~LOSING IT ALL~
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13| BALLISTIC AND DISTRAUGHT
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WHAT THE FUCK JUST HAPPENED? Did you just kiss Dale-fucking-Randall....accidentally?My inner voice jibes at me as I watch a kaleidoscope of emotions swirl around Dale's deep brown eyes.
His gaze slowly flickers down the length of my face until it zeros in on my parted lips. My stomach makes a flip-flop, and a small gasp escapes from my mouth.
"Are you okay, Mr. Randall?" The coarse voice inquires again, and this time, Dale shoves me away from him and I tumble back, bashing my ribs against the door again.
"Argh!" I groan in agony, pressing a hand against my ebbing side. "Fuck, I'm sorry." He croaks, a mishmash of trepidation and despair cloaking his very handsome face. A raps hits the window glass again and anger fuses in my head. "Yea! Yea!! We've heard you all right, old man!"
As soon as I turn to direct my aggression to the offender, embarrassment and guilt quickly burns in my face. Standing behind the door is a thin man in his middle forties with thin wisps of white hair sticking out from under his Jeff Gordon cap. The pall that crosses his face rubs at my conscience. Of course, this should be the agent.
"Mr. Garrison." Dale addresses the man outside, kicking his legs out of the Volkswagen. With a shattered ego, I grasp my purse and climb out of the car. The man whistles eying me leerily. "Is this your girlfriend?" He asks Dale.
"No, no." Dale quickly returns, and I'm shooting him a suspicious glance. His girlfriend?
You like the sound of that, don't you? Jeers my inner voice.
Definitely not.
Liar.
I've a boyfriend, and this beautiful guy is his childhood friend.
Does it matter?
Yes, it does.
Coward. I know you're desperately trying to hide the fact that you like him. That your slutty little side wants him.
No. I don't.
Keep deceiving yourself all you want, I can't wait for the moment you break. I'll be right here to remind you of your sanctimonious vows.
All right. But, for some reason, I'm affrighted by the prospect of a challenge. Dale is a very attractive guy, and any girl with good eyesight can tell. The kiss. My heart jumps to my throat. It was an accident. Both of us did not willingly indulge in the act.
But, you liked it.
Soft and supple. It happened so quickly, not fully on the mouth, subtle and feathery. I can still feel the thrill of excitement that tingled down my arms from the action.
For god's sake, Hayley, snap out of it!
"Hayley, are you okay?" Dale is watching me now, his eyes piercing, consuming. A tight smile pulls up on my lips as I hum under my throat in faint agreement. "Mr. Garrison wants to take us up." He narrates.
"Okay." I say flatly, clutching the strap of my purse to my chest.
A gloating smile brightens my face as we both thread our way through the yard festooned with washings to the stairway. The place is in a pretty bad state. Dale notices this and shares a knowing look.
"This way, please." Says the agent. "You don't have to mind the laundry, it happens sporadically." Thirty minutes of survey, and we both decide that the place is too grim, the apartment too cramped and poky, and the surrounding unsanitary.
"We didn't have to go through the trouble of finding out the severity of the place, I told you beforehand that the place wasn't conducive." I counter, hungrily stuffing a slice of pizza into my mouth.
"Please, don't remind me." Dale grumbles from across the café formica table, taking a swig of beer.
The sky has turn a dusty pink and orange in the chilly evening's light, and soft clouds grazes the foreground of the sky. We are sitting in an outdoor café with noise, and loud music, and the scent of grilled meat and frying oil pervading the air.
The street lights and neon signs are winked to life against the colored sky, and the cacophony of clogging traffic monopolizes the atmosphere.
"How do you know the agent, I mean, Mr. Garrison?" I probe, cleaning my greasy fingertips with a paper napkin.
"Jayden introduced him to me." Dale conveys in a tone of reverence. "My dad wants me to stay on campus. I know he wants to give tabs on me. I don't want that either, I love my solidarity and freedom."
"Yes, of course you do." I mutter against my breath, reaching out for another slice of pepperoni pizza.
"Did you just mock me right now?"
I widen my eyes innocently at him. "Did I?" He scoffs at that, taking another swig of his beer. "God, you're so cute." He whispers, not subtle enough because I hear him, and I'm uncustomarily thrown off balance by his words as the image of our brief kiss in the car conjures back into my mind.
You're so cute.
Where is our saint? My inner voice derides at me.
Fuck off!
The sudden shrieking of my phone jabs me off my daze. "Excuse me." I say to Dale, reaching into my purse to retrieve it. Staring at the caller's ID, Jennifer's smiling face pops up on the screen, and I quickly swipe to answer. "Hey, Jenny, what's up?"
"Where the fuck are you?" Jennifer's slightly miffed voice booms into my ear.
"Out, why, what's happening?" I ask, the worst case scenario playing off in my head. A slight breeze ruffles my hair around my face, and I bristly tuck it behind my ear.
"It's Milley, she just got back from Weathervane drunk and moody, and the next thing, she locks herself up in her room and rampages." Jennifer explains, her voice now bleak. "I seriously don't know what to do, I tried calling Becky, but for some odd reason she isn't answering. I don't know why Milley's suddenly ballistic and distraught, Jayden's threatening to break down the door, god, Hayley, you've got to come back now!"
"Okay." I say, pushing back my patio chair and standing up. "I'll be right there."
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LOSING IT ALL //HAYLEY PARKER
RomanceHayley Parker's life was hypothetically going just smoothly. She had an amazing boyfriend, and housemates who always had her back. Well, not until Dale Randall saunters into her comfortable and normal life, changing her every perspectives about love...
