Page 18 of Hello Trouble
DELLA
I tucked my vacuum cleaner back in the closet where I’d stashed the easel holding the list of datable guys in Cottonwood Falls. Before closing the door, I looked over the names written in Liv’s messy handwriting.
Bennett’s name was the only one left. And I was determined to give him another chance.
First dates were always awkward—maybe we both needed to ease into getting to know each other and the feelings would follow. That’s why I agreed to go out with him again later this evening.
But seeing his name on that list didn’t give me any sparks. Not like the idea of sneaking this extra throw pillow into Hayes’s house.
I picked up the frilly pillow I’d nabbed at a garage sale a few years back, turning it over in my hands. I liked to keep extras in my guest bedroom so I could change them out every so often, but there were plenty of pillows to go around.
Liv had texted me earlier and said that Fletcher was playing poker at Hayes’s garage tonight, which meant Hayes would be occupied. I had just enough time to go to his house, complete my mission, and come back here for Bennett to pick me up.
Since I love a good theme, I went to my bedroom, putting on black leggings, a black sweatshirt, and tucked my hair up into a black stocking cap. I even put on my favorite perfume, Black Orchid, because it fit the theme.
Feeling thoroughly spy-ified, I walked outside, got in my car, and drove toward Hayes’s place on the outskirts of town.
Even though he was supposedly occupied, a good spy knew not to park too close just in case.
So I stopped my car a couple blocks away, turned off the lights, and made the rest of the path on foot.
The night air wasn’t too warm or cool. And it was quiet in Cottonwood Falls, so I could hear little pebbles scraping across asphalt as I walked—nay—crept toward his house.
It was exactly the kind of prank Liv and I would have pulled in high school. The thought made me smile, remembering that time we tried to TP a friend’s car and the wind blew it all away. So when we saw him at school the next day, he only asked why we were giggling so much.
After a few minutes of walking, I reached Hayes’s place. The floodlight was on, casting a silvery glow to his driveway and the truck that sat neglected since his motorcycle was up and running.
The motorcycle was gone, so I breathed a relieved sigh and turned the knob to his front door. Unlocked, as usual.
This was too easy. I didn’t even need to crawl through a window or anything. (Not that I particularly wanted to.)
I stepped into his house and used the flashlight function on my phone to peer around. The floral table runner I’d left here a few days ago was noticeably gone from his chrome-and-glass-top table. As was the other throw pillow I’d left on his couch.
Smirking, I placed this new pillow, silver-sequined to match my disco ball planner, on his couch.
I could just picture the annoyed look on his face when he found it, wondering which of his conquests was feeling too at home and how he’d missed it before.
But then I heard the roar of an engine and saw a single headlight beam flash through the front window blinds.
“Shit!” I whispered, fumbling with my phone to turn off my light. “Shit! Shit!”
Sure, this was a harmless prank, and I wasn’t actually stealing anything, but Hayes was grumpy under the best of conditions. Imagine him finding out I was sneaking around his bachelor pad without his permission.
The engine on the vehicle slowed to a dull roar, idling in the driveway.
My heart was racing, all thoughts of being a spy completely gone.
And just as I heard the doorknob jiggling, I dropped to the floor, tucking myself up against his dark leather couch.
Maybe my black outfit would hide me until I could sneak back out and vow never to return again.
The door swung open, and boots landed on the floor, taking step after confident step toward the fridge.
My mind flashed back to being a kid and playing dead in preparation for my lead role in some princess movie while waiting for true love’s first kiss. I’d thought I was so convincing back then. Now I knew I’d never truly had a chance. Why the hell was I breathing so loud?
I tried to take shallow little sips of air, but that didn’t help. I swore I was losing oxygen.
And in my delirious state, I realized Hayes had left his front door open. Didn’t he know heating and cooling a house wasn’t cheap? How much money had he wasted in these few moments?
He shut the fridge, and I heard the familiar clink of glass bottles in a six-pack. He must have been on a beer run.
I let out a sigh of relief. He would be in and out before he even noticed me.
But that sigh was a mistake, because he froze.
My heart stopped with him.
Shit. Shit. Shit.
“What the fuck is that doing there?” he muttered to himself. Then I heard the clink of bottles.
More footsteps.
HE WAS WALKING AROUND THE COUCH.
I squeezed my eyes shut like that would somehow make me invisible. And then I peeped through one eye, spying him through a fringe of eyelashes.
He had the shiny pillow in his hands and was looking at it like... well, like it had snuck into his house.
Shaking his head, he turned to leave the living room. And then his eyes fell on me.
He yelled out in shock, jumping backwards, which made me scream too.
“Della?” he yelled. “What the fuck are you doing down there?”
“I—I…” Let me tell you, there is no good way to maintain your dignity while dressed in all black and lying on a bachelor pad floor. But I did my best as I stood up, anxiously running my hands over my pants to dry my sweaty palms.
His eyes traveled from me to the pillow in his hands and back again. “You?”
This was it. My moment. The one where I decided which type of villain I would be.
I could be the calm, confident one who used her moment in the spotlight for a killer, quotable monologue. Or the one who stammered and backed away slowly, then ran outside and never showed her face again.
I needed to go to the gym more for the latter to be an option.
So I lifted my chin and said, “I thought your place could?—”
He held up his hand, wagging his finger, and walked back to his bedroom.
Really? He cut off my villainous monologue? Didn’t he know how this spy thing worked?
I followed him back to his room, half expecting to see some kind of freaky sex den with ropes hanging from the ceiling and leather cords spilling from the closet.
But it was... normal.
A king-sized bed. Matching nightstands on either side.
There was even a book on one bedside table. I squinted, trying to make out the title, but I couldn’t before Hayes stood up from the closet, holding a giant laundry basket in his hands.
“What’s that?” I asked.
“The treasure chest. But now it’s full of your shit.” He held up a frilly pink pillow. “I’m assuming this is yours.”
My cheeks were so hot they could have lit a candle.
He pulled out a floral table runner. “And this?”
“Matched perfectly with your chrome table,” I pouted.
He stacked it on top of the pillow.
Then he pulled out a potted aloe vera, the ferns drooping sadly. “Yours as well?”
I gasped. “You didn’t even water it?”
“Fuck no!” He picked up the pile and passed it to me.
“Plants say ‘I can take care of things.’ Like a child . Or a piece of furniture that needs put together. Or your dog that just got neutered and looks all sad at you in those stupid cones.” Even though I was holding the pillow and table runner in my hands, he didn’t back away.
Instead, he leaned in. This close, I could see the ink curling up his neck.
The glint of the light off his lip ring.
Could smell his cologne mixed with the earthy scent of his garage.
And damn if it wasn’t just as intoxicating as too many trips to the box of wine in my fridge.
My eyes traced his lips as he said, “Trust me, Princess, the only thing I want to spend my time taking care of is a woman in bed.”
I couldn’t help it.
I laughed.
Hayes looked horrified . “What, you don’t believe me?” he asked.
I held all my items in my arms, still managing to shrug. “You’re just an awful lot of talk, that’s all.” I was playing with fire. The flames dancing in his eyes told me so.
But then those flames licked my skin as he pulled the items from my arms, stalked me like prey until I was backed up against his wall. Nowhere to go with his body mere centimeters from mine, arms bracketed on either side of my shoulders.
He leaned in until his lips brushed the shell of my ear. “Tell me, Princess. Would you like me to be more action?”