Page 57 of The Expiration Date

“Going back to L.A. Leaving this nirvana that we’ve been in for the past week. I don’t want all this…”

I gesture to the scene around me. The sun has definitely set now and the sky is a beautiful medley of pinks and oranges and purples. I never want to forget this sight. I want to lock it in a safe and throw away the key. And then my heart sinks when I come back to reality. Who knew how long this thing was going to last? I am too scared to let someone in, knowing it will most likely turn out to be temporary. Tears begin to well up.

“...to end. I can see it slipping away when we get back to our regular lives in L.A. When all the pretense is over. When all the questions start bombarding us from all different angles. And not just from the paparazzi. From our co-workers, from the press, from our families. People are going to find holes in our story and then it’s all going to blow up in our faces. Just like it did with Robert. We can’t hop on a plane and escape to the Hamptons all the time. You have to work, hell I have to work. We’ve both worked too hard for everything to crumble down. I mean, isn’t that the reason we made this agreement in the first place? To help your career, and in some sort of twisted way, my own?” My knee starts bobbing and my fingers grab on for dear life to the softest blanket on planet earth that is beneath us. My knuckles are literally turning white. Then I say quietly, in almost a whisper, “I definitely don’t want this all to end.”

“But that’s just it, Hales.” Aidan grabs my hand that is clutching the blanket and kisses my palm. “I don’t want all of this to end either. I told you that the other night and I meant it.” He laces his fingers between mine. “And if people find out the truth about how we started, who cares?” He grabs my outer thigh and pulls me on top of him, so I am now straddling his lap. Now I have no choice but to look straight into his eyes. Poor little writer girl. What torture. “Besides, that’s Samantha’s problem.” He smiles that smile that makes the sides of his eyes wrinkle. My favorite smile.

“Oh god help us with that woman. She seriously scares me.” I cradle Aidan’s face in my hands and now take in the sight right in front of me. Forget the sunset. This man is magic. Aidan runs one of his hands through my hair and grabs the back of my head, securing his hold on me quite literally. If only he knew the hold he has on me already. He turns me into a puddle whenever I’m near him, and I don’t think that is ever going to change.

“Don’t worry about Samantha, her bark is worse than her bite. Plus, she’s damn good at her job. She keeps me accountable and I need that in my career. I never want to make others look bad because of my stupid actions. That’s what I love about you, too. You have never coddled me or treated me differently because of who I am in Hollywood. You have always been so professional and sweet and…just everything to me. I really can’t imagine my world without you in it. You make it harder to breathe when I’m around you, Hales.”

I release a side of his face as I blush and tuck some hair behind my ear. Thank god the sun already set so that my cheeks don’t give me away too much. “Aidan, no one’s ever said those things to me before…not even Robert, and I was with him for years.” How could someone so painstakingly gorgeous utter those words about me? Me– the girl whose hair looks like a psychopathic witch, with red sauce all over her face?

“Well I think it's safe to say that Robert is a first-class jackass and he doesn’t deserve to walk the ground that you walk on. No one does. Not even me.”

Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan are bantering about something in the background. I laugh. “Are we ever going to actually watch this movie together?”

Aidan bites his bottom lip. “Actually, beautiful girl, I was hoping that I could kiss those soft lips of yours and make all of those worries bouncing around in your head disappear. The movie was kind of a prop.”

“Aidan! We can’t make out on the beach! There are people around and what if they see?”

“Haley, I don’t care if there’s one person or millions of people who see us–I am going to kiss my girl. Like I’ve said before, let people talk. They are going to anyway. Might as well live our lives on our terms. Plus, you kind of have to get used to me kissing you because I am going to do it every chance I get. I hope you don’t mind.”

In the sassiest voice I can muster, I playfully retort, “Well, what if I…” Then Aidan’s full lips land on mine before I can finish my answer. I could get used to him interrupting me with the best kisses I’ve ever had. I am tempted to protest his every statement just to get his lips on mine. Although, I have a feeling that Aidan doesn’t need any provocation. He is going to kiss me because he genuinely wants to and because he craves my lips on his. I know that because that is my truth and it terrifies me. But I refuse to let my fear ruin this moment on this perfect beach with this perfect man on this perfect date.

I am going to take a page out of Aidan Stone’s guide to fearlessness and allow myself, for the first time in a long time, to be incandescently happy.

31

Ilight a candle and have coffee already brewing, knowing that will make Haley feel like she is home. Ever since we got back from New York, I can’t stop thinking about her. I know it has only been a couple days, but her absence by my side is so noticeable that I can’t concentrate on anything.

On the plane ride home, I held her hand the whole time, knowing this hand-hold is different from all the other times I’ve held her hand before. I invited her with me to my European tour. There is no way I’m going to be without her for that long. It was hard enough being away from her when she was just my assistant. Now that we are officially together, I know I am going to suffer every second we are apart.

I invited her to stay over that night we got back to L.A., but she stubbornly insisted that she go home. “I promise that I’ll come by in a few days. I need to desperately do laundry and decompress from the weekend. Too much socialization for this introvert.”

Reluctantly, I let her go.

Even though it’s only been a couple days, I miss Haley’s presence so much. I can’t wait to see her flushed cheeks when I flirt with her or even come near her.

There’s a knock at my door. That’s weird. I told her to text me when she was in the driveway so I could come open the door for her. Maybe she forgot.

I open the door with excitement, ready to hold her in my arms and not let her go for the foreseeable future. But as the door swings open, my excitement is stifled immediately. Because the person waiting there on my doorstep isn’t Haley. The image of Haley is replaced by someone I never want to see again. Her caramel skin is barely covered by the nude dress she is wearing. It clings to her body in a way that leaves nothing to the imagination.

“Natasha, what are you doing here? I’m expecting…”

Natasha lunges forward, grabs the back of my neck and pulls me down to her lips. It is forced and messy and it feels so wrong. It’s amazing that six months ago, I thought there was nothing in the world that could compare to Natasha’s lips on mine. That kissing her would be the best part of my day. I was gravely mistaken, and I am so glad that I was.

I release her hand from my neck and break our kiss. I step back all the way to the edge of one of my couches. I lean against it and cross my arms. I watch Natasha close the door behind her, slowly walk over to the kitchen island, and put her Birkin bag on the counter. “Why did you stop kissing me? I thought you would be happy to see me.”

“Well you thought wrong. Look, I am expecting someone and you need to leave. Now.”

I head toward the door but before I could reach the handle, Natasha’s hand presses against my chest. “Wait. Aidan.”

This should be interesting. I cease walking and put my hands in my pockets. “What? Why the hell did you kiss me, Nat? What are you even doing here at my house?”

She looks down at her hands and starts playing with her nails. “I don’t know. I am just really confused right now. I don’t like seeing you with that little assistant of yours. I miss you, Aidan.”

I huff. “Well, I’m sorry you feel that way. I didn’t really like seeing you with Isaac either, but you had no regard for my feelings six months ago, or rather, what was it, more like nine months ago, right? How is your new boyfriend by the way? Does he know that you’re here, telling me you miss me and kissing me, no less?”

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