Love, Anonymous

Chapter Thirty Eight

cover sweetkiwifruit

Chapter Thirty Eight

I trot up the steps and wind the corner on my way to Mr. Duncan's room where I can already smell the coffee wafting down the hall. But as I walk into his room, I don't see him anywhere nor do I see coffee on his desk.

I shrug and walk towards my seat anyways, setting my backpack down next to me so it's easier for me to search for my sketchbook. I easily find it amongst the clump of books in my bag and pull it out. Placing it on the table, I flip to my latest drawing that I began the other night.

Prom night.

When Hayden came over in the pouring rain to admit the letters were from him all along.

He ended up staying the night and I fell asleep in his arms; for the second time. Only this time it was different; I wasn't with Noah and there was no doubt in my mind about Hayden's feelings for me.

To be honest, I guess there was never any doubt of his feelings for me, I just didn't let myself get my hopes up in order to protect myself from being hurt. Because people can say whatever they want, but it doesn't always guarantee that they mean it.

Noah is a prime example.

I believed him when he said he wrote my letters. I took his word. I trusted him, and he ruined all of it. Even if Hayden wasn't in the picture, I don't think I could ever be with Noah after he broke my trust like that.

I felt like a fool.

I'm startled out of my thoughts when a small coffee cup from Wawa is placed down on the desk next to me. I can already smell the aroma of French Vanilla creamer rising from the coffee.

My eyes follow the hand that slowly retracts from the cup and I follow the trail of prominent, muscular forearm veins leading to an equally muscled bicep, creating a path to broad shoulders that hold up none other than Hayden, smirking softly my way.

I smile sheepishly and he chuckles, scooting into the seat next to me.

"Don't get shy on me now," he says, throwing his arm around my shoulders as he sits closer to me.

I grin, "Never."

"Never?"

I shake my head to confirm it.

"Shy maybe not, but nervous," he breathes, eyes flitting down to my lips, "that's one thing you can't deny."

My own eyes trail to his lips and I struggle to pull them back to his eyes.

He notices where my eyes are focused and leans forward, his lips meeting mine in a soft embrace. But the small pressing of our lips wasn't enough for either of us and as I pull back he follows me so that our lips can't disconnect and deepens the kiss.

I lift my hand and place it on his chest, traveling up to wind it around his neck so our kiss doesn't end. He sets his hand on my knee and trails it up until it rests high up on my thigh and nibbles my bottom lip.

"Okay, I'm fine with the kissing but the moment this turns into something more you two have got to move to the janitor's closet," Duncan says as he walks into the room, causing me to jump away from Hayden with heat rising to my cheeks from both the embarrassment and how steamy that kiss was.

Hayden seems caught in some sort of daze when I pull away and smiles at me for a second or two before he directs his attention to Duncan, masking the daze with his normal, cocky smile that I've come to love.

"Fine by me," Hayden smirks.

I gap and smack his chest and he laughs, swooping down and setting a small kiss on my lips, a sweet follow up to the previous kiss. "I'm kidding Cupcake."

Duncan chuckles and shakes his head at us, "Well I'm glad you two are finally together. It took long enough."

I tilt my head at him, "How did you know Hayden was writing the letters anyway?"

He glances at Hayden and they mirror each other's smirks, causing questions to dance around my head.

"Would you like to tell her, or should I?" Duncan asks.

Hayden gestures for him to, "You go right ahead."

"Okay that's not suspicious at all..." I say warily.

"Well, Hayden and I are sort of related," Duncan begins.

Uh, what.

I sit up and glance between the two of them. "What?!"

Duncan chuckles, "Hayden's step-mom happens to be my biological mom. She had me right out of high school, and my father left when he found out she was pregnant and she raised me by herself. Then she had Elliot about twenty years later with her late husband, whom I liked a lot, and then she found Hayden's father and married him. So...we're step brothers."

Hayden intervenes, "So I asked Duncan to set up the project way back when just so you and I could be partners. He knew all about my crush on you and about the letters."

I just stare at them in complete and utter shock with my jaw dropped.

Hayden smirks and leans in close so that his breath is tickling my ears.

"You'll catch flies, Cupcake."

I send him a loving glare as I shut my mouth, and then snap my eyes over to Duncan. "So every time I talked to you about the letters, you knew exactly who I was talking about," I deadpan the obvious.

Duncan smirks and lifts his coffee to his lips instead of providing an answer that would probably leave me even more embarrassed.

"Wait- did you ever tell Hayden what I said about the letters?" I ask quickly.

He sets the coffee down and shakes his head, "I'm not Cupid, Reagan. You two had to come together on your own, I just provided the setting."

"Thanks, by the way," Hayden says.

Duncan waves it off, "All in a year's work." Then he stands and starts going back to the front of the room, and stops and turns to us. "But, I expect to be your best man at the wedding."

I instantly blush when I notice Hayden grin down at me, "Of course. You may have to fight Logan though. And Cole."

"Logan?" Duncan asks with his brow furrowed. "Oh! The one that came in asking you for gum that one class and took the gum you had been chewing," he says to me.

I cringe at the memory and nod, "That's the one."

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