71. Hayden

CHAPTER 71

HAYDEN

"Darce?" I kick my shoes off at the front door that evening, carrying a take-out bag of Thai food.

"I'm in the bath," she calls from inside the apartment, a teasing, flirty note to her voice.

Lust courses through me and I stride to the bathroom, already half-hard at the mental image of her wet, naked, and waiting for me. I yank my shirt off in the hallway and toss it aside. I can smell the sweet vanilla-orange scent of her bubble bath.

I whip the bathroom door open and make a face. "Eugh."

Daniel the Gnome is in the bathtub, surrounded by bubbles, staring at me with his beady, soulless eyes.

" No ," I groan.

Darcy stands behind the door, fully clothed and doubled over, laughing.

"Why do you torture me like this?"

"He just wants to relax after a long day." She can hardly get the words out, she's laughing so hard, and her eyes are watering.

"You're sick, you know that?" I chuckle, shaking my head. "How long were you waiting in here?"

"About ten minutes. "

I pick the stupid gnome up out of the water and set it on the floor before I turn on Darcy, smiling a wicked grin. Her eyes light up and she takes a step back.

Her words from earlier today replay in my mind. I know the truth. You're so much more.

Maybe she's right. Maybe I'm not the guy everyone says I am. Maybe I am the Streicher or the Miller, who can make his partner happy.

"You're going to get it." I scoop her up and she shrieks with laughter.

Maybe I can make Darcy happy.

God, I want to be that guy so fucking badly.

"No," she laughs as I carry her to the bath, fully clothed. "Please." She clutches at my neck, shaking with laughter while I dip her down, half an inch above the surface of the water. She's laughing so hard she can barely breathe. "Please," she begs again, and I beam down at her.

The gnome is creepy as fuck, but I love seeing her like this, happier than ever. I never want this to end.

"What do you say?"

"Sorry," she gasps, clutching me and trying to wiggle away from the water. "I'm sorry."

"And what else?"

"Daniel's sorry, too," she says, eyes sparkling, but she yelps when I dip her an inch lower, getting her ass all wet. "Hayden!"