By the time the ne touched down, the sky was already turning a deep shade of orange
and pink.
“Wow, Hayden, this is the most beautiful sunset I’ve ever seen, “I said, practically glued to the
window.
“It is,” he agreed, sounding casual, as always.
He
e was like that–a man of few words–but I’d gotten used to it.
It wasn’t until we got into the car and I scrolled through my phone that I saw histest post. He’d
snapped
a pic of that very sunset and captioned it: [Because you’re here with me.]
My heart did this weird little flip.
It didn’t seem to connect at first, but then It I’d said, “This is the most beautiful sunset I’ve ever
seen.
And he was saying. “It is, “because you’re
with me.”
Well, alright then!
If anyone said Hayden didn’t know how to show affection, I’d be the first to call them out.
He was way too good at it.
“Hayden, are you back this time to finally tie the knot?” teased the guy driving us. One of Hayden’s
friends, he’d been waiting for us at the airport.
“No, not this time,” Hayden answered with that perfectly cool vibe.
Wait, so… next time?
“Your girlfriend is gorgeous,” the guy said, stealing quick nces at me.
“Yeah,” Hayden said, like it was the most obvious thing in the world.
One of them had no problem saying it, and the other had no problem agreeing, leaving me feeling a
little awkward.
“Hi, I’m Zach Dutton,” the guy said, shing me a friendly smile.
I smiled back, trying to be just as chill. “Keira Kay.”
“I know, I know,” Zach said, repeating himself. “Yuna talks about you all the time. Everyone in town
knows your name.”
Great, now I was blushing again.
I let out an awkwardugh. “Really? Guess that saves me the trouble of introducing myself then.”
“No need, no need. A beautifuldy like you? People remembered you from thest time you were
here,” Zach kept going, eachpliment making me squirm a little more.
So, I decided silence was probably the best option.
But then Hayden leaned in and whispered, “Looks like your bold move paid off.”
I couldn’t exactly p back with Zach right there, so I just gave Hayden a light pinch, telling him to
cut it
Material ? N?velDrama.Org.
out without saying a word.
While I went quiet, Zach turned out to be a total chatterbox, filling the car ride with every bit of
gossip your could think of. Who had a cat that looked like a weird science experiment, who caught a
huge fish, which boy was crushing on which girl, and which widow had just moved in with some
guy….
Thest time I’d been here, trailing behind Yuna, this ce seemed like a peaceful little haven,
completely untouched by the outside world. But listening to Zach now, I realized even this
“paradise” had its share of drama.
“Alright, enough with the gossip,” Hayden finally cut in, giving Zach a pointed look. “Even if it’s true,
it’s not your ce to spread it. Remember what happened thest time you got carried away?”
Zach scratched his head awkwardly. “I just got excited seeing you guys and couldn’t wait to share
everything. I’d never say any of this to anyone else.”
It was pretty clear Zach looked up to Hayde
But since Hayden’s scolding left him looking a bit embarrassed, I decided to y nice. “Zach, with
how smooth you are, I bet you have a girlfriend, right?”
“No, no,” Zach shook his head fast. “But with you being so pretty, I’m sure your friends are too. You
could set me up, right?”
Wow, he really didn’t hold back.
I justughed and said, “Sure, why not?”
Hayden leaned in, his voice low and teasing. You know he’s serious, right? Next time he sees you,
he’s gonna be all over you, asking about it.”
Really?
I nced at Zach’s back. Was he actually that serious?
“You didn’t tell Yuna we wereing, did you?” Hayden asked as we drove into the vige.
“Nope, I kept quiet just like you said,” Zach replied, ncing at me with a smile.