Chapter 26

“I’m so nervous!” Liz complained, covering her face with her hands. Hayden laughed from the bus seat beside her. They were meeting Rob & Brent at Golden Palace. They were celebrating their birthday with a bunch of extended family.

“Why? Do you think they won’t like you?” Hayden questioned. Liz shrugged.

“You didn’t like me at first.” She reminded. Hayden shrugged.

“Then I got to know you. You just have to let them get to know you.” She assured. Liz nodded.

“You know everyone already, right?” She followed up. Hayden laughed.

“There are some people I won’t know either. I only know the immediate family members. Like, Uncle Al and Aunt Kara.” Hayden corrected. Liz was bouncing up and down in her seat. Hayden had never seen her so worried about anything. She was normally care-free. Apparently, meeting Brent’s family was a big deal to Liz. Hayden definitely had an unfair advantage.

“I’ll help you keep everyone straight.” She offered. Liz nodded excessively.

“Yes please.” She begged. Hayden laughed internally. The restaurant wasn’t very far away. The only reason they took the bus was because of how nervous Liz was. Hayden thought the walking would give her too much time to worry. Rob’s family was completely chill. Once Liz was there, Hayden knew she would be able to relax and enjoy herself. It was Hayden who would have a problem with the crowd. She was choosing to ignore her anxiety in order to spend Rob’s birthday with him.

Inside the doors was a waiting area. A podium stood in front of a white lattice trellis. Hayden assumed there was supposed to be a hostess behind the podium. A server walked up and greeted them from the dining room, motioning to the benches in the waiting area. Hayden and Liz sat down to wait. Rob rushed over to the entrance. He took Hayden’s coat off and hung it up on the rack. Liz looked around for Brent, but he wasn’t following his brother. She hung her jacket up and followed behind Rob and Hayden. Brent only noticed Liz when they approached the table. Then he jumped up and threw his arms around her, eliciting a few “awws” from family members. This was the first girlfriend Brent had. It was going to be a big deal, especially to Uncle Al. It meant the boys were growing up. Hayden didn’t expect Rob to tell anyone they had upgraded their relationship status. She was under the impression she was in attendance as his best friend and nothing more. When she sat down at the table, Rob immediately put his arm around her.

“Congratulations.” Al offered loudly in their direction. Hayden looked over at Rob.

“Did you tell them?” She asked under her breath. Rob laughed, shaking his head.

“I did.” Anne corrected. Hayden could tell she was turning a light shade of red. She didn’t like being the center of attention and now she was going to be. Luckily, Rob’s family was more interested in Liz, because she was a new addition. Al’s daughter Sarah kept giving Hayden a knowing look. She didn’t understand, but didn’t want to question it in front of everyone either. For the most part, Hayden wanted to melt into the seat and be part of the décor.

“When are you packing the kids up and moving them to Nashville?” Al teased, putting his hand on Anne’s shoulder. She faked a smile as she looked over at him.

“I told you, when I’m ready to retire. I can’t promise the boys will be coming though.” She hinted. Al looked around the table, then back at Anne. He didn’t say anything, but he smiled widely.

The family went to the buffet in sections. Rob knew that Hayden would wait until the end to serve herself. It was how she preferred to eat. He insisted they went up with the first group. Hayden hadn’t been to a buffet before. She was amazed by all the food all on display shelves. There were three tables dedicated to dessert items too. Hayden noticed that there were squares of jello on a tray. She had never seen jello cut into squares. She didn’t think of shaping her own jello creations. She just liked the flavor. She grabbed a few of the red squares and plopped them onto her plate. Rob laughed because the first thing she went for was a dessert. He had to expect that. Hayden had a wicked sweet tooth. After walking around the table, Hayden picked a few things and put them on her plate. Rob waited until she was finished deciding. He threw a bunch of random things on his plate and they headed back to the table. Hayden could hear a very soft oriental music playing on the loud speakers. She couldn’t hear anything over all the talking at the table. Since many members of the family were visiting from elsewhere, there was a lot to talk about. Plus, everyone was asking Liz a million questions. Being with Brent seemed to calm her nerves completely. Hayden knew that Liz would be okay once she met the family. They were loving and accepting and everything you could want from a family. Liz didn’t have extended family or anything. It was just her immediate family. Both her parents were only children and her older brother hadn’t had any kids. She didn’t really know what to expect from a big family, like theirs. Hayden was glad she didn’t have a big family herself, but she wouldn’t mind becoming part of a family like Rob’s. They were the best, even if some of them were pains in the ass.

Later in the evening, Sarah and Hayden were in the bathroom at the same time. While washing their hands, Sarah decided it was a good time to blurt out

“He told me he liked you 6 years ago.” Hayden’s jaw dropped.

“What?” She squeaked. Sarah nodded. She crossed her arms and leaned against the wall.

“It takes him a while. Like, a long while.” She hinted. Hayden nodded.

“I know.” She agreed. Sarah bit the side of her lip.

“Are you two, like,” She paused. Hayden quickly shook her head.

“We’re not there yet.” She dismissed. Sarah laughed.

