Page 98 of Best I Never Had

I shake my head, pushing aside those thoughts just as I hear the front door click open.

“Nat!” I hear Hayden’s voice from the living room.

I didn’t tell him about Matteo visiting me. I didn’t know how to bring it up and ask why he got into a fight with Matteo without being prepared to hear the answer. Still, curiosity gnaws at me, and hearing his voice now makes my heart kick up a beat knowing that I’m keeping this small piece of information from him.

“I’m in here!” I call from my bathroom. I haven’t zipped up my dress yet. I’m fully aware of the peek of my black bra showing between the V in the back of my dress as I lean forward across my sink to put on my earrings. From the reflection, I see Hayden round the corner into my bathroom with my laptop charger gripped in his hand.

“Are you going somewhere?”

I finish putting on my earrings before answering. “I have a date.”

“With who?” A light scowl cuts through his face as he eyes my backside.

I clear my throat, the sudden tension in the room making it feel like the walls are closing in on me. “Um, with Shawn.”

“Oh. He finally asked you out?”

I nod, my back still turned toward him.

“And you’re wearing that?”

I finally turn to face him. “This?” I ask, waving my hand in front of my dress. “No, I’m changing into a scuba suit in a minute.”

He doesn’t smile at my sarcasm like he usually does. He doesn’t even roll his eyes. Instead, his expression turns grim as his eyes travel the length of the dress down to the short hem.

“Why, does it look bad?”

He coughs into his fist. “Uh…”

My brows rise as I turn back around to apply lipstick. “Wow. That bad, huh?”

“No, it looks good.”

We look at each other through the reflection, our eyes catching as I remember how his lips felt on mine. How his kiss felt warm and inviting, everything it shouldn’t have. And I feel like he’s thinking about the same thing.

“Anyway,” I say, my voice shaky and nervous. “Thanks for dropping that off.” I tilt my chin toward the black cord sitting in his hand.

“Uh, yeah. No problem.”

I reach toward the zipper running down the middle of my back. My fingers graze against the flimsy metal as I struggle to reach it.

“Here,” Hayden says gently. He steps forward, placing the cable on the counter as I lower my hands and let him help me. His hand sweeps my hair to one side, exposing my neck and shoulders before moving to pull the zipper up. His other hand grips at my waist, holding on as he tugs at the zipper. I can feel it vibrating as it slowly glides through my dress, causing the material to cinch at my waist.

When my dress comes to a full close between my shoulder blades, he doesn’t step away. Instead, he hovers over the dip where my neck and shoulder meet. I know I should turn, say thank you and walk away, but I can’t. The heat of his body absorbing into mine is too inviting. So I tilt my head, exposing more of my neck as his hot breath blankets over my skin, begging for him to touch me. My eyes involuntarily close, and I feel the hand that’s still resting on my waist grip me harder.

As my head lolls, a whisper of a moan squeezes through my lips. Hayden clears his throat. “What time is your date picking you up?”

It takes me more than a few blinks before I realize that Hayden is no longer hovering behind me. In fact, he’s stepped away and has walked into my living room, already settling onto my couch.

“He’s not,” I answer, following his steps. “I’m meeting him.”

His brows knit together. “Where?”

“Buca’s. On third.”

“That’s, like, ten blocks from here.”

“I know,” I answer. I’m hooking my heels, bending over as I lean against the back of the couch. “It’ll take me like fifteen minutes.”

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