Chapter Text
August
“Tengo dos cold brew para aqui (I have two cold brews for here!) ” Hayley says calling out the easy order she’s just prepared, sending a tight-lipped smile to the couple that picks up the drinks in front of them.
She’d barely gotten much sleep the night before.
After her little breakdown, Hayley had ended up staying up late watching her favourite feel good TV show, and now she was working a long shift this Tuesday afternoon, annoyed by how busy it was, especially with the two deliveries that were bound to come any second.
She’d been staying on bar to make drinks, not at all having the energy to stay at the register and talk to customer after customer all day but Lindsey understood more than most. She was happy to take till and let the tiny red head be grumpy in the back, making drinks.
And it was the same thing the following day, except that Hayley was working with Olivia and she was making her far too frustrated. She insisted on taking bar, and Hayley had to run around her doing everything she was neglecting.
It was only by the third day that week, that she’d finally gotten over her self-pity. Heading over to Brian’s and having a nice movie night with him and his Fiancé.
As she often did after moments of indulgent crying, Hayley recovered a few days later. A part of her knew that maybe in a few weeks or in a few months it would happen again, so that would be a problem for later.
The week really turns around that Sunday night. After a week that lasted far too long, it ends with the tiny redhead sitting in a corner booth of a neighbouring bar with a wide grin spread across her pretty face.
The weather is so lovely and the city so busy that the day had been nonstop. Working a long and tiring day, Lindsey, Joey and herself had all been eager to get a quick drink after locking up the shop.
The three of them always flowed well together, her two fellow Americans were a blast to work with and a big reason why she always sneakily tried to schedule the group together on weekends.
Now all seated with drinks in front of themselves, Hayley mindlessly plays with the olive on her martini, taking long sips to help herself cool down on the warm summer evening.
On top of a busy day, it was so plainly hot out, and the heavy jeans Hayley was wearing weren’t helping. she was happy to be sporting a short tank top, item that was previously under a light cardigan for the purpose of work.
The Cardigan now bunched up somewhere in her purse, the black crop top being the only thing over her chest.
“Wait,” Lindsey giggles, sipping on her mojito. “Did you hear what that guest said today?” Chatting as the friends often did, sharing stories from shifts and odd complaints that they’ve had from customers.
“Which one?”
“Big group, the tall man with um,” Lindsey pauses, trying to remember. “Iced latte, no ice?”
Hayley rolls her eyes into her skull at the ridiculous order, knowing very well how this story would end. “Said it was too warm – but no ice! He wanted a cold drink but we have to put a hot espresso shot in it and then had the audacity to get mad when I tried to explain it to him.”
“When was this?” Hayley furrows her brows curiously, usually very aware of whatever ridiculous reason a customer got mad.
“I think you were on your break,” Lindsey thinks it over.
Joey nods along, agreeing with what Lindsey’s said. “Yeah, you were in the back, but it was so ridiculous! Wanted a refund and everything, but never ended up taking it? Even when we offered to make him a new one, he refused? I can’t deal with that.”
She watches with a smile as the two of them get annoyed over the situation all over again, completely reasonable in their frustration. “And it was busy too, he was holding up the line.”
It’s just as Joey is reliving the moment scene by scene that Hayley catches sight of a familiar mess of dark brown curly hair, sitting on the opposite side of the bar from them and she squints her eyes slightly, not sure if it’s actually who she thinks it is.
But then he turns his head the slightest bit, and she can make out the outline of his sharp features perfectly. The line of his cheekbones and then the dimple of his left cheek in full display, lips spread as he smiles softly.
Hayley quickly averts her eyes away from him, nearly hating the way she feels her body heat up at the sight of Taylor.
She focuses her attention back to her friends, taking a big gulp of her drink. Still, Hayley’s unable to help the way her traitor eyes trail over to the gorgeous curly haired man every once and a while. He’s with a few other people, she can really see how many. Seated around a table in the far-left corner, almost directly across from her, as if it was all a joke or a setup.
The tiny redhead has no idea if he’s seen her or not, but when she walks over to get another round for her group, Hayley gets very conscious about how she now stands much closer to him.
As she’s getting the drinks for her colleagues, her phone starts vibrating in her back pocket and Brian’s name flashes across the screen. She misses the first call busy bringing Joey and Linds their drinks, but with a second call coming, that has her scurrying out the heavy door to answer.
“Hey,” Hayley quickly answers once she’s tucked away in a corner outside the bar. “Everything okay?”
“Yeah,” Brian nervously laughs through the speaker calming the tiny redhead’s anxiety down. “Yeah, sorry. I locked myself out of my apartment –”
Her best friend cuts himself off suddenly, Hayley’s leaning back against the bricked wall, eyebrows furrowed as she asks, "What?”
The loud chattering of a group walking past her overwhelms her ears, and she’s sure that Brian can hear them through the speaker.
“Are you out?”
“I’m just getting a drink – are you okay?”
“I locked myself out, really stupidly too. Kolten is away this week in London so I was gonna to ask if you still had one of my spare keys but don’t worry! You’re out.”
“No B if you need me to –”
He cuts her off. “Natalie’s coming over, she has a spare key too. Don’t worry!”
The tiny redhead bites her bottom lip, stifling a laugh. “Are you sure?”
“Yeah, yeah, it’s such a nice night out, and Nat will be here soon. Have fun tonight!”
As her best friend is passionately reassuring Hayley that he’s ok, her eyes flits over to where a new person has joined her outside. There are wo groups of people standing together, sharing cigarettes and biding their goodbyes to each other, but as she glances up at the new figure, her words stick together and she has to pause when Taylor shoots her a small smile.
She tries to regain her composure narrowing her eyes on the curly haired man slightly, still on the phone with Brian. “Okay, we'll let me know when you get in. And really if you need me, I can be over with your key.”
Brian agrees that he will, and she’s soon hanging up the call to glance back up at Taylor who is unapologetically lingering by her.
“Hi,” Hayley finally speaks, feeling heat rushing to her face. She feels a bit sweaty, almost clammy in the warm summer night, and hates that this has to be when she runs into him away from the café.
“Hi,” he breaths out, mirroring her words, not really moving from where he stands, watching as Hayley walks over to stand next to him. “Thought I saw you earlier.”
“Yeah I’m with some people from work,” She says, jutting her thumb out to point over her shoulder in the general direction of the door.
Taylor nods, glancing to where she pointed as if he could see through the wooden door. “Long day?”
“Very,” Hayley sighs. “People are crazy.”
There’s a slight pause, the curly haired man shuffles on his feet while she stands straight, one hand tucked into her back pocket where she keeps her phone.
“Were you heading home?” the tiny redhead asks after another few seconds, finding the silence heavy but neither of them moves away.
“No actually, not quite yet. I saw you head out – in fact I thought you were leaving. Just wanted to say hi,” he tells her stumbling over his words slightly, eyes gleaming down on Hayley in the dimly lit street.
“Just a phone call,” she explains with a small grin.
“Saw that,” he mirrors her expression, now that she's smiling at him and is so endearing. “I wanted to talk to you, don’t know if I upset you or fucked up when I stayed past closing last time but I really didn’t mean –”
Taylor cuts himself off when he starts rambling and Hayley can’t help but feel her smile grow at his words, watching his expression twist to confusion at her reaction.
“It’s really okay,” the tiny redhead can’t help the laugh that bubbles up in her throat. “I’m not – never was – upset with you. Was just a bit of an off day, or couple days .”
Taylor’s shoulders drop at that, as if a weight has been lifted from his shoulders. “Okay, I wasn’t sure if maybe you felt – well anyway. Sorry I haven’t been in to the café either, I was – well I was worried you were upset with me.”
Bottom lip lodged between her teeth, Hayley feels blood rush to her neck when he apologizes for not coming into her work all week.
“But, are you alright?”
