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It was nighttime and I was on my way home from the mall, because I needed some sort of distraction from the chaos that had become my life currently. I hadn’t seen or spoken to Hayes in a couple days. My shift at the bar was coming up and I had no clue how I was going to handle being there or seeing him…or Billy for that matter.
What would I say to Billy? Would he say anything to me? Or were we just going to pretend like it didn’t happen?
My mind reeled with unanswered questions and insecurities about the future. It felt as if I didn’t know which way was up or down. I thought he’d call or at least text me by now. None of which seemed like they were going to occur anytime soon. I craved giving in and reaching out to him, but I couldn’t bring myself to actually do it.
I lifted the hood of my car, and the steam immediately burned my face, making me jump back.
“Ow!” I shouted. “Great. Now I can’t even open the hood of my own car. What’s next? I won’t be able to drive myself home?” I inhaled a reassuring breath, grabbing my cell phone from the center console to call Triple A.
It rang twice.
“Hello,” an automated service greeted. “We are experiencing an unusual high call volume. Please remain on the line. If you’d like us to call you back when your turn is up. Press the number one and provide your nine-digit phone number and someone will get back to you as soon as possible.”
I did, hanging up after.
I debated calling my dad or one of my brothers but decided against it. The last thing I wanted was to hear a lecture on taking better care of my car. Instead, I waited for my call back while sitting on the trunk of my vehicle, staring up at the stars. I found Orion almost immediately, causing me to feel worse than I already did.
It felt like I was waiting forever. Since Troy would be the one that would lecture me the least, I was about to call him when the familiar sound of a Harley drove up behind me. I didn’t have to wonder who it was.
Once his helmet was off, we locked eyes.
I crossed my arms over my chest. “So, how often are you tracking my location, Hayes?”
“I’m here to rescue you and you’re giving me shit, Peach?”
“By all means.” I gestured to the hood of my car. “Proceed.”
It didn’t take long for him to figure out what was going on. He was sexy as sin under the hood, fixing the problem with ease and the certainty of skilled mechanic who knew what he was doing.
“You’re good now,” he informed, shutting the hood.
“Thanks,” I replied, watching him from afar. The silence was deafening for a couple seconds before I finally broke the silence. “Is this it? Are you going to drive away now and continue to ignore me?”
“I could say the same to you.”
“Yeah, but I’m the girl.” I sternly pointed to my chest. “The guy is supposed to do the chasing.”
“I thought women we’re sexually liberated now. I thought that applied to this too.”
I snickered. “Always have to have the last word, don’t you?”
“We could banter back and forth like this for hours, Haven. How about we do it from my house instead?”
“You want me to come home with you?”
“Isn’t that what I just said?”
“Ugh!” I shook my head. “Forget it.” I stepped toward my car, but he blocked my descent.
“I want you to come home with me,” he admitted. “But nothing has changed. I’m still not good for you.”
I just had to know. “Did you kill those guys?”
He narrowed his eyes. “What do you think?”
“I’m not sure.”
“What if I did?”
“I don’t want to be the reason you could go to prison because of me, Hayes.”
“Because of you or for you, Haven?”
I swallowed hard.
“Knowing this, you still want to be with me?”
I didn’t hesitate in replying. “Yes.”
He stared at me for a minute before he confessed, “I didn’t kill them, but I wanted to.”
I nodded, feeling at ease. “Okay, lead the way back to your house.”
It didn’t take long to arrive at his place. I parked my car in my usual spot and then followed him inside. On our way in, I set my phone on airplane mode. I didn’t want us to get interrupted.
“You hungry?” he asked, walking into his kitchen.
“A little.”
He grabbed some ground beef out of his fridge with a frying pan, and placed them both on the stove.
“Are you cooking for me?”
He smiled, glancing at me. “Growing up, my mom always said everything was better on a full stomach.”
My heart fluttered. This was the first time he mentioned anything about his life or his mother. I tried to pretend like I was unfazed, but inside I was freaking out from excitement.
