We finally chose a condo, and it’s so sweet! We decide to drive home instead of spending the night. It was Liam’s idea. He said we could get an early start on packing tomorrow. I don’t really care what his reasoning is if it gets me back to Hales that much faster. I missed her today. It’s usually the four of us and, well, I just really missed her. Moving without her is going to suck. I wonder if I can convince her to transfer schools so she can live with us in Charlotte.
“Dude, where’s the fire?” Liam asks me from the backseat.
I glance at the dash and realize I’m driving eighty miles an hour. I smile. Just thinking about Hales makes me drive faster. I really missed her today. Get used to it, Emerson.
“Sorry, just anxious to be home. It’s been a long day.” A long day without Hailey.
We finally arrive, and the three of us grab our bags and head inside. Hailey jumps up from the couch when she hears us. I try to hide my smile, but I’m too damn happy to see her. We talk about the condo and the fact that she will have her own room. I wish she would call my room hers. I see a paper lying on the floor, so I bend down to pick it up. “What’s this?” I ask her.
The smile falls from her face, which puts me on alert. Hailey then begins telling us how she’s changing schools and has decided she wants to be a nurse. My chest swells with pride for her. She’s amazing, and her choosing to be a nurse just flows with the type of person she is. I’m dragged back to the conversation when I hear her tell us that she only has a week between some summer course she has to take and classes starting. I feel the panic build; I’m counting on seeing her that week.
“You’re still coming though, right?” I ask her hopefully.
When she agrees that yes, she will still be spending the week with us, I relax until she says that she wants nothing more than to hang out with her family that week.
What. The. F*ck.
Yes, I think of her as family. In my mind, she’s mine. Not just my family, but my girl. To hear her lumping me into the “family” category pisses me the f*ck off. I know she isn’t considering me the same type of family that I consider her. I have no right to be pissed about it, but f*ck it, I am.
“Good,” I say, handing the letter to her. “Well, I’m beat. See you all tomorrow.” I turn and head to my room. I wanted to spend time with her tonight, but damn it, I need to get my shit under control. I can’t be getting pissed off because of these feelings I have for her.
It’s not her fault that I fell in love with her.
I take a hot shower and wash the day away. Hoping I can relax, I climb into bed and reach for the remote. I scroll through our five hundred channels and nothing catches my eye. No wonder. The only thing that tends to be catching my eye lately is sleeping in my living room. I turn the TV off and I’m engulfed in darkness. I stare at the ceiling, listening to the quiet of the house. I heard Liam and Allison go to bed a while ago.
I want to see her. I know she’ll be sleeping, but I just need to see her before I can fall asleep. I throw the covers back and climb out of bed. I softly open my door and make my way down the hall. When I make it to the living room, I find Hailey curled up in a ball on the couch. Her soft pink lips are parted and she’s softly breathing in and out. She looks so peaceful. So beautiful. I lean down and brush her hair out of her eyes. She doesn’t stir. I bend down and kiss her forehead. “Sweet dreams, angel.” I say, and then head back to my room. I don’t want to. I want to pick her up and bring her with me. Hold her in my arms, but I can’t and I won’t. I just needed to see her. Just two more days and I won’t have that option anymore. And there it is, that familiar ache that is taking over my chest these days.
I climb back into bed and stare into the darkness. I fall asleep with the image of Hailey curled up on the couch running through my mind.
The next day is nothing short of chaos. Liam, Allison, and I pack up our lives. This is all surreal to me. Liam and I made it to the NFL. My best friends are getting married, and the girl of my dreams is being left behind.
“You all set?” I hear from the doorway. I look up and find Hailey watching me.
“Yeah, pretty much. I just have the clothes I have on, my stuff for tomorrow, and the essentials left to pack,” I reply.
“Yeah, Liam and Allie are pretty much ready as well. They’re taking a nap.”
She looks amazing today. She has on short gym shorts and a UNC t-shirt. Her hair is pulled up in some kind of knot on top of her head. She has not one stick of make-up on, and she has never looked better.
“I’m getting kind of hungry. You want to go grab something to eat?” I ask her.
“Sure.” She looks down at herself. “Can we maybe hit a drive through?” she asks with a grimace.
If she only knew how she looked to me, right now, in this moment. She’s f*cking hot!
“Anything you want, angel. For the record, you look amazing as always,” I tell her honestly.
She rolls those sexy blue eyes at me and walks away. What do I do? I watch her of course. Her ass looks amazing in those shorts.
I grab my wallet and cell phone and meet her by the front door. “I drive, you buy,” she says, holding up her keys.
I nod my head in agreement and we head out. “You choose. You know I can eat anything,” I tell her.
