Lilies for a Lifetime

Chapter 17 // Burning Desire

Age 24...

Usually, Vincent would never be caught dead in a coffee shop by himself for the fear of someone trying to talk to him, but he's decided that he is going to be a good boyfriend—as much as it ruins his intimidating image.

Hayden is unfortunately working his first Saturday shift, so Vincent thought it would be sweet to surprise him with lunch. However, is Vincent secretly trying to go to his firm for a different reason? A million times yes. Vincent wants to scope out his coworkers who keep making Hayden feel like shit after working there for over a year. It's as if Hayden wants to prove something to Vincent—that he can withstand all the petty crap and rude comments and still have a successful job, but truthfully, Vincent would never want Hayden to be in that toxic of an environment when he had to vie so hard for happiness in the first place. If Vincent sees one mean glare today, somebody is getting tripped and Vincent isn't going to shed a single ounce of guilt.

Vincent pulls his phone out of his pocket to dial Hayden's number as he waits for the line to shorten. He holds the phone between his cheek and shoulder to fish his card out of his wallet, but is left bewildered when Hayden's phone goes to voicemail. Just when he is about to call again, the barista shouts to take the next customer's order.

Vincent quickly steps up and tells the barista everything that Hayden would want—a hot chocolate, a sweet pastry, and a sandwich on sourdough bread—before quickly adding a coffee to the order for himself. Vincent doesn't want to be a cheesy motherfucker, but he can almost imagine the way that Hayden is going to light up when he surprises him at his workplace.

Vincent takes a seat in one of the soft-padded chairs as he waits for his order. He quickly calls Hayden again to see if he's busy, but he gets no answer.

Vincent rolls his eyes with a laugh, knowing that he could be on a call with one of their friends.

See, Hayden does this thing where he has to call at least one person from the friend group every day. He has a schedule that rotates between Leo, Asher, Sawyer, Cecilia, Jordan, and even Kai. Vincent just knows that his friends are sick of hearing Hayden's voice, but he's sure that they find it sweet too because Hayden is undoubtedly the glue that keeps them all together when they are separated in the world and their daily lives.

If Vincent is correct, though, Hayden is supposed to be bothering Leo today. Vincent quickly calls the up-and-coming quarterback.

"Hello?" Leo says.

"Yeah, hey," Vincent replies.

"Damn, is it a special day or what?" Leo laughs. "I'm actually getting a call from the Vincent Russell? The king of being antisocial?"

"Yeah, yeah, shut the fuck up. Looks like all the sacks you took last week are messing with your head," Vincent teases.

"Ouch, man," Leo laughs loudly. "Way to remind me of one of the worst games of my career."

"You're the golden boy." Vincent rolls his eyes. "You'll bounce back. You always do."

Leo finds it so funny that Vincent can absolutely annihilate the shit out of you with his words and then sneak in something slightly encouraging that he will never admit to saying again. Vincent certainly is one of a kind.

"Thanks, Vincent," Leo chuckles. "What do you want?"

"Why do you assume I want something?"

"Because I know you."

"Fair enough," Vincent shrugs. "I was wondering if you've heard from Hayden today."