She laughed. “You guess?”

  Hayden smiled, placing her hands on Sara’s cheeks. “You’re right.”

  “You two are so cute,” Jaime said. “Aren’t they so cute?”

  Tyler grinned. “I don’t know if cute is the word I’d use.” He wiggled his eyebrows.

  Hayden rolled her eyes at her friend’s words. Sara was blushing.

  The four walked inside of the cabin.

  Tyler and Jaime went to the kitchen, while Hayden and Sara walked upstairs to put their things in one of the bedrooms.

  Sara suddenly looked uncomfortable as they entered the bedroom.

  “You okay?” Hayden asked.

  “Yeah. I just wasn’t sure if you wanted to share a bed, or I could stay in one of the other rooms.”

  Hayden bit her lower lip. She found Sara’s nervousness adorable. “Honestly, I miss us sharing a bed.”

  “You mean that tiny twin sized bed that we had to make sure we didn’t fall out of?”

  Hayden smiled at the memory. She missed those days.

  Life was so simple back then. The biggest worries she had was trying to figure out chemistry.

  “I remember it being quite comfortable.”

  “Because you’d hog all the covers.”

  Hayden scoffed. “I am not a cover hog.”

  “Yeah, but you are.”

  She did have the tendency to hog covers. She got cold at night. Plus, it wasn’t like she knew what she was doing in her sleep.

  After they got settled in, everyone worked together to make dinner and then sat by a fire outside.

  Even with the not scary stories Tyler was telling, it was still extremely romantic.

  Hayden was having second thoughts about waiting to have sex with Sara.

  It was starting to not make much sense to her.

  They were both adults. They both had sex before. Not only with other people, but with each other.

  They already knew what each other liked. What they looked like naked.

  It wouldn’t be their actual first time together. But Hayden still wanted it to be special for her and Sara.

  Hayden suddenly felt herself smiling. And not just any smile. She was grinning like a child.

  The fire was moving more than she expected it to and she had the urge to laugh.

  But there was nothing funny going on.

  Sara looked at her in question. “What?”

  “I think the fire is starting to expand.”

  Sara furrowed her eyebrows, looking at the fire and then back at Hayden. “Hayden, what are you talking about?”

  Tyler burst into fits of laughter.

  “What’s going on?” Sara asked.

  “The fire is expanding, that’s what,” Hayden said, laughing. “Why am I laughing? That’s not funny.”

  “Dude, you are so high right now,” Tyler said.

  “What?” Sara said, shock evident in her voice and on her face. It made Hayden laugh some more. Sara looked at Hayden, clearly worried for her sanity.

  Hayden stopped laughing abruptly. “Wait, I didn’t do any drugs.”

  “But you did eat them,” Tyler said. “The cookie.”

  “You drugged me?”

  Hayden looked at Tyler seriously for a moment, but then started laughing.

  “Tyler, that is terrible,” Sara said. “For all you know she could have a bad reaction.”

  “Oh come on. It’s just pot.”

  Sara turned to Hayden. “Are you okay?”

  Hayden stopped herself from laughing. “I’m fine. I’m fine. Don’t worry Sara. I just don’t think I’m going to be able to have sex tonight.”

  Sara blushed, looking at Jaime and Tyler. “I wasn’t aware we were having sex tonight, but can we maybe talk about that privately?”

  “Damn, I’m sorry,” Tyler said. “I totally cockblocked you Sara. Wait, is it still called cockblocked if it’s with two ladies?”

  “Shut up Tyler,” Hayden said. She closed her eyes and placed her head in her hands. “I don’t think I feel so good.”

  Sara placed an arm around Hayden. “Come on. Let’s go inside. I think you should lay down and drink some water. Maybe eat something.”

  “I’m not very hungry.”

  “That’ll change soon, trust me,” Tyler said.

  “Jaime, get your boyfriend before I hit him,” Sara said.

