“You really need to get a phone,” Harper says, hand on her hip.
“Good morning to you too.”
She waves a hand. “It’s too early for pleasantries.”
“But not for criticism?” I close and lock the door of the Sugar Cube, unsuccessfully stifling a yawn. “You’re right though.”
“I know I am. Stop it,” she says, covering her mouth with her hand. “That yawning shit is contagious, and we just got here. So, how’d it go?”
I reach for my apron, tying the ends. “How’d what go?”
“Oh my fuck.” Harper squints at me. “You know exactly what I’m talking about which means you have stuff to tell. Spill.”
“Fine. Once I got to his office, the receptionist was a little challenging, but then Hayden showed up and invited me to his office.”
Harper’s eyes widen and her jaw goes slack. “And?”
“And I asked him if the information was worth anything to him. Turns out it was.”
“How much?”
I bite my bottom lip, unsure about how much I should reveal. My friend has been nothing but supportive, however, she’s convinced things between Hayden and I are more than they actually are. Telling her that he gave me thousands of dollars would only reinforce her opinion. But telling her he held me in his arms and soothed me like an upset child? I’d never hear the end of it.
“A few month’s worth of pay,” I say.
Harper lets out a whoop. The sound echoes in the empty coffee shop, and I grin, shaking my head. “This is the most energetic I’ve ever seen you.”
“Considering it’s nearly six in the morning, it’ll probably be a one-time event. Oh my goodness! That information must be really important if he’s willing to pay so much. We have to celebrate.”
I walk over and set Mr. Bailey’s newspaper on his designated table. “I just got the money, and you already want me to spend it?”
She folds her arms and sets her chin. “Yes, I do. First, on a cell phone.”
“Agreed. And the second thing?” I ask, making my way back to her side.
“A night out with me.”
I shake my head. A little too emphatically, if the pain in Harper’s gaze is any indication. Guilt lances me, making my heart bleed, and I inwardly reprimand myself.
“I would love to go out with you, but this money is to help me get rid of a stalker.” I slap my forehead. “I can’t believe I’ve gotten to this point in my life.”
My friend takes my shoulders and smiles at me. It’s meant to be encouraging, but there’s a tightness around her mouth that I can’t dismiss. “Calista, you work harder than anyone I know. All I’m asking is that you enjoy life instead of merely survive it. Okay? Besides, you didn’t follow through with your end of our deal. Mr. I’ll-suck-your-dick-please Bennett came to see you again, and you didn’t flirt with him, so you owe me a night out.”
I drop my head, avoiding her gaze. “I don’t have anything to wear.”
“I have plenty. We’re about the same size so we’ll make it work. Say you’ll go.”
“Okay.” The simple acquiescence has my stress easing. “It would be nice to enjoy myself for once.”
“That’s what I’m saying.”
I glance at the clock and note the time. “Time to unlock the doors.”
“Might as well get this day started. Then we can go out tonight.”
“Tonight?” I repeat, my voice high-pitched. “That fast?”
She winks at me. “Of course. If I don’t get you out now, you’ll think too much and come up with a million reasons not to go. We’re doing this.”
She marches over to the door and inserts her key. Once the lock clicks open, she pushes the glass door open and sticks her head outside.
“All right, you caffeine-dependent losers, get in here and get your fix.”
I position myself behind the register, rearranging the bills inside to hide my amusement. Sometimes I wonder why Alex hasn’t fired Harper. She’s like a loaded gun that could go off at any moment. It’s what makes her exciting and me cautious.
My shift begins and continues in the same manner as it always does. The customers are in a hurry, and I do my best to accommodate them but with a smile. The world is full of darkness, so why not try to be the light in someone’s day?
As usual, my thoughts drift to Hayden whenever I’m not ringing up a transaction or chatting with Harper. No matter how much I go over the event in his office, I can’t make sense of it all. The only thing I know for certain is that I saw a side of him that I didn’t know existed.
His reassurance might’ve been firm, but he was gentle. Tender in a way that I would’ve never imagined him capable of. Now that I’ve experienced it, I want more.
Why?
Am I so blinded by his looks that I can’t think beyond my attraction to him? Or did he tattoo himself on a piece of me that I shared unwillingly? Vulnerability is hard to deal with, let alone exposing it to another.
Hayden shared his with me as well.
In my gut, I know it’s not a normal occurrence for him to talk about his mother. Especially not when she has issues with drugs. And addiction. He didn’t say it specifically, but there was a lot he didn’t say out loud that I still picked up on.
Even so, he reverted to a boy caring for his mother at the onset of my panic attack. My heart expands in my chest, making it ache on his behalf. Hayden might be confident and strong-willed, but at the end of the day, he’s a human, with human experiences and emotions.
Like pain.
And need.
“Don’t stop,” he whispers. “I need more.”
I grip the edge of the counter to steady myself as Hayden’s command replays itself in my mind, the desperation behind his words warming me all over. Even in places it shouldn’t.
