BLISS.
It was the only word to describe how I felt.
Well, maybe that and giddy.
I felt like I was in school again, enjoying the high of a new relationship.
I knew it had only been a week and that it wouldn’t always feel like this, but I was determined to enjoy it while it lasted.
“So, things are going good?” Sadie asked me from where she stood at the register while I refolded a stack of shirts.
“Yeah,” I smiled at her over my shoulder, “we haven’t seen much of each other this week since the guys are busy in the studio, but he calls me every night when he gets home.”
“That’s so sweet.” Sadie swooned—I’m not kidding, she put a hand to the back of her forehead and did a little dip.
“Yeah, I just hope it works out,” I mumbled.
She frowned. “You don’t sound so certain that it will.”
I finished with the shirts and turned around to face her. “I fell for a guy once before and he turned out to be the complete opposite of who I thought he was.”
“Well,” she grinned, “the good news is, you thought Hayes was a bad boy through and through, so if he’s the opposite of that then it means he’s perfect.”
Leave it to Sadie to come up with that reasoning.
“Your brain must be a strange place,” I commented, heading into the back of the store for a box of new clothes that had arrived earlier.
“You guys are good together,” she called to me, “and I’ll be saying I told you so on your wedding day.”
I shook my head. “Not likely.”
I was saved from her response by the sound of the chime above the door dinging and signaling a customer.
“Hayes is here!”
Or not exactly saved.
Not that I wasn’t happy he’d stopped by, but I knew Sadie would give me hell for this later.
I emerged from the back with a smile on my face.
Hayes stood by the counter with his skateboard clutched in his hands. He was dressed casually in a pair of jeans and a t-shirt with a logo I didn’t recognize. A beanie hid his normally perfectly styled hair.
“I brought you ladies lunch.” He proudly held up a bag from Chick-fil-A.
“Aw, how nice of you.” Sadie nudged my shoulder as if to say, see he’s a nice guy.
I already knew that, though, and I also knew it was wrong of me to expect him to change like my ex had. Most people weren’t like Todd. But when you’d been treated as horribly as I had by someone it became harder to trust. I was making the effort to work on that, because I really did like Hayes, and I didn’t want the ghost of my past relationship to hurt a good thing.
“I would’ve gotten you drinks too,” he explained, setting the bag down on the counter, “but I couldn’t really carry drinks, a bag of food, and skateboard.”
“This is more than enough.” I reached for the bag, suddenly ravenous.
“Also…” He paused, shrugging his shoulders like he was afraid to say what he needed to say. “I wanted to see if Arden could possibly have next Thursday through Sunday off?” He addressed Sadie.
“Uh, don’t you think you should ask me if I want to be off first?”
“Shh, woman, I have to find out if this is even a possibility before I make plans with you.” He threw up a hand, silencing me. I would’ve been mad if it wasn’t for the fact that he said it jokingly and his smile was large.
“Yeah, she can be off…if the reason you want her off is for what I think it is.”
“What is going on?” I asked, groaning in irritation. “I feel like the odd man out here.”
Hayes turned to me, his smile even more beaming than before if that were possible. “The guys and I are making an appearance on The Today Show. They want to interview us and have us play one of our songs.” Shrugging, he said, “We all decided to head down Thursday and make a weekend out of it.”
“You’re going too?” I asked Sadie.
She nodded, sweeping her brown hair to the side of her shoulder. “Yeah, of course. Do you really think I’m going to let a bunch of fan girls fawn all over my man and try to touch his hair? That hair is mine.”
Hayes and I both laughed.
“I’m pretty sure the hair that resides on Ezra’s head belongs to him.” Hayes informed her.
She crossed her arms over her chest. “He belongs to me, therefore so does his hair. I’ve seen your groupies try to pet him before. Only I’m allowed to do that.”
Hayes snorted. “Okay, then.”
“Shouldn’t you be getting back to the studio, Joshua?” She sneered.
He chuckled, rubbing a hand over his smooth jaw. “Why does everyone start calling me by my first name when they get pissy?”
