“You’re awfully dramatic before caffeine.”He smiles as he moves to pour me a coffee.
“You’re reading a physical newspaper in 2025.”
“That’s because I don’t trust anything you read on the internet.”
I slide onto one of the stools beside him while he places a mug in front of me without asking how I take it.Because he already knows.And why does that make my heart pitter patter like a sixteen-year-old that just got asked to prom by the captain of the football team?
“I like having you here in my home.It feels nice.”
His confession surprises me, and I glance up from my coffee to find Hayden watching me.Not quite like he’s bracing for impact, but definitely curious about what I may be thinking.
“I think I’m a little surprised by how normal this feels.”I admit as I take a sip from my mug.
Something unreadable flickers across his face before he looks down at his plate again.“You expected it to feel colder?”
“A little.”I don’t want to lie to him, because before, his control was also limited to his emotions.This time, they absolutely are not.
“And?”
I let my gaze drift around the apartment as I absorb the space around me.Morning light spills across the dark hardwood floors.Music plays low from hidden speakers.The lake is visible through towering windows beyond the living room.And Hayden, sits across from me looking calmer than I’ve seen him in years.
“It doesn’t.You’ve changed.”I admit.A smile lifts the corners of his mouth with it.The silence that follows feels strangely intimate.It’s not heavy, it just feels honest.
Hayden reaches for his coffee before speaking again.“You’re staring this time.”
“You’re still wearing those glasses.”
“Something you’ve already noted once.”
“It’s incredibly hot.”I share, taking a bit of bacon, smiling around it.He laughs again, quieter this time, but it’s so real.God.I like this version of him so much it almost hurts.
We linger over breakfast longer than necessary, conversation drifting between us in an easy way that still catches me off guard sometimes.The museum.Mikey setting something on fire in the studio microwave last week.His absolute refusal to acknowledge deep-dish pizza is a legitimate cuisine.
And underneath all of it, complete ease.No fighting for space.No sharp edges.No suffocating pressure sitting between us.It’s just Hayden, being who he is now.
By the time the plates are empty and the coffee has gone lukewarm, I’m curled sideways in the stool watching him read something on his phone when a thought slips free.“There’s a Halloween party at Gild tonight.”
His eyes lift to mine, and there it is; that subtle shift that isn’t quite anger or jealousy, but a very keen awareness of what’s different about me now, versus then.
“I know.”
“Oliver’s been planning it for weeks.”
“And that should mean what to me?”A frown marring his otherwise gorgeous face.
“Just that it will probably be something to remember.”
He shifts next to me before he sets his phone down.“You want to go.”Not a question but a realization.
I trace my fingertip around the rim of my mug.“I do.”
Hayden leans back in his chair, studying me carefully enough that I can practically see the thoughts moving behind his eyes.He doesn’t want to go.And I know it’s not because he doesn’t trust me, but because things are different now.
For him, Gild existed in a separate compartment from whatever this was becoming between us.Now the lines were blurring.
I rise from the stool and close the distance separating us, stepping between his knees, resting my hands against his shoulders.“We don’t have to stay long.”
“That’s not the part I’m worried about.”His eyes darkening just a tiny bit, and with that, the brutal honesty I know he’ll always give me.
