AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Nick spent the next couple hours wondering exactly what Mel meant.
There’d been pride in Mel’s voice, as if he’d finally learned how to tie his shoes, and that was a little insulting. Nick had no trouble making friends. He just kept most of them at a distance. Granted, his friendship with Hayley was complicated by how attracted he was to her, but that wasn’t going to be an issue. After all, he’d survived the woman walking into his kitchen wearing his bathrobe, hadn’t he?
What he’d done was freeze and stare. He’d caught sight of Hayley’s bare feet, then the smooth skin of her legs. He’d tried to understand how his bathrobe was now draping her curves, struck dumb by the way her hair spilled across her shoulders in coffee-brown contrast to the red fabric. Hayley had been in his home, his space, yet she radiated more self-assurance than he’d ever felt in his life.
He’d spent the week after the Vivez party debating whether he should get in touch or wait for her cue. By the time Hayley texted on Thursday afternoon to complain about her washing machine, he’d been seriously considering deleting her number, just to take the decision out of his hands. They’d been texting for a month now, sharing weekly lunches at the diner and karaoke Fridays at the bar, and Nick always felt like a fireman on call: There had to be a cost to enjoying her this much. One day Hayley would need a ride, or Kevin would need a favor—Nick would be jarred from a deep sleep by a phone call at threeAM, all because he loved putting his arm around her to climb the steps of the karaoke stage.
This was another reason he knew his feelings for Hayley wouldn’t be a problem: He was far too nervous to be in love with her. He’d been in love once, with Victoria Hall, from middle school through his freshman year of college, and he’d already experienced more stress over Hayley than he had during his entire relationship with Vicki. Love didn’t fit his current symptoms.
“And that’s the game, guys.” Mel beamed as her virtual trophy filled the television screen. “You’ll get me next time.”
Gavin got up from the couch. “Thanks for your never-ending faith in us, my darling.”
Nick said, “You know you can play your keyboard much better than this game.”
“Don’t start,” Mel warned.
“What?” Nick followed her into the kitchen. “It wouldn’t have to be a regular thing. You could play the bar at Vivez.”
“It’s generally not a good idea to leave a two-year-old at home alone, Nicky.”
“So you get a sitter to watch TV while she sleeps.” Nick kept a smile on his face and his tone light. “C’mon, Mel.”
She shook her head with a smile of her own as she washed out the margarita glasses. “You just want a bigger spotlight.”
“I want you to have some fun.”
“And one day, when you have a kid and I spoil her rotten, you’ll see how your definition of ‘fun’ changes.” She dried her hands and gave him a hug. “It’s always great having you over, Nicky.”
“It’s always great being here, Mel.”
The night had gone as it always did, and they continued to honor tradition as Gavin walked Nick out to his car.
“Hey, man,” Gavin said. “Thanks for coming out tonight.”
Nick shook his friend’s hand. “Thanks for the free alcohol.”
“And as far as this thing with Hayley goes …”
Nick sighed. “Mel knows I would tell her if there actually was a thing, right? I feel like the more I tell her, the more she wants to know.”
“She knows,” Gavin said calmly. “And she wants to know everything, but she really doesn’t expect you to tell her. It’s just fun for her to try. Much like how you keep trying to get the band back together.”
Nick held up a hand. “I hear you.”
“Put us down for the next show at Vivez, though. That was a good time.”
“Will do.”
Gavin clapped him on the shoulder. “Drive safe, brother.”
The route home from the Becketts’ had become second nature: He drove out of the suburbs, past strip malls and fast-food restaurants, to the freeway. Sometimes he’d listen to the radio, or sing along with a CD. Tonight, it seemed wrong to intrude on the silence.
Until he realized he might not have to be alone.
16
Hayley smiled as she lifted her phone to her ear.