  “You might want to chill,” Jaime said. “She will hit you.”

  “I will, and I’ll like it.”

  Tyler put his hands up in surrender.

  Hayden laughed again.

  This was going to be a long night.

  * * *

  8 YEARS AGO

  Hayden was worried. Sara didn’t text her the usual good morning text message today. And last night when they talked she seemed weird.

  She felt like she was pulling away from her. Hayden felt terrible for hoping it just had something to do with her mother and not that their relationship was in trouble.

  Hayden was going to the mall with her sister soon. She was hoping she could talk to Sara before she had to go.

  Her phone lit up with a text message from Sara. She smiled, opening it right away. But when she read it, her smile dropped. So did her stomach.

  Sara: I’m sorry Hayden. I’ve been doing some thinking and I think we moved a little too fast. I think we should take a break from each other for a little while.

  Hayden right away tried to call Sara. This didn’t sound like Sara at all. Something had to be wrong.

  No answer. She called again. No answer. She kept calling, but kept getting her voicemail.

  Her hands were shaking and she felt sick to her stomach.

  “Ready to go, Hayden?” Rachel said. When she saw her sister, she frowned. “Hey, Hayden what’s wrong?”

  Hayden couldn’t hold in her tears. “She...she… broke up with me.”

  “What?”

  “Sara, she...broke up with me.”

  Hayden started crying. Rachel was right by her side, enveloping her sister in her arms. “Shh. Shh. It’s okay Hayden. I got you.”

  It didn’t feel real.

  Two days ago they were the happiest they’d been. She was in love with Sara, and Sara was in love with her.

  How could everything go so terribly wrong in just forty eight hours?

  Chapter 19: Sara

  Sara brought Hayden up to the bedroom. She helped her get changed into some shorts and a hoodie.

  She was seriously worried about Hayden.

  Sara had been high in the past, but she never reacted like Hayden was acting.

  She wondered if a person could be allergic to pot.

  She knew Hayden had the tree nut and shellfish allergy, but what if she was allergic to marijuana too.

  “Could you please stop spinning the room?” Hayden said.

  Sara sighed. “I don’t know if I should let you sleep.”

  “I don’t know if I can sleep in a spinning room Sara.”

  Sara almost wanted to laugh, but this was still a serious situation. “You should drink some water.”

  She handed Hayden a bottle of water, which she gladly sipped. She grimaced. “Too cold.”

  “Sorry.”

  “Does your mouth feel weird too? It feels like my tongue has fur.”

  “No, but I didn’t have a cookie.”

  She was counting her blessings that she wasn’t in the mood for a cookie. Otherwise, they’d both be high and she wouldn’t be able to take care of Hayden.

  She liked taking care of Hayden.

  This reminded her of the time Hayden had a really bad cold and she took care of her. Hayden had tried to push her away and tell her she should stay away from her so she would avoid getting sick, but Sara insisted on taking care of her. She’d risk getting the plague if Hayden had it.

  Sara laid down next to Hayden on the bed and put an arm around her. Hayden cuddled into her side.

  Sara smiled to herself, leaning her head on Hayden’s. She never thought she’d get to hold Hayden in her arms again.

  “I’m sorry we can’t have sex,” Hayden said.

  Sara laughed. “We don’t have to have sex. I’m happy just being here with you.”

  “Yeah, me too. But sex would have been nice.”

  She laughed again. “Yes, sex is always nice with you.”

  Sara hadn’t had a connection with someone like the one she shared with Hayden. She’d had sex with other people since they broke up. But she never felt so completely in sync with a person.

  She missed that feeling so much. She couldn’t wait to feel that connected to Hayden again.

  For now, just holding Hayden was more than enough.

  * * *

  The next morning, Sara woke up early. Hayden was still asleep. She finally drifted off around three, so Sara thought it was best to just let her sleep.

  Sara went down to the kitchen to get some water and hopefully find some coffee.

