Page 188 of Forbidden Billionaires: Vol 4

Wednesday

Every time I glanced at Hailey out of the corner of my eye, she somehow caught my gaze and smiled. I noticed everything now, like my senses were heightened. The freckles on her shoulders and across the bridge of her nose. The dimples she got when she smiled. The chestnut highlights in her hair when the sun shone through the car window. I wanted to remember everything before it was gone.

She was stubborn and feisty and so different from any other girl I had dated. I found her determination sexy. And the way she belted out the songs on the radio like she had no inhibitions. I hadn't realized I could fall for someone so quickly. It was going to be hard to say goodbye. My mind wouldn't stop thinking about that fact. In two days I'd be saying goodbye. I didn't want it to end.

"Ah!" Hails screamed when a new song started on the radio. "It's our song!" She turned up the volume as Beside Me by the Cigarsmoakers came on. She started singing the lyrics at the top of her lungs.

I laughed as she put the windows down and let the breeze flow through her hair as she sang, "We're never getting older." She smiled at me and I swore my heart stopped.

How was I supposed to say goodbye? I didn't want to. It was like my life was a series of events spiraling out of control. If I didn't make stupid, rash decisions, maybe I'd be happy. But maybe Inever would have met Hailey. Maybe all those bad choices had allowed me to enjoy this moment. This beautiful girl that was so out of my league had told me she was falling for me. And I was fucking falling for her too. Hell, I had never felt this strong of a connection before. Not even with Penny.

"Stay, and blast that Wink-183 song, that we played to death in Tucson, alright!" She lightly hit my shoulder as she sang the lyrics. "We're so close to Tucson! It's like it was meant to be." She smiled again.

Hailey made me feel better than I had in years. I felt young and carefree and hopeful. I felt alive again. It was greedy, but I didn't want to let go of that feeling. I didn't want to let go of her.

"What?" she said with a smile on her face.

"I was just thinking about how beautiful you are."

She laughed. "Yeah right. Hey, I think we're almost there."

I could see some cars parked up ahead, but I couldn't really see anything. I thought driving up to the Grand Canyon would be this breathtaking experience. But I guess you had to be right on it to even see it. I glanced back at Hailey. Her eyes were glued to the window. It broke my heart a little that she didn't know she was beautiful, that she didn't know how much she affected me. I wanted to give her everything. Yet at the same time, I wanted to give her nothing so it wouldn't hurt so damn much when we went our separate ways.

Missing Pieces - Chapter 33

Hailey

Wednesday

"Oh my God." I opened up the car door as soon as it stopped. I walked out to the edge of the Grand Canyon and stared at the expanse, completely transfixed. There were no words. I swallowed hard as tears came to my eyes.

"It's like standing by the ocean. It makes you feel so small," Tyler said as he joined me.

I shook my head. "I wouldn't know."

"You've really never been to the beach?"

"I visited Lake Michigan a few times. But I can't imagine it's the same. From pictures I've seen of the ocean, I mean." I didn't really think the ocean could be this beautiful, though. Nothing could be.

"Maybe we could add one last stop to our trip?" he said. "I've actually never seen the Pacific Ocean."

I slipped my hand into his. "I'd like that," I whispered as I stared out at the crater in front of me. Breathtaking. It was breathtaking.

He squeezed my hand back in response.

Tyler was right. Looking at it made me feel so small. There must be something more out there. Something that made all this. Andsomething after this. I wasn't really sure why, but I started to cry silent tears.

We both stood there in silence as we stared out at the abyss.

"Hails."

I looked up at him.

With his hand that wasn't holding mine, he reached up and wiped my tears away with his thumbs. He didn't ask me why I was crying. He didn't really need to. It just felt like Tyler got me. And the look on his face said it all. He looked concerned. He looked worried about me. With him, it didn't feel like my biggest fear could come true. I could never be alone if he was with me. But he wasn't going to be with me. I turned my head to look back out at the scenery.

I was crying because my dad might never get to see it. He might never touch the ocean. It wasn't fair. Life was so cruel. Tyler had opened up to me. He had let me see a vulnerable side of him. But I couldn't do it. I couldn't tell him my worries and fears if he was going to cut me out in a couple days. It was already going to hurt too much. Telling him about my dad would make it more painful when we had to say goodbye. Why the hell did we have to say goodbye?

Instead of pressing the issue, he stepped behind me and wrapped his arms around me. We both stared out in front of us. I didn't want to be crying. What I wanted was to scream and throw things into the canyon. I wanted to not give up on Tyler before we had even had a chance to try. I took a deep breath. There was no reason to dwell on it. If he didn't want whatever this was tocontinue after Friday, there wasn't anything I could do about it. All I could do was have fun the next couple days and see if he still felt the same way. I wasn't pathetic. I wasn't going to beg him.