The two days in between the last time I saw Hailee, and today, the day we have plans, has felt like the longest days of my life. I've had practice every morning, each for three hours, so I am pretty exhausted. But even then, just knowing I'm seeing her today fills me with an indescribable amount of energy. I'm so glad I get to see her tonight, especially since I leave for a few days tomorrow. 

It's still the afternoon, so I have a couple hours to myself before I have to leave. As I'm on my computer checking emails and replying to them, my phone lights up.

Hailee: pov: we are waiting for you to come over

Jayden: tell teenie i'll be there later!

Hailee: the time is passing soooooo slow 

Hailee: :(

Jayden: i wish i could make it go faster

Hailee: how about you.... come over right this instant

Jayden: now?

Hailee: i want to see you

How can I decline that. 

Jayden: okay. you got me. i'll leave right now

Hailee: yay!! see u soon love

I wipe my eyes to make sure I read that last text correctly, and the four letter word remains on my screen. She called me love, and I can't help but smile while I melt internally. 

I throw on the outfit I was intending to wear tonight, changing out of my hanging around the house clothes. 

I finish up by putting on my favorite rings, and one last spritz of cologne. I look at myself one last time in the mirror, then I head out the door. On the way there, I listen to my favorite songs. I feel really happy right now.

I arrive at her house and she greets me outside.

"You're here!" She says while running to my car. She clashes me into a hug, wrapping her arms around my neck. My feet shuffle backwards a few steps from the force at which she hugged me. My arms naturally fall to her waist, hugging her back. When we pull apart, she gives me a kiss on the cheek, then returns to placing her chin by my shoulder. I can feel her breath on my neck. 

"Come on let's get inside." She says while smiling at me. She grabs my hand and we walk together to the front door. Before we both step in, she turns back at me. 

"Pretend like you've never been in here before, okay?" She says, her face still holding that beautiful smile. I walk through the door and I look around sarcastically.

"Wow Hailee, what a house! This is incredible!" I joke, and we both laugh. I notice a little brown figure walk up to my feet.

"Am I supposed to pretend to meet Martini again?" I ask.

"You're so silly." She says while laughing, bending over to pick up the small dog. I give her a few pets and then she gets placed back down. 

"Okay Carter, ready for the tour?" She asks, and I nod. 

Hailee walks me though all the rooms in her house, ranging from the guest bedrooms and extra bathrooms. She shows me her office, which on its walls has all the posters for the movies and TV shows she has been in. Once I get a good visual of the room, she turns off the main light and opens her phone to set mood lighting from an app that's connected to her bluetooth bulbs. The ambiance in her office is now so relaxing, especially with the rays of sunset shining through her window. 

"This is where I spend most of my time. I love to read in here when I'm not doing work." She says, while pointing to the reading chair in the corner.

"Look at what we have here." I say while looking at the acoustic guitar in the corner. 

"Why are you surprised? I thought you were a fan of my music." She says sarcastically.

"I'm not surprised." I say, turning to her. "I just want the same treatment I gave you when you came over to my house." She starts to turn shy when hearing this, her cheeks glowing pink. I walk over to her with the guitar in my hand, my face inches from her. I like having this effect on her. 

She is so flustered, that she looks away to stare at the ground. I place my index finger under her chin, redirecting her eye line directly to mine. Her breath hitches and I can practically feel her shiver under my touch. 

"Play me something, love." I tell her, and she practically folds right there. But instead, she keeps her composure and grabs the guitar out of my hand, clearing her throat. She begins to strum a few times, turning the knobs at the top of the guitar to make sure it's perfectly in tune. I take a seat next to her on the small couch that's in her office.

"Hopefully this song choice is okay, it's an old one of mine." 

"Anything by you is more than okay Hailee." I reply.

She strums the first few notes, and I already know what song she chose. Her voice is so beautiful.

You know just what to say, things that scare me

I should just walk away, but I can't move my feet

The more that I know you, the more that I want to

The whole time she is singing I switch my eyes from her hands on the guitar, to her perfect side profile, and each time I do, her smile grows wider. By now, she's on the second verse and I'm mesmerized.

You know just how to make my heart beat faster

Emotional earthquake, bring on disaster

As she keeps singing, it's like the whole entire room disappears. In that moment, it's just her and I. Everything stimulus surrounding us seems to disappear. The quiet hum of the air conditioning fades away, along with the momentary car that whirs down the street. The only sound entering my ears is the sound of her voice, and my body pleads for it to be like this always. 

The more that I know you, the more that I want to

Something inside me's changed

She is on the last verse now, and I decide to catch her by surprise.

"I was so much younger yesterday." She sings, and on the last few words I jump in and harmonize with her. She looks at me with big eyes, her mouth hanging open.

"You didn't tell me you sang!" 

"I dabble." I say humbly. 

"Dabble? That was amazing Jay, you have a beautiful voice." 

"And you have a beautiful face, and voice." I add. She places the guitar on the floor.

She crosses her legs on the couch, facing me, while my legs are still pointing forward. She has a perfect view of my side profile right now. We sit in a comfortable silence for a little while.

"I'm glad you came tonight Jay." She blurts out, breaking the quietness.

"Oh um, yeah I'm glad I came too." I say while clearing my throat. A nervous tension builds in the air, almost as if there is something looming over us. 

"You know, these past few weeks that we have been hanging out.." She begins, and I face myself towards her now.

"Go on." 

"They've been the best few weeks of my life. I mean it Jay." She admits.

"Oh wow. Um, I would have to say the same."

Neither of us say anything for what seems like eternity, until Hailee starts to inch closer to me. Both our lines of sight shift between each others eyes and lips, our faces now inches apart. A pit of nervousness grows in my stomach. We stay in proximity for a few seconds, until she breaks the silence.

