He wore freaking glasses. Life was unfair and cruel. Was this revenge for the time in third grade where I laughed when my teacher accidentally farted? Or the time I hid from my Sunday school teacher and jumped out, scaring her so much she fell? It had to be.
I wasn’t used to being around Hayden so much. He overwhelmed my senses, and I had forgotten how intoxicating he could be. My breath shuddered, and I walked toward the front doors to cool off for a minute. The judges were conspiring, probably taking bribes.
Get a grip, Charlotte. They don’t take bribes.
We don’t know that, do we though?
Fuck. The wind knocked some sense into me the secondit hit my face. A cold dose of reality was exactly what I needed to settle down. I had too much going on in my head right now. Between the interview, and Penny and Christian, the competition and Hayden…Hayden.
Should I googlehow to get over a crushorcheap spells to break feelings? Might be worth it.
“Hey, you okay?”
I jumped. “Jesus, you’re quiet.”
“Any reason you’re standing outside in freezing weather?”
I bundled my arms around my middle before glancing up at Hayden. My heart stopped. The world froze. Someone call the doctor. My skin grew two sizes too small.
The man wore dark glasses, and it was the end of me. He looked like Henry Cavill and Chris Hemsworth had a love child, and that child wore thick black glasses. I couldn’t breathe. He was too sexy. Too handsome. Tooperfect.
“What?” He adjusted the frames, frowning. He shifted his weight side to side, like he was uncomfortable. “I know they are dorky—”
“You look so hot,” I blurted out. I wasn’t one to have a filter on my best day, but of all the things I could say why did I say that?
His gaze snapped to mine. The air became charged. Puffs of condensation left his mouth, his gray eyes zeroing in on my mouth. “Char—”
“Hayden! Charmander!” Christian’s familiar voice penetrated the moment. A wall went up on Hayden’s expression, and he stepped back.
He looked at me like I was nothing more than a decoration. Something that blended into the background. Icould’ve been a tree for all I knew. It was probably for the best, because he looked too good with those glasses.
“How’d you do? We had to run into a forest! I almost tackled this huge dude from Normal. Who lives in a town called Normal? Not me, that’s who.” Christian’s energy was unmatched.
“That was something.” Penny smiled, but it wasn’t her normal cheer. Her cheeks were super red, and she looked cold.
Did they argue? Where was Garrett?
“There he is,” Hayden said, almost reading my mind.
Garrett swaggered on up with a flask in one hand and a goofy smile. “Hello, teammates. I have… news.”
“What news?” Penny asked.
Garrett took a drink before eyeing all of us. “They dropped the scores.”
“And?” I probed, almost choosing violence. Garrett often chose drama for fun. “What place are we in?”
“Not first.” He cringed as Penny sucked in a breath. “We’re in second.”
“How are we second? Who didn’t perform?” Penny asked, a frown replacing her smile.
We couldn’t lose this. A wedding was at stake. Hayden met my worried glance and shrugged in awe did what we couldgesture.
“Who’s in the lead? We have a few more chances for this.” Christian cracked his knuckles, a sure sign of his stress. “Could we see the breakdown?”
“It’s too cold out here. Let’s head inside and game-plan.” Hayden took charge, the air of authority in his voice sending a bolt of electricity through me.
“Good idea. I can’t even feel my toes anymore. It’s probably fine. I don’t really use them for much.” Garrett giggled at himself. “Guys, I might be drunk.”