She nods, her little breakdown the previous week nearly laughable now. It might have been because of the drinks she’s already had, but the tiny redhead finds herself now in a particularly good mood.
It’s not that Hayley feels better about her situation by any means, it’s more so that she's risen above her wallowing enough to be happy with what she’s doing. Plus, it’s healthy to have a nice big cry once and a while.
“Yeah, god it’s kind of silly. Just had a bit of a panic. You know how it is; was just too in my own head.”.
Taylor’s smile is still wide on his lips but there’s a little furrow on his brow as he probably doesn’t understand her ramble much less than she does. “Well,” he bites his lips together. “Hope you're feeling better.”
She nods, returning his smile as a small silence settles over the two of them. She was still tucked away in the corner, off the main part of the sidewalk with Taylor a good arm's length away when her attention away at the shriek of a laugh coming from a woman who’s sharing a cigarette with a man nearby and the curly haired man’s voice soon interrupts her brief distraction. “Can I buy you a drink?”
Hayley’s gaze meets Taylor’s once again, as she tries to cover her second of hesitation before answering. “Yes, you can.”
Leading the way back to door of the bar, Taylor holds it open as he walks in behind her. Hayley’s eyes drift briefly to where Lindsey and Joey are still siting, seeing them deep in conversation.
The bar currently isn’t too full, some people seeming to have filtered out. The curly haired man leans forward, an elbow against the counter, looking back at the beautiful redhead. “What did you want to get?”
“You choose,” Hayley replies, seating herself on an empty stool near where he stands. His mouth drops as if to speak, but he quickly shuts it with a curt nod and turns back towards the counter. Taylor settles himself onto the stool next to her, knee bumping Hayley’s as his legs spread.
Getting the attention of one of the bartenders, he tells them their drink orders. “Two whiskey sours, please,” he cast Hayley a quick glance from the corner of his eye, before his attention turns back to the bartender who tells him his total.
Reaching for his back pocket, Taylor pulls out his wallet and taps his card on the terminal while the bartender prepares their drinks. “Did I choose well?”
“I don’t know,” Hayley hums. “I’ve never tried a whiskey sour.”
She leans her body closer to his, turning in her seat so that she’s facing him. “It’s a bit bitter – if you like espresso I’m sure you’ll like it.”
“Espresso is not supposed to be bitter,” Hayley corrects him without missing a beat. “Supposed to be balanced, and all that.”
“Yours is bitter sometimes.”
Her mouth drops open in shock. “It is not!”
“Sometimes,” the curly haired man stresses with a cheeky gleam in his eyes. “Don’t give me that. You’re still my favorite barista.”
“Good,” Hayley mutters, small smile on the corner of her lips as his words ring through her head. The bartender places two drinks in front of them, and they quickly thank him before grabbing for them.
“Cheers,” she says tapping the tip of her glass with his. They both lift the rim of their glasses to their mouths, Taylor holding it there for a second as he watches her take a sip. The dark bitter liquor easily slides down her throat, and Hayley keeps her lips together as if that would hold in the taste.
He follows after she's taken the first sip, tongue darting out to quickly lick his lips before biting them down together. “So,” he says after a moment of watching you. “Did I choose well?”
“I think so,” the tiny redhead hums after a second, going in for another sip.
Taylor holds onto his cup, busying his hands. He didn’t know why he felt so nervous with her all the sudden, as if he’d never been able to hold a conversation before. The curly haired man was cautiously aware of the way his knee kept jutting out and hitting hers, and the way that Hayley’s hand had brushes over his arm when she drops her glass back on the counter.
“Did you need to head back to your table or …?”
He watches her turn her head, chin above her shoulder as the beautiful redhead glances behind her back. Taylor follows her gaze, eyes focusing in the dim light to the table he’d seen her at before. The two other baristas who she works with are laughing and completely oblivious to where Hayley is.
“Don’t need to, no,” she hums, facing forward again. “Think I’m good right here.”
Taylor’s chest warms at her voice. “What about you?” His bright green eyes meet his brown ones when she speaks again. “You need to head back?”
The curly haired man glances back to the table he had been at, now filled with a new group of people and shakes his head. “My friends left already.”
Hayley simply nods once, taking another sip of her drink as Taylor worries about the silence in conversation, unsure of why he can’t think of anything to say to her–
“How’s your art going?”
Her words eased his nerves the slightest bit, eyes blinking before he looks away from the glass in his hands and at the beautiful company next to him. “Good –” he clears his throat. “Good, yeah. Finally started working on something new.’’
“What is it?”
“It’s,” he rubs at the back of his neck anxiously. “It’s still in the works – I’m not too sure how its all going to turn out yet.”
Hayley takes another sip of her drink. “Is it what you’ve been working on when you come into the coffee shop?”
“Knew you’ve been spying over my shoulder,” he chuckles. “But yes. Like I told you last time – I like getting inspired by the space and all that.”
She isn’t sure if he’s going to say more, gaze set on the way he brings the glass to his lips. “What about you? Ever do much painting, or anything of the sorts?”
“God no,” shaking her head, she leans her elbow against the bar. “I think last time I tried anything like that was years ago. I’m no good.”
Taylor gives her a soft smile, knee bumping Hayley’s. “Don’t have to be good to paint – it’s nice to just have fun with it.”
“That’s true,” she hums, Guess I never really thought about it; I clearly haven’t done it nearly enough.”
His eyes glance down for a beat. “If you want –we could paint together sometime.”
“Yeah?” the tiny redhead’s chest heats up at his words. “That could be nice.”
Taylor’s eyes settle on Hayley’s again, smile widening. “Glad to hear it.”
She swirls the liquid in her glass, before tipping her head back and taking a big sip. The effects of the liquor with the few drinks from before were slowly catching up to her, she wasn’t drunk by any means but one might say the tiny redhead was starting to feel tipsy.
“I have a confession,” Hayley says licking the liquor from her lips as she places the glass back on the counter.
Taylor leans forward on his elbow a bit, eyebrows rising slightly in curiosity. “Tell me.”
The corner of her lip grow as she feels herself warm under his gaze. “I might have … already seen some of your work.”
“What?” the curly haired man laughs, shaking his head slightly. His cheeks are rosy, and eyelids slightly heavy in a way that made her think he’s probably a bit tipsy as well. “Where?”
“I – I happened to find your Instagram.”
His eyebrows rise even further, beaming smile on his lips. “You happened to find it? How exactly?”
“Not important,” she hums, leaning her head on her hand as she tilts away from him.
“Okay,” Taylor draws out the word. “And what did you think of what you found?”
Meeting his gaze again, turning in her seat so that her body is angle towards his again, her answer is simple. “I liked it.”
“You liked it?”
The tiny redhead nods, searching for the right words. “I don’t know a lot about art and all that. But I did like it, a lot. So colorful and just – well just nice.”
She mentally cringes to herself at how poorly she’s explained herself and yet, there’s a bright smile on his lips as he listens to her babble, only glancing away to sip his drink.
“Thank you, really. Hope you’re not just saying that,” Taylor teases.
“If I had hated it would’ve told you,” Hayley deadpans, smile in her green eyes.
Taylor laughs at her honesty, head tilting back a bit. “Glad to hear it.”
Laughing lightly along with him, she feels the heat in her cheeks from the alcohol. “What about you?” the curly haired man asks after a moment. “How’s the coffee game?”
“Oh,” the tiny redhead swings her foot from her stool. “Coffee game hasn’t changed.”
“You said you’d been working there for two years?”
She was surprised he remembered. “About two years there, yeah. But I’ve worked in a few other coffee shops as well, basically through most of university and since then as well. Ever since moving here I guess.”
“What did you study at uni?”
