Page 28 of Everything In Between
TWENTY-TWO
jersey
“Here you go, sweetheart,” Hayes says as he rounds the kitchen table to deliver me my coffee refill. He kisses my cheek before taking the seat next to me.
I’m humming lightly to myself, staring down at my notebook and clicking my pen repeatedly. “Thank you.”
Hayes props his chin on his fist and leans his elbow against the table, trying to get a closer look at what I’m writing. I cover the paper up with my hands and stick my tongue out with him. “What’s this one about?” he asks.
“My dad,” I give him the short answer.
Hayes purses his lips. “You haven’t really told me much about your dad.”
“It can be hard to talk about sometimes.” I look back down at my notebook where I have notes scrawled about ideas for some of the lyrics. “He passed away when I was fourteen. Developed an aggressive form of cancer which took him so quickly we hardly had time to process it all.”
“I’m sorry, Jersey.” Hayes shakes his head. “That’s awful to have to go through that at such a young age.”
“It was hard, but it gave me a sense of drive. My dad was always one of my biggest fans when it came to wanting a singing career. I think a lot of why I took the risk and started singing at open mic nights was because of him,” I explain.
“My mom was all for it too, knowing that my dad always believed in me.”
“I’m glad you chased after that dream,” he says, running the backs of his fingers over my cheek.
I lean into his touch. “Me too.”
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.
Hayes walks me to the door, and I turn to him with a tearful smile. “I’m going to miss you.”
He cups my jaw, running his thumb over my cheek. “I’ll miss you too, but it won’t be long before we’re together again.”
“You’re right. So why is saying goodbye still so hard?”
“Don’t say it then,” he says, leaning down to peck my lips. “We’ll still talk plenty. You can FaceTime me when you get back to LA and it will be like you’ve never left.”
I shake my head and laugh, despite feeling like my heart is crumbling to dust. An alarming worry comes out of nowhere and tumbles out of my mouth. “What if this is as good as it gets?”
He studies me for a moment, gaze flickering over my face. “Baby, we’ve barely begun. The good, the bad and everything in between, right? I want that with you, and only you.”
The sentiment calms some of the anxiety bubbling through my veins. My eyes burn as I hug him. “I want that too, Hayes. More than I ever thought was possible.”
“Then I promise you, I will do everything in my power to make sure we get that. Even if it’s through video calls and text conversations for now.” He says it with that deep assuredness that captures my heart.