Page 86 of Puck'n Bully
“Hayden!”
“I know it’s yours but I’m keeping it.”
“What? Why?!” I ask, baffled by the way he cradles the old bracelet.
“It’s my lucky charm,” he says, cracking a grin.
“But where the hell did you get it?” I ask him, still wondering why he’s so attached to the damn thing.
A grimace flashes on his face. “Okay, but you can’t get mad.” He takes a deep breath while I cluelessly stare at him. “I took the bracelet off your wrist after the first time we slept in this room. Back then, I didn’t know anything about you but I was already obsessed with you. I didn’t want to leave you and go but I had to.” He lets out a sigh. “So, I took it while you were sleeping.”
“You took the bracelet as a kind of a souvenir?” I ask, trying to understand him.
He gives a sober nod. “Meeting you was something of an anomaly for me,” Hayden says in a quiet voice. “You were the first person I opened up to about being gay. I couldn’t believe how easily you accepted me and let me spend the night here. You have no idea how that made me feel.”
A heavy sigh escapes me as I sit down on the bed. “Hayden, this is the twenty-first century. Unless someone’s a total dickhead, they wouldn’t care whether you’re gay or straight.”
“That’s how you think and feel,” Hayden says, smiling gently. “You think the rest of the world is just as kind and warm as you.” Reaching out, he gently places a hand on my cheek. “I hate to say you’re wrong but babe, not everyone’s as great as you are. People can be real dickheads sometimes.”
A chuckle escapes me. “I’m not naïve enough to think everyone’s good. I know assholes exist but the world is mostly good.”
He shrugs. “Either way, I’m keeping this.”
“Fine,” I mutter. “Keep that old thing if it makes you happy.”
His grin widens immediately.
“Can I ask you something?” he says after a pause.
“Sure.”
“What’s that tiny silver ball that hangs between the broomsticks?”
A loud guffaw escapes me.
“What’s so funny?” he asks with an innocent look on his face.
“That’s a Snitch,” I tell him. “I’m guessing you have no idea how Quidditch works.”
“Quid—what?”
“Quidditch!”
“What’s that?” he asks, looking adoringly confused.
“It’s a game they play in the Harry Potter books and movies,” I explain to him. “You know, it’s a lot like soccer but also a bit like hockey. They throw different-sized balls between themselves and try to get them through goal hoops to score points.”
“Oh...”
“I know what we’re watching this evening,” I tell him, proceeding to open a box of chowmein. “We’re starting a Harry Potter marathon!”
Hayden chuckles. “My boyfriend’s such a nerd.”
I stick my tongue out at him but my attention drops to the box of noodles on my lap. The aroma of fried garlic and chili-infused oil wafts into my nostrils, igniting my hunger. My stomach howls, urging me to take a big bite.
“Gods, I needed this,” I say, chewing through a mouthful of noodles.
“Did you need that more than sex?” Hayden asks.
