Chapter Twenty-Three
Grace
I was so excited to finally get to go on a proper date with Hayden. I stood in the bathroom mirror with my hair up, leaning against the counter so I could put on my makeup. I had the perfect dress for the evening. A deep orange with yellow hues that made the fabric look as if it was shimmering. Sleeveless, but it dipped down low in the front and gave him a tasteful view of the body he seemed to adore so much. I had a pair of yellow heels I was wearing as well as dangling yellow earrings, and I couldn't wait for him to see me.
I wanted to make him speechless.
I’d been looking forward to the date all day. I had been watching the clock and counting down the minutes until the time I could start getting ready. I hadn’t felt this giddy before since my first date back in high school. It was my prom, and I was so excited for my date to come pick me up that I was ready an entire hour before he was supposed to show up.
I wondered what kind of restaurant he would take me to. Hayden was, after all, a multi-billionaire hotel mogul. He would probably take me somewhere incredibly fancy. A place where the menus don’t have prices and the food comes out in bite-sized morsels on dainty plates. I’d never been to a place like that and I hoped I didn’t embarrass myself.
Or him, for that matter.
I slid into my dress, slipped into my heels, and let my hair fall around my body. I pulled it back with a clip so it would spill down my back but stay out of my face. I studied myself in the mirror, taking in my winged eyeliner and my glossy lips.
I added a bit of blush, shook out my hair, then I was ready to go.
I stood by the window of my apartment and waited for him. I paced, watching the minutes tick down on my phone. I was anxious. Nervous. What if he didn’t show up? Hayden wouldn't do something like that, but it wouldn't be the first time I was stood up. Back in college, I had a coffee date planned with one of the doctors on my floor. It was just after my twenty-nine-hour rotation and I was ready to guzzle an entire gallon. I sat in the coffee shop for two hours drinking endless amounts of coffee before I got the picture that he wasn’t going to show.
The thought of it still hurt a little.
I looked at my phone and saw it was four minutes past seven. Hayden was officially late. I took another peek outside to see if I could see his car, but all I saw was someone parked at the curb and a bunch of empty parking spaces. Maybe I needed to call him? Maybe something had happened?
Ugh, what if something had happened to his hip?
Panic flooded my veins. I knew this was too soon. Our encounter had put too much strain on him. I unlocked my phone and quickly scrolled to his number, then pressed his name and held the phone to my ear.
If he didn’t pick up, I was calling an ambulance and sending it to his place.
The phone rang and rang, and I was so preoccupied with him picking up that I didn’t hear another phone ringing behind my apartment door. Tears rose in my eyes as his voicemail picked up, but a knock sounding at the door pulled me from my panicked state.
I hung up the phone and raced over to the peephole, and once I looked through I felt relief shroud my shoulders. I cleared my throat and blinked the tears away, trying to make sure my cascading emotions weren’t evident.
That was definitely not how I wanted to start this evening.
I reached for the doorknob and opened the door, but I was confused when I saw Hayden standing there. He looked magnificent, as always. But he wasn’t in a tailored suit like I thought he would be. Instead, he was in a pair of slim-fit dark-wash jeans, a button-down top fitted to him, and a jacket that was buttoned one time around his waist.
My eyes panned up to his and I could see a playful grin on his cheeks.
“You look stunning,” he said.
“I think I might be a little overdressed,” I said.
“Nonsense. You’re dressed exactly how you should be.”
“Then does that mean you’re underdressed?” I asked.
He chuckled and held out his arm for me, but didn’t answer my question.
“Shall we?” he asked.
“Where are we headed?”
“To a place I think you’re going to love.”
“So we’re going somewhere I’m familiar with?” I asked.
But still, he didn’t give me an answer.
I could feel his eyes on me as I closed and locked the apartment behind me. He led me down a flight of steps before his hand slipped around my lower back. I leaned into his touch, feeling my head lay upon his shoulder as we walked into the parking lot.
But instead of taking me to his car, he took me to the car I saw sitting out on the curb.
“What’s this?” I asked.
“An Uber,” Hayden said plainly.
“Are you expecting us to do a lot of drinking where we’re going?”
“You’ll see,” he said.
“You’re being very cryptic tonight.”
“Is that a problem?”
He stood there with my door open and my eyes squinted playfully.
“You have something up that sleeve of yours.”