The car ride is silent, yet comfortable. I’m enjoying just spending time with her.
Hailey pulls into Chipotle, turns to me and smiles.
“Since when did Chipotle get a drive through?” I ask her.
Smiling sweetly, she says, “I was hoping you wouldn’t mind going in and ordering. Then we can go to the park to eat.”
“I said anything you want,” I tell her, opening the car door. Like I could tell her no anyway.
“Wait, you don’t even know what I want,” she tells me.
I smile at that, because I do know. She always gets the same thing. “Burrito Bowl, brown rice, chicken, hot salsa, sour cream, lettuce, cheese, chips, and a large lemonade,” I tell her through the window.
Her mouth drops open.
“Did you want to add anything?” I ask her.
She shakes her head no, and I walk away with a smile on my face. She has no idea that I watch every move she makes, I memorize what she likes and dislikes. The look on her face was priceless. Score!
There is no one in line, which surprises me. This place is usually packed. I order our food, fill our drinks at the drink counter, and head back to the car.
I stop at the driver’s side window and Hailey takes our drinks from my hands. I then head to the passenger side and get it. “Driver, to the park, please,” I say, teasing her.
She just laughs and pulls out. It only takes about five minutes to make it to the park. We pull into the lot and there are no other cars. We gather our lunch and head to a picnic table that is nestled at the edge of a tree line. It’s the most secluded spot in the park and it’s usually taken. I can’t help but think that everything is falling into place to make this a perfect day with her. No line at the restaurant, the park is deserted, Liam and Allie wanted alone time, so it’s just us. Me and my girl.
“So, tell me about school,” I say, opening her bowl for her and handing her a fork.
In reward, I get one of her dazzling smiles. “I’m really excited,” she says softly.
“I’m so proud of you Hales. You are going to be an amazing nurse,” I say, digging into my bowl.
“It’s going to be hard work and a lot of dedication, but with you all leaving…well, I’ll have plenty of time to focus on studying,” she replies, staring down at her food.
“Hey.” I reach over and lift her chin with my forefinger so her eyes meet mine. “We’re not leaving you. I am not leaving you. You will always be a part of us. Once you finish school, you can move to Charlotte and live with us. We made sure that you have your own room. It’s just a year,” I tell her. She is staring at me; the expression on her face gives nothing away about how she’s feeling. “It’s as if you applying and getting accepted into the program is a sign. You will be with us in a year; otherwise, you would have been at UNC for three more years. One year, angel, and we will all be together again.”
The ache in my chest eases a little just thinking that a year from now, she will be living with us again, and all will be right in the world.
“I guess you’re right. So, are you excited about training camp?” she asks.
The rest of the afternoon, we sit there at the picnic table and talk about, well, everything. I’m gonna f*cking miss this girl so much.
My cell phone rings, making us both jump. Hailey giggles as I pull it out of my pocket and swipe the screen. It’s Liam.
“Hey, man,” I say, smiling at Hailey as she continues to giggle.
“Dude, where the f*ck are you, and have you seen Hales?” he says curtly.
I laugh, “I’m looking right at her.”
“Where in the hell are you guys?”
“We were hungry, so we went to Chipotle and brought it to the park,” I tell him.
“F*ck me. That sounds so good right now. When are you guys coming back?”
“Hales, are you about ready to go,” I reluctantly ask her. Not ready for our time together to end.
“Yeah, I guess we better. It’s getting late.”
“We’re heading back now,” I tell Liam.
“Cool, hey, do you mind stopping to pick up Chipotle for Allie and me? She said she would call the order in so you don’t have to wait.”
“Yeah, we can do that,” I tell him.
Yesterday was one of the hardest days of my life. I said a very tearful goodbye to my three best friends. Yes, I include my brother in that title because, well, Liam is the best brother ever! He also gets major brownie points for making Allie my sister.
Allie and I made plans for me to visit a month from now, the last week of August. My nursing assistant classes end the week before and Nursing school starts the week after. I doubt I will make it down before that, even for just a day or weekend trip. I really need to focus on this class or I can’t start nursing classes. The three of them will be busy getting settled into their new place, so I doubt they will visit either. So there it is. An entire month before I see my three favorite people again.
Today is my first day of nursing assisting class. The program consists of two weeks of class work and two weeks of an externship. At the end of the extern, I take a final exam to pass my certification. It’s either pass or fail. Lucky for me, I have no distractions, nothing but time to focus on passing.
I walk into class and take a seat near the back; I am the first one to arrive. My nursing advisor already told me that the class is small, only twelve students. They only take a few select students into the nursing program each year, so they get more individualized attention from the instructors. Our nursing class has twenty-six students; the others have already completed this course.
