A/N - Hi guys! So sorry this has taken me so long to write, it was quite a tricky one to get the tone right on. And I'm still reeling from my Paris weekend and having to actually talk to David Labrava. That was pretty awkward...! Anyway, hope you're all good, enjoy and please review! :)
"We should talk about last night."
Happy had been sitting there, waiting for her to open her eyes impatiently. She had been asleep too long, part of him had wanted to wake her hours ago but she had looked so peaceful and it didn't seem fair to wake her after… he smiled to himself. After he'd exhausted her. Hayley scrunched her hair beneath her hand as she pulled herself up into a sitting position, still screwing her eyes closed to try and wake up a little more.
"You want, like, a blow-by-blow breakdown or something?" she asked, rubbing her lips with her fingertip. Her mouth was dry, all she really wanted was a coffee, but she could see Happy was bubbling with an undercurrent that made her a little nervous. "What's wrong?" When he didn't answer instantly, she waved her hand. "Look, all that old lady shit, I know that was meant to be some spur-of-the-moment romantic shit but I don't want to get messed up in your club stuff. You were just, you know, head-high," she added, reaching across to him and rubbing her hand playfully against his crotch. "It didn't mean anything."
Happy opened his mouth to object but then closed it again equally quickly. What? Was she really turning him down? "Didn't mean anything?" He could barely believe what she was saying, but Hayley shook her head as she climbed out of bed quickly, needing to extricate herself from his presence. His eyes focused on her naked form as she stood, her flawless back like a statuette in front of him. The edges of the tattooed dragon around her breastbone were just visible, swirling ink licking her skin, and he swallowed down the need to grab hold of her - and tight.
"I mean, the sex was great," Hayley smiled, glancing at him over her shoulder as she picked up a dressing gown and pulled it on around her, tying it quickly to hide her body from his gaze. "Really great, don't get me wrong. I just mean all that, you know, long-term shit. I know you didn't mean it, I'm not hurt. Bet the girls love that normally."
Happy sat up on his knees on the bed, exposing himself as he rocked back on his heels. There was nothing shy about Happy Lowman, in that moment, he had never felt so emotionally vulnerable, his body barely mattered. "I'm not a liar."
Hayley paused and turned around, he sounded offended. "I'm not calling you a liar, sweetheart, I just know…" She wrinkled her nose a little. "I know what happens, and I'm just telling you I won't be upset when you, you know, stop coming around." She gave him a sweet smile, one of a young woman who had clearly been beaten down by unfulfilled promises from the past. "It's just a hook up, I get that."
She walked through to the bathroom and set the shower running. Happy leaned to the side, watching her as she drank some water from the tap with her hand and splashed a little over her face. He studied her carefully as she pulled her sleeve up to keep it out of the water, testing the temperature, before she stripped off and tiptoed into the shower. She dunked her head under the stream and her blonde hair began to soak down around her face, clinging to her breasts and neck adoringly as it did.
Hayley had just closed her eyes and relaxed when she suddenly felt Happy's body, rock solid, pressing her against the wall of the shower. Her shoulder blades hit the cold tile and she whimpered at the sensation that ran through her, startled. Her eyelashes blinked up, brushing droplets of water from her eyes as she looked at him. Happy's whole expression looked serious, more serious than it usually did if that was even possible. Hayley reached behind her to steady herself, fiddling with the tap to stop the spray of water that was falling over both of them.
"You're scaring me," she said quietly, not sure how else to tell him that her heart was racing way too fast to be normal. "You need to step back, please."
Happy, surprised at her instruction, nodded, raising his hands as he did. Christ, he didn't want her to be afraid, he never wanted that. In fact, he wanted the exact opposite but he was clearly coming on too strong. He took a step back, frowning as his foot pressed into a rubber duck on the floor of the bath. He bent down and picked it up, holding the tiny yellow thing in his enormous palm for a moment and looking at it. What was he doing? This girl wasn't a crow eater, she was just a sweet, normal kind of kid, the exact opposite of what he was so used to. Maybe that was why he wanted her so badly.
"I meant it," he muttered, putting the duck on the window ledge and then, thinking about it, turning it away so it no longer faced him. Damn thing made him uncomfortable, it was so… domestic. Hayley was looking at him blankly, chewing on her lower lip in that way that made him desperate to kiss her again.
"About not being a liar? Okay, I don't doubt you." She squeezed past him, eager to get out of the shower. Something wasn't sitting right with her, she couldn't put her finger on it, but having him there, bare, staring at her, it pushed her out of her comfort zone. It had been just her for too long.
"No." He followed her out, unaware of her attempt to garner some distance. He just wanted to be close to her, why didn't she get that? "Last night." She froze at that, completely motionless, as if he wouldn't be able to see her if she stopped still in front of him. Happy paused and awkwardly took a towel from the side, wrapping it around his waist as if that might make her more comfortable. He gave her a hapless sort of smile that started to soften her as he reached for her hand.
"You barely know me," Hayley said quietly, reservation in her voice. While a big chunk of her desperately wanted to just throw herself into whatever Happy was trying to offer her, the rest of her needed to play it safe. "And I'm not gonna just quit my job and stop being me because you've decided you want to own me."
He grunted. "I don't own you. I'm not one of those." He could see her beginning to laugh and he shook his head. "I'm serious. If you wanna work there, do the bar, whatever, that's fine. I won't stop you."
Hayley wet her lips a little. "And what happens when someone asks for me, huh? You won't stop me then either?"
Happy rolled his tongue around his teeth, he wasn't going to answer that. The truth was, the second he even saw some prick punter sniffing around Hayley, he'd kill the guy and stash the body before she even realised he'd been interested. "It won't be a problem," he said. "I'm not usually into one girl, but you…" He looked over her with such precision that she blushed a pretty shade of pink all over. "There's something about you." She laughed, rolling her eyes and giving him a playful punch in the shoulder, easing.
"I'm quite a handful," she warned, her finger poking his chest. Happy reached around her, cupping her ass in his palm and grinning wildly.
"Oh yes you are," he said, his eyes devouring her. "So we all clear now?"
Hayley looked up at him for a moment, pushing her lower lip out in a playful pout before she nodded. "Yes, sir," she nodded. "You going to introduce me to my duties or something?" A glint ran through Happy's eyes. He sure as hell was.