  Tyler was in the kitchen when she entered.

  Sara glared at him.

  Tyler smiled. “Still mad at me for last night?”

  “Yes.”

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t think she’d get that bad. That was some really good bud.”

  “You shouldn’t have drugged her to begin with. That’s not okay.”

  Tyler crossed his arms, smirking at Sara.

  “What are you smiling at?” Sara demanded.

  “Look at you. Protective girlfriend mode.”

  Sara cleared her throat. She was always going to feel protective over Hayden. She loved her. She hadn’t said it to her yet, but she was pretty sure Hayden knew it.

  “Technically, we’re not girlfriends yet. We haven’t put any terms on us.”

  Tyler scoffed. “Please, you two are practically fiances.”

  “What? That is ridiculous.”

  “What’s ridiculous is this whole fresh start crap. You two are clearly still in love. You still have this unbreakable connection that even eight years couldn’t sever. You two should just skip all this and just get married and make it official.”

  He was kind of right. But Sara didn’t want to skip all this. She felt like she missed out on so much with Hayden.

  She wanted to enjoy every second of them getting to know each other again.

  And then one day, she’d love to be able to call Hayden her wife. She didn’t want to rush it though.

  “I know we still share this connection and we still love each other. But we can’t rush this. Anyway, it’s nice trying to start over. Dating and getting to know each other again is really exciting and fun.”

  Tyler nodded. “I can understand that. Listen, jokes aside, I feel the need to warn you. You hurt my friend, I’m not against hitting a woman that looks like she could beat me up.”

  Sara was toned. She also gave off a tough persona that a lot of people feared. “I think I could take you.”

  “Bring it girl,” Tyler said.

  Sara smiled. “You don’t have to worry. I’m not going to do anything to mess this up again. I would never hurt Hayden again. But I’m glad she has a great friend like you in her life.”

  “Hayden’s a special girl.”

  “So is Jaime,” Sara said, a pointed look on her face.

  “That she is. Speaking of which, I should be getting back to her. I was supposed to bring her a bottle of water. The coffee is almost done. Help yourself to anything.”

  “Thanks Tyler.”

  Tyler seemed like a good guy. Aside from drugging Hayden.

  Sara was glad Jaime had someone like him. She’d never seen her friend so into someone before.

  She wanted her to feel as happy as she felt with Hayden.

  * * *

  8 YEARS AGO

  The last month and a half was brutal. Sara barely managed to get out of bed.

  The only reason she saw the outside world was because Jaime dragged her out of the penthouse.

  She made a huge mistake breaking up with Hayden.

  She let her fears get the better of her.

  Hayden wasn’t her mother. It was unfair of Sara to have thought that Hayden would ever be anything remotely like her mother.

  She was a kind, caring, loving human being. She would never leave her.

  But Sara convinced herself that she would.

  She was so thankful that winter break was over and she was on her way up to her dorm to see Hayden.

  She just hoped Hayden would forgive her for being the world’s biggest bitch.

  Sara wouldn’t even answer her phone calls. She felt like the worst kind of person. Maybe even worse than her mother.

  Her mother didn’t love her. She didn’t care when she walked out the door and made her upset.

  Sara loved Hayden with all her heart. And yet she was still able to hurt her.

  She wouldn’t blame Hayden if she wasn’t able to forgive her, but she hoped she would.

  When Sara got to the room, the dorm room was open. She walked inside, a nervous smile on her face.

  But the girl inside wasn’t Hayden.

  “Um, hello?”

  The girl turned to her. “Hi!”

  “Who are you?”

  “I’m Chelsea, your new roommate.”

  “I already have a roommate.”

  Sara’s stomach was starting to fill with dread. Maybe Hayden requested a dorm room change.

  She was so used to living with Hayden. She didn’t want to live with some other girl. She wanted Hayden.

  The girl looked confused. “This is the room I was assigned. I don’t know what to say.”