I’m barely seated when a girl my age strolls in and sits down beside me. I look over and smile at her.
“Hey! I’m Macie,” she says, thrusting her hand out for me to shake.
“Nice to meet you, I’m Hailey,” I say.
“So are you nervous about this?” she questions.
“Yes, you?” I reply.
“Holy shit! You have no idea. I’ve worried myself to death. I have busted my ass to get into this program on scholarship and this is my last piece of the puzzle. If I screw this up, I’m out,” she says in a rush.
“Well, what do you say we partner up, study together?” I ask. I’m not sure where the invitation came from, but I can tell already that Macie is nice, and having a study partner would be beneficial. Besides, it’s not like I have anyone waiting on me at home.
“Really? That would be awesome. We are so going to nail this,” she says with confidence.
Wow, she is a lot like me. “So are you from around here?” I ask.
“Yep, born and raised. You?”
“I live in Chapel Hill, so basically yes. I’m a UNC transfer. I really want to be a nurse. They offer a Bachelor’s program but I want it now. I’m an instant gratification kinda girl.” I laugh.
“You and me both. My mom and dad work hard, but still couldn’t afford to send both my brother and I to college. We are both here on scholarships. I don’t know if it’s a twin thing or what, but we both wanted to get a two year degree so we could get out into the work force. Take some of the burden off our parents, you know?” she tells me.
“Wow, you’re a twin?” I ask.
“Seriously, that’s all you got out of the conversation?”
“I…I…Um…”
“Relax, I’m just kidding. Yes, I’m a twin. My brother Miles is a student here also. He’s a computer programming major,” she chirps. “Any siblings?”
I hesitate. Do I tell her about Liam and the NFL? I decide to wait a while before I divulge that piece of information. “Yeah, I have a brother, Liam. He just graduated from UNC and moved to Charlotte with my best friend, who also happens to be his fiancée, and his best friend Aiden.” There, that’s all true I just didn’t mention that both Liam and Aiden just got drafted to the Panthers.
“Cool.” Is all she can reply before the instructor of the class clears her throat and begins going over the syllabus.
Class is long, five hours each day for two weeks. My head is spinning from all of the information that she just gave us. I got this, at least I keep telling myself that.
“So, Hailey, do you have any plans for tonight?” Macie asks me.
“Uh, no, not really. Why?” I ask her.
“My brother and I are having a small get together at the house tonight. My dad’s an over the road truck driver and he had to go to Charleston. My mom went with him so she could visit with my Aunt Sarah who lives there. Miles and I have the house to ourselves,” she says.
“Yeah, okay. What time should I be there?”
“Come at six, that way I can introduce you to everyone as they show up.”
“Sounds good. Thanks, Macie.”
She hands me her phone. “Add your number and I’ll text you the address.”
I quickly program my number and hand it back to her. Her thumbs fly across the keyboard as she sends me the address. Two second later, my phone pings with a message. I add Macie to my contacts list.
“Well, I guess I’ll see you in a few hours,” I say.
“Sounds great, see you then. Call if you get lost or anything,” she calls over her shoulder.
When I get home, the emptiness of the condo surrounds me once again. It’s really going to take some time to get used to this. I make my way down the hall towards my bedroom. Now that Liam and Aiden have moved out, I have an actual room. I chose Aiden’s room to be mine. I just want to feel closer to him. I know it’s a bit stalkerish, but I still couldn’t resist.
I stand in front of my closet and begin to tear through the hangers looking for something to wear tonight. I decide on short blue jean shorts, light and dark pink layer tanks, and my pink flip flops. Casual. Macie said it was just a few friends, and I don’t want it to seem like I’m trying too hard to impress them.
I hop in the shower and rinse off the day, not washing my hair. I decide to leave it down tonight. I dress quickly in my outfit, slip into my flip flops, add some lip gloss and mascara, and I’m good to go.
I find Macie’s house with no trouble. Pulling into the driveway, I’m suddenly nervous. I decide someone needs to know where I am, so I call the main number to the condo.
Allison picks up on the first ring. “Hello?”
“Hey!” I say, excited to hear her voice. It’s only been a couple days since they left, but God, I miss them.
“Hales, how are you? How was class today?” she asks, genuinely interested in how it went.
I spend a few minutes discussing the class and how excited I am for everything to start. Allie tells me that they are settling in and are almost unpacked.
“Listen, I don’t have a lot of time to talk, but I met a girl in class today that invited me to her house tonight for what she referred to as a small get together. I just pulled into the drive, but I wanted to let someone know where I was, you know, just in case,” I tell her.