“Music, "she pauses and then adds more. “Did three years at Julliard only to end up dropping out”
“That’s okay,” Taylor shrugs, his eyes soft. “No learning is really a waste, right? plus I've heard that even getting into that school, is a big deal”
“Right,” Hayley nods with flush cheeks realizing she’s nearly done with her drink and not wanting to talk about her old life anymore. “Can I ask you something?”
“Course,”
“Who’s your favorite artist?”
Taylor beams at the question. He doesn’t answer right away, swirling his glass in his hand for a bit. “So I don’t have a single answer for you, tough to pick just one.”
She nods understanding what he means but also, waiting for him to keep speaking.
“I really like the colors and the shapes of like, late impressionism. Like Matisse. But I also really like the theory, I guess, of mid 20th century artists. Identity of the self, ones around you – oh! Also, Hopper – makes me a bit sad but in a good way, you know?”
Hayley listens along, not having a clear mental image of everything he’s talking about but liking to see how he tells her about the things he loves. “I also really like Georgia O’Keeffe.”
That name rings a bell . “She did all those flower-vagina paintings, right?”
Taylor chuckles, eyes cast down for a second. She’s sure it must have been in the dim light of the bar, but for a second she sees the tips of his ears redden. “I mean, yes.”
“Again, I just really like the way she’s able to create her composition, the way everything is so layered and blended. Just – really nice form I guess.”
The curly haired man falls quiet for another moment, and she’s not sure if he’s done speaking. “Sorry, that didn’t make much sense; seem to not be able to explain myself very well right now.”
“Don’t apologize,” the tiny redhead tells him, finishing off what’s left of her drink. “I like hearing about it, I wish I knew more about art.”
“well music is art” He counters cheekily making her smile.
“it’s not the same”
“Never too late to learn,” he grins. “Plus, you seem to run a pretty tight ship with those paintings that rotate throughout your shop.”
Unable to help the laugh that bubbled from her throat, Hayley tilts her head back, eyes gently shutting.
“I told you, "She scoffs jutting one of her legs out to lightly swat at his chin with her foot. Her leg lingers next to his, leaving her foot on the rest of his own stool instead of bringing it back to her own. Taylor watches with blooming hope as the tiny redhead scoots forward on her stool slightly, elbow on the bar shifting as she edges closer to him. “I have nothing to do with that.”
He mirrors her laugh, eyes briefly glancing down to where her leg rests next to his, before back up at her. “I never heard from them, by the way.”
“I’m sorry,” she says with an exaggerated yet mocking out “Maybe try again in a few weeks?”
“Maybe,” he shrugs, though Taylor doesn’t appear that torn up about it. “Did you want another?”
Hayley’s gaze falls down to where his finger is pointing at her now empty glass and she quickly thinks it over, knowing that one more drink would be fine as she wasn’t feeling the liquor too much. “Are you having another one?”
“I could,” he grins, empty glass in front of him as well.
“Okay – let me get this one though.”
Taylor shakes his head with an air of finality. “It’s no worries, really. You can get it next time.”
She bites her lips together at the suggestion, unable to help the small curve in her lips when they idea of a ‘next time’ settles. “Okay,” she agrees slowly speaking with a nod to her head. “Next time you come into the coffee shop I promise it's on the house.”
Hayley’s feet fall flat on the floor of the bar, standing up. “I’m just going to head to the restroom,” she says, taking a step forward and letting her hand fall onto Taylor’s shoulder for a light moment. “You can choose again.”
His brown eyes are stuck on the tiny redhead as she saunters off, hands sliding in her back pockets with her elbows jutting out, the same way she does when she walks around the café.
She checks her appearance in the dimly lit washroom, using toilet paper to blot at her sweaty skin and trying to fix her hair a bit. The bar is hot and humid, and she doesn’t feel particularly great after a long shift, but a quick swipe of lipstick is all she can do for now.
After leaving the restroom, Hayley quickly walks up to where Lindsey and Joey still sit, small hand waving in their direction.
“What happened to you?” Lindsey laughs, knowing very well she’d seen her at the bar.
“Ran into someone,” Hayley replies, shooting a quick glance to where the curly haired man sits.
“Isn’t he a regular?” Joey asks following her gaze, before turning to Hayley with a little smirk. “Espresso over ice, right?”
The tiny redhead doesn’t say anything, sure that her expression gives it all away. “Sorry to have left you guys,” she says instead, feeling a bit guilty but knowing very well they don’t mind too much.
“No, no it’s okay,” Lindsey assures her sliding out of her chair, rising to her feet. “We were about to leave soon. You stay, have fun.”
Hayley grabs her purse that was still sitting with them, happy to have remembered that she’d left it there and nods.
“You’re both off tomorrow, yeah?” she already knows the answer, always good at remembering who’s working when, especially since she makes the schedule.
They both confirm what she already knew, grabbing their things as they walk with Hayley away from their table and towards the exit.
“I’ll see the two of you in a few days then! Have a good time off.”
After biding goodnight to Joey and Lindsey, Hayley walks over with her purse in hand to go join Taylor once more. “Sorry about that,” she hums, sliding back into her seat next to him. “Just saying goodbye to my friends.”
“No worries at all,” Taylor’s eyes fall to hers once she’s seated and Hayley doesn’t miss how his stool seems to be much closer this time, legs resting inches apart.
“Got you a long island, figured you’d like it since I see you drinking so much iced tea.”
Again, she’s a bit impressed that he remembers, Hayley was very much appreciating the choice and could admit that in fact, tea was her choice of drink most often than not, so she takes a big gulp, letting the slightly sweet liquid easily slide down her throat to calm her raging mind.
Conversation falls easily between the pair, inching closer to each other all over again. Talking to Taylor was so easy – and every time he sent her that dimpled grin Hayley felt her head spin.
Her skin was sticky from the hot night, and the tiny redhead found herself wishing she was wearing a dress or shorts or anything but the thick jeans she had on from work. Also, as Taylor’s knee bumped hers for the thousandth time under the bar, this time resting against hers instead of moving back, she finds herself wishing there were less layers between their skins.
It doesn’t take long for her glass to go half empty as she leans forward with her head resting on her hand and elbow just against his arm on the bar.
“Hope I haven’t been keeping you,” Taylor murmurs, gaze heavy on her.
“Haven’t,” she quickly tells him shaking her head. She has no idea what time it is but the fact that the bar has significantly emptied clues her in enough. “Though I do think I should be heading home soon.”
Taylor’s hand falls to his lap, sliding it over his leg and closer to where Hayley’s rested against it. “Let me walk you.” He proposes with a husky voice and a gentle squeeze to her knee.
Hayley bites her lip casting her eyes down, quickly glancing to where his hand rests on her leg. “That would be nice.”
His touch lingers on Hayley before pulling away and she sees his eyes fall over her face when he stands from the stool and reaches for her bag that hangs hooked under the bar. The tiny redhead grabs her phone from her back pocket, quickly checking the time. It was nearing one in the morning and she was quite surprised by how much time had gone by.
Hayley felt woozy – pink lips caught between her teeth and hair sticking to your skin. The curly haired man had gotten much closer to her through the night, and all she could think about right now is would be to finally have him properly hold her.
Taylor was standing next to the tiny redhead, hand reaching out towards her as if to rest on her back, but seemingly to deciding against it. Still, he hovers close behind her as she heads out toward the door.
She swings the bag over her shoulder, walking through the thick wooden door into the cooler night air as Taylor quickly joins her side, lazy grin on his lips. “Are you cold?”
“No,” Hayley tells him shaking her head, watching as he nears her and stops when he’s standing by her side.
“You’ve got goosebumps,” Taylor’s voice has dropped, as he brings a hand to trail up her arm, letting it rest lightly on Hayley’s shoulder. His hand is warm and heavy on her skin – if she didn’t have goosebumps before she was sure to now.
“Oh,” it’s a pathetic excuse of an answer, but all she can manage to say in that moment.
