Best Friends to Lovers

Chapter 5

The next day I woke up in Hayden's arms. I watched him sleep for a few minutes; then, nature started to call. I move Hayden's arm and begin to get up. "Where are you going, kitten?" Hayden asked.

"I need to use the bathroom,"

"Hurry back. I miss you,"

"I will be right back," I say, pecking his lips.

Feeling a little sick to my stomach, I walk to the bathroom to do my business. Once done, I used the mouth wash and headed back to Hayden's room. As I was opening Hayden's bedroom door, the front door opened. 

"Hey, Melinda. What are you doing here?" Hayden's roommate Sam asked. 

"Hayden and I stayed here last night," I replied. Hayden walks out the door and kisses me.

"Sam, I wasn't expecting you here. Hayden and I have been dating for a while now."

"Hayden, you haven't dated in three years. So what changed, man?" Sam asked.

"Melinda wasn't single in those three years. She is the person I told you about last year," Hayden says, smiling at me.

"What happened between you and Tanner, Melinda?' Sam asked.

"I caught him in my bed with another woman,'

"That son of a b***h, what in the hell was he thinking," Sam says. 

"Oh, that isn't the worst part. Last night, we found out that Tanner had been cheating on her for at least a year and a half. So he went to meet the other woman's family. Her brother is a cop who happens to be the one that showed up last night after Tanner tore up her yard and porch." Hayden says.

"Why didn't we know he was this way?" Sam says, shocked.

"Who knows. I think Tanner was always this way but kept it hidden pretty well," I say, then add, "his unfaithfulness has made me realize that I haven't been in love with him for a while now. Plus, he wasn't any good in between the sheets. Which I let him know,"

"Mel, oh my gosh, I can't believe you just said that. Why did it take you so long to figure that out?" Sam asked.

"I never had anyone to compare him to until recently," I say, sending a broad smile to Hayden.

"My gosh, Hayden, I think you have created a monster," Sam says, laughing.

"Maybe, but she is the good type of monster," Hayden says, sending me a smile with a wink.

After the encounter with Sam, Hayden and I return to his room. Hayden grabs me, "Sorry about Sam. He was just shocked to find a woman in here with me. I have never brought anyone here before. The only girl I have slept with other than you is Daisy and only because she got me drunk." He says.

"I...I thought you had been with a lot of girls. You always left parties with a different girl," I whisper.

"I left with different girls, but I only took them home. Never done anything with them. Then, after the drunk night, I had with Daisy, I made myself a promise that I wouldn't sleep with anyone else until I was with you or you married Tanner." Hayden says, his cheeks a light pink color.

"Hayden, you are one hell of a man; I am one lucky woman to have a man like you," I say, before climbing on top of him, and bringing his face to mine to kiss him. "I love you and am glad that you decided to tell me how you felt."

"I think I have always loved you. I didn't realize it until you started dating Tanner," He says, looking into my eyes. Our lips meet again. I lost all thought of what was happening around me as I took control of Hayden. He didn't stop me; he just let me do whatever I wanted. 

After we finished, he wrapped me in his arms. "I think you should be in control more often. That was just... wow!" He says with a satisfying smile.

"Hmm...You think so?" I question him, throwing him a wink as I get up and start dressing. Then say, "I need to get on the phone and call to have the Cameras installed. Then I need to go clean the mess up at my house," 

"Alright, you can go make the call. I will make breakfast. Then we can take a shower and head over to the house." Hayden said and pecked my lips.

***

"I can't believe they can't get here until next week to install the cameras. What am I going to do if Tanner breaks in and hurts me?" I say to Hayden. 

"Let me go to my apartment, grab some things. I will stay here. That way, if he tries something, I am here and can help you. Is that alright?" Hayden asked me. 

"Yeah, I still can't believe he trashed my rose bushes. He needs to grow up." I say. 

"I agree. I also think that Tanner may have some other issues as well,"

"You think. What gave it away? Look at the way he behaved yesterday. He knows what I told him the day I caught him. He felt that another man wouldn't want me and I would crawl back to him. Now, he sees that that isn't the case; he is pissed." I say.

"Hey, babe, I know he pisses you off. Don't take the anger out on me," he says, then adds, "Kitten, you want to come with me to pack up a few things? I don't feel comfortable leaving you here by yourself." 

"I am sorry that I took out my frustration on you. I will come with you. I don't want to be here by myself. Plus, I like spending time with you,"

He pulls me into his toned body, pressing his lips to mine, "I love spending time with you. Plus, having you by my side makes me the luckiest and happiest man alive." he says as he pulls away, then adds, "We better get my things from my place or we won't be going anywhere,"

"Let's hurry and get back here," I say with a purr.

"You're going to be the death of me, kitten," he growls.

On the way back to my place, we stopped and got pizza for dinner. Once at my house, we noticed that the screen on my window was hanging down like it was sliced open. "Guess it was a good thing I went with you," I say

"Yeah, it was, but you shouldn't have to live this way. He is living with another woman. Why not be happy with that? Does he think that acting this way will make you come crawling back? It is only going to turn into you hating the guy. Can't he see that?' Hayden says.

"I think he didn't want to be with me, but since I took care of him financially for so long, he flipped out when he lost the things that he no longer had. Now he thinks you and I were messing around behind his back, which pisses him off. Let's look to ensure nothing else is damaged, then call the police and file another report. Let's take a picture of anything that is damaged." I say.

"Your right; come on, let's look around," Hayden says.

We walked around the house. There was nothing else out of place or torn up, so I called the police. They came and filed the report, took pictures and left. We went in, ate our pizza and watched a movie. 

"I think it is time to get to bed. I need to go to work in the morning," I say, looking at Hayden, who is yawning.

