The little girl ran through the waves, like a princess from a fairy tale.She moved with such joy, dancing on the crest of the waves, twirling around like she was weightless.It was mesmerizing—too beautiful and lifelike to believe it was just a light show. It felt like a real little girl was out there, playing on the waves.I held my breath, afraid to blink, not wanting to miss a second.Then, as a bigger wave rose, another figure appeared.A boy.The boy stood tall, watching the girl with quiet intensity.She glanced back at him and, after a few seconds, ran toward him. "Hi, I'm Kiki. What's your name?"My heart squeezed. That little girl was me."Haddy, don't run...""Haddy, wait for me..."The boy stopped and reached out his hand. They held hands and ran together."Haddy, I'm tired. Carry me.""Haddy, run faster..."The girl climbed onto the boy's back, and they took off, skimming over the waves together.My eyes blurred with tears. Hayden had turned my childhood mem
"You're seriously low," Jace snarled, grabbing Hayden by the collar.My heart lurched, and I started to move toward them, but Hayden stayed cool. "You think this is low because you've never cared about Keira the way I do, have you?"Jace's eyes narrowed, his voice sharp. "These cheesy tricks might work on a little girl, but Keira's not into fake stuff like this. Don't you get it?"Not into it?I remembered telling Jace that once.It was our first Valentine's Day as a couple. He didn't get me anything—not even a card or a dinner.The next day, we were out with Steve and a few friends, and Steve jokingly asked what romantic thing Jace had planned for me.I'd never felt so embarrassed. Jace apologized later, saying he'd forgotten, and I had to laugh it off, pretending I didn't care about that kind of thing.But seriously, what girl doesn't like flowers and a little romance?It wasn't that I didn't want it—it was that he didn't give it to me."Still think she doesn't like it now?
I suddenly felt a rush of confusion. "Wait, do you not want to anymore? Or--"Before I could finish, he kissed me. It wasn't deep, just enough to shut down my spiraling thoughts. After a beat, he whispered, "I want to."I couldn't help but laugh, feeling my cheeks warm up.Hayden was flustered too.Even with his tan skin, I could see his ears turning red.We just stood there, holding each other, not saying a word.It was a little awkward, but neither of us wanted to let go.So this is what they mean by love being disgustingly sweet.Sticky and hard to pull away from.We both wanted to get closer, but neither of us knew how to make the first move.Were we really going to stand here all night?No way. My legs were already starting to go numb, and my back was killing me."So, uh...""Maybe we should..."We both started talking at the same time, which made it even more awkward. We went silent again, both of us scrambling for something to say that wouldn't make this worse.Th
Cole was trying to flirt, and I could totally play dumb and ignore him, but meeting Thorsten couldn't wait.Still, him texting this late wasn't a great sign. If I replied now, he might use it as an excuse to ask for something else. And if I said no, he could use it as an excuse to back out of our deal to meet his dad.The best move? Do what I did last night and just leave him on read.I tuned back into my conversation with Lena, who was saying something I'd obviously missed because now she was asking, "So you two made it official and that's it? No next steps?""What next steps?" I asked, still half-distracted by Cole's texts."What do you think I mean? The next step in a relationship. Obviously, I'm talking about that," Lena said, her voice dripping with mischief.I caught on immediately. "Hayden's a gentleman, okay?""Gentleman or not, he's still human, isn't he? He's gotta have desires. Or is he just not interested in, you know, doing his part to solve the population crisis?"
Gotta think of an excuse...My phone buzzed twice in my hand. It was a message from Lena.A gif loaded—a woman, fresh out of the shower, posing seductively in this super skimpy nightgown.And Lena's not-so-subtle advice: [You should try this 😉]I sent back a facepalm emoji.Even though I silently cursed Lena for being such a perv, I couldn't deny the idea had potential. I just needed the right excuse to show Hayden this side of me.Still brainstorming, I headed to the bathroom to take a shower.If I used Cole's info, Hayden would definitely catch on. No way that's gonna work.Maybe I could say something's wrong with the plumbing and ask for help, but I can't just break something for an excuse. That's out too.Hmm, what if I said I was hungry and asked him to cook for me? That could work.Decision made, I finished my shower and slipped into a sexy nightgown I almost never wore.I'd bought this thing back when Jace and I got engaged, thinking we'd be living together soon.Fu
My heart was racing, pounding like a drum.I'd been the one who wanted to tease him, to test him, but now that he was actually responding, I totally chickened out.I was breathing like I'd just run a marathon. "Hayden, you..."He stepped closer, and I completely froze, taking a step back on instinct.With each step, he went from being outside the door to inside my apartment. I was now pinned against the shoe rack, both of us still holding onto this stupid bowl of oatmeal.Gotta give him credit, though—he hadn't spilled a single drop, even with all this back and forth.My heart was going so fast I thought it might jump out of my chest.Hayden didn't say a word. He just stood there, so close, staring right at me.I couldn't look at him anymore, full-on panicking. What was I thinking trying to provoke him like this?Lena had pushed me into it, but she also warned me: guys can't resist being teased.Well, I'd definitely lost my mind for a sec and done something dumb.But it was
My past with Jace had left some serious scars. I needed to know—was I really that unappealing? Like, was I the kind of girl who could be held like this without him feeling anything? Someone he could resist without even breaking a sweat?"Hayden," I whispered, my hand sliding up his back, pulling him closer through his shirt. My nails dug in a little.His whole body went stiff, and he sucked in a breath. "Kiki..."I pressed against him, knowing he could feel how soft I was under this nightgown, fresh from the shower.If he could still walk away now, then yeah, I'd have to accept I was a complete failure."Kiki," he said, voice tight, before suddenly pulling away. His hands gripped my shoulders, head down, breathing like he'd just run five miles.His Adam's apple bobbed, and I could see he was shaking.He looked like he'd just crossed a finish line, exhausted.I wasn't much better. I'd made this move, and now I felt both embarrassed and bold as hell."It's late," Hayden muttered
[Good night, my girlfriend!]Hayden's text came in like half an hour later.What took him so long? Was he, like in those cheesy romance novels, taking a cold shower to cool off or something?Thinking about how we'd hit the brakes earlier made me blush like crazy, so I didn't even text back.I barely slept that night. Maybe I should've taken a cold shower too because I was all kinds of restless, like there was this weird energy buzzing under my skin.I guess once you crack open the door to, you know, desire, it's kinda hard to shut it again. I learned that the hard way.I was up early the next morning, but Hayden beat me to it. He was already out running.The guy's stamina was insane. Seriously, where does he get all that energy?I bet a guy like him would be... intense in bed too.I couldn't stop thinking about it, like I was under some kind of spell or something.And you know who's to blame for this? Lena, with her terrible advice last night!I didn't care how early it was;