Page 209 of The Compass Series

AIDEN

A fter I took a quick shower to shake off my nerves, I heard a knock on my door. I wrapped one towel around my waist and started to dry my hair with another as I went to answer it.

Hailee stood there with a stack of towels in her hands and a goofy grin on her face. The moment she saw me in the towel, her cheeks rose high as she blushed. “Uh, hi there.”

“Hey.” I glanced down at the towels, then back toward her. “You brought me towels.”

“Yeah. You mentioned when I was ready to talk to bring you towels, but now that I think about it, you were probably being sarcastic and didn’t really want towels. Let me run these back down and?—”

I wrapped my hands around the towels before she could make a dash for the exit. “I appreciate this.”

She smiled. I smiled back. It felt good to smile at Hailee and have her smile back. Reminded me of the us we used to be. A small glimpse of who we used to be.

“You’re ready to talk?” I asked.

“Yes. Well, not now, because I’m heading home for the day. My shift is up, and I’m exhausted.”

“Can I walk you home? Or take you out for a drink? Or…” Love you?

Can I love you again, Hailee?

She looked at me confused and shook her head. “No.”

Silly me for thinking we’d gotten past our issues. “Right. Of course.”

She stood tall with her hands in her pockets. “You can take me to dinner.”

“Oh. Now?”

“No. I promised my mom I’d help her at the bakery tonight, but how about tomorrow.”

A sliver of hope from Hailee? I’d take it. “It’s a date.”

“It’s a meal,” she corrected.

“Sounds a lot like a date.”

“Maybe it’s a two-people-considering-a-friendship-again kind of date.”

“Or hear me out… it could be a more-date.”

Her cheeks blushed. “It’s not a more-date. What happened on those stairs was a one-time thing.”

I smirked, seeing how hard she was trying to fight off her feelings. I knew she wanted to be more than friends solely based on how she kissed me.

“I’m still banking on a more-date, Hailee.”

“No offense?—”

“I’m going to take offense?—”

“But I would never go out on a date with you.”

“Offense taken, but also, why not?”

“Because no matter what, I can’t date you.”

“In what world?”

“Reality.”

“Reality’s stupid.”

“Yet still, it exists.”

“Right. Of course, but you want to go out for a meal with me?”

“I really love a good two-people-considering-a-friendship-again kind of date.”

I had little to no desire to only be that woman’s friend...

“You really will never date me again, huh? Because of my dad telling you that you’d ruin my career?”

“No, that’s not the reason anymore.”

“Oh? What’s the reason?”

“Well, you do a weird nose crinkle when you’re in deep thought. You fake laugh too loud during online interviews. No joke is that funny, Aiden. You smell like oak trees with hints of lemon. Pull back on the cologne, buddy. And not to be rude, but to be rude—you’re ugly.”

Was she…? Yeah. She was being playful. Teasing Hailee was back. Oh, how I missed her.

“I was being considered for People’s hottest man of the year. I think I can see myself as attractive.”

“That’s because most people are programmed by what society tells them is attractive.

Sure, you have a head full of luscious hair, biceps that flex without you flexing, a quote-unquote perfect smile, and you stand over six-foot-three.

That’s just mediocre surface-level attractiveness that we were told was the be-all and end-all.

The truth is, attractiveness runs much deeper.

” She tapped the side of her head. “Having a sexy mind is where true attractiveness lies. Looks change over time. I’d like to rest my head on the shoulder of a man with a sexy brain. ”

“I have a sexy mind,” I offered.

Her laughter was cold but with a hint of flirtation as she waved me off. “Your brain is as sexy as a lima bean. You’re pretty much a dick for brains, if I’m being honest. Now come on, wannabe Casanova, are you coming or going? I’m not gonna hold this door open for you all night.”

I smiled at her level of sass. I didn’t know a woman calling me a dick for brains was a turn-on until the words left her mouth. Did I have a shame kink that Hailee somehow unlocked for me? Call me a dick for brains again, Hails. I think I felt a twitch in my jeans.

“Good night, Tom.” She turned on her heels and began to walk away.

“Night, Jerry.” I called out to her. “You sure I can’t walk you home?”

“Are you kidding? I can’t be seen with you in this town. People will talk.”

“People are already talking. Besides, a long time ago, a girl gave me a nice saying about people who don’t matter.”

“Oh? And what was that saying?”

“Fuck them.”

Her cheekbones rose, and all I wanted to do was kiss those chipmunk cheeks that I always loved.

“Yeah… fuck them.” She grew bashful for a few seconds before clearing her throat.

“Still, we can’t make it painfully public that we are becoming friends again.

You know this town can be—gossipy. Therefore, the dinner must be at a place where no one will know we are hanging out.

I’m not trying to be on the cover of some tabloid with a dick for brains. ”

Twitch, twitch, dick, dick.

Shame kink was fully unlocked, and for a second, I almost considered replying with, “Yes, Master,” but I went with, “Okay, that works,” instead.

“Night,” she hollered back, waving me off without looking over her shoulder. For a moment in time, everything was right in the world.

“Good night, Hails.”