesn’t want to stay with gel. It pops right back up. A frustrated growl escapes me. I have to be at the high school where the recital is being held in thirty minutes, and I’m running behind because I can’t stop thinking about Hayes and that moment.
He’s going to be there tonight. He’ll sit next to my family and friends and watch me dance.
My mom will insist on taking photos of us together after.
Hayes will kiss my temple, maybe my cheek, to sell the image of us as a couple.
Everyone will ooh and ahh. My parents will think I’ve finally started to have fun and lighten up.
And it will all be fine. Good, even. But it won’t be real.
I grab a smoothing comb and try to get the little flyaway to stay down. When it continues to rebel, I clench my jaw and tap the comb on my vanity, glaring at myself in the mirror.
“Get it together,” I hiss.
A knock sounds at my bedroom door.
“Everything okay in there?” Saylor calls out.
Continuing to glower at my reflection, I reply, “Yes.”
“Your tone is conflicting with your answer,” she says, voice slightly muffled through the door. “Can we come in?”
“We?” I question.
My door clicks open and I turn to find all three of my roommates …
in matching pink T-shirts. With my face on them.
They’ve put a vinyl crown above my head and below my barely smiling face are the words “Our Sleeping Beauty.” I blink a few times, hoping that this is a terrible nightmare I’m about to wake up from.
“Why?” I groan.
“Because we love you,” Saylor says with a bright smile.
“If you loved me, you wouldn’t put my face on a shirt,” I grouse.
They enter my room and plop down on my bed, jostling the pink throw pillows Saylor arranged this morning on a cleaning spree.
“What’s wrong?” Jasmine asks.
“Nothing, except this hair won’t stay down,” I bite out, and turn back to the mirror. “I’m going to shave my head.”
“What a perfectly reasonable reaction,” Marigold comments. I glare at her over my shoulder. She is—as usual—undeterred.
Jasmine sighs and gets up. “Let me help. If I know anything, it’s how to do a slick back.”
With Jasmine being a cheerleader and having curly hair to contain, I believe her. So when she picks up the smoothing comb, I let her work.
“I don’t have time for an intervention,” I grumble. “I need to leave soon. I’m already running late.”
“The faster you tell us what’s wrong, the faster you get out of here,” Marigold says oh-so-helpfully.
“Alternate option: I tell you nothing and leave when I want.”
I see Marigold roll her eyes in the mirror.
“Come on, we’ve been worried about you.” Her voice carries less ire. “You’ve been quieter than usual, and that’s saying something.”
I drop my gaze and toy with the drawstring on my sweatpants.
“I went on a date with Hayes a couple of days ago. A real one—I think,” I confess. Jasmine’s hands still on my head.
“Where did he take you?” Saylor asks. “Paris?”
“Say, please, let the woman speak,” Marigold admonishes.
“You’re the one who says a good writer asks questions,” Saylor retorts.
“He taught me some boxing moves at the gym he trains at,” I answer. “And … we almost kissed.”
“Again?” Marigold asks.
I whip my head toward her, causing Jasmine to drop the comb.
“How did you know about the other time?”
She grins like the villain she is. “I didn’t. Saw that trick in a movie once, and I can't believe it actually worked.”
I glare at her. Saylor giggles, and I’m sure Jasmine is just barely holding it together.
“You’re evil.”
Marigold’s smirk grows more devious. “Thank you.”
“So why almost?” Saylor asks, ignoring Marigold’s previous suggestion to let me talk. “Why not kiss him?”
I hesitate. It’s not an easy thing to admit out loud, but I know I can trust these girls. They love me enough to have T-shirts made, which I hate but also acknowledge is indicative of a certain level of care.
“I’ve never kissed anyone before,” I say quietly. “If we kissed, it would be my first.”
Jasmine finishes my hair and steps back, an inquisitive look on her face.
“What are you afraid of?” Jaz asks, as though she’s asking what the weather forecast is.
I twist the drawstring around my finger.
“I know plenty of people have their first kiss and don’t end up with the person who they kissed, maybe never even see them again. Maybe it’s dumb, but I hate the thought of sharing a first with Hayes and then him leaving.”
“There’re a lot of presuppositions wrapped up in that,” Marigold says.
All three of us stare at her, waiting for her to translate.
“You’re assuming that you won’t fall in love and marry Hayes after said first kiss.
And on top of that, you’re assuming he’s the one who ends things, not you.
” She pauses after her explanation. “Which to me, sounds like you like him and are scared of getting your heart broken because he has a reputation of doing that.”
I frown, not liking how accurate she is.
“I don’t want to sway you, because this is too important to meddle in,” Jasmine begins. “But Hayes has already changed a lot in the short time you two have been dating—”
“Fake dating,” I correct.
“Either way, he’s different with you. I’ve heard about his past. He doesn’t go on more than two dates with a girl.”
“We’ve only been on one, though,” I remind her.
She smiles at me through the mirror.
“Agree to disagree. You went to the Shadow Ring with him. You took him to meet your parents. I’m sure some of your tutor sessions would be considered dates to most girls. All of that is a lot more than he’s done with anyone else.”
Her words spark hope in my chest. I can’t decide whether I want to stamp out the flame or fan it.
“He’s coming to a dance recital tonight,” Marigold says with a laugh. “I don’t care for the guy, but even I can admit that means something. And don’t give us that fake-dating excuse. Hayes Rosewood doesn’t need to fake date anyone. He’s spending time with you because he wants to, plain and simple.”
Jasmine and Saylor both nod their agreement. I bite the inside of my cheek.
After a beat of silence, I mumble, “I need to go. I really am going to be late. But—” I sigh. “I appreciate this. You guys.”
Clearly, I’m a paragon of communication and emotion.
“We’ll always be here for you,” Jasmine says, and squeezes my shoulders.
“If you do kiss him, I want all the details,” Saylor adds with a giggle.
“And if he turns out to be a jerk, I’ll help you make sure he regrets it.” Marigold finishes off the conversation with flair.
A laugh escapes me. However things with Hayes turn out, at least I know I’ve got my best friends on my side.