Hayley’s unmoving on the mostly empty sidewalk, a bit tucked away in the corner by the same place she’d taken Brian’s call earlier that night. His hand slides on her skin, feet moving on the pavement so that he’s standing closer to her, close enough that she can smell the liquor on his lips and something else, maybe it’s his cologne or his detergent or just something that’s making her head spin.
“Did I tell you how good you look tonight?” He murmurs, like honey in her ear and all Hayley can manage is a small shake of her head.
“You look so good tonight,” Taylor’s voice is somehow even lower with every word, breath hitting her skin. His hand slides across her shoulder, fingers resting at the crook of her neck with his thumb brushing over the skin under her jaw in a gentle caress.
Every one of her nerves sets on fire then, her senses completely overwhelmed with the man in front of her, whispering in a charming tone.
“I’m wearing my work clothes,” her eyes narrow on his slightly, feeling his other hand grip at where her jeans end and a small sliver of exposed skin rests. His fingers hook through one of her belt loops and he tugs her gently against him.
“You look good at work too,” Taylor confesses with a smile.
He catches him unashamedly staring at her lips, eyes cast down as his fingers give her hip a small squeeze, and then Hayley’s back is arching in his grip, hand sliding to grab at the neckline of his shirt. A quiet short gasp escapes her parted lips when their mouths finally meet in a kiss that sends sparks flying.
Taylor’s lips are soft and firm, drawing Hayley in closer as they both share the air. His hand wraps a around the back of her neck, the thumb under her jaw gently pushing her head to tilt towards his, while his other hand toys with the flap of the pocket on her jeans, tugging on the material as his legs bump with hers.
His lips nudge Hayley’s in the most perfect wat, mouth parting slightly as her free hand mirrors the other, gripping onto his shoulder to wrap him closer to her. He pulls her in deeper, tongue brushing hers. He tastes slightly bitter like the liquor they had drank, and like bittersweet chocolate, like a perfect balance.
She feels her stomach flutter when Taylor lets out a shaky breath against her, pulling away for a brief second with a small bite to her bottom lip. Peeking your eyes open, Hayley sees his darkened eyes opened as well. His pupils are slightly blown, cheeks reddened and lips kissed raspberry red.
Her name is a whisper on his lips, before he’s pulling her in for more. Taylor’s hand leaves her hip for a brief moment, and then he’s walking her backwards until his hand meets the wall and he presses Hayley against it, mouths greedy, wet and hot.
She passes a little whine from her mouth to his, his chest covering her as his hand slides around the exposed skin at her midriff. Taylor has her body perfectly pinned with his, and she can’t help but feel like she’s melting into the wall with the way he feels against her.
“I think –” Hayley mumbles after a moment of heavy breaths. “I should head home.”
Taylor presses another needy kiss to her mouth, lips smacking together. “Yeah – okay,” he says pulling only his head away, dipping down for a second with his forehead against Hayley’s cheek. “I’ll walk you.”
He pulled away, slowly, from her, hand sliding down her arm until his finger tips toy with Hayley’s, tugging her away from the wall with him.
When they start the walk, it oddly feels like something so natural, as if they did this all the time, side by side. Taylor’s arm keeps brushing Hayley’s as he keeps close to the tiny redhead, hand dancing with hers but never quite grabbing it.
The bar is both close to the café she works at and her place, an easy fifteen minutes' walk before they’re slowing down in front of the steps that lead to the door of her apartment.
Pointing up at the building, she stops in the street and turns to Taylor with a grin. “I’m just up here.”
He finally grabs her hand then, pulling the beautiful girl in front close to him, heavy eyelids trained on her. “Happy I ran into you tonight,” Taylor hums, bottom lip caught between his teeth. “You’re not working tomorrow, are you?”
Hayley nods. “I open tomorrow.”
“Open?” His brown eyes widen at the new information, voice rising. “Fuck I’m sorry –”
“Not your fault,” the tiny redhead laughs, cutting him off. “I wanted to stay.”
He’s quiet for a second, but there’s a hint of cheekiness as he asks, “Don’t you have to be up in like, five hours?”
“Something like that,” Hayley answers pressing her hand to his chest, same way she had when they were kissing. “So I’m going to head up.”
The tiny redhead leans forward, bypassing his mouth and presses a quick kiss to his cheek and then she whispers a promising “I’ll see you.”
Xxxx
Hayley didn’t end up getting much sleep, but this time it was okay. She wasn’t in a bad mood, and her opening shift had gone off without a hitch.
She’s happy when Oscar shuffles in, her first customer of the day so she hands him his crossword puzzle and hops on making his drink, hands working on autopilot.
“Late night?” Oscars asks, when she brings him his coffee with a stifled yawn.
“Something like that,” the tiny redhead hums, placing his drink on the table in front of him, and taking a moment to sit across from Oscar and sip on her own.
Another early morning face she sees that Monday, surprises her a bit considering it was just past seven. Taylor has his squared sunglasses perched on the tip of his nose, hair tousled as if he had woken up and let if fall wherever it pleased, but is a look she finds herself very much enjoying.
He has on small black running shorts and a grey shirt, an outfit she can only describe as athleisure. It’s for sure an outfit that she’s never seen on him, one she didn’t even imagine possible, but one she quickly grows a liking to.
The curly haired man walks over to the counter, eyes flitting over to where she’s sitting with Oscar and his face breaks in a smile.
“Someone’s trying to take your attention away from me,” Oscar laughs, head nodding in Taylor’s direction when he sees him patiently waiting for the tiny redhead with a small smile on his lips.
“The nerve,” Hayley jokes, knowing very well that Taylor can hear her in the almost empty café.
Slowly rising back up to her feet, she makes the short distance across the floor until she’s facing Taylor form the other side of the counter, there’s a wide smile on her lips as she tilts her head to the side.
“You’re here early.”
“Going for a run,” he tells her motioning to his outfit. “Needed a little coffee first, I didn’t get much sleep last night to be completely honest.”
Hayley bites her lips together. “I’m sorry to hear that.”
“I would’ve brought you a coffee but …” he trails off, motioning to the espresso machine that sits on the opposite side of the counter. “That didn’t make much sense.”
She laughs lightly at how charming he is this early morning and subtly eyes her purple mug that’s still sitting on the table in front of Oscar.
“I also seem to remember you saying something about a coffee on the house?” Taylor continues making her eyebrows rise.
“Oh, so is that the only reason you came in?”
“Helps, doesn’t it?”
“Well if that’s the case,” the tiny redhead laughs, waving to the machine that sits a few meters away. “What can I get for you?”
“You choose for me.” Taylor grins, repeating her words from the night before at the bar.
Bottom lip lodged between her teeth; Hayley weighs her options. She scoops some ice into a to go cup, before pouring in some cold brew that she had brewing previous day.
“This is one of my favorite roasts,” she hums, sliding the cup over to him.
The curly haired man grabs the cup form the counter, piercing a blue paper straw through the lid. “I trust your judgment,” he nods, lips circling around the straw with his eyes on Hayley’s. She watches attentively as he swallows the chilled liquid, toothy grin on his lips. “Fruity.”
“Very fruity.” she confirms.
Taylor’s quiet for a moment, before speaking up again. “I should get running,” he says taking another sip of his cold brew. “But I’ll be seeing you soon.”
“Is that a threat?” she jokes after his emphasis on the words.
“It’s a promise.” she didn’t know if it’s imagined because he’s turning away, but Hayley’s sure she sees him shoot her a cheesy little wink.
Taylor waves bye to her and to Oscar as well who seemed confused by the action but still returns the goodbye.
And true to his words, he’s back two days later.
On Wednesday afternoon, and he comes in wearing his usual black jeans and a dark shirt that has the word ‘sex’ on it. It’s odd, and the tiny redhead briefly wonders what possessed him to buy the shirt, but doesn’t question it.
