An Exchange

Chapter Sixty-Five - Jonas and the Hamiltons

Giles

I couldn't believe what was happening. I was actually kissing Penny, no, Hailey, and she was kissing me back. After almost two weeks of pain at just the thought of her, here she was, in my arms and loving me. Her kiss was warm and deep, and her hand touched my cheek. I'd never been kissed before so I just let it happen. It was amazing! Better than I'd ever imagined.

I pulled away and looked at her, completely stunned, but so full of joy and feeling so complete. Her beautiful blue eyes gazed up at me as she smiled. My love for her overwhelmed me, so I pulled her in and kissed her again. She giggled against my lips, but willingly kissed me back again.

She smelled wonderful, like flowers, and tasted kind of like lasagna. But the best part was having her in my arms, knowing that against all odds, she loved me back.

 She broke away. "I can't believe I took so long."

I smiled down at her, caressing her face. "I don't care."

Her arm around me tightened as she pressed against me. "Now what do we do?"

"Anything we want." I smiled. "But, I think we have some people who'll want to know how this conversation turned out."

"Much better that I expected," she said in a soft voice that made me shudder.

"So am I calling you Hailey now?"

She paused, her eyes narrowing. "Do you like Hailey?"

"Of course I do. It's considerably better than Penguin."

She giggled. "Good, because I think I'm ready to forget Penguin."

I smiled down at her proudly and kissed her forehead. "Hailey it is then."

She nuzzled into my chest. "This feels so right."

I held her tightly in my arms. "It does, doesn't it?"

I gently lifted her chin and kissed her again. I doubted I'd ever get tired of doing that.

We emerged a short while later. Zoe, Seth, and Ray stood waiting by my car with their backs to us, talking quietly with their heads close together. Hailey's arm tightened around my waist.

"What is it?" I asked.

"What if Ryan finds out about this? He might come after you and—"

"Don't worry. Everything will be fine. If he does come after me, I'll handle it without any violence."

Ray looked over at us. A huge grin swept across his face. Zoe glanced up and screeched as she ran over and pulled Hailey out from under my arm. "Penny! You did it! I knew you would! I knew he still had feelings for you!"

Hailey laughed "Calm down, Zoe—"

"Yes, calm down, Zoe." I peeled her off and pulled Hailey back under my arm. "And she's not going by Penny anymore."

Zoe glanced confused between the two of us. "Then what's her real name?"

Ray smiled at Hailey, and reached out for a handshake. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Hailey."

She gave him a warm smile. "It's a pleasure to finally be here."

Seth rested his hand on my shoulder and whispered, "No chance, huh?"

I shook my head. "I guess I was wrong."

"Do you think Ryan will come after you?"

I shrugged. "High School is over. What's he going to do?"