The door opens, and I jerk up my head, pasting a smile on my face to hide the inappropriate thoughts in my mind. A delivery guy strides up to me with a package in his hands. It’s a small white box, no more than twelve inches in length, without any logos to give me an idea of what’s inside.
“Calista Green?”
I frown. “That’s me, but I didn’t order anything.”
The guy shrugs his massive shoulders, no doubt acquired by his physically demanding job. “This has your name on it, so it’s yours. Please, sign here.”
Harper sidles up to me, her greedy fingers snatching up the package. “Discreet packaging… What could this be?” She shakes it and grins at me. “Please tell me it’s a dildo.”
Both the delivery guy and I swing our gazes to her. He grins at her and Harper waggles her brows at him. Meanwhile, I close my eyes and take a deep breath to get my blush under control.
“Here you go,” I say, returning his pen back to him. “Thank you.”
Harper waves. “Have a good day, handsome.”
The guy dips his head in our direction. “See you next time.”
Before the man passes through the door frame, Harper is tearing into the package like a child on Christmas morning. Or a demon opening Pandora’s box.
“A cell phone!” She sets down the now-opened package and turns to face me. “Damn, that was fast.”
I shake my head, confusion etching itself into my features. “But I didn’t order one.” It only takes me a moment for realization to dawn. “Hayden.”
“He did this?”
“Yes. He said that he…”
Harper waves her hand in front of my face. “What did he say?”
“I don’t know how to say this without it sounding weird.”
“Oh, honey, I live for weird.”
Regardless of whatever situation I find myself in, my friend never fails to make me feel better. My love for her swells until I feel like it’ll pour out of me. I throw my arms around her in an uncharacteristic show of affection. She’s quick to return my hug.
“Thank you,” I say.
“For what?”
“Everything. Not judging me. Supporting me. Being an amazing friend.”
We separate, and she smiles at me. “Anytime, babe. I know you’d do the same for me.” Harper makes a circling motion with her hand. “Now give me the weirdness.”
I take a fortifying breath and dive in. “When I spoke to Hayden yesterday, he said that he wanted my phone number so that I would be accessible to him at all times because he doesn’t like to be kept waiting. When I told him that I didn’t have a phone, he said it would be rectified immediately.”
I point at the box. “He followed through.”
“Why is that weird?”
“He said I had to ‘answer his calls and promptly respond to his texts upon receiving them,’” I say, making air quotes while rolling my eyes. “It feels like he’s my older brother and I’m his kid sister. Like I’m someone he resents for having to look after.”
Harper’s brows rise, nearly disappearing into her hairline. “Honey, if the way that man looks at you is brotherly, then he’s seriously into incest because there’s nothing about the way he watches you that says ‘blood-relation.’”
My mouth falls open, and I stand there, blinking over and over.
“You heard me,” she says. My friend lifts her hands to make air quotes, her stance mocking. “That man wants to show you some ‘brotherly love’ like no one’s business.”
I snatch up the cell phone as an excuse to avoid looking at her. As soon as it’s powered on, the device chimes, indicating a text. I quickly go through the settings, finding that everything has already been programmed.
Including Hayden Bennett’s number in the contacts.
Hayden: As soon as you get this, text me back so I know you received the phone and everything is in working order.
My fingers immediately begin typing out a text, as if Hayden’s voice is in my ear and he’s standing right next to me. I hate how my body obeys him before my mind has had a chance to think it over.
Calista: I did. Thank you for the phone.
Hayden: You’re welcome. Keep it on you at all times and always answer me.
Calista: 🫡
When he doesn’t immediately respond, I sigh. Did I really think the brief tenderness I experienced from him would continue? I suppose I did since disappointment is washing over me. But I was wrong. If anything, he’s more stand-offish. It pricks my temper, and heat blooms on my cheeks.
Calista: The emoji was a joke.
Hayden: When you say something funny, I’ll be sure to laugh.
Calista: I doubt you know how.
Hayden: Are you done?
I glare at the phone. Ending this conversation is the only sensible thing to do. It’s either that or show my ass by antagonizing him some more, which would amount to nothing. However tempting.
Calista: I’ll make sure to bring the phone with me to work.
Hayden: Keep it on your person and be sure to answer me.
I frown at his brusque manner. No matter how grateful I am that Hayden paid for this phone and gave me money, it still came at a cost. One I wish I didn’t have had to pay.
Calista: K.
Hayden: That type of response is beneath your intelligence, Miss Green.
Calista: 🙄
Hayden: Is this a pathetic attempt to flirt with me, or are you deliberately provoking me?
I grit my teeth and turn the phone off before I throw the damn thing across the room. After shoving the device in my pocket, I blow out a breath, determined to keep my thoughts away from the infuriating man.
Someone walks up to the counter, and I lift my head, a greeting forming on my lips. “Welcome to the…”
The words die on my tongue, their flavor something bitter and rancid as my brain registers the person on the other side of the counter. The last person I ever expected to see.