He waves hello to Lindsey who’s training a new staff member and walks up to where she stands by the furthest counter near the back door, currently slicing up a loaf of banana bread. “Hey!”
“Hi,” the curly haired man stands on opposite side of the counter as Hayley, watching her place the knife down and grab plastic wrap to secure the sliced pieces.
“What brings you in today?” she asks, as if there wasn’t an obvious answer.
“Many reasons, actually.” He raises an eyebrow. “Main one being I wanted to ask you something.”
Hayley’s smile grows without her permission. “And what is that?”
“Well, I remember you saying something about wanting to try out painting with me sometime.”
“I think I did say something like that. Why?” she teases, leaning forward on the counter in front of her with her arms crossed over her chest.
His hands are fiddling with the ring on his finger and he looks adorably anxious, which peaks her attention. “Well –do you think that sometime could be soon?”
“Yeah? Like when?”
“Are you closing today?”
“Nope, actually I’m off at six,” Hayley answers glancing at the clock. “A bit of a different shift since we’re training,” she explains nodding her head back to the new staff member that’s watching Lindsey steam milk. “Good for me, since I don’t need to close.”
“And…” he pauses again. “Are you doing anything afterwards?”
Hayley thinks it over, already knowing her answer but wanting to leave him hanging the slightest bit. “I am not,” she finally says smiling lightly. “I think I can make it work.”
Taylor’s smile widens, tapping his hands on the counter. “Music to my ears.”
He glances at the clock behind him, seeing there’s about half an hour or so until she’s free from work. “Did you need to go home first? I was thinking we could walk right over to my place when you’re off.”
“Maybe,” she mumbles mostly to herself. “To change? My clothes are a bit covered in grounds.”
Wiping her hand over her front, she flicks off the stray coffee grounds that always end up on her clothes, today’s victim being a loose denim dress that hits the spot below her knees.
Hayley follows as Taylor’s eyes go over her outfit, lingering on her body for a slight moment and she can’t help but warm slightly under his gaze.
“Whatever you’re comfortable in,” he shrugs. “But for the record, I think you look great.”
“Thank you,” she murmurs. “Think I should be good, though, to head over. Did you want a drink, while you wait?”
Taylor nods, left dimple never disappearing from his cheeks as he doesn’t stop smiling. “Maybe an iced tea?”
She sees him reach for his wallet, and shakes her head. “On the house, remember?”
Hayley makes him an ice tea with no sweetener since she didn’t take him as the type to want any and then hands him the glass with a green paper straw. “I’ll see you in half an hour.”
The next thirty minutes go by fairly quickly, showing the new hire, Pedro, the first steps of a closing shift and it’s at two minutes until six o’clock, when she heads to the washroom in the back.
She tries her best to fix herself up, combing her red hair and swiping the skin under her eyes to wipe off the mascara that’s a bit smudged. She glances down at her jean overall dress, the thin straps dipping a bit low, thinking it’s not that attractive. It was comfortable, to say the least, but it wouldn’t be something she wore on a date – or what she assumed might be a date.
But Taylor’s words from before float across her mind, and Hayley tells herself that it’s fine that she doesn’t look the best she possibly can. That she’s just nervous.
Taylor notices her walking out form the back right away so he stands to his feet to join her and Hayley yells a quick bye to Lindsey, no missing the way she wiggles her eyebrows at her and Taylor.
The curly haired man doesn’t live that far away from the coffee shop, something that’s not really a surprise to the tiny redhead. The walk just over twenty minutes and a few stories up in the older looking apartment building.
He holds the door open for her, as the beautiful barista takes in his place. Hayley always loved seeing people’s places, especially those of people closest to her. She may or may not have been caught snooping a few times in cabinets, something that she wishes she had some shame in but really Hayley was just a bit nosy.
He has wide windows on one side, something that she thinks is supremely ideal and incredibly stunning, Hayley believes that when the sunset occurs the whole room must shine a hue of orange. Near the window there's stacks and stacks of canvases, leaning against the wall, with an easel standing on the ground amongst smaller nearly blank canvases resting on it.
There also a little table with a jar that has brushes, two sketchbooks, and a canvas bag. He has a box that appears to be filled with tubes of paint, and a table lined with item after item that she can’t even begin to think about what their purpose might be.
Underneath a corner in his studio, there’s brown paper spread over the floor, no doubt to protect it from all the splatter.
“This is a nice place,” The tiny redhead finally tells him after a moment of kicking off her shoes and peering around the space.
“Yeah, I really lucked out,” He agrees placing his bag on the chair by the door. “Do you want me to show you around or…?”
Hayley points to where the paintings are stacked, already catching a glance at some. “I want to see those.”
He chuckles, walking over as she follows. The curly haired man begins flipping through them, once and a while stopping to pull one out. They are all around the same size, quite big, and about the size of an average coffee table.
“These are my favorites,” Taylor declares watching Hayley as her eyes rest on the paintings that are now fully facing her, propped up against the wall.
She has to agree with him, although she’s not seen all of them. They look even better in person, leaving her a bit lost for words as she feels a bit dumbfounded. They all have big patches of colors, something Hayley recognizes from when she took a peek at his Instagram.
Her personal favorite is one that has what appears to be two people in it, both standing on opposite sides of the street. The buildings in the back are painted mixes of blue and yellow, the sky dark behind them. The people themselves have little detail, faces hidden with the most focus on their clothes.
Realizing she's been quiet for a moment, Hayley turns to Taylor, who is steadily watching her. “They are much better in person,” is what she finds herself saying. “I – I really like them.”
He has a boyish smile playing on his lips. “Thank you,” he hums, nodding appreciatively.
“Is that what you’re working on now?” She asks pointing behind him, to where he’s got what seems to be yet another black sketchbook out on the floor with a few almost blank canvases around it.
“Yeah,” Taylor hesitates, not moving. “But too much of a work in progress – not ready to be seen by anyone yet.”
“Of course,” she confirms nodding, as a quick movement near the ground catches her eye and the sight before her, makes her mouth drop open a bit.
“And who is this,” Hayley’s voice rises an octave, dropping down to rest her elbows against her knees.
A small golden doodle pads across the floor at her voice, his deep brown eyes focus on Hayley as it determinately makes its way towards her extended hand. The puppy nudges her hand with his nose, before taking a few steps closer to her, bumping her excitedly until she starts scratching the top of his head. “Aren’t you the cutest.”
“He’s very needy,” Taylor admits coming to stands next to her, watching as Hayley absolutely melts at the sight of his new housemate.
The dog moves closer to her, butting his head against her shin barking loudly. He’s very quickly gotten familiar with the tiny redhead, eyes shutting with small smile adorning his face as he enjoys the attention and the pets.
Turning her attention to Taylor for only a second, she glances up at him from where she’s kneeling. “What’s his or her name?”
The curly haired man grins down at her, his voice soft. “Alf.”
“Alf,” Hayley coos, full attention back on the sweet puppy at her feet. “Oh, you’re so full of love.” she tells the puppy, letting him turn on his tummy to demand some rubs.
Realizing after a moment that she’s getting far too distracted by the dog; Hayley gives him one last ear rub before standing to her feet. “Sorry,” she smiles with a gleam in her eyes. “I think I love him.”
“Don’t apologize,” he chuckles, bending down himself as his dog finally says hello to him. “He loves a cuddle.”
Taylor easily scoops the puppy up, bringing him up until he’s held against his chest. His hand easily covers him, fingers moving through his curly blonde fur.
There’s something about seeing his wide chest with a little dog against it. Something Hayley had never thought would make him that much more attractive, maybe it was just the juxtaposition, his hands grabbing his entire frame, making Alf appear much smaller and him that much broader.
“What?” Taylor’s laugh cuts through her thoughts, making her realize she’s been quiet for a moment too long.
