AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Harrison huffed a laugh.
Hayley beamed and sat a little straighter. “Put your posturing aside for one second and live a little. You might even enjoy yourself.”
That’s what he was worried about.
* * *
Unsurprisingly — and to Harrison’s great relief — Hayley took over working on the plot, easily batting away his increasingly sarcastic suggestions. Watching her work was fascinating and arousing in turn, and she’d even taken his complaints into consideration and mapped out an outline that he didn’t hate.
Beside him, his phone rattled. He smiled at his sister’s text.
Emilia: Warner broke your high score
H: That sneak! I told him no practicing while I was gone. How’d group go?
Emilia: Surprisingly well. Casey finally opened up. Not much, but it was great progress. I’m proud of her.
H: I’m proud of you
Emilia: Sap. How’s Hayley?
Quickly, he checked that his screen couldn’t be seen.
Across the table, Hayley balled up a sugar packet and flicked it with her nail into a nearby wastebasket. Every time she made it, she made this little sound of elation. He’d started to grind his teeth together to stop himself from smiling. His jaw had been aching for the last hour.
H: Subtle. Could go either way. She hasn’t killed me yet.
Emilia: Now I’m really shocked. Pull your finger out already.
H: Stop trying to be cool. You’re too old for that. And tell Warner I’m gonna get him back for that high score.
Emilia: You deserve happiness!! One of these days, you’re going to believe me.
Another packet shot across the table, bouncing off the rim before falling into the goal.
Eventually, he had to know.
“Why do you write these?”
It didn’t fit with anything else he knew about her. Clever and quick-witted, she’d attended some prestigious school in the UK before moving continents. Surely, she saw how reductive these stories were, didn’t she?
“Because I enjoy them. Haven’t you ever met someone and felt an indescribable chemistry? And the more you get to know them, the more you want to know, and the more you want to share, until you can’t imagine your life without them?”
Suddenly, the table became extremely fascinating to him.
She continued. “I love trying to capture that first spark. Where two people are living their lives, unaware, and then suddenly…”
“Magic,” he finished, somehow knowing exactly what she was going to say.
He lifted his gaze, thunderstruck by the open expression she wore. Those wide eyes and the breathtaking smile. When had he last been that unguarded?
“And you don’t mind that it isn’t real?”
“Isn’t that all the more reason to write it? If it isn’t possible, as you say, then why not write the impossible? Experience it, if just for a moment.”
It was hard to remember when faced head-on with her enthusiasm.
“I know my stories aren’t always reflective of real life, but why can’t they be? Why don’t we strive to make reality more like a romance? Embrace the possibility of love at every moment? Why not let hope drive us and motivate us to find something truly meaningful?”
