Never forget it, p.5
Never Forget It, page 5
Normally Sara wouldn’t want to tell another person any of this. But she trusted Hayden. Somehow she knew that she could tell her anything.
Hayden placed her hand over Sara’s. “I don’t know why your mother left, but she’s got to be crazy to not want to be in your life.”
“I think I’m better off. I’ve got my dad and he’s pretty great.”
“I’m sure he’s wonderful. He raised a pretty awesome daughter.”
Sara laughed. “You weren't saying that a couple weeks ago.”
“No. But that was before I got to know you. I learned that you are kind, funny, generous, a bit neurotic, but also a really beautiful person. Inside and out.”
Sara smiled, squeezing Hayden’s hand in hers. “I’m really glad you ended up being my roommate. I’m happy we met.”
“I am too.”
There was something really special about Hayden. Sara was enjoying every second of discovering that.
Chapter 10: Hayden
“What is going on with you?” Rachel asked.
Hayden and Rachel just got to Hayden’s apartment.
Hayden took a bottle of vodka out of the freezer and grabbed a glass.
“Hayden I’m seriously worried here. Do you need help?”
Hayden looked at Rachel in confusion. Her sister gestured towards the bottle of vodka.
Hayden waved a hand at her. “I don’t have a drinking problem.”
“You could have fooled me. You’re not usually a day drinker.”
“Rachel, I’m fine. I’m just having a bad day.”
More like a bad week. She didn’t want to unravel on Rachel. She was getting married in a couple weeks. She didn’t need to hear about Hayden’s problems.
Hayden sat down on the sofa with her drink. Rachel sat down next to her.
“Hayden, I’m not leaving until you tell me what’s wrong so you might as well talk.”
Hayden glared at her, exhaling through her nose. “I already knew Sara before she started planning the wedding.”
“How?”
“She’s the Sara I told you about. You know. The Sara.”
Rachel opened her eyes wide in surprise. “Oh. Freshman year Sara?”
“Yes.”
“The reason you transferred to a new school Sara?”
“Yes.”
“The person that broke your heart into a million pieces Sara?”
Hayden blinked a couple times. “Thank you for that Rach.”
It was like she was twisting the knife in her gut.
“Hayden, you should have told me. I never would have made you go with me to wedding planning if I knew.”
“No. I want to be there for you. I just need to deal with this Sara issue.”
Rachel smiled sympathetically. “You mean by not dealing with it?”
“Don’t start.”
The only bad part of being so close to her sister was that she knew Hayden better than she knew herself.
“Hayden, she’s the only woman you ever loved. And I don’t think you ever really got over her.”
Unfortunately she wasn’t wrong. It was like Sara took a piece of Hayden’s heart with her the day they broke up. And she never found a way to get it back.
When Hayden didn’t respond, Rachel moved closer to her and held her hands in hers. “I think you two should talk.”
“She dumped me Rachel. I don’t want to be with Sara.”
“I’m not saying be with Sara. Go for a coffee. Talk. Maybe mend fences. You two could even end up being friends.”
“That would be the adult thing to do.”
Rachel pursed her lips. “I know how hard that can be for you.”
Rachel was right. The only way Hayden was going to move on from her past was if she faced it.
She had to talk to Sara.
* * *
8 YEARS AGO
Hayden and Sara were watching a movie together on Sara’s laptop.
“This movie is stupid,” Hayden said.
Sara glared at the woman. “This is a classic horror movie.”
“Oh believe me it shows. Classic horror movie, where everyone in it is an idiot.”
“And how would you survive a psychotic killer?”
“I’d fare better than double D Cindy.”
“Are you jealous of double D Cindy?”
“No thank you. I love my body.”
Sara smirked. “I do too.”
Hayden blushed. She and Sara were getting a lot more comfortable with each other. But they hadn’t taken the next step yet. She wasn’t sure if she was ready for that yet.
She liked Sara. A lot. More than she liked anyone before. And it made her feel a little nervous about their first time together. She wanted it to be special.
Sara kissed Hayden. Slow and gently at first. As their kisses became more heated, Sara rolled Hayden over onto the bed. She caressed her cheek as she traced kisses down Hayden’s cheek and onto her neck.
Hayden moaned, throwing her head back as Sara lightly bit down on Hayden’s neck.
Sara quickly learned of Hayden’s soft spot on her neck that drove her crazy.
Sara unbuttoned the buttons of Hayden’s Henley. She slid her hand into her shirt and under her bra.
When her hand glided over Hayden’s breast, Hayden’s breath quickened. She could feel the ache building between her legs.
“Hayden.”
“Yes?” Hayden said, her voice raspy with desire.
“I want to touch you.”
Hayden knew right away what she was asking permission to do to her.
She kissed Sara’s neck, breathing into Sara’s ear. “I want you to touch me.”
Sara looked into Hayden’s eyes, her hand moving down Hayden’s body. She untied Hayden’s joggers, sliding her hand into Hayden’s panties and rubbing small circles around Hayden’s clit.
