Ones I remembered all too well.
How could I ever forget eyes like his?
Five years could do a lot for a person. His jaw was more defined, having lost the pesky baby fat in his face, and he could actually grow facial hair now, although it was still a bit patchy and looked as though he kept it short—clean and well-trimmed. His hair was slightly darker than it was when we were kids, now more of a sandy brown or a dark, dirty blond. Lean muscle rippled in his arms, a tell-tale sign he was no longer a boy—no longer the boy I’d fallen in love with at sixteen, despite knowing I could never have him, would never subject him to the pain I’d endured as a child.
My first love.
My first loss.
Decades could have passed. An infinite amount of time apart wouldn’t have mattered.
I’d have recognized him anywhere.
“Hi, Skip.” The corner of his lip twitched, and amusement shone in his gaze, but I didn’t miss the crack—ever so subtle—in his voice when he said my childhood nickname.
Hayden.
CHAPTER TWO
hayden
S-sorry.” Sierra’s face flushed, and her mouth gaped as though she wanted to say something else but couldn’t. Instead, she blinked a few times before picking up her fluffball and running off.
My vision was glued to her as she left, and I only lost sight of her when she disappeared behind a row of pickup trucks and trailers.
“Who was that?” Colter asked once Sierra was out of earshot.
“That”—I paused, sucking in a breath—“was Sierra Bayley.”
I’d seen her in passing over the years—on arena jumbo screens and social media posts—but nothing could compare to seeing her face-to-face. Not much about her had changed, despite the amount of time that had passed since she’d last spoken to me. Her hair was dark now, nearly jet black instead of her natural blonde. Even though she ran away from me today, I knew she still carried herself with the same take-no-shit attitude and sass she’d developed in high school. Her TV interviews said as much.
Sierra wasn’t always like that—confident,intimidating,radiant—but I knew she didn’t let anyone see what was underneath her tough exterior.
Only me. Once upon a time.
Blonde hair cascaded over my thigh as we lay on the old, ratty couch in Keenan’s basement. Sierra’s head lay in my lap, and her bare feet rested on the arm of the couch. My fingers gently brushed through the tangles in her hair as music thumped around us. No one at this party—if you could even call it that—seemed to be paying any attention to us, all of them too busy dancing and getting drunk off the cheap liquor Keenan stole from his parents.
“Do you ever worry about the future?” she whispered, looking up at me with her emerald-green eyes.
All the time, I thought. “Sometimes. What are you worried about?”
She fell silent for a moment. “Do you think we’ll still be best friends in the future? Still be…us?”
Without hesitation, I said, “Yeah. Yeah, I do.”
I think we’ll be together in every lifetime. Every universe.
I didn’t think there could ever be another version of me without Sierra Bayley.
I didn’t want there to be.
Once bright irises muddled in an instant, her gaze cloudy and exuding sadness. “I hope so.”
Mikey’s laughter brought me out of my temporary daze before his jaw dropped with realization. “Wait, was that girl your ex? The one you were talking about when we were in Cheyenne?” When I didn’t confirm nor deny, he slapped his knee. “Hot damn! I didn’t know you had it in you, Hayden. She’s a smokeshow, that’s for sure.”
“Whoa there, Michael. Juniper might castrate you if you’re notcareful.” Jake chuckled.
“Hey, I never touched her, man,” Mikey protested, crossing his arms defensively. “No one ever said anything about looking. Besides, I’m sure June would agree.”
