Standing up, Hayden set his water bottle down and disappeared into the bedroom. Figuring he could use a couple of minutes to himself, I busied myself tidying up the mess while Dickson sat playing on his phone.
When Hayden reappeared, he was wearing a pair of shorts, t-shirt, and runners. “I need to just get out and go for a run,” he explained. “Skye, are you right here for a bit?”
“Yeah, I’m good,” I told him, understanding how hard this was for him.
Picking up his phone, he slid it into a holder on his shoulder and moved towards the door.
“Hayden?” I called out before he disappeared.
“Yeah?”
“Do you think that could be related to… to… what happened?” I asked nervously, really hoping his answer was no.
I felt Dickson move towards me.
As Dickson’s huge hand landed on my shoulder, Hayden grimaced. “Yeah, Skye, I think it might.”
15
HAYDEN
By the timeI stopped running, sweat was dripping off my forehead, my heart was racing, and my legs felt like jelly beneath me but my mind was still no clearer. The rational part of my brain understood why they’d kept it from me but I couldn’t let it go. If nothing more had come of it, it was what it was, a couple of pairs of missing shoes. The problem was, more had come of it. So much more.
Dropping down on the bench seat in the park, I knew I should go back and apologize to Skye—something I seemed to be doing a lot these days—but I wasn’t ready. I didn’t know what to say. It wasn’t her fault all this shit had happened but she was the only one who could help me figure out this puzzle that was driving me insane.
My phone beeped and I pulled it out of the holder to see I already had fifteen missed messages and it was closing in on midnight.
Dickson:Heading out. Call if you need me
He was a good guy. One of the best actually but he didn’t understand. He tried to, and he had my back every step of the way, but he didn’t get it. He couldn’t.
Replying so he didn’t worry, I thanked him for tonight and stood up, wobbling my way over to the street corner, standing under the streetlight and ordering myself an Uber.
By the time I made it home, I was bone weary and tired. My head was pounding, probably from dehydration, and I stunk. The moment I slid into the back seat of the Uber, I could smell my own stench and gagged. The poor driver scrunched up his nose, repulsed, but kept his mouth shut.
It wasn’t until I was shoving my keys in the door that I remembered I wasn’t alone here anymore. Someone was on the other side. Someone who was probably already asleep and didn’t need me to come stomping in and waking them. Turning the key, I nudged open the door, wincing as it creaked before slipping inside and closing it as quietly as possible.
Toeing off my shoes, I peeled off my socks and padded down the hall towards the bathroom. Even though it was late, I was going to need a scalding hot shower before I attempted to sleep on the couch, which I already knew was going to suck.
The bedroom door was closed and there was no light peeking from underneath, so I moved into the bathroom and stripped off. Standing in the shower, I tipped my head forward, leaning against the grimy tiles, and let the water pound down against my shoulders. Everything felt tight but I knew it wasn’t all physical. By the time I got out, the hot water had run out and I could barely keep my eyes open. It’d been a long couple of days, and I don't think my brain had turned off for more than five minutes. At this rate I was going to burn myself out or die trying.
Wrapping a towel around my waist, I cursed myself for not thinking this through. I’d completely forgotten to bring in clean clothes. I wasn’t used to living with someone, well living with someone who’d be scarred if they saw me strutting around the kitchen wearing nothing my than my birthday suit and a smile. But I couldn’t put on my sweaty, smelly clothes again. Conceding a towel was my only option and headed out to the couch to try and get some sleep.
Flicking on the lamp, I found a bed already made up. Someone, Skye I’m guessing because as much as I loved Dickson, no one would ever call him thoughtful, had put a sheet down, there was a stack of pillows piled up with a blanket folded neatly at the end. There was even a new bottle of water sitting on the coffee table. Grabbing it, I cracked the cap and chugged it down, draining it in one long gulp before dropping the empty bottle back on the coffee table and lying down.
Ten minutes of tossing and turning later, I finally managed to get myself in a comfortable enough position that I might actually be able to get a few hours rest. Closing my eyes, I waited for sleep to drag me under. Bordering sleep and awake, the moment I heard footsteps and a light flick on I was wide awake and alert.
Sitting up, I made sure the blankets were covering me, because the last thing Skye needed to see in the middle of the night was my family jewels. Creeping like a mouse, she padded around the corner before stopping in the darkness.
“It’s okay, I’m awake,” I said, earning me a squawk that almost deafened me and made me one thousand percent certain I was awake.
“You scared the crap out of me,” she chastised as she took a step forward and out of the light.
She looked like a freaking angel. With her hair bound in two long braids hanging down, my fingers itched to tug on them, something I hadn’t done since I was a brat of a kid going back twenty years ago. I don’t know how many times I’d been sent home with a note to my parents telling them I was in trouble because I’d been teasing a girl. I was one of those shitheads, and even though it felt like a million years ago now, just seeing Skye with her braids brought the desire back to the surface. The problem was, it wasn’t the only desire she was bringing to the surface.
Swinging my legs around so I was sitting up facing her, I grabbed a fistful of blankets and piled it high in my lap, not liking the way my body was reacting. This was Skye standing in front of me, not someone I should be thinking of in that way. She deserved better. But she looked like every guy's fantasy come to life. With her barely-there tank top that hugged her curves and made her tits look absolutely fuckable. The exposed sliver of skin that teased me had my dick twitching beneath the pile of bedding. Then she had on a pair of the skimpiest shorts I’d ever seen. I was willing to bet if she turned around her perky little ass cheeks would be peeking out the bottom, begging me to bite them. From where I was sitting, her legs looked impossibly long and silky smooth. The kind of legs you dream about having tossed over your shoulders and wrapped around your head.
“I thought I heard you come in. I just wanted to make sure you were okay?” she said softly.
