“Fuck that! That was then.” He marches towards me, placing his hands either side of my head against the wall, towering over me. “I do not release you from this deal, you understand? You still have two days until it’s over, you’re fucking staying.”
“Kyle don’t be like this, not after last night, not after what we did. I thought we were moving forward, I thought we were past this stupid deal, this stupid game. I guess I was wrong. You’re not who I thought you were after all.” I duck under his arm and head for the bathroom, but I stop just inside the doorway and turn back to Kyle. “Just for the record, last night was the best night of my life. It meant something to me, I just wish I could say the same for you.”
I storm into the bathroom and slam the door behind me. I lean against the sink, staring into the mirror in front of me as tears begin to fall down my face.
Why is he acting like this? Why does he have to be so cruel, especially after last night?
I switch on the shower and pull my panties back down before stepping under the hot torrent of water, letting it cascade over me.
After getting dressed and brushing my teeth, I leave the bathroom, finding Kyle sat on the edge of the bed facing the bathroom door, elbows resting on his thighs, his palms scrubbing at his jaw.
I pause in the doorway.
“I’m sorry,” he says, his eyes flicking to mine. “I’m sorry for being a dick all the time, I don’t mean to… the truth is Hayley, I don’t want you to leave. I don't want you to leave me.”
“I need to get back to my life, my friends, my job…”
“I know,” he sighs, sorrowfully. “Was last night really the best night of your life?”
I nod.
He bolts up from where he’s sat and closes the distance between us, claiming my mouth, desperately. He slams me against the wall, his hand cradling the back of my head to soften the blow, his tongue gliding over the seam of my lips before it slips into my mouth, tasting me, earnestly.
My hands grip his shirt, balling it into my fists as I cling to him, holding him close.
His fingers wind into my hair as he pulls back slightly, regaining his breath, his nose touching mine. “Last night meant something to me, too.”
He pecks light kisses on my nose, on my cheek, on my jaw and down to my neck before working his way back up to my mouth.
“Go pack your things,” he says in a low, soft voice.
I look at him confused. “What?”
He pushes away from me, backing up slightly. “The deal’s over, it was over two nights ago when I told you that you could go. I’m sorry for saying what I did earlier, it was stupid, you’re free to go. I’ll transfer the money to your dad’s account, it should be in there in a couple of days.”
“You’re really letting me go?”
He nods slowly.
I exhale. “I guess I should be going, then. I’ll get a cab-”
“No. I’ll drive you. I’m not ready to let you go… just yet.”
∞∞∞
After packing my things and placing my dress back in the box where I found it lying crumpled on the floor from last night, along with my heels, Kyle helps me carry them out.
Aside from giving him directions to the diner, we stay in silence the rest of the journey, unsure as to what to say to each other.
I want to tell him to turn the car around and take me back. I want to tell him that I want him, but I can’t seem to make the words leave my mouth.
Before I know it, Kyle has killed the engine, he’s parked directly outside the diner.
He walks around the front of the car and opens the door for me, before pulling my things from the trunk and placing them on the sidewalk next to the car.
He takes my mouth, his tongue sweeping into my mouth. The kiss is tender and sweet, a bittersweet goodbye. I place my hand at the back of his neck, holding him to me, not wanting it to end.
He breaks the kiss, his forehead resting against mine, his hands still on either side of my face, and lets out a deep sigh.
He releases me, pulling my phone out from my back pocket. He taps on the screen and hands it back to me a minute later. “There. My number is in your phone. If you need me, for anything, you call me okay? Anything at all.”
I take my phone from him and nod.
He reaches for me one last time and kisses me deeply, before letting me go.
I look up at him. “Bye, Kyle.”
“Goodbye,” he says, running his hands down my arms, lingering at my hands, not wanting to let go.
I pick up my stuff from the ground and walk away, leaving Kyle behind me, watching me head into the diner. I walk through the diner, soft music fills the background, the sound of idle chatter wafting through the room.
I glance back through the window at Kyle as I reach the counter, who climbs into his car and tears away down the street, the deep roar of the engine slowly fading away into the distance.
“Hey there,” Uncle Jack greets as I round the counter, planting a kiss on his cheek as I pass him.
“Hey Uncle Jack.” I head for the back room and place my bags down just inside the door.
“You feeling better?” he calls as I head back out, coming to a stop next to him.
“Much.”
“Good. Who was that I saw you with out there?”
“Oh, no one,” I reply, not wanting to explain.
He eyes me dubiously. “Is he the guy your dad was on about? Some rich prick from the city?”
I hesitate, not knowing what to say.
“I’m not going to pry or push