“Nothing,” the tiny redhead shakes her head, taking a step forward and bringing her hand up to the little dog's head. “He’s just too cute,” she declares scratching her fingertips along his head once again, nails scratching over Taylor’s shirt-covered chest every so often.
Soon, Alf starts to squirm in his grasp so Taylor lowers the puppy to the ground, letting him snoop around the apartment to his little heart’s desire.
“Did you want anything to drink, or eat?”
The tiny redhead shakes her head, thinking about the coffee after coffee that she pounded back at work, and the bits and pieces of baked goods that she stole for herself in between orders. “I’m good, thank you though.”
“Want to get to some painting, then?”
She smiles over at him, green eyes still slightly distracted by way that the little golden doodle was still demanding her attention, standing with a toy until she threw it for him. “I would love to.”
Taylor gets Alf on his small play corner filled with toys and shuffles some things around. He pulls out a second smaller easel from a closet to the corner, fumbling around with the clasps and settings on it until it’s resting upwards, closer to the ground. She watches attentively not really knowing what to do, as he does the same with the other easel, moving it on the ground until they sit next to each other.
“Thought we could sit on the floor –” he offers turning back to face her, loose curls falling over his forehead in the most charming way.“If you want to stand that’s okay too.”
“Floor’s good,” Hayley grins, taking a step over to where he’s setting everything up, digging through a box on the table and then pulling out some paint tubes and brushes.
“Think we could use acrylic,” he talks, but Hayley’s not too sure what he means so she simply nods. “I usually do oil but it’s a bit tougher to handle, especially if you’ve never used it before.”
“Okay,” the word sounds so small in answer and she wishes she had more to add but in all honesty, Hayley’s never thought much about the different types of paints.
“For you,” the curly haired man stands again after laying out a series of tubes on the floor next to the easels, motioning to the spot. “Let me know if you want a pillow or something, or if the ground is uncomfortable.”
“Should be okay,” the tiny redhead steps over onto the brown paper covering the floor, noticing specks of dried paint already splattered over it. She adjusts the hem of her dress when she sits down, small bend in her knees and feet flat on the ground.
Taylor leaves for a second, rusting in the closet to the side once more before he comes back with two smaller canvases. “Primed and everything,” he places one in front of Hayley, and for him as he settles down on the floor next to her.
“Thank you,” she smiles over at him, not touching anything he put out and keeping her hands clasped together.
Taylor seems to notice her hesitation, so he hands her a small flat brush. “Use whichever colors you want,” he tells her slowly, motioning to the tubes next to them. “A palette out for you and water is in this jar.”
Nodding again, Hayley flips the brush between her index and middle finger on instinct. “What should I paint?”
The curly haired man laughs. “Absolutely anything you want,” he opens a tube of red, squirting some out on his own palette in his hand. “Whatever comes to mind.”
“What are you going to paint?”
Hayley sees his bottom lip jut out slightly, and it takes her right back to when he’d kissed her a couple nights ago and how that lip had been between her teeth. “No fun in telling you right away, you’re just going to have to wait and see.”
Laughing lightly, she decides to grab the first color that comes to mind: Yellow.
She doesn’t really have anything in mind, deciding that maybe she should listen to Taylor and just follow whatever she feels in the moment.
The curly haired man starts right away, easily mixing a cherry red and a hint of the bright Yellow Hayley’s chosen on his canvas, until it turns into an orange that’s nearly too bright. He’s not paying much attention, though, watching the tiny redhead from the corner of his eye.
Hayley has her head tilted down, arms resting on her knees with one hand perched down, mixing some Yellow and different shades of blue on the palette. Her bottom lip´s caught between her teeth, and a there’s little furrow to her brow as she grabs some other shades of yellow, and then some more blue.
She swirls some colors together, resulting in a mustard Yellow, and brings the brush up to the canvas and Taylor sees her hesitate again, tip of the brush not making contact with the white canvas.
“Don’t think too much about it, babe.”
The pet name slips past his lips so easily, as if he’s not even thinking about it. Hayley’s attention turns to him as he speaks, and he doesn’t miss the way that the corner of her lips turn up, before she bites said lips together.
“Okay,” the word is barely a quiet murmur, as she turns her attention back on the canvas, brush painting a thick yellow line right on the left side.
After that, Hayley seems to ease up a little, mixing various hues of blue, not really having a plan as she adds them over the previous color and next to it, splatters of red. Is not like she really knows what she’s doing, other than enjoying herself.
It’s therapeutic, the way that the thick paint smooths over the canvas in the same way that an espresso shot pours so fluidly into a mug.
She catches quick glances at what Taylor’s doing every once and awhile, seeing him add red shapes on the opposite side to where the orange is.
It’s like that for a bit, a nice calm atmosphere around the both of them, with small snippets of conversation here and there.
Hayley’s painting isn’t advancing that much, but it seems to have some big aspects going on. A dark, maybe angry, blue on the bottom of the canvas, and a light and yellow toned one on the top.
As she keeps glancing over to the curly haired man, she realizes that he’s painting two sets of hands, nearly grasping each other but not quite yet and she’s quietly amazed by his skill.
After another period in silence, with the only noise coming from outside as the window above her head is propped open, Hayley feels how Taylor starts to shift from next to her. First, he stretches out his legs, and then his arms.
And then she hears the paper under her rustle as Taylor moves to his knees shuffling closer to her. She watches him from the corner of her eye trying not to pause in her movements to avoid showing that she’s paying too much attention to him.
Feeling his presence linger, Hayley finally casts him a glance over her shoulder. They’re still not speaking as she silently holds his gaze, watching his eyes stop over her lips for a moment before looking past at the canvas in front of her.
“Can I –” he asks leaning closer, “Show you a few techniques?” His voice is smooth like honey in her ear, not really asking a question as the shirt over his chest brushes her back.
The tiny redhead simply nods, mind reeling a bit as his lips linger near her ear.
It’s then when he lowers himself from his knees, seating himself behind her, that Hayley’s movements freeze, not fully able to see him as she sits so still and facing forward. Taylor’s legs widen a bit as he sits back, slowly unfolding one at a time and placing his feet on the ground, bent at the knees and loosely casing her in.
Her skin jumps under his touch when one of his hands wraps over hers, leaning his body even closer so that his chest is fully pressed against Hayley’s back. She can feel the small puffs of air leaving his nose hitting the top of her shoulder and slowly driving her crazy.
Taylor guides her hand down to dip the tip of the brush into the mixed paint by her side, moving both of their limbs together. “Just like,” his voice is deep and quiet in her ear, moving her hands back up near the canvas. “Just like this.”
Hayley doesn’t dare look back at him knowing that one glance will have her gone. She’s sure his eyes are glowing and that he has that dumb little smirk on his lips; his lips that are oh so pink and slightly wet from how much he bites them.
Just the feeling of him gently pressed against her, chest digging into her back slightly deeper every time he moves his arms together, is making Hayley’s head spin. She can barely pay attention to what he’s doing to the canvas, solely focused on the feeling of his skin on hers.
“Just like that,” he murmurs deep in her ear, bit of stubble scratching her skin when his chin moves forward to rest on top of Hayley’s shoulder.
The tiny redhead nearly drops the paintbrush when his hand lets go of hers, catching it in an awkward manner. Taylor slipped his hand away, sliding it up her forearm until it rests lightly over her elbow. His other hand is still resting by his side on the ground, and all Hayley wants is for his arms to squeeze around her while his thighs do the same.
She doesn’t know how long they stay like that, forcing her attention back to the splotch of colors that stands in front of her on the canvas. They paint continuous little yellow lines along the left side, layering the slightly different shades.
It’s only when she's started to focus a bit more on the darker color she’s mixing, that Taylor’s chin moves from her shoulder. Instead, Hayley feels his nose brush over the crook of her neck, his warm breath sending a shiver down her spine which she hopes to god he hasn’t noticed.
