Page 32 of Take My Hand

Me: IT IS NOT. ARE YOU SERIOUS??

Hayden: …

Me: Please don’t touch anything until I’m there

Hayden: aye aye, captain. I will keep my hands to myself

I type a response before I allow myself to overthink it. He threw out a suggestive comment when we were building my dresser and now it’s my turn to test those waters.

Me: Well, I didn’t say that exactly…

Bubbles appear, then stop. Appear, then stop.

I bite the inside of my cheek, giving my brain something to focus on while it tries to race a thousand miles a minute, anticipating his response. A copper tang explodes across my tongue and I reach for my tea to wash out the taste.

Just when I think he’s not going to respond, it buzzes in my hand.

Hayden: Allow me to correct myself then. I will not touch any tools or attempt any projects before getting your advice.

Hayden: But I’ll make no promises otherwise…see you later

He sends through his address and I put it in my Maps, seeing it’s about forty minutes away with traffic.

Hayden’s a millionaire. I know he can hire a designer and contractor with a snap of his fingers. But instead, he’s going out of his way to invite me over and get my opinion on it instead.

With that knowledge, I turn my phone face down on my desk with a giddiness settled low in my stomach and get back to editing these photos.

I save Hayden’s for last to edit and when I get to the ones I selected, I’m once again distracted by the presence he holds through a photo. His eyes are downcast in this one, a mask of concentration on his face as he plays and I wonder what it would be like to have that focus and intensity pinned on me.

Beads of sweat run down the side of his neck, and I lick my lips, imagining the saltiness of them on my tongue.

Fuck, I need to wrap these up. I haven’t felt desire like this in months and it feels like a breakthrough but also a distraction. I’ve been worried that maybe my body has shut down on me, not feeling any sense of hunger in months. My sex life with Daniel stalled over the years, and after our biggest fight we had ever had last November, we had barely touched each other.

It wasn’t healthy and it wasn’t satisfying, but I had accepted that maybe that was just how it would be. I didn’t need it that badly. And the sex had gotten so stale that it felt more like a chore than anything else.

And up until just now, the urge for any sort of release hasn’t been a priority. But looking at these photos of Hayden after watching him perform live and the anticipation of seeing him soon, it suddenly feels like a part of myself I thought I had lost is sparking back to life.

13

CARTER

Hayden: I’m really hoping the chance I took paid off…are you home right now?

Istare at the text that just came through with a frown.

Me: yes…why?

The response is instant.

Hayden: Good! I’m outside. Come to the hardware store with me?

What?

I jump off my couch and walk over to the window overlooking the street below. I haven’t seen Hayden’s car before, but the deep, cherry red Audi RS7 pulled off to the side of the road doesn’t look like it belongs to any of the residents who live in my building.

I double-check the date on my phone to make sure I didn’t get the days mixed up. That was only yesterday we made that plan and it’s for tomorrow afternoon, not today.

Me: I thought we were meeting tomorrow?

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