© 2018 Shay Spencer. All rights reserved.

Something More

[ Chapter 4 ] Not Your Style, Blaine?

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Scarlett

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Never in my right mind would I have agreed to a ride home with my mother, Elias, and Hayden. But it seemed tonight was the beginning of a new era, as I was now sitting beside Hayden in the back of Elias' new ride.

"But you enjoy it, don't you?" Elias pried further into Hayden's latest escapade to the city of love. His hands gripped the wheel a bit tighter than normal until my mother reached over and placed a hand on his knee reassuringly.

Asking about Hayden's latest adventure seemed to be a no brainier when finding a topic for conversation. It wasn't like the rest of the family had much to boast about since our last meeting at Christmas. Elias himself seemed a bit shy about the case he had quickly acquired over the last month, when compared to the traveling Hayden was doing now.

"Paris itself was incredible," Hayden agreed. Though his tone led me to believe he was less than excited about his job at the moment.

We had vaguely caught wind that the youngest Pennington would be working Fashion Week this year, and the work up to the event he would be working side by side with Paris Vogue. It had come as a surprise, to say the least, but Hayden knew what he was doing. He always had when it came to photography.

"I was able to see your spread in Vogue this last month," my mother smiled into the rearview mirror. "They had your name in bold and everything. And you took some gorgeous shots while in Dubai, Hayden."

He offered up a half smile in return, not adding anything further to the conversation. Needless to say, I was starting to think he had more reason than just Jay's wedding to leave Paris on such short notice.

"This first building?" Elias tossed me a quick glance my way as he turned down my street.

"The second one," I corrected without missing a beat. After moving to Massachusetts two years ago, I had the route home memorized to put it mildly. It seemed this particular street had been dedicated to housing the whole of the city. Even Wren and Jay had occupied an apartment across the street when they first moved here a year prior to me.

Elias shook his head at himself, adding a quiet chuckle before he shut off the GPS on the fancy car. Over the last few years I had gotten to know the man driving us home. He never had taken to new age technology. The only thing he seemed to really understand was the newest iPhone that came to his front door step every year to the day.

A complex man indeed.

"Are you sure you don't want us to get you a room, Hayden? It wouldn't be much trouble." His father asked as he turned to look between Hayden and myself. Finding out that he knew what had happened between us five years ago had come as a shock, but seeing now as he was allowing his son to stay the night at my apartment came off as far more surprising.

Hayden shrugged, leaning forward to pay his father on the shoulder, "as long as Scarlett's cool with me staying."

Three pairs of eyes turned to look at me within than moment, and it seemed no one had a preference. The decision was quite literally up to me and me alone.

"It's fine with me," I smiled gently. "Wren gave me that pull-out bed that didn't match the curtains last year. There should be more than enough room for the two of us before we head over to Paris."

"Okay," Elias took my hand and pressed a quick kiss to the back of it. "We'll be here around noon tomorrow to pick you both up for brunch. I think Wren mentioned she would need more help packing afterwords, but there's no rule saying we can't grab a bite beforehand."

I couldn't contain the laugh at how causally his views on brunch had retained since our first meeting.

"Sleep well you two!" My mother called after Hayden and I, either one of us waving after them as they took off down the street and towards their hotel. Their exit leaving us alone for the first time in what felt like years, I turned to look up at him as he fumbled with the keys in his pocket.

"I don't remember giving you a spare," I offered with another laugh.

Hayden frowned at his key ring, "Jay sent me his. He got sick of Wren popping over here to steal all your snacks during the day."

"He told me he trashed it," I commented as Hayden popped open the door. I could hear a small laugh escape his lips as we were engulfed in the all too warm air inside my bland apartment building.

The scratchy tan carpet caught on my heels more times than I cared to admit, and the fluorescents made Hayden's European tan look more like a burn. Even the white wall around the elevator buttons that Hayden hit were scuffed with dirt.

Luckily the apartments were far nicer than the lobby.

"You didn't tell me about this place." He said, stepping back as the elevator doors slid open. "Last time I visited you lived near that bar that Wren got plastered at after Easter."

I shook my head, following him inside. "I'm moving again in a month or so. It didn't seem like something important enough to email you about."

Hayden pursed his lips into a thin line, the man leaning back against the elevator wall while I clicked the button for floor number eleven.

I myself stood just a few feet from him, the heaviness becoming all the more apparent the longer we stayed in our own thoughts. When it came to group scenarios, it seemed the two of us were able to get along fine. The silence in this moment however felt stiff, unrelenting even.

Neither of us dared to mention Christmas.

The sound of Hayden's shoe tapping against the solid ground was suddenly overshadowed by the ring of the elevator as it landed on my floor. Relief quickly washed over me before remembering that he would be staying with me for the next week and a half.

"Which apartment is yours?" Hayden muttered, eyes scanning the doors than lined the long hallway.

"709." I took the lead, making quick work of the walk from the elevator to the door that I'd become so accustomed to. Even unlocking the door was an easier feat than making small talk with the man I called the love of my life.

Hayden's eyes widened as he strode into the apartment, the echoing of our footsteps being the only sound that resonated in my ears. I flicked on the lights, shrugging off Hayden's jacket and kicking the door closed all in one movement.

"It's nicer than-" Hayden stopped himself short before turning to look at me. "Not what I meant."

"It's nicer than I expected, too." I smiled, the first genuine smile I'd given him since he showed up tonight. "The lobby is shit."

Hayden's face lit up as he plopped himself down on the couch. "Such language, Blaine. I taught you better."

Now lacking the tall heels Wren had loaned me, I walked across the room and laid back on my bed. The white carpet I had taken from the Pennington Mansion in Beverly Hills was strewn across the floor under the foot of my bed. Just the feeling of it under my feet made me feel at home.

"It seems so you." Hayden said, his words reminding me of our time together before I moved to New York. His dorm at UPenn was still one of my favorites.

"Long shot," I sighed, closing my eyes as I eased into the comforter. The roushed maroon and white cotton felt better than Wren's purple silk ever would. She hated that I had found the thing on Amazon one weekend.

"Why?"

I leaned over, "Massachusetts. Not exactly my forever home."

Hayden raised an eyebrow at me before quite literally raising himself from his spot on the black leather couch. "Not your style, Blaine?" He mocked, taking slow steps over to me.

"No," I said. Hayden stopped, his knees nudging the edge of the mattress as he looked down at me.

"What is your style?" He played along, placing his hands on the bed and leaning in a bit closer than I had initially expected.

I took in a deep breath, laying back silently as Hayden brushed the strands of my now shoulder length dirty blonde hair from my chest. His eyes ghosted over me in the most riveting way; I could feel my skin heating up with every flick of his eyes.

"I haven't found it yet." I whispered.

The right corner of Hayden's mouth curved slightly at my statement. Without warning, he placed a kiss to my cheek that left me longing for something more. "You'll find it," he whispered back. "Give it time."

With that, he stalked off towards the couch, rambling about how much he hated the couch sitting in the middle of my studio apartment.