The Best Kind of Forever (Riverside Reapers)
The Best Kind of Forever: Chapter 23

HAYES

“Hayes.” The glower on Sienna’s face is harrowing enough to dry up my throat.

Shit. I was dumber than I thought to believe I could avoid her the entire night. Of course she’d be here. Of course she’d want to talk to me. Of course my mistake would come back to bite me in the ass. And now Aeris is going to have so many questions.

“Sienna. I…uh, hi,” I stammer, my fingers reaching up to loosen my tie, the room suddenly feeling a hundred degrees hotter.

“So that was it? You were just going to ghost me?” she exclaims, her tone toeing between hurt and anger.

In hindsight, I should’ve been upfront with her about the nature of our fling, but a part of me was worried that she’d spill to her father and he’d pull his sponsor.

I suck down a lungful of air as regret sinks like stones in my stomach. “I’m sorry, Sienna. I thought it was obvious I wasn’t looking for anything serious.”

It’s a weak argument, I’m aware. I don’t really know what else to say to her right now.

Wisps of sadness fall over her face. “You used me, Hayes.”

“I’m really sorry. It was never my intention to make you feel that way.” A dagger slips between my ribs at the implication of her words.

“I’m not…mad at you. I’m just disappointed.”

That makes two of us.

I go to open my mouth, but nothing seems to come out. Sienna’s a sweet girl. She didn’t deserve to get caught in the crossfire.

“Your new girl is beautiful,” she says, offering me the smallest of smiles. “She’s really lucky.”

“And the next guy who meets you will be just as lucky,” I tell her, my guilt defusing just a little as her cheeks pinken.

She turns away from me, but not before she adds over her shoulder, “I’m not going to tell my father, by the way.”

“You’re not?”

“I know how much his sponsorship means to the team. I’m not going to let some hurt feelings get in the way of things. You never promised we were going to form any kind of relationship. It was wishful thinking on my part.”

My eyes latch onto her teary ones, and my arms bracket her in a hug. “It wasn’t wishful thinking. If things were different, I’d be happy to see things through with you. But…” My words are muffled into the back of her dress.

She pulls away with a sniff. “But you really like that girl.”

My vocal cords chafe together, and the organ in my chest feels like it’s two beats away from caving in completely. “I do. I really like her.”

Sienna wipes away an unbidden tear on her cheek. “I wish you both the best. Just promise me something, Hayes.”

“What?” I ask.

“Promise me you’ll be honest with her. Girls are simple. All we want is honesty.”

“I promise,” I respond, hating how easy the lies are starting to become.