Page 47 of Every Now and Then
“What do you mean?”
“I saw you and yelled your name, but you didn’t turn around. I didn’t have time to go after you because we were about to perform.”
“I heard you!”
“Damn, Yankee. If you’d turned around, I could have saved you from what was surely a horrendous date with Josh. Right? It was terrible, wasn’t it? Please say it was.”
A laugh erupts from her mouth. “Hayes!”
“What? I’ve already admitted to being jealous. The least you can do is allay my fears, Annabelle.”
“I can’t believe you haven’t interrogated Josh about it yet.”
“We have dinner plans tonight, so I will later. But I’d enjoy hearing your version.”
“It was fine. It was nice even, but… it was nothing like this.”
“I can live with that.”
“So, next question. Tell me about the upcoming album. Josh mentioned it last night.”
I stare off into the horizon, pulling on my bottom lip with my fingers before turning to Annabelle again. Now would be the perfect time to tell Annabelle that most of the album was inspired by her, but that’s stalker level weird, and I don’t want to scare her off by coming on too strong. So, I don’t. “The timing of it could be better. After the holidays, I’m going to be busy with the launch, so I won’t be able to see you as much as I’d like.”
Her sunflower eyes drop from mine. Her voice barely above a whisper, she asks, “What does that mean?” She glances up at me. “What do you want… this to be?”
“I want this to be whatever you want it to be, Annabelle.”
“I need more than that, Hayes.”
“I want to see you again. Last night, I wished I’d gotten your number or asked you out, but I was still feeling a little shell-shocked.” I grab her hand, threading our fingers together. “I’ve never felt this way before, so I don’t really know how to define it. And honestly… I’m not in a rush to label whatever’s happening between us because I don’t want to overwhelm you and have you run away again.”
“Oh.” She clears her throat. “That was not what I was expecting you to say.”
“What were you expecting me to say?”
“Umm, well,” she squints her eyes, scrutinizing me. “You see, Laura mentioned that you have a reputation in the press for being a… prolific dater. So, I just sort of assumed that we’d reached the end of,” she waves her hand wildly between our bodies, “whatever this was—”
“Annabelle.”
“And I get it. Like I said last night, we live different lives, and I come along with the responsibilities of two small children—”
“Annabelle,” I interrupt again, this time more forcefully. “Stop, Yankee. Take a breath.” I pause before continuing, “Let me back up and explain my side of things, so you have a better understanding.”
She nods for me to go ahead. I’m nervous. I hate admitting that the rumors in the press are mostly true, but I won’t lie to Annabelle.
I need to tell her more specifics about my past, so she doesn’t hear about it from someone else. I still remember her confession after we slept together—I was only the second guy she’d had sex with. Meanwhile, the best I can do is ballpark approximately how many womenI’ve slept with. It’s not something that has ever bothered me before, but it does now. I wish I’d been a better person before I met Annabelle.
And after. Especially after.
“When I woke up and you were gone, I was…” I trail off, searching for the right word before finally settling on, “crushed. So, I dedicated myself to finding you. I even hired private investigators, but when every lead came up empty, I figured the best way to get over you was to start dating again. I was trying to forget you, but I couldn’t.”
“You couldn’t?” Her eyes are wide and hopeful, and a tinge of pink has swept across her cheeks.
“Annabelle, it’s impossible for me to forget you; you’re unforgettable. I’m not proud of my behavior, and I wish I’d reacted differently. I was trying to fill the Annabelle-sized hole in my heart, but no one else could ever measure up to you. I don’t know if that night we shared meant as much to you as it did to me, but it meant fucking everything to me.”
Whispering, she replies, “It meant everything to me too, Hayes.”
“So, you’d be open to seeing me again?”
