HAILEY:OMG we can make stickers!
AVERY:Long live my hype team!
14
MOM:Are you and Gage on your way? Dinner is almost ready!
HAILEY SENT A QUICK “be there soon” text to her mom before pocketing her phone and locking her front door. She was just about to hop in the car to head to her mom’s on the other side of town and Gage was meeting her there for dinner. She wasn’t particularly up for dinner with Gage or her mother, but she’d been driving her crazy about it for so long and Gage was at least his original charming self in front of her parents.
He had texted her earlier in the day that he would meet her at her parents’ house, running late from work but promising to be on time. He tended to be more apologetic to Hailey’s mom than when he was running late or canceling plans with her. She used to think it wasbecause he wanted to try harder to impress her parents, stay on their good side, but lately she found herself jealous of the charming gentleman he became in front of them, rather than the self-absorbed guy he was around Hailey.
She wondered why he bothered with her sometimes and if her parents figured into it. Her dad had a good job and would literally give her anything she asked for. She just never really asked for anything. Except maybe more chapstick. Or candy.
She blasted the music in the car and lost herself in singing to whatever came on the radio. Before she knew it, she was pulling up to her parents’ stonefront home in the fancy part of town. Her dad had worked hard her whole life and made a good living while her mom played the dutiful housewife role. Unfortunately, she was kind of stuck thinking she needed to fulfill that same role one day and pop out as many kids as she could. No, thank you.
Right as she was getting out of her car, Gage pulled up behind her on the driveway. Hailey would think good timing if she was excited to see anyone on the roster for tonight. At this point, she felt like her relationship with Gage was hanging on by a thread and she wasn’t positive anymore about what she was hanging on to. She was definitely over his shit, but breaking up with him was a bit scary. It didn’t help she hated confrontation, plus shehad her compulsive need to be such a people pleaser.
Part of her felt like nothing better was on the horizon. Would Gage really be so bad to settle with? Maybe. Maybe not. When an image of Avery popped into her head she shook it out, reminding herself Avery didn’t feel that way about her, and he was already talking to some other woman. Taking a deep breath and steeling herself for her approaching boyfriend, she decided to give him another chance.
Gage gave her his winning smile as he stepped out of the car in his flawless suit from work, having removed his jacket at least so he wasn’t too overdressed for dinner at her parents’ house. She used to think he was so handsome, but she was starting to get CW villain vibes from him with his slicked-back hair and all his high-maintenance tendencies. He took twice as long to get ready as her and he was late a lot.
He shut his door before going to his back door and pulling out a bouquet of flowers. A beautiful mix of roses, lilies, carnations and some other pretty things she didn’t recognize. Her heart skipped for a moment because it had been forever since he brought her flowers.
“Hey, babe,” he called out to her as he shut his back door and started his way up the driveway toward her.
“Hey! Flowers?” she asked tentatively with a smile on her face.
“Yeah! They’re for your mom. I know she loves them.”
Hailey tried not to let the disappointment show on her face and she must have succeeded because Gage’s face showed no reaction. She couldn’t remember the last time he brought her flowers.
“Oh, how sweet of you. She’ll be so excited.” When he reached her, he gave her a quick peck on the lips and grabbed her hand, pulling her toward her parents’ front door. All she could do was picture one of her dragons showing up to throw some flaming breath at those flowers. And maybe at his face.
As they approached the porch, the door swung open. Her mom had zero chill and never had a problem making it obvious she was waiting for you.
Stepping through the doorway, Hailey could see she dressed up more than usual for the occasion, wearing a pretty blue sundress and her dark hair swept up in a fancy bun that she wouldn’t know how to replicate. She tried once, but after the fifth bobby pin stabbed her in the head while already spending fifteen minutes on the style, Hailey had had enough.
“Finally! You’re here! I’m so glad. Gage, let me see you!” She went right up to Gage and placed her hands on his cheeks, taking him in for a moment, before pulling him into a big hug and then leaving a kiss on his cheek. Hailey tried not to roll her eyes but luckily her mom was so wrapped up in Gage she wouldn’t havenoticed anyway.
“Good to see you Mrs. Williams, it’s been too long. You look fantastic!” Gage exclaimed to her mom who was now beaming. Then he held up the flowers for her. “I brought these for you. Thanks for having me for dinner.”
“Aren’t you the charmer? They’re gorgeous! Just like my grandchildren will be if you make an honest woman of my daughter.”Gag.
Finally, she turned to Hailey and gave her a lazy half hug with a kiss on the cheek. “Hey sweetie, come on in. Dinner is just about ready.”
Hailey took a deep breath before following Gage and her mom into the house. They walked through the main foyer and made their way to the expansive kitchen that had way too much food spread everywhere.
“Geez, mom, how much food did you make?”
“Well I figured you two could take home all the leftovers you want. It was no trouble at all!”
Hailey summoned all her strength not to scoff out loud at that. Whenever her mom cooked, it was a stressful experience. She would complain about no one helping her but then lose her mind if someone tried to help and didn’t do things perfectly. After a while, Hailey and her dad stopped offering to help, which just pissed her off more. So, she was sure it was actually plenty of trouble.
The sound of footsteps coming down the stairs drewher attention as she zoned out of whatever Gage was saying to his mom.
“Hey, there’s my girl! How are you, Hailey?” her dad exclaimed as he stepped off the stairway into the kitchen. Hailey reached him and fell into a big bear hug. “How’s that book coming?”
She gave her dad a big squeeze before letting go to answer him. “Great, so far! I’m on pace to finish in another month I think.”