Though the tiny redhead is pretty sure he does, that he notices every little single move from her, and when he places his lips on her skin and whispers ‘just like that’ one more time, Hayley becomes putty under him.
She tries so hard not to appear affected by him, she really does , but Hayley also didn’t know how it could be physically possible to focus on anything other than Taylor at the moment. The brush stills in her hands, arm resting exactly where it is and halting in all movements.
His lips move down the nape of her neck expertly, small barely-there kisses that are like whispers over her skin. The hand on her elbow slips under her arm, gripping her waist with his fingers bunching into the baggy material of Hayley’s dress.
A whisper of her name onto her skin is all it takes. Her green eyes pull away from the mess of yellow on the canvas, having to lean away from Taylor to properly gaze over her shoulder at him.
His brown eyes are heavy on hers, gaze sharing unspoken words and she watches expectantly how Taylor’s gaze drops down without a shame to stare at her mouth, dilated pupils tracing the soft curve of her lips. Hayley can’t help but wet them under his intense stare.
The sight of him blurs as he nears her until her eyes shut and his lips covers hers.
Her neck is tensing from the uncomfortable position, tilting awkwardly around her shoulder, but when she tastes Taylor again, Hayley doesn’t really care.
His mouth takes her bottom lip between his teeth, grazing over it before releasing it and he craned his neck further around her shoulder to properly kiss her, hand grabbing onto her dress, holding the fabric tighter in his grip.
Kissing Taylor again feels even better than the last time. Even in the nearly painful position, Hayley wants to pull him in closer and deeper and not be able to know where she ends and he starts.
He’s warm and bright just like the hot August evening, beaming like the sun through the window. The curly haired man draws her in closer and makes her feel so at peace that at this moment Hayley can’t remember ever feeling stressed
A gasp escapes from the back of her throat and Taylor’s mouth moves over hers in slow and deep movements. Like last time, he eases his way into her mouth slowly, savoring her taste. Tasting like tea, and something sweet he can’t get enough of.
The legs that rest by her sides closed in on her a bit, squeezing her hips when he turns in to try and rest even closer to her. The position is awkward, the brush still half hanging in Hayley’s hand, while her other hand moves around behind her to lace through Taylor’s hair.
He kisses her deeply, tongue delving in against hers. Although she’s in close proximity with his front pressed against her back, Hayley wants more than anything to be closer . Wants to be on top of him, or vice versa, she wants to be able to feel his weight against her.
As if reading her mind, Taylor parts their lips with a light pant, eyes fluttering open as he licks over his moistened lips. Slowly he releases her from his grip without a word, scooting back a bit until not a single sliver of skin is touching hers anymore. Hayley feels him grip the paintbrush from her hand, leaning across the floor to place it in the little jar of water he had set out.
“Turn around for me, Hayles.”
Her skin warms at the tone of his voice and the words he’s saying and, in that moment, she decides he could’ve told her anything in that voice and she'd easily listen.
The tiny redhead’s shifts forward a bit awkwardly, with her hands on the ground beneath her to hold herself in place as she moves around until she’s facing him.
Taylor looks stunning in the warm glow of the sunset; orange beams pushing through the window and kissing the tip of his cheek. His hair’s a bit tousled from Hayley’s hand that had run through it, eyes dark and intent on hers, lips begging for more.
He sits an arm length away, raising his right hand as if to cup her face but then lets it hover by her side. Hayley’s skin burns to feel his touch on her. “I’ve got paint on my hands,” he murmurs, eyes glancing down. “Already got some on you.”
“I don’t care,” Hayley’s own hand reaches out for him curving it around his neck, pulling him closer until their lips are once again connected.
Taylor shifts closer to her, hand resting by the crook of her neck while the other is placed on her knee. Wet lips are greedy for each other, licking deep into her mouth as he lets out a shaky breath through his nose.
The hand on her knee squeezes gently, thumb brushing circles onto the skin as his touch sends sparks and all Hayley wants is to feel more of that, so when his hand slides up the slightest bit up and his lips envelope her bottom lip, the softest moan escapes past her parted lips and Taylor knows he needs more as well.
“Can you lay back for me.”
His own legs rests by her side, slowly lifting himself to his knees, brown eyes heavy on Hayley’s, watching her head slowly nod as she leans back on the hand behind her.
The hand that was resting by her neck slides down her arm, holding her as he eases himself down, letting her back hit the floor under her. His legs extend out next to Hayley’s, shuffling himself so that he has one between her own before he moves to hover over her. One hand keeps himself slightly at level, but then he presses the rest of his body down on Hayley’s until their lips reconnect.
“Are you comfortable?” He asks with a quick kiss to her lips before he lifts his face away, eyes flicking between Hayley’s.
The tiny redhead quickly nods, swallowing a breath as her fingers hold the material of his shirt tightly. “Yes.” she answers moving her hand from his bicep up around his neck, fingertips tapping lightly against his collarbone. Some loose curls are falling over his forehead and Hayley pushes them out of the way when she brings her hand up to run her fingers through them.
Running your nails over his scalp, she lowers his head down to hers until her lips meet once more. It’s slightly different this time though; hotter, a tinge of desperation behind both of their movements. Every touch of his skin on hers is sending a bolt of pleasure straight down to where she craves him the most.
The breathing in the room grows heavier, Hayley’s whines laced with the small puffs of air. Taylor’s lips slide to her jaw, then to her neck where he nips the spot right under her earlobe committing her to memory and capturing every inch of her skin, and every sound she makes.
He still has a hand resting by her knee, one that has slide up along with the hem of her dress just hitting the middle of her thighs, as if about to ask if he can move his hand further up, lips parting against Hayley’s.
She sucks in his bottom lip between her own, teeth grazing of the thin skin as if giving silent permission, but is not enough so he pulls away slightly, eyelids flitting open. His eyes have darkened, voice husky in her ear. “I – I need you to tell me what you want.”
“Please,” her mouth searches for his once again, fingers circling a hand around his neck, pulling his lips down to hers. Taylor’s hand holds himself up finds her arm by her side, trailing his fingers along Hayley’s forearm until their fingertips are intertwine “Just – anything.”
Pulling her hand up along with his, she keeps it down on the ground above her head, his lips slide away from Hayley’s again as he pulls a whimper from her throat, hot breath hitting the side of her neck.
“Still got paint on my hands,” he rasps as his lips brush over the skin under her earlobe. “I’m making a mess, getting it on your thighs.”
“Don’t care,” Hayley says repeating her words from before with a lift of her hips.
The slow-building ache between her thighs is at an all-time high, as the tiny redhead is hyper-aware of Taylor’s hand that is pushing under her dress. She feels an involuntary buck of her hips as he shifts over her, thigh brushing over where she wants so badly to feel him. “Oh.”
Her green hazy eyes fall to Taylor’s, catching him already watching her with that small lift in his lips, the subtle smirk that tells her, he knows exactly what he’s doing.
And then he’s dipping his head lower again, as his hand rises higher on her thigh, pushing the denim of her dress up along with it. His nose skims the edge of her dress strap, nudging it aside before his lips kiss over her collarbone.
His fingers inch their way up her leg expertly, tips just brushing over the corner of her thigh. He’s so deliciously slow, moving inch by inch while his lips hotly kiss and suck on her skin until she’s dizzy.
Taylor moves the fingers that are still intertwined above her head down, letting go as he let Hayley reposition her own hand through his hair. His fingers are quick to touch her side, fiddling with the hem of her dress that’s moved up significantly.
His lips break away from her skin for a second, brown eyes gazing up at her through heavy eyelashes and Hayley nearly has to look away by how intense his gaze is, but she’s worried about what she’ll miss if she does.
Both hands now on either thigh, edge the fabric of her dress up while his eyes don’t waver from her own, she lifts her bum the slightest bit to help move the material up, until he catches sight of her black cotton underwear and the fabric is gathered just above her hips.