“Because, you don’t like your first name and I want you to be as pissy as I am.” She joked, reaching for the bag of food and pulling out a container of waffle fries. “Thanks for this, though.”
“You’re welcome.” He cracked a grin, the dimple I adored making its appearance.
“So what do you say Little Bird? You, me, Ms. Mia, and NYC next weekend?” His eyes pleaded with me to say yes, but I was worried. Not about me, but Mia. The trip we went on to the beach with the Willow Creek gang had been the only time she’d ever been away from home and slept in a bed that wasn’t hers. But even then we’d been staying in a house not a hotel.
“I don’t know,” I hedged, “Mia might not be too happy about it.”
“I can handle a cranky three-year old—not that I think she’ll be bad—but I do deal with Mathias on an almost daily basis, and he’s worse than most children.”
Sadie snickered. “He can be bad. But he’s getting better.”
“Eh,” Hayes shrugged, “a bit. He’s at his best when he’s around Remy and the baby. When he’s on his own he starts to get a bit grumpy and he bitches about,” he lifted his fingers into quotation marks, “’Missing out on important milestones in Liam’s life.’” He lowered his hands. “The kid’s only like a month old, all he does is shit, eat, shit again, and throw up on himself. What exactly is there to miss?”
“You’d be surprised,” I replied.
“I guess I’ll understand one day.” He winked at me and my stomach dipped with…excitement? Fear? Nervousness? With a wave he started towards the door. “Don’t back out on me, Little Bird.” He stopped and pointed a finger warningly at me. “It’s going to be a blast and Mia will love it, you’ll see.”
He disappeared, hopping onto his skateboard and zooming down the sidewalk.
“Little Bird?” Sadie eyed me with one brow raised in questioning. “He gave you a nickname?”
“Yeah,” I admitted reluctantly, reaching for the bag of food.
“You’ve been holding out on details with me, haven’t you?” She looked me up and down, scoffing under her breath. “And here I thought we were friends.” She laughed.
I stuck a fry in my mouth and said, “I don’t kiss and tell.”
“Hmm,” she hummed, “whatever. Keep the details for yourself. It’s not like my panties are dry and I need the stimulation. I’ve got a smokin’ hot bass player waiting for me at home, and let me tell you, that boy might look all cute and innocent…but you get him into bed and BAM! it’s a whole other guy. He’s quite rough in bed and I love it.” She waggled her brows and reached down to open a box that contained a chicken sandwich.
“I didn’t need to know all that,” I told her, holding up a hand in an effort to halt anything else she might say.
“I know, but I can’t help but brag.” She joked with a smile. “Especially since you don’t want to share.”
“I think some things should be kept private.” I reasoned. “Besides, we only slept together the one time.”
Her jaw came unhinged and she grabbed my arm, forcing me to look at her. “You mean you didn’t have sex the other night? I sent you a text and told you to make sure he got it in.” She began to thrust her hips. “You need some lovin’.”
I rolled my eyes at her crudeness. “That night was…special without that.”
“Aw,” she clasped her hands. “I bet it was sweet, but I wouldn’t know since you won’t tell me anything.” She jutted out her bottom lip.
“That doesn’t work on me when Mia does it and it won’t work on me now, either.”
“Fun sucker.” She pouted. She picked up the sandwich once more and smiled. “Just kidding. I can’t be mad when I have Chick-fil-A. I’m pretty sure the inside of Chick-fil-A is what heaven looks like.”
I tossed a napkin at her head. “You’re insane.”
She grabbed the napkin from where it landed on her boobs and set it on the counter. “Where’s the fun in being sane? Because apparently you’re implying that you’re sane, and you’re not having sex, so I want no parts in sanity.”
“You’re worse than a guy,” I muttered, munching on a waffle fry.
She wiggled her hips again. “Only with Ezra. I could ride that boy all day and all night.” She winked.
“Gross.” I wrinkled my nose.
“Prude,” she countered, bumping my hip with hers. “Now shut up and eat this delicious food your man brought us. He’s a keeper, I’m tellin’ you.”
I shook my head, fighting a smile. “I hope so.”
She stared at me for a long moment. “I know so.”