Lying in his arms
I could feel the warmth of his skin
And it was a bit ...soothing
A part of me wished we could just stay like this—but then the quiet started creeping in. There was a lot of shit I didn't know about em, Hayden. Aiden. Both. Neither.
I didn't know where one ended and the other began. And even though I'd just had sex with him—again—I wasn't sure which one of them I'd just given myself to.
He'd brought me here with a promise: to tell me everything. And I had a million questions ready to spill out of me... but then my stomach made the most obnoxious growl I've ever heard.
"Fuck," I groaned, "I'm still hungry."
Hayden gave me a smirk that should've been illegal, all mischief and male ego.
I pushed his face away. "Not that, you frigging psychopath. It still hurts. And thanks to your dumbass, the food's gone cold."
"You didn't like it?" he asked, playing innocent.
I shoved him, and he rolled off the bed laughing like an idiot.
"Jerk!"
"Fine," he said, dragging himself up. "I'll order pizza."
He walked across the room, bare and unfazed, grabbing his phone while I curled up on the sheets behind him, still sore, still warm, still thinking about that stupid smirk.
I hated how good he looked from behind.
I hated how much I loved it.
And maybe... I hated how much I didn't hate any of this at all.
Ah shit. Damn why'd he have to be so hot.
I was still staring.
Not in a creepy way—okay, maybe a little—but come on, Hayden standing there shirtless, muscles shifting with every move as he talked on the phone? That should be illegal. I didn't even notice when he ended the call.
Then he turned around, eyes meeting mine.
I quickly looked away, like some idiot caught doing something shady.
But it was too late. He walked back over to the bed, leaned down with that slow, smug confidence of his, and tilted my chin up with a single finger.
"You were staring," he said, smiling.
"You were in the way," I mumbled back, pretending to be unbothered.
"Oh," he said—and then kissed me.
Like it was the most normal thing in the world.
"I ordered pizza. Should be delivered in about fifteen," he added.
Then, out of nowhere, he crushed his phone in one hand like it was paper and tossed it casually into the bin like he just flicked off a crumb.
My jaw dropped. "Dude!"
He didn't even blink. Just shrugged. "Hmm."
"You just broke your phone!" I exclaimed, sitting up in disbelief.
Hayden nodded like I'd just confirmed what he already knew. "Oh yeah, I don't need it anymore. I already made the call."
"You're supposed to end the call," I snapped. "Not end the phone."
"Yeah, see, how do I explain this... I kinda get a new phone every week. Trying to reduce the chance of getting tracked."
I blinked. "Wow. That makes so much sense. I totally understand."
His face lit up. "Really?"
"No! I don't get you at all, Hayden!"
He sighed and sat down beside me on the bed, and I turned toward him.
"Okay, okay. I'll explain everything," he said.
I didn't move. Just stared at him blankly, waiting. He grunted, scratched his hair like a kid caught lying, then leaned against the headboard.
"Where the fuck do I even start?"
I stared at him for a moment, thinking, then asked, "Hayden… you're not—wait. If you've been getting new phones all this time… who the fuck have I been texting? You gave me your number!"
He blinked.
"You piece of shit!" I hit him on the shoulder repeatedly while he laughed like this was the most hilarious thing in the world.
"Jerk!"
"Okay, I'm sorry," he said, still grinning. "Technically I didn't get rid of that one since it was the only way I could reach you. I most times just leave it in a bag of rice. So .....I probably haven't seen most of your text"
I crossed my arms. "You're impossible."
He let out a long sigh. "Alright. Where do you want me to start?"
I thought for a second, then said quietly, "What happened that day… when you disappeared? Four years ago."
His smile dropped. Just like that, he was somewhere else. His face, his energy—it all changed.
"Hayden?" I asked, softer this time. "You okay?"
He blinked back to reality. "Hmm? Yeah. I'm fine. Don't worry."
He paused, then started. "That night when I left your house… I didn't actually leave on my own. I was knocked out."
My eyes widened. "What? Did my dad—?"
"No," Hayden said. "It was actually my older brother."
I just sat there, stunned. "Dude. You have an older brother? There's more of you?"
"Sadly," he muttered. "Turned out he had something going down at the Almasi mansion that night, and… well, we kinda messed it up with the whole 'heir to the family fortune likes dick' scandal."
"Oh."
He looked away. "He found me. Knocked me out. Beat the shit out of me. Told me I was a disgrace and needed to be taught a lesson. Said I was weak."
My stomach turned.
"He's part of the reason Aiden even exists," he said bitterly. "The beatings, the pressure, pretending like I was okay all the time—it was driving me insane. I had to fake it. Bury everything. Be someone else. He broke something in me and I…"
He didn't finish.
I leaned against his shoulder, gently. "I'm sorry you had to go through that. Your brother sounds even shittier than you are."
That got a laugh out of him. "That's because he is."
He kissed my cheek, then stood up. "Pizza's here."
I frowned. "How the hell do you—?"
Ding-dong.
The doorbell rang.
I followed him—well, tailed him, really—as he walked to the door, picking up a black tank top and a nose mask on the way. He slipped them on like second nature and opened the door.
The pizza guy looked terrified. Hayden said something I couldn't hear, but whatever it was made the guy flinch and bolt like a spooked cat.
Hayden turned to me, calm as ever. "Ready to dig in?"
I nodded, but my mind wasn't on the pizza. It was on him.
Hayden.
All the things he went through. The pain he didn't talk about. The masks he wore—not the physical ones. The emotional ones.
I wondered how long he'd been hiding.
How long he'd been surviving instead of living.
And for a second, I wanted to hug him again. Just hold him. Tell him he didn't have to pretend anymore.
But instead, I followed him back into the dining room.
Maybe I couldn't fix the past. But I was here now.
Ugh. What the fuck am I going to do ?
I tore into that pizza like I hadn't eaten in years. Every bite was cheesy heaven, and for a moment, I forgot everything—Hayden's shady past, his broken phone, his mafia bloodline, all of it. But then I felt it again. That stare. Like a warm hand brushing over my skin. I looked up, and sure enough, there he was. Hayden, watching me eat with that soft smile like I was some rare species he'd just discovered.
I narrowed my eyes.
"You're not gonna eat?"
He shrugged, that smug look never leaving his face. "Well, if you insist."
Then the bastard leaned in and licked the corner of my mouth.
"Delicious," he whispered like a fucking romance novel villain.
I jolted so hard I almost dropped the pizza and reflexively punched him on the face. The sound echoed. I blinked.
Hayden held his chin, visibly surprised. "That one actually hurt. You're surprisingly strong when you're embarrassed."
Shit. I panicked. "I'm sorry! Are you mad?"
But Hayden just smiled like I hadn't just assaulted him mid-meal. "I'm fine."
Still, I stared, unconvinced, chewing my lower lip. "You sure?"
"I'm fine really, don't worry about it." He leaned back, totally unbothered. "Besides, I'm not hungry. The pizza's all yours."
I didn't know what came over me, but my chest suddenly felt... warm. Soft. Like I was wrapped in a blanket made out of Hayden's weird way of caring. Was this what it felt like to be pampered by someone who liked you? It was... nice.
Damn I really can't bring myself to Hate you.
Hayden