Hayden held onto Sara, as she moaned into a kiss.
Sara pushed two fingers inside of Hayden, quickening her pace and moving her body into hers. She spread her legs more, giving her more access to her center.
“Don’t stop,” Hayden breathed out.
“Never.”
Hayden could feel her walls getting tighter and tighter around Sara’s fingers. She was close.
“You’re so wet,” Sara said, biting down on Hayden’s earlobe.
“You’re...really...good… with your… fingers.”
Sara laughed. “Wait til you feel what I can do with my tongue.”
Those words were all it took to throw Hayden over the edge. She grabbed onto Sara’s hand as she let the electrifying pleasure flow through her body.
Sara held her hand in place until she felt Hayden’s walls loosen. When they did she removed her fingers from Hayden and smiled down at her.
She kissed her cheek, sucking on her neck as Hayden’s heartbeat slowed back down.
“You’re amazing,” Sara said.
Hayden kissed Sara. “Not as amazing as you.”
“We‘ll have to agree to disagree on that one.”
Hayden smirked. She flipped them over so that she was now on top of Sara. “We’ll see about that.”
Chapter 11: Sara
There was a light knock on Sara’s office door.
“Come in.”
Sara was typing an email to one of their suppliers. Her father was putting more and more on her plate. It seemed to be that he was testing her to see how much she could handle.
Keep it coming Dad.
She stopped typing when she looked at the brunette leaning against the doorframe of her office. She blinked once to make sure her vision wasn’t tricking her.
Nope. She wasn’t blind yet. Hayden was really standing in her doorway.
“Hey.”
“Hey,” she said. She was dressed in jeans, a v-neck, and a brown leather jacket. She looked a lot better than the other day.
“What are you doing here?”
“Being an adult.”
“Sorry?”
“Could I come in?” Hayden asked.
“Of course.”
Hayden closed the door behind her and took one of the seats in front of Sara’s desk. She looked nervous, which was off coming from Hayden. To this day she was still the strongest woman Sara knew. Hayden didn’t get nervous.
Or if she did, she didn’t let it show.
Sara closed her laptop, giving Hayden her undivided attention.
“I wanted to apologize for the other day. I was having a moment.”
That was putting it lightly. Sara thought Hayden was having an allout breakdown, and she was so worried that it was her fault.
“We all have them. No worries.”
Hayden took a deep breath, placing her hands on her thighs. She looked like she was trying to gain composure. “Seeing you again has been...difficult.”
Great.
Sara was right. Hayden’s breakdown was her fault.
“I’m sorry for that.”
“It’s not your fault. We have history and I shouldn’t have pretended we didn’t. I made things more awkward by not talking about it.”
“I understand why you wouldn’t want to talk about the past. A lot of bad memories.”
Hayden smiled, but it looked like she was smiling more to herself than at Sara. “Not all of the memories were bad. One in particular was pretty bad. But we had a lot of good memories together too Sara.”
“Yeah, we did.” Sara smiled at the memories.
Being with Hayden was the happiest she’d ever been in her entire life. So then why did Sara mess things up so badly?
“I told Rachel who you are. So, there will be no more issues when we have to meet.”
“Does she hate me?”
Hayden laughed. “Maybe a little. But she’s not really the type to hate anyone so I think you’re safe.”
That was just what Sara needed. Hayden’s older sister out for blood. She hoped Hayden was right about her sister not wanting to kill her. Though she would understand. If she had a sister and someone hurt her like she hurt Hayden, she’d want to cut a bitch too.
It didn’t help that Sara was that bitch.
Hayden’s hazel eyes bore into Sara’s for a moment too long. Sara wanted her so badly.
“Hey, do you want to get a coffee sometime?” Hayden said. “Sit down and talk?”
Sara wasn’t expecting that to come out of the woman’s mouth. It caught her by surprise. “I’ll check my schedule. Can I text you?”
She nodded her head. “Sure. Let me know.”
Hayden got up from her seat. Sara stood with her, straightening her jacket. “It was good to see you Sara.”
Sara smiled. “You too Hayden.”
Hayden walked out of the office. Sara stood frozen in place.
Go after her. Just do it Sara.
Sara walked around her desk and rushed out of the door and down the corridor to catch up with her. “Hayden!”
Hayden stopped and turned around. “Yeah?”
“How about right now?”
Hayden grinned, her eyes sparkling. “Now is good.”
* * *
Sara and Hayden walked to a cafe down the street from the hotel. They could have had coffee at the hotel, but Sara didn’t want to deal with employees talking about it.
Anyway, it was just coffee. It’s not like it was a date or anything.
Hayden ordered a double Americano and turned to Sara for her order.
“I can order separately.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. I invited you to get coffee.”
“I’ll have the same,” Sara said to the barista.
“Cream, sugar?” the barista asked.
“No thanks. Just black.”
Hayden eyed Sara curiously before paying for the two coffees.
They took a seat to wait for their order to be up.
Now it was Sara’s turn to be nervous. She didn’t know what to say or how to act. Inside, she was so excited to be sitting across from the love of her life.
