Friendly Reminder

Chapter 3

Neither Hayley nor Taylor got much sleep that night. They were all the other could think about, along with the crippling anxiety of losing their friendship. The thought of never speaking to each other again put a wrench in both of their hearts.

As much as Hayley ached to text Taylor the following morning, she knew she wouldn't be able to face the music.

She missed his lips on hers and how his hands traveled down her back. She still couldn't believe that happened. She had kissed her best friend. Was this even real life right now?

More importantly, was that Hayley wanted to do it again and she wasn't going to lie, she wished Taylor felt the same.

Hayley drove to the office in silence, instead letting her thoughts take over. In the pit of her stomach, she felt terrible because of the unknown future ahead for her and Taylor, but knew she needed and wanted more of him.

"Good morning!" Brian yelled from the other side of the room as Hayley walked through the door.

"Morning" Hayley said in an unenthusiastic way.

"Uh oh, did someone wake up on the wrong side of the bed or what?"

Hayley sighed, but tried to smile at him to prove she was okay.

"No, I'm fine. Just a little tired. I didn't get much sleep last night is all."

Brian nodded while squinting his eyes and puckering his lips. "Hmm. You sure that's it?"

Hayley faked a laugh. "Yes, Brian. That's it. You don't know what it's like to live with insomnia. Your brain works perfectly fine. That's probably why this company is still thriving."

Brian smirked at her joke, but was still unsure if she was telling the truth. Deciding to let it go for now, he said, "Fine, princess, if you say so. Come sit down and I'll fix the mess you call your hair."

Hayley gaped at him, but once she looked in the mirror, she realized he was right. She honestly wasn't thinking about her hair at all before she left her house, but only of a curly haired man she had kissed last night.

While Brian was curling her hair, which was something Hayley became really fond of over the past month, she zoned out completely. Her and Brian had been chatting until all of a sudden Taylor popped into her mind.

Brian noticed her daydreaming and laughed. "Girl, what are you thinking about? Did you meet somebody or something? Damn."

Hayley's head shot up at his words, making Brian step back so he wouldn't burn her with the curling iron.

"Whoa! Okay now you really need to tell me what's happening."

In all honesty, Hayley really did want to tell someone about the kiss, but if it was a mistake, was it worth spilling her guts about?

She rolled her eyes and smiled at her friend, who had his eyes glued on her, expecting an explanation.

"Okay, fine. But this is really important and I don't even know how I totally feel yet, except I actually do, I don't know-"

"Hayley, just spit it out!"

"Taylor and I kissed last night."

Brian's eyes looked like they were about to pop out and his smile was wider than Hayley had ever seen it.

"About time! Oh my god, Hayley, this is amazing! I can't believe you would've kept this from me!"

Hayley furrowed her eyebrows. "Wait, what? Amazing? Really? I thought you would've thought it was weird."

Brian slumped his shoulders. "Are you serious? You guys would be perfect together, not to mention the obvious chemistry between you two. It was inevitable and I'm so happy for you!"

Hayley was shocked at his reaction. She was expecting a completely different response, but was relieved to say the least.

"You're not gonna like what happened after we kissed, though." Hayley said and looked away from him.

"Oh no, what did you do?"

"Wow, I love how you assume I did something."

"I wouldn't put it past you to be scared, that's all. So, really, what did you do?"

Hayley pressed her lips together. "I got up, ran to my car, and drove off." At this point, she was cringing at her own actions.

Brian looked disappointed in the way her story was unfolding, but still held onto hope for the future of it.

"Oh, gosh, no you didn't! Hayles, that poor man! You just left him?"

"Sadly, yes. I feel so bad, especially because he called after me, but I didn't stop. We haven't talked since. Shit, Brian, I really messed up."

Brian put his hand on her shoulder and said, "Listen, you guys are best friends and you just got divorced not too long ago. It's not like you're not allowed to be scared of this. It's the way you go about it now that matters the most, though. You have to talk to him sooner rather than later before it blows out of proportion."

"I know, you're right. I just can't believe we kissed. Technically, he kissed me because he leaned in first." Hayley said matter-of-factly.

Brian gave her a look. "Aw, he wanted to kiss you. I wonder how long he's been waiting for that opportunity."

Those words brought butterflies to Hayley's stomach as she got what he meant.

"So, you think he's been wanting to kiss me?"

"Do you need to get your eyes checked because you must be blind to how much that man adores you. I always knew something was there."

Hayley entered dreamland again, thinking of all the times she had seen Taylor look at her in a more than friends kind of way and reminded herself that she had most certainly done the same on multiple occasions, too.

Brian had to ask what was on his mind. "So, do you think you want to pursue this and be with him?"

Hayley looked up at him, trying and failing to hide her smile that told him her answer.

"I mean, yeah. It's the most unexpected thing to ever happen to me, but part of me wonders if it would never work out, especially with the band and everything, you know. I'm just worried."

"I understand that, but look at how long you guys have stuck by each other's side. What if it was leading to this very moment?"

"You're really trying to make me cry, aren't you?"

"I'm not, I'm sorry! It's just the truth." They both laughed as Brian finally went back to finishing her hair.

Hayley wanted what Brian had said to be true, but she still had her doubts. A talk with Taylor was what she needed in order to fix this mess.

Just as she thought this, she got a text from Zac that said, "I'm throwing Taylor a birthday party at my place Saturday, so get ready to party!!"

Her breathing stopped for what seemed like forever, but she couldn't help the smile that appeared on her face as she reread the text and his name.

Part of her couldn't wait to see him, but the other part screamed at her to run far away.

Author's Note: Kind of a filler, but it needed to happen. Hope you enjoyed and thanks for reading!