Page 10 of Here's to Now

But you were going to ask for her number, Gaige.

None of this was supposed to go this far. She’s still talking to Hudson’s girl but I have to interrupt before I can’t back away. I start to ask her if she’ll be all right, dropping her keys on her entry table, but she yells something irreversible.

“I met a man. A really sexy man. He’s going to take care of me,” Haley exclaims dramatically, suggestively.

Fuck!

I spring to action before she can give any more information, wrapping my arms around her waist and pulling her close. She giggles, wriggling back into me. “Where’s your bedroom?” I whisper in her ear.

Her body stills for just a moment before she melts into me even farther. I smile to myself as I feel her heart rate pick up. She lifts a shaky hand and points a shaky finger down the hall. I practically drag her to her bedroom, her feet not fully cooperating.

Once I have her inside, I slam the door shut and back away from it slowly. Once I’m certain no one is going to come barging into the room, I spin around to face Haley.

“You’re acting crazy,” she whispers.

“I know,” I tell her just as quietly.

She’s right; I am acting crazy, but I don’t want to have to face Hudson with this. I know the lecture he’ll give me about getting into something with someone when my life is in the middle of a total upheaval.

I get it, you’re thinking:Why is he letting his friends dictate his life?Why the fuck does this asshole care about what his friends think?First, I’m not. Second, I don’t care what theythink, but I know he’d be right and I don’t want to face that. Idon’tneed this right now…yet, here I am, in the bedroom of some random chick I met at the bar.

Stellar decision-maker, party of one.

Haley shrugs then proceeds to strip her top off. I sputter, caught off guard by her actions. I clench my hands, so fucking glad she’s not just in her bra but has a camisole on as she flops herself down onto her bed. I don’t know how I’d react if she were practically naked right now. My feet stay firmly planted on the floor as I watch her eyes flutter shut, not wanting to miss this moment even though I know I should be leaving.

She looks so peaceful, so calm. And beautiful. She’s a gorgeous woman. Her plump lips move just the slightest bit with every breath she takes. Her pert nose twitches as a stray hair tickles her face. Now that we’re accompanied by the soft glow of the room, I can see I was wrong about the color of the hair that’s currently splayed across the bed as she dozes off. It’s notjustlight brown; it’s perfectly shaded with streaks of soft blonde and darker brown throughout to accommodate her lightly tanned skin. I have this distinct feeling it’s natural, too.

I skate my eyes over the rest of her, noting her bright red bra strap poking out under her black camisole. Her perfect ass is clad in a pair of dark wash skinny jeans, doing their job well by hugging every curve she has. I pull my lingering eyes off her bottom and continue my leisurely onceover. She hasn’t even taken off her TOMS. I squint, trying to get a closer look at what’s on them.Are those flamingos? Thoseareflamingos!Smiling, I walk closer to the bed, carefully reaching down to pull at her shoes.

“AH!” she screams, flipping over and kicking me in the side of my head.

“Fuck!”

Ignoring the thudding in my head, I still, listening and waiting for feet to pad across the apartment, for Rae to bust in here, but she never comes.

I hear a squeak. “Shit! I’m so sorry!” Haley whispers as her hands come around my face.

I peel my eyes open to find her on her knees at the edge of the bed. It takes everything in me to drag her hands from my face and take a step back. She huffs, falling into a heap on the bed.

“You’re okay, right?”

“Yeah, I’m fine,” I tell her, rubbing at the side of my face where she just kicked me. Adrenaline is running through me right now. I was just kicked in the fucking face by a chick. A chick I was trying to help. Is this really my life? I mean, I know she didn’t do it on purpose, but still. “I was just trying to get your shoes off you and get you comfortable so I can head home.”

“Home? Where is home?” Her voice is dreamy sounding, like she’s half awake and half drifting off into dreamland, which I suppose she is since her eyes are closed and she’s curled up into herself.

“It’s several miles away. I gotta walk back to the bar first and get my car.”

Her eyes pop openly quickly, worry coating her face. “No. Stay.”

The adrenaline begins to wane and I’m left with heavy fatigue taking over. The offer is tempting—too tempting—and I’m half a second away from taking it. But I can’t. It’s not right. She’s drunk and I’m practically a stranger. I don’t want her to wake up in the morning freaking out about what happened—or didn’t happen—between us.

“No. I…I think I better go.”

Her eyes are closed again but something’s off. She’s shaking; her entire body is wracked with silent sobs. On instinct I inch closer to the bed, not sure if I should comfort her or not. Most guys would probably turn the other way, book it out the door even, but not me. Nah—I have experience with my younger sister. I’ve seen lady tears before and I’m not scared of them. If anything, they worry me the most. Women can be vulnerable when they’re sad, and that’s usually when they need the most comfort.

“Hey, shhh,” I tell her soothingly. “It’s okay.”

“It’s not,” she whispers, her voice raw. “It’s not okay at all.”

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