“Oh god…” Hayden sighed. “He knows how tocount.”
I couldn’t help but smile. “You’re funny,” I said, somehow feeling more turned on than I had in a long time. I never got to actuallytalkwith my hookups, much less banter. This waswaybetter. “So tell me, Freckles, what’s a hot and clever city boy like you doin’ out here in the sticks?”
The moment the words left my mouth, I knew I’d asked the wrong question. Hayden’s face fell, his smile faded, and that permanent glare took up residence once more.
“I should get back to the apartment,” he grumbled, turning away from me.
“I’ll walk you,” I offered, falling in stride with him.
“I don’t need an escort.”
“I know you don’t need one. But I’d like to anyway.”
He studied me for a moment, like he was trying to figure out some complicated puzzle. Then he nodded, a single sharp movement. “Fine. Just don’t talk.”
We walked in silence for a while, close enough that our shoulders occasionally brushed. The sounds of the festival faded behind us, replaced by the quiet hum of a small town at night. Christmas lights twinkled from the storefronts we passed, casting colorful shadows across the sidewalk.
“So,” I said finally, unable to stand the silence any longer. “You gonna tell me what you’re running from?”
His head snapped up. “What makes you think I’m running from anything?”
“Nobody comes to Sagebrush unless they’re runnin’ fromsomethin’,” I said with a shrug. “Or they were born here and never figured out how to leave.”
“And which one are you?” he asked, deflecting my question with one of his own.
I considered lying, giving him some smooth answer that would keep things light. But something about that moment made me think he needed the truth, that it would make him feel less alone.
“I’m runnin’ from somethin’,” I said, trying to sound as casual about it as possible.
He scoffed. “The law?”
I couldn’t help but chuckle. Damn he was quick. “Nah, nothin’ like that. Just… I don’t know. Life, I guess.”
“You can’t just drop that and leave it there,” Hayden said, his voice softer than I’d heard it before.
I gave him a sideways glance, surprised by his sudden interest. “Thought you didn’t want me to talk.”
“I changed my mind,” he admitted grudgingly. “So, what are you running from? Really.”
The night air felt cool against my face as I considered how much to tell him. Truth was, I’d been running so long I sometimes forgot what I was running from in the first place.
“The foster system,” I finally said. “Or what comes after it, I guess. That feeling of never belonging anywhere. Of always being temporary.” I kept my eyes on the path ahead and my hat tipped low, not wanting to see pity in his face. “Been bouncing from ranch to ranch since I was sixteen. Never staying in one place too long.”
“Why?” he asked, and there was genuine curiosity in his voice.
I shrugged. “Easier that way. People can’t tell you to leave if you’re already planning on going.”
Hayden was quiet for a moment, like he was turning my words over in his mind. “That’s... actually kind of smart,” he admitted. “In a fucked-up way.”
That made me laugh. “Yeah, well. We do what we gotta do, right? Your turn, Freckles. What’s got you hiding out in Sagebrush?”
He tensed beside me, and I thought he might shut down again, but then he let out a long sigh. “My boyfriend dumped me. Right before Christmas.” The words sounded like they were being dragged out of him. “Three years together, and he just... decided he was done.”
“Damn,” I said softly. “That’s rough.”
“Yeah, well. Turns out he’d been cheating on me for months.” Hayden’s voice was bitter now. “With some Instagram model who was ‘more his type.’ Whatever the hell that means.”
I whistled low. “What an asshole.”
