AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I laugh and pick his face up with my hands. “No, never. I love you too much, amor.”
“This dress…and now you’re saying words in Spanish.” He groans but smiles. I smile and lean in to kiss him. “No, don't mess up your lips, they’re perfect,” he says, his voice gravelly and low like I’ve never heard before. “I’m going to stare at them all night knowing that I’m going to kiss and ruin them when we’re alone.”
I gape at him. We flirt and fool around, touching and teasing but always stopping before we go all the way. It pissed me off in the beginning, but now I totally understand what he means about just taking our time. There’s no reason to rush. We have time.
“Hayden,” I scold him teasingly. He laughs.
“Sorry, this dress, it’s making me lose my senses. My iron willpower.” He takes my hand and twirls me around. He groans when he sees my open back. “Holy shit, Ana. Let’s go now please. I can’t stay in this room with you for a minute longer.” He turns around, tugging me with him.
Yeah, this is the fanciest place I’ve ever been to. And my dad is a successful lawyer so we’ve been to some parties. But they’ve got nothing on whatever this place is.
We’re at a venue in Jersey City and the entire back wall of the room is glass, looking over the Hudson River and the New York City skyline. The iconic skyline is lit up in varying shades of yellows and oranges, the reflection dancing in the water below it. There is a balcony that you can go out to, but it’s freezing outside even with their outdoor heaters strategically placed around the space.
The room is huge. The ceiling is strung with lights and their reflection in the glass make them seem like they go on forever. The lights are dimmed, and the tables are covered in shiny silver tablecloths. The whole place seems to shimmer.
With my hand tucked into his crooked arm, Hayden leads us over to a table near the small stage and two blonde women stand up immediately to greet us. The older of the two, I’m assuming his mother, reaches her hand out towards me.
“Ana, it’s such a pleasure to finally meet you. This meatball,” she nods her chin at Hayden and I see his cheeks get pink, “hasn’t stopped talking about you since the beginning of the school year. And I can now see that he was not exaggerating your beauty. You are stunning.” I shake her hand smiling wide.
“Thank you so much, Mrs. Albrecht. It’s an honor to finally meet you, too.”
“Marion, please,” she corrects with a smile. Hayden turns and mumbles, So proper, Miss Reyes, and I subtly elbow him in the side.
“And this is my sister Haven,” Hayden says, waving his hand towards his sister. Her long blonde hair is pulled back into a sleek ponytail and she wears a gold sequin covered dress. She is stunning. I notice that they both have the same icy blue eyes.
“It’s so nice to meet you, Ana,” Haven squeals and hugs me. I laugh and hug her back. She pulls away gesturing to the woman behind her, “This is my girlfriend, Elise.”
I shake hands with Elise, who stands a little bit shorter than Haven. Her pale skin is clear and bright and her dark hair—almost black—sits at her shoulders, sleek and shiny with one side pinned up. She wears a black fitted pantsuit. The jacket dips down showing off impressive cleavage and the straight leg pants are matched with black heels.
“It’s so nice to meet you all,” I say after shaking Elise’s hand. They all smile at me, before Marion turns to address Hayden.
“Hayden, I bought you dress shoes,” she says, looking at him disapprovingly, but not unkindly.
“Oh yeah, they didn’t fit,” he says casually, holding her eye contact.
She narrows her eyes and says, “You little punk.” Hayden smiles at her then kisses her cheek. Her face cracks and she smiles back at him.
They usher me to the table and I find my seat. The name card says “Miss Ana Reyes” next to one that says “Mr. Hayden Albrecht”.
Hayden pulls the chair out for me and I sit, looking up at him smiling. “Thank you, meatball.”
He rolls his eyes, cheeks pink again. “I was a round baby.” This makes me cackle, laughing loudly as he sits down next to me leaning in to kiss my cheek.
TWENTY-SIX
THEN, WINTER, 5 YEARS AGO
There is a short little program where the fancy people thank other fancy people and then give speeches about how important these fancy people are and I try my best to stay awake for all of it. I sip my sparkling water to give myself something to do. For a while, Hayden and I have thumb wars under the table. Towards the end of the CEO’s final thank you, Hayden’s arm, which had been around the back of my chair, drops to my shoulders and then rests on my back. His fingers brush against my back in gentle circles. I feel goosebumps cover me and I suddenly can’t concentrate on anything else but the feeling of his fingers.
I focus on keeping my breathing even. I sneak a glance up to Hayden whose eyes are glancing down at me already. He smirks, and I love that confidence in him. He knows the effect he is having on me. He is always sure and confident, but this is different. It’s sultrier and makes my heart race.
I roll my eyes, turning my head to hide my blush from him.
Once all of the important people are done talking, music starts playing and many start getting up and heading towards the dance floor, and others walk towards the open bar. I turn in my seat to face Hayden.
“You’re so beautiful,” he says.
“You’re beautiful too. So handsome and sexy,” I tell him and he turns to hide his smile.
