The Boy Next Door

Chapter 13

⠀⠀⠀Hayden sits on the porch swing with the book One Flew Over The Cuckoos Nest in her lap for her English class at school. She flips the page and hears footsteps coming up the steps. She looks up and sees that the source is Wyatt.

⠀⠀⠀She smiles at him and pats the cushion next to her to indicate for him to sit down. "What's up?"

⠀⠀⠀"I wanna ask you about somethin'," he says. "I need help or advice or whatever."

⠀⠀⠀She shuts the novel and places it on the ground. "Shoot."

⠀⠀⠀Wyatt runs his fingers through his hair and looks to the side, avoiding eye contact with Hayden. "It's about a girl."

⠀⠀⠀"I am pretty good with girls, so I should be able to help," she tells him.

⠀⠀⠀"Well there's this girl, and I really like her a lot." He pauses as if he's carefully choosing his next words. "The thing is that she just recently got out of a relationship."

⠀⠀⠀Hope bubbles up in her stomach when he says this. It has to be her that he's talking about, right? Is there another girl at school who just became single? Hayden can't think of anyone.

⠀⠀⠀"So I guess my question is if I should wait a little longer so her breakup isn't so fresh or if I should just go for it," he continues.

⠀⠀⠀"Just go for it," she says very, very quickly. "I mean, there's the risk that it's too soon, but it really just depends on if she's over her ex or not."

⠀⠀⠀"So I should go for it?" he asks.

⠀⠀⠀She nods her head. "In the words of Shia LaBeouf, just do it."

⠀⠀⠀Wyatt smiles at her and says, "Thanks, Hay."

⠀⠀⠀He smacks his hands against his thighs as if he's going to stand up, and Hayden's heart sinks. He's leaving, so it's not her. It can't be her. He'd do it right here and now if it was, but he's leaving, so it's not.

⠀⠀⠀He pauses before he stands up. "Oh, wait. One more thing."

⠀⠀⠀Hayden scrunches her eyebrows together, waiting for him to ask her another question, but he doesn't. Instead, he leans in towards her and presses his lips against hers.

⠀⠀⠀She's too in shock to respond at first, and Wyatt starts to think that it's a mistake to be kissing her, but she finally wraps her hands around the back of his neck and kisses back.

⠀⠀⠀The kiss intensifies as if the two of them have been deprived of one another for too long. He pulls her onto his lap, one of his hands on her thigh and the other wrapped around her waist. Her hands run through his hair.

⠀⠀⠀Neither one of them wants it to end, but Wyatt finally pulls away. They smile at each other.

⠀⠀⠀He reaches out and tucks a piece of her hair behind her ear. "I've wanted to do that for a while now."

⠀⠀⠀"What took you so damn long?" she asks, giggling.

⠀⠀⠀"You had a boyfriend," he reminds her.

⠀⠀⠀She shrugs. "Do it again."

⠀⠀⠀He smiles and kisses her again.