  “Excuse me,” Sara said. She walked out into the hall. She was hoping to find where Hayden’s new dorm room was.

  When she walked by Addison, she stopped her. Addison was a friend of Hayden’s. “Hey, Addie, do you by any chance know where Hayden’s dorm is?”

  Addison tilted her head. “She didn’t tell you?”

  “Tell me what?”

  “She’s transferring school’s.”

  Sara felt the blood leave her face. She must have looked paler than a ghost.

  “What?”

  “Yeah, she told me she wasn’t coming back. I thought she would have told you.”

  “I...um…I have to call her.”

  Sara walked down the hall and into a more secluded area. She dialed Hayden’s number, but it went straight to voicemail.

  She tried again, but it was no use. It was obvious that Hayden had blocked her number.

  Sara didn’t know what to do. She sat down and cried.

  Hayden was gone. And it was all her fault.

  Chapter 20: Hayden

  It was the night before Rachel’s wedding and they were having the rehearsal dinner at Williams Manor.

  Most of Hayden’s immediate family were in attendance as well as Andy’s family.

  If this was just the rehearsal dinner, Rachel’s wedding was going to be absolutely beautiful.

  “So much for a small get together,” Rachel said to Hayden, coming up next to her at the bar.

  Hayden laughed. “Is anything ever small when Mom’s in charge of it?”

  Rachel rolled her eyes. “I can’t wait until tomorrow is over.”

  Hayden made a face. “Rach, this is your wedding. Shouldn’t you be happy?”

  Rachel kept making snide remarks about wanting the wedding to be over. It seemed like she didn’t want to get married at all.

  Hayden was wondering if her sister was having second thoughts.

  “No, I’m thrilled. I love Andy and I can’t wait to be his wife. I just didn’t want this big wedding. I’m looking forward to our lives together, not the big party we throw before it begins.”

  Hayden smiled. “I’m glad you have Andy.”

  “You’re not mad I’m abandoning you for married life?”

  She laughed. “No. I totally get it. You love him. I was just being immature. You two are going to be very happy together and I’m glad to be gaining a brother-in-law that I really like.”

  Hayden’s eyes drifted to the woman that just entered the ballroom. Sara. She was speaking with her mother.

  She watched closely to see if Sara might need rescuing. She didn’t trust her mother. She knew she meant well, but she could tend to overstep.

  “How’s that going?” Rachel asked.

  “How’s what going?”

  Rachel looked at Hayden seriously. “Do you really think I can’t tell when my sister is seeing someone?”

  Hayden sighed. “I was going to tell you after the wedding.”

  “Too late. I already know. And by the way, so does everyone else.”

  Hayden looked at Rachel in question. “How?”

  “Michael.”

  Hayden scowled. “That little rat. He owes me a hundred bucks!”

  “You bribed our nephew?”

  “No. He blackmailed me.”

  “Why didn’t you just tell everyone the truth? Everyone likes Sara.”

  It was stupid, but Hayden liked feeling like she and Sara were inside of a perfect, unpenatrable bubble that no one else could impact. She was worried that the outside world would pop their perfect bubble.

  “I just don’t want things to get messed up.”

  She also didn’t want to look like a fool to her family if things didn’t work out for a second time.

  At the back of her mind, Hayden was still worried that Sara would leave her again.

  “And I guess I’m worried that we won’t last anyway.”

  Rachel smiled sympathetically. “I’ve watched how Sara looks at you from across the room. She watches your every move. And not in a creepy way. In a caring, would do anything in the world for you kind of way. I think she still loves you Hayden.”

  Hayden knew Sara still loved her. And Hayden still loved her.

  “Thanks,” Hayden said.

  “For what?”

  Hayden pulled her sister into a hug. “Being an amazing sister.”

  When the two women pulled apart, Hayden went to steal Sara away from her mother.

  Sara smiled when she approached them. “Hi Hayden.”

 

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