On the Record (Record #2)(27)

She wanted to cry at the absurdity of the whole thing, but her tears had been used up last night. She needed to be strong for Hayden where she wasn’t before. She needed to realize how valuable he really was.

“It was stupid. I was stupid,” Liz said, splaying her hands flat before her.

She didn’t deserve him. It was something she knew in her gut, but she didn’t care. It might be selfish, but she wasn’t giving him up. This was the right relationship, the right direction for her life, and she had been so long looking over her shoulder that she hadn’t seen what was right in front of her.

“You’re not stupid.” Hayden walked forward and placed his hands firmly on her arms. “Look at me.” She did. “I would never date someone who was stupid. You’re brilliant and funny and headstrong and unbelievably gorgeous. Certainly not stupid,” he said soothingly.

Liz managed a smile as she stared up into his hazel eyes so filled with emotion. “You’re pretty wonderful. You know that, right?”

“I guess that means you’ll keep me?”

“I wasn’t planning on letting you go.”

“Good.” Hayden’s lips landed lightly on hers and she smiled into the kiss. The simplicity of being with Hayden compared to the complication of Brady was so starkly contrasting. Liz knew relationships were never easy. They took work, but with so few barriers barring her and Hayden’s way, it didn’t seem like work at all. The work was keeping Brady out, but after last night, Liz had a feeling things were going to get easier. It was over, long gone, and now he had found someone else.

The time had passed to get over it.

So she would.

They stayed like that until the chill started to seep into Liz and she forced Hayden to go take a shower. Then she curled up on the couch, snuggled in front of the fire, and promptly fell back asleep.

The smell of bacon woke Liz and she stared around groggily at the living room, forgetting for a moment how she had gotten there. When she reached the kitchen, Hayden greeted her with a kiss and a plate of food. Her stomach grumbled, reminding her that she hadn’t eaten dinner last night.

Shit! And Hayden had cooked dinner. Bad girlfriend 101.

She made up for it by devouring everything on her plate and downing a full glass of orange juice. It seemed she was dehydrated, and she poured herself another.

“So, how much work do you have to do today?” Liz asked, sipping on her second glass.

“No work today. I checked the weather. It’s supposed to snow again this afternoon and stick through Monday.”

Liz’s eyes opened wide. “No school Monday?”

Hayden laughed. “They won’t announce until Sunday night at the earliest, but we’re snowed in today. I think we should get dressed and go play.”

“You want me to freeze my ass off in the snow?”

“I like your ass. You’d better not do anything to it.”

“You’re the one who wants me to risk it in the cold.”

Hayden shook his head. “You really don’t do well with cold, do you?”

“Not at all.”

“We’ll layer you up. You can wear some of my ski gear.”

The exuberance on his face at the prospect of playing outside in the snow won her over. She wasn’t a fan, but she was sure it would be better to be out there freezing with him than inside refusing him something he clearly enjoyed.

So Liz threw on layer after layer of clothing, several pairs of socks under her boots, and then Hayden added gloves, a scarf, and an oversize beanie. She felt ridiculous, but she was practically sweating inside, so maybe it would do in the cold.

They walked out the back door and were hit with a bitter wind. Liz shivered despite the layers.

“My nose is cold,” she murmured under her breath.

Hayden heard and just laughed as he stomped out through the snow.

Liz surveyed Hayden’s backyard. It was small, since it was just a college house that dead-ended into a wooded lot. The surrounding houses had fences built around their backyards, so Hayden’s looked partially enclosed. Everything in sight had a layer of soft white snow on it. Hayden’s footprints were the only things that marred the picturesque view.

“Hey,” Hayden called.

When Liz turned toward him, she got a snowball right to her side. She grunted on impact and then gasped. “I can’t believe you. Jerk!”

Another snowball hit her and she glared at him before reaching down to grab a fistful for herself. She chucked it his direction, missing him by a few feet, and he laughed at her.

“Come on. You can do better than that,” he said, throwing another snowball at her.

She lobbed another misguided snowball his way and growled in frustration. “If I had a tennis racket, I would kick your ass,” she yelled, stomping out through the snow toward him.

Liz managed to duck his next throw and scooped up a heap of snow, ran, and tossed all of it into his face. Hayden cried out and feverishly tried to brush the snow off of his skin. Some of it was ducking under his shirt and he hopped up and down as the cold slithered down his chest.

“You’re going to get it for that,” he said, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her in close.

Liz stood on her tiptoes and kissed his cold lips. “I’m already freezing because of you,” she said softly.