“I always do,” he said. “Come on. Let’s go get some food.”
I slid into the car before he sat down beside me. His knee was pressed against mine and our fingers were laced together tightly. I still felt incredibly overdressed and somewhat embarrassed that I’d made the assumption I had. I figured with Hayden going back to work soon and him being up on his feet that he’d take me somewhere lavish. Somewhere that made him feel like the rich, confident man he was.
I felt kind of like a gold-digger in a way.
“How was your day?” Hayden asked.
“I’m still sore, if that’s what you mean.”
“Not what I meant, but good to know,” he said with a chuckle. “What did you do?”
“Not much. Slept. Ate. Read a little bit.”
“What are you reading?” he asked.
“It’s a mystery. Which is weird because I don’t usually read those, but it’s a great read so far.”
“What’s it about?”
“A woman moves into an old home she’s left in her aunt’s will. It needs a lot of work, but before she can hire anyone to come help her fix it, she suspects there’s ghosts in the attic. It turns out there’s a secret entrance and someone is up there snooping around.”
“Why?”
“I don’t know yet, hoping there’s buried treasure or something.”
“Buried in the attic?”
I laughed, “Maybe buried under old memories.”
“Seems like you’re really into it.”
“Yep. It’s really good.”
“Maybe I’ll read it sometime.”
“You can borrow it when I’m done, if you’d like,” I said.
“I think I’d like that. Gives me an excuse to see you again.”
“Do you need one at this point?”
I looked over at him and I found him looking down at me. Studying me. Eyeing me carefully. A shadow of a grin was playing upon his features and the settling nighttime casted sharp shadows along his features. He looked as if he was standing on the brink of darkness. Ready to take that jump into the black hole or step back into the starlight. I felt a light shiver cascade up my spine and it caused my leg to jolt.
Hayden must’ve felt it, because he slipped his hand from mine and allowed his palm to fall against my knee.
His soft massages felt good.
“What did you do with your day?” I asked.
“Besides think about you?” Hayden asked.
“I’m being serious.”
“So am I.”
I shook my head and snickered as my gaze fell out the window. The car we were in was turning into a parking lot and I leaned towards the window. At first, I didn’t recognize the place. The darkness was thick around us and I was paying too close attention to how Hayden’s hand was slowly scooting up my leg. But the moment the blinking neon sign came into view I threw my head back and laughed.
“We are not,” I said.
“You love this place. Come on,” Hayden said.
“This is the best pizza joint in the city.”
“Hence why we’re here.”
“Please don’t make me go into this place in this dress,” I said.
“Never. No one should behold this kind of beauty without the proper venue. I’ve already placed our order. We’re picking it up and taking it back to my place.”
I laughed and shook my head as Hayden’s hand slid up another inch. His fingers were massaging the inside of my thigh and it forced goosebumps up my leg. I wanted to part them for him. To give him access to where he was slowly going. The car was driving through to get our pizza and Hayden was talking over the poor driver’s shoulder, but his fingers were delicately dancing.
Sending me into a heated frenzy as they tried to track down our pizza order.
His fingers slid around in circles and pressed onward to their final destination. My leg was jumping with anticipation as heat pooled between my legs. Hayden set the pizza we ordered in the passenger’s seat and gave the man the address to his house, then the car pulled out onto the main road and headed for our final destination.
And Hayden’s hand had stopped just short of its goal.
“Hayden?” I asked breathlessly.
“Mhm?”
“Can you… um…”
I looked down at his hand and he gave my inner thigh a playful squeeze.
“Can I what, beautiful?”
It was hard for me to catch my breath.
“The driver,” I said with a whisper.
“Do you need something?”
I huffed and rolled my eyes as a chuckle fell from Hayden’s lips. His hand sat there the entire ride back to his place, and part of me was relieved when we pulled up to his apartment complex. His hand left my leg and grabbed the pizza, then he paid the driver before he helped me out of the car.
But part of me already missed his touch.
“I know what you’re doing,” I said.
“And what is it you think I’m doing?” Hayden asked.
“You’re trying to show me that your billionaire status won’t change the way you treat me.”
“Is it working?”
I suppressed a grin as we stepped into the elevator.
“Possibly.”
“I knew your favorite pizza place would work,” he said.
“How did you know it was my favorite?”
