“Let’s do it.”
Three hours and a cappuccino later and I’d put an offer in on a house that was way too big for one person. Hayden had also sent me a bunch of texts wondering where I was which I’d replied with very vague answers. I felt bad not letting him in on what I was up to, but it was better this way. I’d rather tell him when I saw him.
I said goodbye to Skye and thanked her for her help, before heading back to Hayden’s place. Halfway there I came up with a brilliant plan. I needed some way of getting him excited about my new place and besides a blow job, which he seemed to very much appreciate and enjoy, one thing I’d learnt about staying with Hayden was, he liked his food. It didn’t seem to matter what type of food, as long as it was edible and it kept coming. I never claimed to be a Suzy Homemaker, but I could cook a mean pesto pasta.
Stopping off at the store, I grabbed the ingredients before continuing home. I was halfway there when my phone rang.
“Harper!” I exclaimed loudly, earning me strange looks from the people on the street.
“I heard you were back in town,” she chastised.
“How’d you hear that?” I asked nervously, wondering if my plans to sneak away had been thwarted.
“It’s all over social media. Photos of you and your new bestie having coffee this morning. Guess my invite is still in the mail?”
I couldn’t tell if she was pissed off or not. Harper and I had known each other since we were at school. We’d always been friends but we’d drifted in and out of each other's life. Not because anything went wrong or we’d had a fight, it just seemed like sometimes the world was against us and we were pulled in opposite directions.
“That would’ve been my assistant, Skye,” I confirmed, wanting her to know she hadn’t been replaced. She couldn’t be. She knew too much. At one point, we’d even been roommates, something that was a hell of a lot of fun. Neither of us had much money back then and we’d spend our wild Friday nights eating ramen and drinking cheap wine. It might not have looked like much but we’d made memories I’d never forget.
“Oh. How long are you in town for this time?”
“Another couple of days. Want to catch up and do something?” I offered.
I’ll admit, when I was planning this trip to Chicago, I hadn’t planned on catching up with Harper. Not because I didn’t want to, but because the whole purpose was Hayden. He’s why I came back here, he was the reason I’d just put a huge down payment on a house I had nothing to furnish it with. And he was the reason I’d kept the trip quiet. Now the cat was out of the bag though, seeing Harper sounded good. I could use some time to just chill out with a girlfriend. It’d give me someone to gush over Hayden to.
“I’m working tonight…”
Phew! Relief flooded me. I didn’t want to do anything tonight. I already had plans. Big plans.
“How about tomorrow?”
“Morning?”
“Ugh!” Harper grumbled.
“Still not a morning person, huh?” I teased.
I’d never met anyone as allergic to mornings as Harper was. That woman was a terror before nine and unless she finished her first coffee of the day, it wasn’t even worth talking to her. It was safer to wait until she’d showered and caffeinated before you even attempted to make contact.
“How about eleven?” she countered.
We finished making plans and said our goodbyes before I ended the call, adjusted the heavy bags in my hand and headed home. Well, not home. Back to Hayden’s. It was weird that I was starting to think of it as home, but it was where he was, so it kinda made sense, I guess.
After letting myself in, I set the groceries on the counter and called out, “Honey, I’m home.”
“In the bedroom,” Hayden replied.
Heading in his direction, I pushed open the door and found what could only be the sexiest sight known to man. Hayden was standing there, shirtless, in a pair of gray sweatpants hanging low around his hips and barefoot. But it was what he was doing that had my heart speeding up and my palms sweaty. Leaning against the door frame I watched as Hayden stretched the fresh sheets across the mattress and tucked them in, his biceps bulging as he moved.
When I didn’t move or make a sound, Hayden stopped what he was doing, pillow in his arms and looked at me.
“What’s wrong?” he asked, his voice deep with concern.
“Nothing’s wrong.”
“Then why are you gawking at me like that?”
“Like what?”