Suddenly Taylor’s shuffling down her body, paper rustling under his knees, his forearms pushing at her thighs and when she feels his breath hit the crease of her skin, Hayley’s scrambling to prop herself up on an elbow.
She sees him rise to his knees and then to his feet, watching the slight confusion dawn her features as he quickly walks through his apartment and over to the couch that sits opposite to them. He doesn’t leave for long enough for Hayley to even begin to shuffle up, quickly reappearing with a plush blanket in hand.
Soon he finds himself in the same position he was previously, not before plopping the blanket down on the ground and guiding her to move her hips on top of it.
“More comfortable this way,” the curly haired man chuckles at her confused expression, hands quick to grab at her skin once more her legs further apart, bending at the knee and stealing glances at Hayley making sure he isn’t pushing it too far.
“What are you,” she pauses, swallowing a thick breath as her mind is unable to focus on a simple thing other than the fact this beautiful man is hovering dangerously close to where she’s aching. “What are you doing.”
“Paint,” is all he says, lips wet on her skin. “Can’t use my hands.”
Taylor slides his body the few more inches he needs for his mouth be level with the inside of her thigh, pulling a shaky breath from the tiny redhead as he lowers his lips, grazing right over the skin of her inner thigh, leg jolting at the touch.
“Can I?” his voice rasps deep from below her, hot breath warming her entire body. “Tell me if I can.”
Hayley swallows a heavy gulp before answering, unable to believe the anticipation that’s building so beautifully, “Please, yes.”
A high gasp sound from her throat when his lips close over her clothed core, with the right kind of pressure against her clit. His hands that had been holding her thighs apart move over her hips, the cotton of her underwear between his thumb and index finger.
Lifting her hips, Hayley’s own hand comes down to pull at the fabric of her garment and Taylor’s quick to take hold of said hand, wanting to be the one to undress her. He inches the fabric off of her with ease until he can fully discard the thin material.
She moves her hand to rest in his hair, hands on her thighs again with his eyes skimming over every inch of skin in front of him. Hayley wants to watch his every move, and tightly shut her eyes but decides on the former, fingers locking tightly in his hair as Taylor’s lips skim over the sensitive skin of her thighs once again.
The curly haired man revels in the sight before him; having her spread for him with the sunset casting a golden glow all over her body, dress bunched around her hips, eyelids heavy and lips wet as she breathlessly pants his name. “Taylor.”
“Fuck,” he mutters against her when he finally gets his first taste. She’s wet, so wet, and perfectly sweet.
Her back arches at his first touch, tongue lapping over her folds. His forearms still over her thighs, push them further apart to spread her open.
The sound she makes when he repeats the motion, this time seeking out her clit, tells him that he’s successful in doing so. Her hips jolt slightly at the feeling, breathless whimpers escaping her mouth as he pays close attention to the sensitive bit of nerves.
She’s in heaven as he experiments with her clit, gently and then roughly pushing the tip of his tongue against it to find what she likes.
“Oh…!” her mouth gapes open when his lips circle around her clit, cheeks hollowing as he lightly sucks and then repeats the motion, tongue lightly flicking over the nub before he pulls it between his mouth.
She lifts her head when his lips retreat from her clit, sucking into the skin of her thigh once again. Unable to take her eyes off the way his cheeks hollow and his dark eyes remain intent on her as if she would disappear if he looked away.
Tongue licking up, the saliva mixes with her arousal in hi sinful moves until she’s pushing her hips up against him, nails digging into the skin on his neck while his tongue works inside of her.
“Oh, God.” It was heavenly.
He works slowly against her, tongue pushing up against her clit in a way that makes her back arch of the mattress as she desperately needs more. “Tayyylor –”
His lips circle around her swollen clit, eliciting a sharp cry at the end of her praise. Fingers pulling tightly in his already messy locks, not caring about the roughness of her actions in the moment. All she can focus on is how she feels completely on fire by the way he’s touching her.
He hums against her heat, likely muttering something that she can’t make out and it sends vibrations all through her body, shooting up her spine and making Hayley’s mind melt. She knew she was slick, probably embarrassingly so, but the way he was burying himself between her thighs left her without a care.
“It’s good?” His hot voice pulls her focus back onto him, glancing down when his tongue licks up her folds again, pushing through on every spot until her legs kick slightly when he hits just the tight spot. “Feels good?”
He moves his head away, hovering just over Hayley with a lick to his lips. “So good,” she whimpers into the air, craving to feel him on her again. “O-on my clit again –”
She’s cut short when his mouth kisses over her again, lips parted until they find their place around her clit, this time sucking harshly as he gages her reaction.
His arms are still holding her legs parted, fingers gripping tightly into her skin there were sure to be crescent moon shaped nail marks indented into her thighs and the thought makes her that tiny bit crazier as his tongue dances patterns on her clit, pressure going from light to rough within a matter of seconds.
He listens to every heavy breath, every small gasp, and every light moan that’s being pulled from her chest, Taylor’s memorizing every move he makes that she reacts to and Hayley swears she can feel his lips curve up in a smile when his tongue delves back into her. The small movement has her pushing her hips up, his tongue digging into her.
And then he’s tugging on her clit again, pulling a deep moan from low in her throat that has him wanting to hear nothing else.
There’s a fire in the pit of her stomach, chest heaving as she feels a slow build of her climax. Her thighs press against his hands as Hayley seems to be unable to keep them still, completely focused on the way his tongue is quickly working against her.
Clenching around nothing, her back arches as she seeks him out. “Need something,” she babbles. “Need more.”
He only mutters against her, not wanting to break contact from her heat for a moment too long. “No hands,” is all he says for a moment, the noise of his mouth wet on her cunt making her lose her mind.
“Know you can do it,” he moans after a moment, encouraging her as the curly haired man wants nothing more than to see her unravel under him.
He works with skill against her, making it his mission to see Hayley cum for him. He knows he’s getting her there, her breathing getting heavier and the grip on his hair getting tighter. Taylor can’t even begin to imagine how she’ll sound when she comes.
Getting her close is so amazing, words starting to babble from her lips, pleads laced with praises and small cries that he can barely decipher but that only spur him on.
“I’m –” Hayley gasps, eyes squeezing shut at the fire that’s about to burn out.
“Go on,” he urges, voice quiet as he doesn’t want to take his lips off her for more than a second. Tongue circling around her quickly before licking quick patterns over the sensitive spot of her clit that made her call out his name.
“Oh…!” Her mouth hangs open when she comes against his mouth, his hands release her the slightest bit as they try to squeeze close around his head. Hips jolting up with a rise of her bum, fingers tight in his hair.
The sound of her moans fills the curly haired man ears and he knows that this is now the best thing he’s ever heard. His tongue slows around her before he pulls his head away and watches in awe the sight in front of him. Hayley’s chest is heavily rising, lips wet and bit darker with her eyes closed shut.
The pleasure coursing through her slowly subsides, green eyes daring to peek an eye open at the beautiful man by her thighs. He has a lazy smile etched across his mouth, and Hayley watches in trance as his tongue darts out to lick his wet lips. His cheeks are flushed red and his hair disarray, as she slowly let's go of her grip on his head, arms falling to her side.
The sun has set past the building outside, the light that was previously golden orange is now a hazy blue, casting darkened shadows under Taylor’s perfect features.
He lifts himself to his knees, stretching his arms out as he keeps his eyes on her with a wide grin.
“Is,” Hayley is the first to speak, propping herself up on her elbows as she fiddles with the hem of her dress, not before noticing the yellow and orange paint that’s in fact smeared on her thighs. “Is painting always like that?”
A breathless chuckle escapes Taylor’s parted lips at the question, and he’s suddenly hovering over her again with happy grin. “Painting has never been like that.”