Now I’ll be spending ten days with her in my truck, at a wedding, and in whatever sleeping arrangements she has?Take me now, Lord,I pray.Because if You don’t, she will.I want to respect that she just got out of a relationship that hurt her, but I’ve been waiting for this moment forso long.
I don’t believe in soulmates, but I do believe in God. He knew I’d need Hadley more times than I care to admit throughout my life. He knew she would need me. And dang it…why can’t we just be a couple? Why can’t she see me the way I see her?
No, I don’t believe in soulmates, but I do believe in choosing one person day after day.
And I’ve been choosing Hadley since I was nine years old.
It’s time she knows how I feel. I’m tired of being king of the friend zone and an older brother to her. I’m tired of hiding my feelings for her. Hence why I took her flirty challenge head-on yesterday. She’s not getting away with low-level flirting with me just to make me give in to her anymore. Nope. She wants to flirt? Fine. I’ve dated around. I was quite notorious for it in my high school and early college years. I know how to flirt, and I know exactly what buttons to push when it comes to her… What makes her tick.
So here I stand on my front porch with a large suitcase packed full, a duffle bag, and my laptop bag. I’m wickedly smiling to myself, thinking of all the ways I plan to make my best friend fall head over heels for me in the next ten days.
“Where ya goin’?” Still grinning to myself, I turn my head towards my neighbor, Hank Jones, who is sitting on his front porch swing. A twinge of sadness appears at the sight of his log cabin home. I helped Mom build it with her team a few years after we moved to the area.
“To Virginia,” I shout back, knowing the old man is hard of hearing. The distance between our houses doesn’t help.
“Why you goin’ to Virginia?”
“To finally get the girl,” I holler. All the men around the world beat their chests in solidarity with my decision.
“A girl in Virginia?” His confounded voice trickles across the lawn.
“The girl a little ways down the road.” My heart swells, and I hope this mustered confidence doesn’t disappear later. He continues to stare at me like I’ve lost it, then shakes his head and goes back to sipping his coffee.
Five in the morning is his usual time to front-porch-sit, definitely not mine when I am home. But I’m up, energetic, and ready to go.
I’m going to get the girl who grew up three minutes down the road from my family home, and I’m going to get her by going to Virginia.
IpulluptoHadley’s small brick house, much different than the cabin-style wooded home I’m continually working on for myself. Hadley’s home is full of pastel colors and country chic (as she calls it) decor. Mine will be decorated with deep tones of brown, green, and blue. Tones of the earth. Earth chic? Is that a thing?
She has several potted ferns hanging from her front porch with daisy wind chimes playing a soft tune in the gentle morning breeze. A song of hope, of possibilities to come.
I leave my truck running, hop out, and knock on her door.
No answer.
I knock again to no avail.If this woman is still sleeping…
Rummaging behind her white porch chair with frilly pink cushions, I reach for the hide-a-key rock, take the key out, and unlock the door.
The house is still dark and quiet. I flip on the living room light and make my way down the small hallway to her room, frustration building. Her door is open, and I find her snoozing away, laying on her side facing me. I walk a little closer, though I know I should probably turn the light on and make my presence known. She’s usually a light sleeper, but the roaring fan in her room must tune out all other noise.
How can I be angry though? She’s so darn cute when she sleeps. How could Daniel choose anyone over this angel? Watching her sleep sucks the frustration right out of me. Her platinum hair is frizzy and fanned out on her pillow, giving me a complete view of her full face and plump lips. I reach out my hand towards her without thought. I need to feel those lips beneath my thumb…
Her eyes fly open, the typically crystal blue color a menacing black in the darkness of the room. Hadley flings herself across the bed away from me and falls on the floor. I stifle a laugh and flick on her light.
Hadley Dawson is an easy target! Just thought I’d let all the murderers out there know.
She pokes her head above the bed, her hair halfway in front of her face. I watch as her body decompresses in relief.
“What the heck, Rawls? You scared the mess out of me.” She clutches her chest and stands up. I quickly look away because only an oversized t-shirt covers her body.
But wait…
“That’s my t-shirt.” I whip my head back around, staring at my old Nirvana shirt that I wore during my rock phase in college. My heart picks up a beat.
Holy cow.
What is she doing sleeping in one ofmyt-shirts?
