Halftime

chapter 38

"Are you ready?" Hayden said from outside the bathroom. I was just finishing up my makeup for the day and had told Hayden to get out of the bathroom after he was extremely distracting.

We were running late thanks to him. Or maybe thanks to my inability to say no to Hayden. Georgia and Tiara had already left without us and mum had already driven up from Melbourne.

"Almost," I said and finished my mascara before swiping some lip gloss onto my mouth. I'd concealed my face, put on some highlighter, skipped the blush since I did end up getting burnt from yesterday, and managed to put a little shimmer on my eyelids. Christmas called for some glam.

We didn't have a tree sadly but neither of us cared. We wouldn't have put one up anyway if we were in New York. That also meant we hadn't exchanged presents yet and since our flight was tomorrow night, we would drive back to Melbourne after lunch and would have Mum's house all to ourselves to exchange gifts and do other things.

I walked out of the bathroom and pulled on some cute sandals. I was wearing a cute mini summer dress. The thin straps left my shoulders bare which probably wasn't the greatest idea since they were burnt. But the light blue fabric helped bring out the tan I had going on the rest of me.

My hair fell around my shoulders in a dark curtain, apart from the two strands I'd pinned back. It was a cute outfit if I do say so myself. Harley had helped pick it out back in New York. Hayden drank me up with his eyes as I stepped back into the bedroom. I felt my cheeks heat up but we had no time for this.

Instead I grabbed my phone and Hayden, pulling him out of the house and towards the car. He slid into the driver's seat and I gave him directions to the house.

By the time we were parked Hayden actually looked nervous.

I smiled at him, "calm down. They're going to love you."

He screwed his face up, "this is your entire family. A lot of pressure."

I leaned over the console and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "You know I think it's totally adorable that you're nervous. But really, there is no need to be."

He nodded and grinned at me. "Alright. Let's go."

Elise's house was pretty big. The house itself wasn't anything large but the land was extensive. She had a massive back yard where she set up long tables for the Christmas party. Lunch hadn't been served yet and people were still mingling around the place and greeting each other.

Most of the people here were all adults but there were a few children running around. I knew basically everyone here and as we walked inside I smiled and waved at people, introducing Hayden to them as we passed.

"There are a lot more people than you said," Hayden muttered at me as I pushed our way to where the kitchen was.

I smirked, "I know. I just didn't want to freak you out."

"Well I'm kind of in the deep end now," Hayden shook his head and pinched my side making me laugh.

We walked into the kitchen where Elise and my mum were, organising dips and crackers to share around. Elise turned around at the sound of us entering. When she saw me, she dropped the packet of crackers and wrapped me in a hug.

"Violet! I've missed you. It's been too long."

I smiled and hugged her back, "I've missed you too. It smells delicious." I stepped back and pulled Hayden to my side. "This is Hayden. My boyfriend."

Elise looked up at Hayden and smiled, "so I've heard. I'm Elise. It's lovely to finally meet you."

Hayden smiled back, his charm turned up to one hundred. "It's lovely to meet you too. Your house is beautiful."