“I’m glad to hear you’re going out. Can you just text me the address and make sure you call me as soon as you get home,” she says sternly.
I laugh. “Yes, mother. Anyway, I need to go. I’ll call you tomorrow and we can catch up.”
“Sounds good. Be safe,” she tells me.
I shove my phone in my pocket, along with my keys, and lock my car. I walk up to the front door and ring the bell. I take a deep breath to try and calm my nerves.
I’m startled when the door flies open and I am met with a muscular, tattooed, shirtless chest. My eyes move up and meet dark chocolate ones. “Hey, beautiful. What can I do for ya?” the sexy stranger asks me.
Before I get a chance to speak, Macie appears behind him, smacking his shoulder. “This is the girl I was telling you about that I met in class today. She’s off limits to you,” she tells him.
I stand there starting at the two of them and I can now see the resemblance. They both have sandy blonde hair and dark chocolate eyes. This must be Miles.
“Hailey, this is my brother, Miles. Miles, this is Hailey,” she introduces us.
“Nice to meet you,” I say.
“The pleasure is all mine, sweetheart,” Miles says, grinning.
I can’t help but blush at his attention. I’ve spent so much time with Aiden and Liam, that getting hit on is rare for me. Even if the guy tries, they have him scared off in no time. Not anymore. It’s just me. I’m not sure how I feel about that.
“Right. Okay, well, I’m just setting up in the kitchen, care to help?” Macie asks.
“Sure, lead the way,” I tell her in a voice that sounds way more confident than what I really am.
“Just ignore my idiot brother. He’s a total flirt,” Macie says, handing me a jar of salsa and a bowl. I don’t reply, because really, what do I say? I’m flattered that your twin brother was flirting with me? I don’t have a lot of experience with it because my older brother and his best friend, who by the way I’m in love with, scare guys away before we even get that far? Yeah, I’ll just kept quiet on this one.
By the time Macie and I are finished with the snacks, the house is starting to fill. There are at least thirty people here. Macie pulls me to the living room and starts introducing me to people; her best friend Holly is one of them. I hope she doesn’t expect me to remember all these names.
Macie excuses herself to go to the restroom, and I find myself standing alone in the living room. I lean against the wall and pull out my phone. I’m scrolling through Facebook when a shadow falls over me. I raise my head and see Miles, in all of his bad boy sexiness, standing over me.
“Hey, sweetheart, why are you all alone?” he asks me.
“Macie just went to the restroom and I really don’t know anyone else,” I tell him honestly.
“Come with me,” he says, placing his tattooed arm around my shoulders and guiding me to the other side of the room.
“Well, well, well, what do we have here?” A tall guy with more tattoos than Miles asks with a friendly smile.
“This is Hailey. Hailey this is my best friend Kaden,” Miles introduces us.
“It’s nice to meet you,” I say to Kaden.
“You too,” Kaden says with a wink. He, too, is all kinds of sexy.
The music changes to Aerosmith’s “Walk This Way” and I can’t help but sway to the beat. This song rocks!
Miles smiles at me as he hands his beer to Kaden and pulls me onto the makeshift dance floor. We begin to dance separately at first, but as we get into it, we move closer together. I turn and my back is against his chest. He places his hands on my hips and I bring my arms up over my head and drape them behind me around his neck. Miles pulls me closer and I grind into him. By the time the song is over, we are facing each other, his hands still on my hips, my hands still around his neck, his leg between mine, and we are grinding. He’s smiling and laughing, and so am I.
The song ends and we walk back to Kaden. “Holy f*cking shit! That was f*cking hot! Please tell me I’m next,” he begs.
Miles and I just laugh at him. Miles goes to get me a water and him another beer. I don’t want to drink and drive; and I don’t know anyone well enough to stay the night. Allison would so kick my ass for that one.
“Damn, girl, you got moves,” Macie says as she greets me.
I blush, I can’t help it. “Thanks.”
“Here you go, sweetheart,” Miles says, handing me a bottle of water.
I twist open the cap and down half of it. I barely have the cap back on before Macie is pulling me back out to dance. The four of us dance most of the night. Kaden got his turn, of which he bragged about. He can kid all he wants, but I know he has a thing for Macie. She even admitted that they’ve hooked up a few times.
As patrons start to pass out, I take that as my cue to leave. I hug Miles and Kaden and tell Macie I will see her at school the next day. The three of them walk me to my car and we agree to get together again soon.
The drive home is quick. I let myself in the condo, lock the door, and send a quick text to Allie.
Me: Just got home, hitting the shower then bed. Love you, guys!
I don’t wait for her reply. I need a shower and my bed. My ass is beat, but I had fun tonight. I’m glad I went.