Page 62 of Everything In Between
Hayes goes quiet and then says, “My parents officially adopted me when I was eight. I had been in the foster system until then. I landed with them when I was six, and right away, I knew I had found my home.”
His admission catches me off guard, and I glimpse at him with wide eyes. “I didn’t realize you were in the foster system.”
He smiles ruefully. “I generally don’t talk about it. Mostly because I don’t remember much from those younger days, but also because my parents are my parents. My life is exactly what it is because of them. There’s no reason for me to live in the past. But I thought you should know exactly where I come from.”
“Is Riley also adopted?”
“No, she’s not.” His expression grows lighter thinking about his sister.
“Do you know your biological parents?”
He nods. “I know who they are. But I’ve never spoken to them. They haven’t sought me out and I don’t need anything from them to feel validated or fulfilled in my life, so I haven’t reached out either.”
“I’m sure your parents are proud of everything you’ve accomplished.”
“They are. They’re my biggest fans too. Aside from you, of course.” He gives me a heart-stopping grin. I fight off my amusement and roll my eyes.
“Are you going to go see them for Thanksgiving?”
“Yeah, I’ll be heading back to Kentucky for a few days. I have a game the week before Christmas, so they’re coming for that and then they’ll spend the rest of the week here.” Hayes grows thoughtful. “What are you doing for the holidays?”
“Well, I’ll be back in LA for Thanksgiving—as much as I’d rather stay with you for the next few weeks. Usually Bethany, Roman, and I have a Friendsgiving potluck. Then we watch Christmas movies.”
He chuckles. “Sounds like a fun tradition. Sorry I’m missing out. We’ve got a bye week right after Thanksgiving. I could come see you then.”
“I would love that.”
“What about Christmas?” he asks.
I hesitate. “I’m not sure what the plans are yet. I think Roman has to leave to film the first week of December and he’ll be gone for the rest of the year, probably longer.”
“You could come here for Christmas. You could come to the game and meet my parents and then we can all spend the holiday together.” His eyes light up at the suggestion and my heart melts.
“That sounds like the perfect idea,” I say. “I’ll have to double check with the recording schedule to make sure I can get away.”
“Even if you can come for the game the week before, we can do Christmas together then. And then you can jet back off to LA before he even knows you’re gone.”
I laugh. “I think we can figure out a way to make that work.”
“What time do you have to be at the airport?” he asks.
Glancing down at the time on my phone I say, “Three o’clock. Still have a few hours before I need to leave. Why?”
His eyes darken and a devilish smirk appears.
Hayes answers by standing up, taking my hand, and leading me to his bedroom, where he proceeds to show me exactly what he had in mind.
Time passes far too quickly.Hayes has worshipped every inch of me multiple times. I love getting to share this with him. I’ve become so used to falling asleep next to him and waking up to his handsome face. It’s going to be so different going back to living alone. In the few days that I’ve been here, we’ve come to have our own little routine, living in the sweet fantasy of sharing our life together.
“I’m going to miss this,” he whispers against the crown of my head, reading my thoughts.
“Miss what?”
“You being here. My home feels so much more complete with you in it. It’s going to be so lonely once you leave.” He tightens his arms around my back.
I close my eyes as I lean against his chest. “I feel the same way.” I pull back and stare up into his face. “But I’ll be back soon.”
We stay in bed together until the very last minute before I have to get ready to leave. Not long later, my bags are packed and the car waits for me outside.
