One last day. One last day where everything was good and nothing hurt.
“Hey, so, important question,” I said, flicking the radio on and tuning it to one of the local stations. “What song did you lose your virginity to?”
“Don’t remember,” Hayden said, too quickly for it to be the truth.
“Bullshit,” I said, watching a blush spread across Hayden’s cheeks as I turned a corner to take us down a scenic route, closer to the water.
“I have nothing to gain by telling you,” Hayden said. “And everything to lose.”
“So this is a question of price, then?”
“Mmhmm,” Hayden asked. “It’d probably be pretty steep. I’d want at least one kiss.”
Laughter welled up in my chest again. A couple of weeks ago, no one would’ve believed me that Hayden was sosweet. Now he was trading information for kisses.
“Will you take an IOU for the kiss?” I asked. “Kinda driving here.”
Hayden hummed thoughtfully, turning sleepy, hooded eyes on me with the lazy slowness of a man who didn’t have anything better to do than sit in this car all day.
I was glad he was apparently taking it as one last carefree day, too.
“No,” he said at length. “Kiss first. Information after.”
“Are you always gonna be like this?” I asked, grinning ear to ear. I hoped the answer was yes.
“I warned you I was difficult,” Hayden said, eyes closed again, settling back into his seat. “Flattered that you keep making the effort anyway.”
“You’re worth it,” I said. “More than worth it.”
I could feel Hayden staring at me, but he didn’t say anything else right away.
I pulled into the first beachside parking lot we came to, parked the car, and then climbed over to his side—narrowly avoiding jamming the gear shift into my balls—and landed on his lap.
“Kiss,” I said, as he opened his eyes, waking from a half-doze.
Hayden smiled as I leaned in, keeping the kiss soft and sweet, pulling away just as he tried to deepen it.
I wasn’t about to start overpaying for information, and leaving him wanting more gave me leverage.
“Uh-uh,” I said, letting the tips of our noses brush together. “Which song?”
“Promise not to laugh at me?” Hayden asked.
“Absolutely not,” I said. “But I promise not to be mean about it.”
“Close enough,” he agreed, pausing to sigh, resting his forehead against mine. “It was Nine Inch Nails’Closer.”
I blinked at him.
I’d heard that song one time in my entire life, but it’d stuck with me.
“Holy shit,” I managed after a second. “Holyshit. The black walls were a whole thing for you, huh?”
“It’s a good song,” Hayden objected, wriggling under me as if he could squirm further into the seat and away from his embarrassment. “And I was nineteen, leave me alone.”
“Oh wow, the goth phase stuck,” I said, delighted by this new information. “I love this. How long is that song? Did you last the whole time?”
“Almost,” Hayden murmured, face hot from blushing. “Hang on,” he said, getting his phone out and tapping a few times. “Spotify says six minutes, thirteen seconds.”
