Falling For Hadley

Chapter 14

DYLAN'S POV

"So, how did you meet my friend Hadley?" the tall guy, Jake, asks me. 

"I met her at her work," I respond, watching as she talks to her friend Aria. She looked absolutely gorgeous tonight. The dress looked bright against her smooth tanned skin. And her eyes were glowing as bright as her personality did every single day that I spoke to her.

"So, was it love at first sight?" the shorter blonde asks me smiling. Her name was Oliva, I think.

"What do you mean love?" Confusion and fear swirls in my brain and my heart picks up pace. I did not love her. And the promise I made to myself on the first day I met her, suddenly flashed into my mind. 'I was going to get Hadley the turtle girl to fall for me, or so help I will hitchhike to New York by myself'. That's what I told myself. And at the moment, that promise broke my heart. I couldn't do that to her. 

"Oh come on man, everyone can see it but the two of you," Jake grins and my heart races even faster. I spot Hadley turning to face me and my heart suddenly stops. Her lips curl into a smile and my breath catches in my throat. Her eyes click with mine, we hold the gaze for couple minutes and then her friend Aria pulls her towards the food table. She shrugs and smiles kindly at me. Damn, that smile was going to be the death of me.

"I don't think it's love, although she's quite the bel-esprit," I smile to myself as all the witty comments she's said, play in my head.

"So, you're well versed," Olivia nods approvingly and I smile politely.

"Well, if it isn't love, then you two have a tremendous appetence to each other," Jake adds and I nod in agreement. That, we did. 

"So, how many people are coming?" Olivia asks me.

"Around 40 last time I checked Hadley's RSVP list," I respond, searching for her orphic green eyes. And as I looked towards the massive oak tree, I spotted her.

"So you two planned this together?" Jake wiggles his eyebrows and Olivia elbows him as high in the gut as she can reach.

"Yes, will you please excuse me?" I excuse myself, as Hadley takes a snapshot of me. Her whole face lit up with a grin as the music began to kick up. I hold out my hand as I walk towards her and she smiles sweetly.

"If you're going to ask me to dance then your in for an awful sight," she warns me and I laugh.

"I'll be fine," I grab her hand and she lets me guide her to the dance floor. Her hand was soft in mine and I can hear her snapping pictures of me as we walk.

"This is nice lighting," she teases and I glance back at her and scowl. She just laughs and snaps another photo.

"You are seriously obsessed with me," I announce and she laughs even louder.

"No, you just have a model smile," she explains as we stop in the center of the dance floor and I pull her a bit closer. She stops smiling and her face grows soft.

"Admit it, your just obsessed with me," I whisper into her ear as I wrap my arms around her waist and she gently curls hers around my neck. 

"Only if you admit that you like my sense of humor better than anyone else's," she teases and her lips curl into a soft smile. I could feel parts of my heart melt as I watched her face brighten from her smile. 

"How about if I admit that your smile is going to be the death of me?" I try instead and she laughs.

"You don't need to use your New York flirting skills on me. Not gonna happen," she says stubbornly, a grin spreading across her face and I raise my eyebrows with a challenge.

"What if it does?" I wonder, my heart beginning to race. I ordered it to calm down, but it just kept on racing. 

"Yeah right," she jokes and I spin her to the rhythm of the music. Her face reddens suddenly and she stares at something behind me.

"What?" I question her, pulling her closer to me again.

"It's Trent," she says coldly, her whole demeanor suddenly changing. I pull her in and wrap her body in my arms, feeling the sudden urge to protect her.

"Then let's make him jealous," I announce and she smiles up at me shyly, and that's when I press my forehead to hers. My whole body sparked with electricity and my forehead burned from her touch. She looked up into my eyes with curiosity washing over her face. Surprisingly, she didn't pull away. And so I brought my hands up to her jaw and gently stroke across her jaw and use my thumb to brush back and forth against her lips. Her eyes flicker to behind me and then back to mine, my whole body suddenly craving her attention and for her eyes to be locked with my own.

"Nice job," she whispers, breaking the electric silence. My lips twist into a small smile and I could feel her lips curl underneath my thumbs. Our breaths curled around each other and a bit of hers tickled my chin. I move my hands higher up to her ears and feel her earrings underneath my palms. I expect her to look back at Trent again but she keeps her eyes locked with mine the whole time. I suddenly feel her hands move up to my chest and she leans farther inwards. Her lips just millimeters from mine. 

"You are quite the actress," I whisper gently but she doesn't smile. She just wraps her arms around my neck and pulls me in just a little bit farther. The tips of our lips glided against each other, but it wasn't a kiss. It was just the beginning. Just a taste of the real thing. That left me with a craving beyond compare. My whole body itched for the electricity that she brought. My heart ached for the real thing with every ounce of blood that was in it. I release her face from my hands and she slowly uncurls her arms from around my neck. Our eyes were still locked on each other. 

"You two seriously need to date already," Oliver teases and our eyes unlock. I smile, trying to hide my breathless state and try to smooth out my heart rate. Hadley nods at me awkwardly and heads towards the food table.

"I'm just gonna get food," she says as she whisks away. She turns and takes one last snapshot of me and then I'm left alone.

"Yeah, we probably should be," I whisper the reply to myself. My whole body, left aching for more.