Precious Consequences(68)

“Oh, uh, I just remembered that we need some things from the store,” Hayley’s grandmother says. “Ari, sweetheart, are you going to come with me to the store?”

Ari nods, and jumps off my lap, following Hayley’s grandmother out of the kitchen

“And I forgot, I have to go home and help my mother with something,” Hannah adds. She hugs both me and Hayley goodbye before grabbing her things.

Just like that, Hayley and I are left alone, without a single clue how it happened.

“That was weird,” I chuckle.

“And not the slightest bit obvious,” Hayley replies sarcastically.

An uncomfortable silence settles over us, and my hands start to sweat. Why am I so f*cking nervous now?

“Cameron - ”

“Hayley - ”

We start speaking at the same time and stop, waiting for each other to continue.

“You first,” Hayley tells me. She crosses her arms over her chest again and doesn’t move from her spot against the counter.

I swallow, wondering how I’m going to approach this without making it worse. I open my mouth to speak, but Hayley is quick to interrupt me.

“Wait, let me go change quickly.”

Before I can respond she’s out the kitchen and her feet pad up the stairs. I get the feeling she’s stalling, or running away from me. Or both. When fifteen minutes pass, I decide to go to her instead. As I enter her bedroom, she walks out of the bathroom, wrapped in a towel. “You showered?”

“Yes, I’m allowed to do that.”

I try not to look her up and down, but, hell, she makes it so damn difficult not to.

“You’re stalling,” I tell her.

Looking away from me, she replies, “No, I’m not. If I want to take a shower, then I will take a shower!”

I walk closer to her, noticing how she freezes on the spot and how her chest starts to rise and fall unevenly.

“You have got to be one of the most frustrating women ever,” I tell her. “But you can’t hide from me, buttercup.”

Her arms fall to her side and she huffs, frustration settling on her face. “You know what? I don’t need this shit right now. I’ve had a really crappy morning - ”

The way her lips move distracts me, the way they’ve swelled because she’s been nibbling on it makes my decision so much easier. Oh f*ck it. I grab her nape and yank her into me, crashing my lips to hers. They’re warm, and a little wet, and at first, resistant. But then I feel Hayley’s surrender when her shoulders relax and her body presses harder into mine, seeking me out, touching me, fanning the fire burning in my soul, in my body and my heart.

I break away, my pulse racing, and her eyes flutter open. “Will you just listen? Please?”

Her voice comes as nothing more than a breathless whisper. “Okay.”

My nerves from a few minutes ago resurface, and I don’t understand why I’m so anxious. Be a man, Cam. Dammit, just do it. Tell her you love her. Fuck everything else. She’s all you want, all you need.

“I f*cked up,” I tell her softly. “And you will never know how sorry I am for what I said to you the day my dad died. I shouldn’t have asked you to leave.”

Hayley searches my face, her eyes lingering on every feature as if she’s trying to figure out whether or not I’m being truthful. Finally she sighs, finding whatever it is she was searching for.

“I understand,” she replies softly. “I know why you did it. But you really hurt me. I told you I love you and - ”

“I kicked you out,” I finish for her. Thinking back to how I acted is like a kick to the stomach. I release a heavy breath and prepare to grovel if that’s what it will take to get Hayley back.

“I have no excuse for what I said or how I behaved, but I didn’t mean any of it. I was a wreck, and so angry with myself that I wanted to protect you from that, and the only way I could think of doing that was to push you away. I see now why that was the worst thing I could’ve done.”

“I would’ve given you space, if you had just asked me. I wanted to be there for you,” Hayley retorts in a low voice.

I cup her face. “What must I do to show you how sorry I am? Because I’ll do it, Hayls. I’ll do anything.”

“Don’t push me away again,” she whispers. “I was miserable without you.”

“I won’t,” I promise, pressing our foreheads together. “And you have to know that nothing happened between me and Rachel, right? You know that, don’t you?”

“I do now, but for a while she had me convinced otherwise.”

“She told me what she said to you, at dad’s memorial service.”

Hayley’s expression is one of skepticism, and disbelief. “She did?”

I nod. “After you left the diner last night I cornered her and she told me everything.”

Hayley shakes her head and shrugs. “Talk about one big ass misunderstanding.”

“Why didn’t you just tell me?”

“Because I was afraid, okay? I didn’t want you finding out about my past with Kyle, and how Ari came into my life.” Hayley looks away and fiddles with her fingers. “Not that it matters now. You know everything. I have nothing left to hide.”

“I was upset, but not for the reason you think, Hayls. I was mad that instead of talking to me, you avoided me. ”