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She’s Kit’s ex. She’s off-limits, and she’s her own person who can make her own decisions, but I think about some guy’s hands all over her, and I want to break something.
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“I want to be like you.” “Devastatingly handsome?” She grins wider. “No, a player. Hayden, I want you to teach me to be a player.”
His mouth slides into a lazy, flirty smile. “You want flowers, Darcy? I’ll buy you flowers.” I huff a laugh. I can always count on Hayden to lighten the mood. “You know what I mean. I want to get all dressed up, go to a nice restaurant, be told I look pretty, and then go home and have sex against a wall.”
Hazel and Pippa exchange another one of those weighted glances. Rory looks at Hayden, and there’s something in his eyes that I can’t read either. Jamie just stares at Pippa like she’s a snack he wants to eat.
She chose Kit over me, after all. If she wanted me, wouldn’t she have made a move at some point in the last eight years?
“She’s not my type,” I lie. “I like tall, dark hair, and curvy.” That’s the type of woman I date, but it’s not my type. My type is Darcy Andersen.
“Don’t settle for anything less than a guy who worships the ground you walk on.” Like me, the voice in my head says, but I ignore it.
“Eight.” He looks away, folding his arms over his chest. “One for each year we’ve been friends.”
Our eyes lock and my heart races, and I wonder if this is a mistake before I lower my mouth to hers.
Everyone goes silent, watching. “Slide the Banger inside—” “Oh my god.” I slam the laptop closed, face burning hotter than the surface of the sun while everyone stares at me in shock. Rory lets out a howl of laughter as Alexei and Jamie stare at my screen in horror. Hazel presses her mouth tight to hide a smile. I can’t look at Hayden. “I can explain.”
“Are you okay?” “No.” I can still feel how pink my face is. “I want to die.”
Yes, I’m weird and awkward, but I get the feeling they don’t care. I like it here, and I feel like I’m finally starting to find myself.
I’ve loved her for years. Maybe since she walked into English class that first week of university, or the first conversation we had about The Northern Sword, or the first time I opened my blinds and screamed at the weird gnome peering into the window while she collapsed on my bed, laughing her ass off. Or maybe I fell a little in love with her every time I saw her, every time we laughed together or texted or hugged, until I was at full capacity and head over fucking heels for her.
how do you want to spend the rest of the day?” “With you.” He makes a low noise of appreciation and presses a kiss to my forehead. “I was hoping you’d say that.” “And Daniel, of course.” “Sure, I’ll find a bag of rocks and we can take him for a swim in the ocean.”
My skin is tingling. How could I have been so, so fucking wrong about Hayden? All these years, I saw what everyone else did.
“The way people treat you is a reflection of them, not you.”
“Maybe some people say you’re a player,” I whisper against his lips, “but I know the truth. You’re so much more.”
It feels like magic, sitting here with him under the cherry blossoms and gentle sunlight. Like everything’s falling into place and the timing all aligns.
“That thing we talked about at the end of last season?” I widen my eyes and make a gesture between us. “The thing I was super nervous about in the past but am no longer nervous about with you because I love you and want to be with you forever?” “You want to get a dog?” “Ask me to marry you!” I burst out. “I’ve been waiting all summer!” He doubles over, laughing, and my jaw drops in annoyance, but I can’t help but laugh, too. “Hayden. You’re being obtuse on purpose.”