“You like drinking dirt now?” Hayden asked, a playful smile tugging at her lips.
Sara laughed. “You were right. You get used to it.”
Truth? Sara started drinking her coffee black because it reminded her of Hayden. She even took up drinking tequila from time to time when she was really trying to be reminded of her old girlfriend.
Hayden got up to get their coffees and went to sit back down.
“Thanks,” Sara said.
“So, tell me about yourself.”
“Hayden, you already know me.”
“Honestly, I don’t. We haven’t seen each other in eight years. A lot can happen in eight years. You and I aren’t the same people anymore.” She eyed Sara’s outfit. “I mean look at your clothes.”
Sara furrowed her eyebrows. “What’s wrong with my clothes?”
“Nothing, but you could stand to lose a button.” She smirked as she took a sip from her coffee cup.
“You don’t seem to have changed much. Aside from liking wine now.”
She made a face. “Like is a strong word. I tolerate it as long as it has alcohol in it.”
“I don’t know. You sound a lot like the old Hayden.”
“How’s everything been?”
“Fine. I work a lot now. I got my MBA a few months ago and moved back home.”
“Nice.”
“How did you get into this social media job?”
“Tyler.”
“Right, the friend.”
“Yeah, there was an opening at the publication and he recommended me.”
“I’m glad you found a job where you can utilize your passions.”
She laughed. “Yeah, my passion for keeping my face in my phone.”
Sara laughed with her. It felt so good to laugh with her again.
Then they went silent.
They were both avoiding the elephant in the room.
Sara took a deep breath and said it. “I’m sorry for what I did to you.”
“Sara…”
“I shouldn’t have ended things the way I did. I should have met you in Miami like we were supposed to. Breaking up with you over a text was awful.”
“It was. But we were young and I’m hoping you had a good reason.”
“You know, I didn’t. I went to see a therapist for a while after we broke up and I realized I’m a textbook case of abandonment issues. It doesn’t take a shrink to recognize that. My mom left me, so I leave everyone else before they get the chance to leave me.”
Sara looked at Hayden and all she saw was complete compassion. “That makes sense. I’m not happy you broke up with me through text, but I do get it.”
Sara took a sip of her coffee.
Hayden moved forward. “I wouldn’t have left you though Sara. You were the love of my life. I would have never left you. I wanted to spend the rest of my life with you.”
“I know that now. Unfortunately, then I didn’t. Or I guess I didn’t believe it. I couldn’t believe that someone as amazing as you could actually want to be with me.”
“Sara, you deserve to be loved. You deserve to be happy. You are a spectacular person that is worth sticking around for. Your mother is a whack job if she can’t see that.”
Sara smiled tearfully. She felt so stupid for pushing Hayden away.
“I really want us to move on,” Hayden continued. “We’re both adults. I don’t see why we can’t be friends.”
Sara didn’t want to be Hayden’s friend. She wanted to be so much more to Hayden. But she’d take friendship over nothing at all.
“Friends. I like the sound of that.”
* * *
8 YEARS AGO
Sara and Hayden spent every moment they could with each other. If they weren’t at class, they were together back at the dorm.
Sex was never so exciting for Sara before. It’s not like she had a lot of experience, but in comparison with the two girls she had been with, they had nothing on Hayden. She wasn’t even sure if she could call what she had with them sex.
She was pretty sure it was because of how she felt about Hayden. Those other girls. She liked them, but she didn’t feel the connection she felt with Hayden.
Sex was so much more special when it was with someone you really cared about and shared a deep connection with.
Sara was falling in love with Hayden. She just hadn’t gotten the courage to say it to her yet.
Unfortunately, the coming weekend was going to be spent away from each other.
It was Thanksgiving break and both girls were going home for the holiday.
Luckily they both lived in Florida, but they still had a good hour between them in the big state. Hayden’s family was in West Palm Beach and Sara was in Miami.
They did manage to book their flight together so they were able to spend the plane ride home together.
“Are you going to tell your family about us?” Sara asked.
Hayden smiled. “I don’t think I could hide you even if I wanted to. Besides, Rachel already knows and so does Justin. If Justin knows, everyone knows.”
Sara laughed. She enjoyed hearing stories about Hayden’s eccentric family. She had told her so much about them that she felt like she already knew her family personally.
“What about you?” Hayden asked.
“Dad knows I’m seeing someone. And you’ve met Jaime, sort of.”
“Yeah, the gorgeous model.”
“She’s okay. She’s got nothing on you though.”
Hayden grinned. “I love your cheesy come ons.”
The captain announced that they would be descending soon and for everyone to find their seats and fasten their seatbelts.
Sara felt a knot in her stomach as she looked at Hayden nervously. She wasn’t sure how she was going to spend the entire weekend away from Hayden.
Hayden squeezed Sara’s hand. She felt the same way. “Hey, it’s okay. The weekend will fly by and we’ll be back at our dorm together before you know it.”
“I know. It’s just, I’m really going to miss you.”
