Adrenalin

Chapter 8 - Hayden

I think this chapter was okay, but anyway, let me know what you think. And enjoy :) xx
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        Riley runs off to the football field to warm up, leaving Sydney and I alone. The kid loves me; I don’t know why but it makes me happy. He reminds me of Katie, the way he seems to worship me for no apparent reason.
            Sydney and I sit down on a park bench. She’s wearing a tantalisingly hot outfit as usual; black leather skirt, black tights with rips and pulls, shiny black Doc Martens, and a black and white ACDC singlet with the sides cut out, revealing the red lace of her bra.
            Goddamn.
           I clear my throat. “Okay, I’m going to just cut straight to the point.”
            She keeps her eyes trained ahead.
            “I have bad news.” I tell her.
         Her eyes shoot to mine. “You better choose your words very carefully here, mate.”
            I’d forgot the beauty of her eyes, the exact resemblance they have to my one great love; the ocean. They make it very hard for me to concentrate on the topic at hand.
         “Well, something came up and it looks like I won’t be able to do Friday.” I say quickly before her glare scares the shit out of me and I chicken out.
           Her eyes burn into me, looking me straight in the eye. She holds my gaze before looking away and laughing bitterly, shaking her head. “Why am I not surprised?”
            “It’s not what you think.”
          “It’s not me that cares. I couldn’t give a shit.” She snaps. “It’s Riley that you should be making excuses to.”
            “I know. I’m sorry, but I can’t get out of this. Trust me, I tried.” This really isn’t going the way I planned. My speech has completely flown out of my head.
            “Forget about it, Hayden.” She stands, readjusting her skirt. Again, my eyes are drawn to her legs. She can’t naturally be that hot, she has to work out or something. But somehow, I'm pretty sure she doesn’t. She’s just fucking blessed.
            “Hayden!” Riley calls, “I’m ready!”
           “Coming, little man.” I call back, standing up and turning to Sydney. I hesitate. I want to hold her hand or something to get her attention, but I’m kind of scared she’ll judo flip me. “Look Sydney,” I say in a low voice, stepping towards her. “It’s this cancer fundraiser thing I have to go to and my mum’s the President. We lost someone... she – she was pretty close to us.” Damn it to hell my voice breaking.
         Sydney stares determinedly at her boots. I hook my finger under her chin and tilt her face up. “You should come.” I tell her.
    She chews her lip. “What do you even do at cancer fundraisers?”
           I shrug. “It’s just like a ball thing and people dance.”
          “I don’t dance –,”
          “Either do I.”
          “And I don’t wear dresses –,”
          “Either do I.”
          She grins. “No shit.”
         “You’d look hot in a dress.” I say and she looks away again, trying to suppress a smile. “Come onnn, dont make me go by myself.”
            She rolls her eyes but she’s still smiling. “I don’t even own a dress.”
            “I’ll buy you one.” I shrug.
            She cocks an eyebrow. “Well, I’ll think about it.”
           I grin and grab her hand, twirling her around and spinning her in, tucking her under my arm. She’s pretty tall, but still, the top of her head only just reaches my chin.
            Sydney looks up at me, a smirk on her face and I realise how close we are; close enough for me to kiss her lips, and damn, it’s tempting. She smells like a summer breeze. I let go of her hand and step back. “Sorry.”
            “S’all good,” she says distractedly, looking away. “Riley is still waiting.”
            “Oh yeah, shit... I'll talk to you later about it.” I jog off to find Riley and look at her over my shoulder when she thinks I’m not looking. She wraps her arms around herself, trying not smile. I grin to myself triumphantly.
          “Ready, little man?” I ask Riley as I approach him.
           “Are you Sydney’s boyfriend?” He asks, giggling.
       “No, not exactly.” I laugh. “How do you know about that stuff?”
            “Jack in my class has a girlfriend.” Riley says seriously.
         I try not to laugh. “So you reckon I should be Sydney’s boyfriend?”
            He nods his head happily. “Then we can go on your boat all the time!”
            “Sure thing,” I ruffle his hair, “but I think your sister might need some persuading.”

            Sydney looks over at us suspiciously so we continue on playing footy. The kid actually isn’t too bad. Sydney must have taught him well.
            She sits off to the side watching us, laughing every now and then. I’m conscious of her eyes on me, scrutinising everything I do. Either she’s playing hard to get or she just doesn’t like me, which – I don’t mean to be cocky – I highly doubt. There is something between us, I can feel it. She can feel it.
            But on the plus side, I managed to convince her to come on Friday. It’s not exactly the most cheerful date, but I’m hoping it might let her get to know me better. Katie is a big part of who I am, and I want to share that with her.
            Fuck these feelings. I’ve never been so into a girl before.

            “Hey, Syd,” Riley calls to his sister about ten minutes later. “Come and play with us!”
            She gestures down at her skirt. “I’m not exactly dressed for football, matey.”
            “It doesn’t matter! Come on!” He insists.
            “Yeah, come on, Sydney.” I shout too, grinning.
            She rolls her eyes and walks over to us. “It’s getting late, buddy. We should probably go.”
            “But – but – it’s only been ten minutes!” Riley complains.
            “Forty five minutes actually,” Sydney replies.
            Riley huffs. “Fine.” And he leads the way back to the car.
           Sydney jerks her head, motioning for me to follow her. I jog a couple of steps to catch up until I fall in-step with her. Her dark hair bounces around her mid-back as we walk. She walks with such confidence and poise that most people can’t help but look back at her. She always looks like she has a purpose, everything she does is slow and graceful and deliberate.

        “I’ve been thinking,” she says as we reach her car. Damn, I’d kill for that car. She helps Riley into his seat and then straightens up, closing the door. “I think I wouldn’t mind coming to that thing on Friday.”
         My smile broadens. “Great.”
      “And look, I don’t do this kind of stuff often. I – I don’t have boyfriends or go out to parties or... or anything.” She looks down, kicking at the gravel. “I look after my brothers, I pay rent and bills and I make dinner. That’s it.”
        She looks like she’s having a hard time opening up about this stuff. I tip her chin up again. “And? That’s fine with me.”
        “I’m just warning you. I mean, I don’t know if you’re interested in me or if you’re just being nice because well, I wouldn’t be able to tell the difference and I’m not – I’m not a normal girl –,”
           I press my finger to her lips, cutting off her rambling.
        “And that’s why I’m interested in you – because you’re nothing like normal girls and it’s attractive.” I say in a low voice, playing my hands on the car either side of her shoulders.
            She shivers. “So – so you are interested in me?”
        More than you realise, I think as she looks up at me, her eyes vulnerable. She’d dropped the whole bitch-act, now I can read her like an open book.
              I nod. “Very much so.”
           She smiles shyly. “So is Friday a date?” She raises an eyebrow challengingly.
              “I wouldn’t quite call a cancer fundraiser a date.” I point out.
              She laughs.
             “But if you’re still – willing – after Friday, I could maybe take you out again?” I ask uncertainly.
              She grins, placing her hands on my chest and pushing me back slowly. “We’ll see, Mr Hazel Eyes.”
              I give her a look, raising my eyebrows. “Mr Hazel Eyes?”
              “Well I’m Goth Girl, and you’re Mr Hazel Eyes.” She grins.
           I slide a hand onto the curve of her waist and bend down, placing a slow and deliberate kiss on her cheek, right on the side of her lips.
             “I’ll see you later then, Goth Girl.” I say against her ear.
             “Until next time, Mr Hazel Eyes.”