AVERY:I should be, but there was something worth staying up for
Was he talking about her? No, he couldn’t be. Hailey was sure he must have been referring to his girlfriend.
HAILEY:Ah, hanging with the girlfriend? Sorry for taking up your time then. I’ll let you go!
She saw the three dots appear and disappear a few times before he responded.
AVERY:Actually, we broke up a couple weeks ago…
After Hailey ignored the fact that her first reaction to the news was excitement. He revealed that he caught his now-ex-girlfriend cheating on him with someone she works with. Apparently, it had been going on for a while. That filled her with rage and had her squeezing her phone so tight her knuckles went white.
HAILEY:Whaaaat? Do you need me to send her a glitter bomb? Someone at the gym mentioned it and I think it’s a great idea.
AVERY:No need. She lost her job because her boss caught them in the office after hours.
HAILEY:Wow, justice is served! She’s an idiot and doesn’t deserve you
AVERY:Thanks. I guess I should get to bed. Intense sessions tomorrow
HAILEY:Sure! What was keeping you up so late then?
Again, the three dots flashed a few times before he decided on a response.
AVERY:A beautiful girl started texting me and held my attention.
HAILEY:Oh, already have your eye on someone else? That’s great, I’m happy for you.
Liar.
AVERY:…We’ll see. It’s complicated, but I’m hoping she’ll come around.
After saying goodnight, Hailey stared at that text until she fell asleep, disbelief surging through her. In a perfect world, he’d be talking about her, but she knew that wouldn’t happen. He was just a friend, a relationship she enjoyed.
But, that didn’t keep her from dreaming about the possibilities.
After coming down from the high that her dream left her feeling, she got out of bed to take a shower and discard her now sodden clothing. And boy, was it wet, she noticed when she took off her panties before stepping into the shower.
Hailey changed up her attitude when she looked at the day ahead of her. She would spend the morning working on her novel, something she’d been working on since she left her job as a sports reporter.
The fantasy world she created took place in an apocalyptic future where the ice caps have melted completely, releasing dragons that had been frozen for thousands of years. They decimated the earth and forced people to move underground after nothing could stop the creatures. But, that didn’t keep the heroine from falling for her faction’s lead dragon fighter.
Gage hated it. Shocking.
She put that out of her mind as she poured herself a bowl of cereal and sat down in front of her laptop to type the morning away.
Hailey didn’t realize how long she’d been working until her stomach started growling for lunch. She knocked out three thousand words and looked at her monitor with pride. One day soon she’d finish it and share it with the world!
Smiling to herself and triple checking that her document was saved, she shut her laptop and threw a mini frozen pizza in the microwave for a quick lunch. She wanted to get some time at the gym with Bridget before her night shift at the restaurant.
———————————
Hailey arrived at the gym just as Bridget was getting out of her own car.
“Hey, hey, Hails! Perfect timing!”
“Heyoooo! You ready to dominate some boulders? I listened to Queen’s “We Will Rock You” for motivation on the way here. People in other cars were staring at me rocking out.”
“Yeah, that tracks for you. Did you pick up your bridesmaid dress yet?”