"We should go downstairs." 

"Yeah um, totally." I say, clearing my throat. I realize she never showed me her room. 

I follow her downstairs and greets Teenie as she reaches the bottom of the stairs. I watch as they both walk into the kitchen, Hailee grabbing a small pack of dog food and placing it in her bowl. 

"She was hungry, wasn't she." Hailee observes. "Are you hungry?" She asks me. 

"Oh um no not at all." I respond, partially lying. I don't know why it's so hard for me to admit that I am hungry in someones home, as if it's embarrassing. Hailee jumps slightly, as if she just remembered something she forgot. 

"Oh! I forgot, but I got these for us." She says while opening up the fridge. When she turns back around, she reveals a small back of chocolate strawberries. Four white chocolate, four milk chocolate. A small smile escapes my lips.

"Strawberries? You shouldn't have Hailee that's so sweet of you." 

"Just returning the favor." She says smiling at me. "Come on sit with me on the couch Jay."

We sit in the same positions as we did on the upstairs couch. My legs still facing straight forward. I probably look so stiff right now.

"You know you can move closer." She mentions. 

I slowly scoot my way closer to her, but it seems like it wasn't enough to her liking.

"Let me help." She places herself right next to me, our skin making contact. She grabs a strawberry from the container and hands it to me, and we both take bites of our respective strawberries at the same time. 

"You can never go wrong with these." I say, and she nods. I notice she has a small hint of chocolate by her lip. So naturally, my thumb gravitates towards the corner of her mouth, giving it a small wipe.

"There." I say, my hand still attached to her face. I rub her cheek with my thumb a couple times before she pulls my hand down and places it within her own hand. Silence grows once again, the looming question above our heads.

"Jay." She grabs my attention.

"Hailee." I respond.

"You know I like you right." She blurts out and a wave of emotion crashes over me. It's as if any word I could possibly say was stripped right out of my mouth. I mean, I had the feeling she did but hearing her confirm it takes me to heights I've never experienced. I transfer my gaze to the space between my legs on the couch, hiding my smile.

"Um, I do too." I reply. "I like you too is what I meant to say." 

She places her hand on my cheek, forcing me to turn my head in her direction. She gently encourages me to move closer, our faces inches apart just like they were upstairs. However, this time we close the gap with a small, but soft, kiss. We pull away for a second, looking into each others eyes. The look we are giving each other is one fueled by passion, a wanting to be in intimacy. 

She pulls me in by my neck, clashing our lips together. She slowly starts to lean backwards, her back hitting the arm of the couch, my body slightly hovering over hers. Our kiss is long, our lips moving slowly as if they are enjoying each others company. I shudder when I feel her tongue swipe across my bottom lip. She moves her hands up and down across my back, slightly pressing her nails into me. After a few moments we pull away, both a little out of breath. Hailee sits up right again. To break the tension, we both chuckle a little.

"That was um." Hailee begins.

"That was something." I reply, and we both laugh.

"Kiss me again." She asks me.

"Right now?" 

"Yes of course right now come here." She says while cupping my face. I bring my face forward and connect our lips together once again, hoping to satisfy her needs for another kiss. 

"I could get used to that." I say after pulling away. 

---

We stay sitting on the couch for a while, just talking and making each other laugh. If only I didn't have to leave. She interrupts my sentence to remind me.

"Oh my gosh, you have a game tomorrow." She almost shouts while checking the time on her phone. "It's almost 12am Jay!"

"And what about it?" I reply cheekily.

"You have to be up super early." She says, now standing up reaching her arms out for me to grab and do the same.

"Hm, what if I just don't go to the game and stay here." I throw out on the table, obviously kidding.

"Absolutely not. Come on get up." She ushers while pulling me up off my seat.

"If you insist." 

Once I stand up, our bodies are now inches apart. Hailee slightly looks up at me since I am a few inches taller than her. I lower my head to give her a kiss on the cheek.

"You're forgetting one spot." She mentions, placing her index finger on her lips.

"I was getting there." I say, smiling. I attach our lips together with a lengthy singular kiss. Once we detach, she pulls me into a hug. While her face is in my chest, she asks me a question.

"What channel will the game be on tomorrow?" 

"ESPN, tip-off starts at 7:30pm." 

"Okay, got it. I'll be watching from here."

"You're cute for that." I tell her.

"I have an idea." 

"What would that idea be?" 

"What if during the game you signal something to a camera, like a little motion so it's like you're waving to me while I'm here at home?" She ponders, and a smile plasters across my face at the idea.

"How about if I tap my hand to my heart twice?" I suggest.

"That's perfect. I'll be looking out for it."

We continue to talk while we slowly make our way to the door, neither of us wanting to say goodbye to the other. 

"This is me." I say.

"Drive home safe okay? Text me when you get home."

"I will Hailee." I say as I begin to walk away.

"Wait, come back, one more hug." She requests. I take a few steps backward and I wrap my arms around her. 

"Good luck tomorrow, you're going to do great." She says while her head lies in my chest.

"Thanks Hailee. I'll see you when I get back okay?" 

"I would hope so." She responds smiling, finally detaching herself form the tight grasp she had on my body. I start the walk back to my car from the front of her house, my whole being already missing her touch and presence even though she is a few yards away from me.

"Good night Jay!" She shouts while waving, and I wave back.

The whole ride home I feel nothing but happiness. 

2449 words

A/N: there it is! the confession! this chapter was so cute. 

what did you think? what do you think they should do next time they see each other? what do you think will happen?

* also as of today this story is #1 for the haileesteinfeld tag which is so exciting! we are also approaching 1,000 story reads which is insane! thank you guys for all the votes. 

- j <3

The incidents of Love

Are more than its Events,

Investments best expositor

Is the minute per cents.

- Emily Dickinson