"Yeah, I have to be up at least by four-thirty. I have all kinds of things to finish up at the office," Hayden says, getting up checking windows.

I check the door to make sure they are locked and go to bed. As Hayden and I soon fall to sleep. A few hours later, I am woken by a weird sound coming from outside. Hayden must have heard it because he got up and headed for the living room. He stops in the hall and looks at me, "Kitten, stay here. I will go check this out. If I am not back in ten minutes, call the police. Tell them that you heard banging and your boyfriend went to inspect the sound and haven't come back to tell you it's safe. Please don't leave this room until the cops get here or I walk in here. I love you." He whispers before closing the bedroom door.

I sat on my bed for a while, then Hayden called my name and opened my door. It is all clear, "Baby, it doesn't look like anything is messed up. But really won't be able to tell and till daylight."

"Alright, let's get back to sleep," I say, laying down. Hayden gets in the bed and wraps his arms around me.

"Good night, kitten; I love you," 

"Good night, babe; I love you too," I say as I rest my head on his chest.

Hayden's alarm on his phone goes off at four o'clock, rousing me from my sleep. I sit up and look around. "It's four o'clock, babe; go back to sleep. I need to jump in the shower. You can still catch a few hours asleep. I will let you know when I leave." Hayden says as he kisses me. 

I lay back down and fall back into a deep sleep. Hayden wakes me up before he leaves for work, pecking my lips. "I love you, babe. Message me before you leave for work,"

"I love you, too. I will, please be careful," I say.

"Get some more sleep. I will lock the door on my way out." He says then, kisses me deeply before he leaves.

When my alarm goes off at Seven o'clock, I get up and go to the kitchen to start making a pot of coffee, feeling a little sick to my tummy. As it brews, I go to my room and find an outfit for work. I take my shower and finish my morning bathroom routine before I go back to the kitchen to make a cup of coffee. I went to the living room and sat on the sofa; my phone rang as I flipped through the channels. I look at the caller ID and see that it is Maddison. "Good morning Maddison,"

"Someone is in a good mood this morning. I take it Hayden stayed the night. How did the clean-up go yesterday? Did you get the cameras installed?" 

"Yes, Hayden stayed the night. We got the mess cleaned up. I can't get the camera installed until next week. Hayden will be staying with me until the guys get here to hook them up. We went to his apartment to grab some of his things. When we got back here to the house, the screen to the living room window was cut open. So we checked to make sure nothing else was damaged and called the police to come out to file a report."

"Wow, s**t, I am sorry you are dealing with this, but I am glad that you have Hayden there to protect you."

"I know. Tanner has lost his mind. I had no idea he was unstable. To be completely honest with you, it scares the crap out of me. Why did you call me this early,"

"Deacon called; he had a family emergency come up. He said that the office would stay closed today. There is no need for us to come in." she says, then adds, "Why don't I come over and hang out with you and then we can go have lunch at the diner," 

"Sounds good. I will see you in a few," I say before hanging up. 

I then sent Hayden a text message letting him know that My boss had something come up and wouldn't open the office today. I then go to the kitchen and refill my coffee cup. 

 As I waited for Maddison to arrive, I cleaned the house and started laundry. Just as I was going to sit on the sofa, there was a knock on the door. I walk to the door and take a look out the peephole. Seeing that it was Maddison, I opened the door. "Sorry, it took me so long to get here. There was a wreck on the interstate; the traffic was bumper to bumper,"

"It's okay. I got all my housework done." I say as I let Maddison in and head to the kitchen. "Maddison, do you want a cup of coffee?'

"Yes, please. So how are you and Hayden getting along?"

"We are getting along really well. Yesterday I got a little snippy, but I think the stress of having someone destroy my things is starting to get to me. We know we love each other; we just need to remember that."

"All relationships have ups and downs. Don't let Tanner come in between the two of you. Remember that Tanner is the one in the wrong. He cheated on you and expects that you will never forgive him." 

"Maddison, that man more than likely cheated on me our whole relationship. Do you have any idea how that makes me feel? It makes me feel like I am not worthy of being loved. Why would someone spend three years with a person just to turn around and cheat on them if there wasn't something wrong with their dating person? What do these other women have that I don't? What did they give him that I didn't? I supported him most of the time that we were together.

"You know what my biggest fear is when it comes to Hayden? One day, he will wake up and realize that he never wanted me or this relationship. I honestly don't know if I would ever handle that if it ever did happen. Maddison, I am madly in love with Hayden. If something happens to us, I don't know if I would be able to deal with it," I say, taking a deep breath in and then exhaling.

"Hayden is so head over heels in love with you. He has been for a long time. I don't think Hayden would ever do you the way Tanner has. He has sat back and waited on you for years. Hayden will do everything in his power to make sure this relationship with you works out. It's not like he slept around with different girls all the time. He has only ever had eyes for you. Now let's go shopping or something. I want to buy a new outfit for that party this weekend."

"How did you know that Hayden never slept with the girls he would leave party's with?" I asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Some of the girls complained that when they left the party, thinking they were going to get to have s*x with the hottest man ever only for him to make sure they got home safe and leave. Those girls were pretty pissed off and had some choice words about him. When I asked Hayden, he said only one person he wanted and waited for her. When I realized you and him had s*x, I knew that he was talking about you,"

"Wow, I can't believe he was that way before me. I always thought he slept around a lot."

"We all did. Can we please go shopping now?" She asked.

"Yeah, sure, come on,"

I grab my purse and keys and head to the door. I let Maddison go out first, then lock and close the door. I walk over to my car, "Since I invited you to go shopping, why don't we take my car," Maddison says.

"Sounds good to me,"