Page 110 of Take My Hand

“I don’t think he’s done with you. Maybe with the band right now, but give it some time. I think you will find your way back to each other.”

He sighs.

I may be trying to comfort him, but I also believe what I’m saying. Especially after seeing photo after photo around the house and his bedroom of the four of them from back in high school. All big smiles and wide eyes, fresh and unjaded.

“It’s been nice being here with your family,” I say, entwining his fingers with mine and holding them against my chest.

“It has. I’ve missed these times with them.”

“We can come and visit more often.”

“I like the sound of that,” he says, brushing a soft kiss against my neck.

Me too.

“Hayden,” I say, rolling over on my back so I can look at him. I need to see his face for this conversation. One that we’ve put off until our emotions came down after what happened at the club but I know has been itching at the back of both our minds. “What do you see in your future? Do you want marriage, kids, all of it?”

His eyes roam my face, lit by the soft moonlight streaming in the thin curtains. Band and movie posters plaster the walls around us, a time capsule of a teenage Hayden preserved for adult Hayden to visit and bask in the nostalgia.

His voice is a gentle caress when he answers me, cradling me with the same warmth with which he holds me. “I see you in it. I want marriage and kids. A house like this one. Family dinners and harmless teasing. But I want it with you.”

As if I didn’t think my heart could be any fuller.

“I want those things with you, too. I trust you with that future.”

My words hit him as I intended. The corners of his eyes shine as he leans forward and kisses me, slow and tender. Not a leading kiss, but a confirmation and an act of appreciation.

Because I was with someone for three years that I couldn’t trust with the things I knew I wanted for myself. But with Hayden, even in the few months that we’ve been together now, I know that it’s different with him. That he is someone I want to raise children with and do all of life’s milestones with.

“I love you,” he says against my lips.

“I love you, too.”

A calm has settled over the two of us, knowing that we both picture the same future for ourselves and want each other to be a part of it.

With that, I reach over and set an alarm on my phone for the morning, needing to be up early to get to the airport before rolling back on my side and allowing Hayden to pull me into his chest once again.

I readjust the blankets, ready to drift off to sleep when he asks me, “What was in the envelope you had with you the other day?”

It takes me a moment to recall what he’s talking about.

“Oh, it was prints of a few of the photos from our shoot earlier this summer. I thought you might like to see some of the final product.”

“How did they turn out?”

I roll over and brush a lock of hair from his forehead, giving me an uninterrupted view of the eyes I could lose myself in forever.

“They’re amazing. And I’m not just biased because I took them and am kinda in love with the model.”

He smirks before he bites the skin at my collarbone.

“Well, I look forward to seeing them when we get home tomorrow. I’m sure they turned out great and it had nothing to do with me.”

His constant reassurance of my talent and reminders that he thinks highly of my work never ceases to send a rush of pride throughout me.

I used to doubt myself so much, was so scared of if I was capable enough to do good work on my own. But I’ve started to actually believe in the praises not only he gives me, but the other people involved in my work. Scar and her team, Arun and the rest of the band, the people who have emailed to book me for future jobs when I’m done with the shows for the band.

And it feels damn good to believe in myself for once.

---