I winked, and he narrowed his eyes. Riling him up would always be a favorite. Penny, Christian, and Garrett all sat at a table with to-go cups. Garrett and Christian looked hungover, but Penny glowed. “Damn, girl, how did you not get hit this morning?”
“Water. It’s all about hydration.” She smiled and shared a look with Christian. “My dear fiancé went a little wild with the shots.”
“Might’ve. I did.” Christian groaned into his cup. “Coffee isn’t helping yet.”
“Food. I need grease. Taco Bell. That’s what I need,” Garrett said, tapping his knuckles on the table. “It’s my go-to hangover cure. You want in, Charmander?”
“I’m good. Hayden’s driving me back, so we’re gonna head out. He wants to see Gwen.”
“Thanks for taking care of my sister,” Christian said, holding out a fist. Hayden hit it. “Thanks to all of you for coming this weekend. This means so much to us. We’re getting married in two weeks. I can’t believe it’s finally here.”
Penny leaned her head onto his shoulder. “I’m gonna be a Calhoun.”
Any worry from overhearing their argument left. Penny radiated happiness, and the two of them looked back tonormal. Hayden met my gaze for a beat and smiled. He had noticed too then. The wedding was on, and we might never know why they were arguing.
“I get to call yousisterin a week. That’s pretty dope.”
She squealed and jumped from the chair to hug me. “I love you, thank you so much again.”
“Love you too, Penny.” I laughed as I got a mouthful of her hair. Christian hugged me next and squeezed me so hard that I pinched his side. “Don’t kill me.”
“When Penny and I have kids, I want them to be close like us.”
“Dude,” I said, pulling back to stare at him, “that was the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me. Are you still drunk?”
He laughed, but a serious look remained in his eyes.
“Ready, Char?” Hayden tugged on my elbow, his fingers rubbing along my sweater.
“Yup.” I pointed at my brother. “Too emotional.”
He gave me a sheepish grin. “No such thing. Drive safe, okay?”
I hugged Garrett, and then Hayden and I made the walk toward his truck. It was wild that, only two days ago, I dreaded being alone with him. Now that’s all I wanted. Life was weird.
The two-hour drive felt like five minutes. He alternated between keeping his hand on my thigh or on the wheel when the road was covered in potholes. Thanks, Illinois roads. We talked about the new conditioning coach and how she was breaking a standard of female coaches at the baseball level. We spoke about his parents moving for a year and how he hoped to take Gwen out there to see them playin the band. We talked about my classes and students and if I’d ever want to explore being an athletic director.
We made plans. Date nights (with Gwen, obviously) but then plans for when she went to bed. I was a giggling buffoon at this point. Dating Hayden was a dream.
“If you didn’t have to work tomorrow, I’d say you should just come back to my house now.” He sighed as he parked in front of the tow place. My Mazda sat there, unharmed, and a weird pang formed in my chest.
I didn’t want to leave him, but he needed time with his daughter. “I’ll be over soon enough. What time would you like me?”
“Now.”
I snorted. “Go be with your daughter. I need to throw in some laundry. Then I’ll head over, okay? Want me to grab anything on the way?”
“I have everything we need. Just bring an overnight bag.”
I undid my seat belt. Leaning over, I grabbed his chin and kissed him. He tasted like gum, and he groaned when I nipped his bottom lip. “How had we gone this long without kissing all the time?”
“No fucking idea, but I’m annoyed at Past Me right now.”
With one last kiss, I slid out of his truck. Of course, he got out and walked me toward my car and waited for me to get in and drive away before he hopped back into his. He was such a caretaker, and damn if it didn’t make me love him even more.
Maybe the hour or two of space would be good for us. Help me scale it back, because I was definitely captivatedwith Hayden. Loving him most of my life had been easy; falling for him would be like breathing. The few people who knew what happened three years ago, my work besties, would be shocked at the turn of events.
Is this foolish?
