The waitress delivered our shakes and took our order. where I had to convince Kellie to get more than just a kid’s serving of chicken nuggets and fries. When she turned to me, suddenly I wasn’t hungry.
I knew the question was coming, I’d just hoped I’d be able to hold out a little longer before she tossed it in my direction because my problem was, I didn’t have an answer.
“So, you and Hayden?”
21
HAYDEN
I was beyond pissed.
As I pushed past the fourth mile on the treadmill, I had sweat running down my face, and my legs were burning but nothing hurt as much as waking up and finding Skye already gone.
“You might want to slow down,” Dickson suggested from his treadmill next to me where he was jogging along like it was a fun Sunday outing.
“I’m fine,” I panted, increasing the incline as if to prove a point.
I wasn’t fine.
I was so far from fucking fine I was ready to pummel someone.
It wasn’t so much that she’d left, I hadn’t really been surprised at that if I was being honest, it was more that two weeks had passed and I hadn’t heard a single word from her. She hadn’t bothered to respond to one of my many, many texts and my calls all went unanswered.
I’d considered flying back down to Albuquerque and trying to talk to her, but confronting her parents under these conditions wasn’t what I considered a good time and so far I’d managed to refrain from booking the flight.
The only upside in this whole shitstorm was that work had been so busy I hadn’t really had time to stop and think about how badly I’d fucked everything up. Sleeping with Skye was simultaneously the best and worst thing I could’ve done. But my biggest problem now was, I wanted more. When I’d woken up with a hard-on, ready for round four—or it might’ve been five, who knows, it’d been a long night—and finding her already gone had only pissed me off. It wasn’t only the fact that I missed out on getting a good morning blow job, but more so that she’d left some bullshit note on the counter thanking me for letting her crash and completely blowing off everything else that’d happened. Even now, two weeks, seven hours and forty-seven-odd minutes later, I couldn’t figure out if it was a mistake or not.
Grabbing my water bottle, I took a sip before pouring some on my face, concentrating on my steps. Seeing people fall on these things was funny as fuck on video, but I reckon it’d hurt like hell and the last thing I needed to happen was to end up in the ER because I’d fallen on my face. Or even worse, have someone, probably Dickson, video that shit and have the whole station laughing at me.
Three days ago, I’d flown out to Philadelphia and met with the manager of the hotel where Cassidy’s shoes had gone missing. We’d been exchanging information back and forth but I needed to see it for myself. What a freaking waste of time, money, and energy that’d been. Even though he knew I was coming and booked into the same room Cass stayed in, an expense that really hurt my back pocket, he’d decided he needed a personal day and didn’t even bother to show up. If I hadn’t known better and if he hadn't been eighty pounds heavier than the guy in the video, he would’ve jumped right to the top of my list of suspects.
Now I was back in Chicago facing five days of back-to-back night shifts and trying to get my shit together before my life became work, sleep, eat, repeat.
Another two miles and even though I hadn’t managed to simmer down the frustrations gnawing at me from the inside, I slowed the treadmill down taking time to cool off. I had shit to do today and it started with a load of laundry and then a visit to my parents.
Waving goodbye to Dickson, I left him staring at himself in the mirror as he lifted pissy little weights I could lift with my big toe, and hurried home. The moment I’d climbed in the car, I could smell myself and I reeked. As quick as I could I bounced up the stairs, my calf muscles screaming with every step, and jumped straight in the shower ignoring Skye’s strawberry body wash she’d left sitting on the shelf taunting me. I should throw it out. Remove temptation completely. But I couldn’t. And I was kind of proud of myself that I’d only caved once and used it to lube up my cock as I jacked off remembering the way her whole body shuddered beneath me as I ploughed into her from behind, my cock punishing her pussy while my finger teased her asshole.
Forcing the filthy images from my memory, I turned the hot water off, standing there under the cold spray until I couldn’t think of anything except how fucking cold I was. Climbing out, I dressed quickly, and got my shit organized before heading towards my parents’ place, stopping to buy a bunch of flowers on the way.
Spying Hannah’s car sitting in the drive, I groaned. I was hoping she couldn’t make it today. And as much of an asshole as that made me sound, I had my reasons. If she was dragging Mason around a farmers market by the balls, she wouldn’t be here busting mine. And after everything that's happened with Skye, everything I hadn’t shared with anyone, the last thing I wanted to do was sit around over waffles and discuss my love life.
“You coming in or you going to hide out here?” Dad asked as he leaned through my window scaring me half to death.
“Is that an option?” I mumbled, unbuckling my belt and reaching across the console for the overpriced bunch of roses.
“Of course it is. You don’t have to show up if you don’t want to,” Dad offered.
“But Mom…”
“Will understand.”
“Yeah, I doubt it.”
One thing Dad was right about though was I wasn’t in the right head space to be here right now. I was being a miserable prick and no one should have to be subjected to that sort of drama and bullshit. Especially not my mother.
“Hayden, your mother is a wonderful woman and I wouldn’t hesitate to lay my life down for her, but she’s also the queen of the guilt trip and, son, you’re not immune.”
“Oh trust me, I know.”