“You mean, he’s not there yet.” She corrected. Hayden shrugged.

“We just want to wait.” She defended. Sarah nodded.

“I’m not judging! It’s quite the opposite.” She assured. Hayden raised her eyebrow.

“What do you mean?” She questioned. Sarah took a deep breath.

“He really loves you. I’m just worried he’s going to mess everything up.” She sighed.

“Please be patient with him.” Sarah explained. Hayden nodded.

“I promised him I would.” She assured. Sarah was quiet.

“Okay. That’s all I wanted to say.” She summarized. Hayden nodded. Sarah left the bathroom, but Hayden stayed back for a minute. She didn’t understand how Sarah could know. Maybe she knew her cousin well enough. Hayden didn’t have cousins. She didn’t know if there was a bond. She just knew that Rob was shy and kept most of his personal business to himself. If Sarah knew his business, she could have been involved at some point. Hayden didn’t want to think about that. She tried to push the thoughts out of her head before she returned to the table. When she sat back down, Rob took her hand. Hayden looked at him and he offered her a warm smile. For a second, nothing mattered except the two of them. There was no one else in the room. Hayden fought the urge to kiss him, only to be surprised when he leaned in and kissed her. It was quick, but time stood still for Hayden.

After dinner, Anne offered the girls a ride home in the van. Rob and Hayden loaded into the furthest seats and Brent and Liz sat in the middle row. Liz was telling Brent a story. She was using a lot of hand gestures, but Hayden wasn’t listening to her. She would have all night to listen to Liz. Right now, her focus was on Rob. He had been smiling all night and it was starting to worry her.

“You’re smiling like a maniac.” Hayden observed. Rob looked over at her.

“Is that a problem?” He accused. Hayden shook her head.

“No. I like it.” She assured. Rob put his arm around her shoulder and pulled her closer. They sat like that until Anne pulled into the parking lot at Grennon. Liz was out first, after a quick peck from Brent. Rob followed Hayden out of the car. He wrapped his arms around her and softly kissed her. When he stepped back, his smile was even bigger. Hayden waved as Anne drove away. Liz was still standing outside her door, watching Hayden.

“What are you doing creep?” Hayden teased. Liz shook her head.

“I’m just, happy for you.” She insisted. Hayden raised her eyebrow as Liz disappeared into her house. She shook her head and headed into the house.

“How was dinner?” Her mother called from the living room. Hayden paused at the entrance.

“It was nice.” She summarized. Her mother nodded, so Hayden headed down to her bedroom.

Maybe there had been nothing strange about the interaction with Sarah, but it felt weird to Hayden. She didn’t know how she was going to ask Rob about it. She couldn’t even put her finger on what had thrown her off about the interaction. She thought about Rob & Josh and noticing the way they acted around each other. It didn’t feel the same, but it felt similar. There was something between the two of them that Hayden wasn’t aware of. She didn’t want to come across as a jealous girlfriend or anything. Sarah was a relative, not an ex-girlfriend. Hayden was sure she was overreacting, but, she knew she had to talk to Rob anyway.

Hayden didn’t get a chance to talk to Rob alone until Wednesday evening. She invited him over after school. She told him they needed to have an uncomfortable conversation. When he got there, Rob slumped down on the couch. Hayden walked over, but didn’t sit down.

“It’s because I told everyone about us, right?” He groaned. Hayden raised her eyebrow.

“I’m sorry?” She questioned. Rob shook his head.

“You’re dumping me, right?” He insisted. Hayden slowly sat down beside him.

“Not at all. I just wanted to talk to you about Sarah.” She clarified. He sat up, raising his eyebrow.

“What about her?” He questioned. Hayden shrugged.

“I was just wondering how close the two of you are.” She started. Rob looked confused.

“We’re not really close.” He dismissed. She nodded.

“She seems to know you pretty well.” She countered. Rob shrugged, dropping back against the couch.

“I don’t think I’m that hard to read.” He suggested. She nodded again.

“She said you told her that you liked me. Years ago.” She added. Rob’s eyes went wide.

“She told you about that?” He screeched. Hayden nodded.

“So? How did she know?” She questioned. Rob shook his head.

“We were playing truth or dare. I wasn’t going to lie.” He sighed. Hayden half-smiled.

“Really?” She asked softly. Rob turned to face her.

“I’ve asked her opinion on women things, but, I don’t talk to her about anything personal.” He assured. Hayden sighed.

“It’s not talking that I was worried about.” She confessed. He quickly shook his head.

“Woah. She’s my cousin. She’s also not my type.” He dismissed. Hayden was quiet.

“Josh was the only person. Besides you.” He assured. Hayden nodded.

“I believe you.” She sighed. Rob grabbed her hands.

“I don’t have any secrets, Hayden.” He continued.

“Sometimes I think you’re too good to be true.” She mumbled. Rob shook his head.

“I’m not. You always say I’m a total dork.” He argued. Hayden smiled.

“You are.” She agreed. Rob nodded.

“You know all the worst things about me already.” He insisted. Hayden smirked.

“I like the way you are.” She mocked. Rob leaned forward and kissed her.

“I know.”