“Every time we passed by that place you went on and on about how great their squared-off slices of pizza were. I figured my first time trying it should be with none other than it’s unofficial advertiser.”
“I really do talk about that place too much,” I said.
“I like your passion for things, Grace. Never change that.”
He laced his fingers within mine as the elevator opened onto his floor. I was already beginning to feel like I was home again, and that wasn’t a good thing. But the moment we emerged into his penthouse apartment, I breathed a sigh of relief. It was the place I’d called ‘home’ for over three months, and I hated to admit it… but I had missed the place. The light streaming in from the windows. The open concept of its entire layout. The library down the hallway.
But there was one place I had yet to venture into.
And it was the one place Hayden was guiding me to.
“Come on. I don’t think you’ve seen the upstairs,” he said.
Balancing the pizza in one hand with the drink tray on top of it, he took my hand and guided me up the steps. I was in awe of his coordination. How strong he was on his hip. The stairs led up into the second story of the apartment and the top floor was lined with floor-to-ceiling glass. The stars shone their light through the panes and cast a pale blue hue against the open floor plan of the room.
There was a massive four-poster bed, matching blonde cedar bedside tables and a dresser, a massive television mounted on the wall, and a door that I could only assume ushered into a bathroom.
“This is your bedroom,” I said.
“It is. The two rooms downstairs are technically guest bedrooms.”
I slipped my hand from Hayden’s and slowly walked to the center of the room.
It was surrounded with windows. Nothing but, actually. The carpet beneath my heels was plush and I felt myself constantly sinking into it. There was a door in the corner I almost didn’t catch. Caddied between the start of the windows and the edge of the television.
“That’s the walk-in closet. The door beside me on the opposite end of the room is the bathroom.”
“It’s beautiful up here, Hayden. You have… such a breathtaking view of the city.”
“I have my eye on something else right now.”
My gaze whipped over to him and I saw him raking it down my form. Taking in the way my dress fell along my body. Even I had to admit how good this dress looked on me, and watching him take me in the way he was pulled a smile across my cheeks. My skin flushed underneath his gaze and I rocked on my feet, resisting the urge to knock back his compliment.
“You really do look stunning, Grace.”
“You don’t look so bad yourself in those jeans,” I said.
“Like the way they fit?” he asked as he turned around. “I thought they did my ass a favor.”
I threw my head back and laughed again as he made his way for the bed.
“How does pizza in bed with a movie sound?”
He peeled back the covers and slid underneath, kicking off his shoes while setting the pizza in the middle. It was the most laid-back date that I would’ve never expected from Hayden, and yet it somehow suited us. Not him. Not me. But us, as a couple. I walked over to the other side of the bed and slipped out of my heels, then I removed the clip from my hair and let it fall in my face. I whipped the covers back and wiggled down beside him, and Hayden handed me my drink.
“Your Pepsi, Madame.”
“You’re relentless, you know that?” I asked.
“I didn’t even do anything.”
“Sometimes you don’t have to. Sometimes all you have to do is say a word or do something.”
“Do something, huh? Well, what about this?”
He leaned over and pressed a kiss to my cheek.
“Hayden.”
“Or this?” he asked.
He placed a kiss against my bare shoulder and I sighed at the warmth of his lips.
“Hayden,” I said breathlessly.
“Or this,” he said.
I felt his hand creep across my thigh and slide underneath my dress. He cupped my clothed pussy and I blushed at the heat pouring from my body. He stroked his fingers along the damp fabric as I laid back into the plush pillows of his bed, the pizza already forgotten about as I set my drink unsteadily onto the bedside table.
“Hayden,” I said with a whisper.
“Yes?” he asked against my ear.
“I… I want…”
“What is it, Grace? What is it you want?” he whispered into my ear
He nipped at my earlobe and it almost sent me through the roof.
“Say it,” he said hotly. “Tell me what your body needs.”
Then, I decided to get even. I slowly turned my head to face him and our noses nuzzled together. I danced my lips on top of his, feeling how much he wanted me. How eager he was to rip this dress away from my body. My hand came up and cupped his cheek and I tried to block out how wonderful his hand felt pressed against my pussy folds.
I grinned as our eyes connected once more, then I pressed a kiss to the tip of his nose.
“Pizza,” I said breathlessly. “My body needs pizza.”