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Before Colin...

"Hello?" I answered, trying my best to stifle the giggles.

"I'm just about to come home. Do you want anything from the supermarket?"

My eyes flung open as I gaped at the clock beside me. I didn't realise how late it was! I sat bolt straight and shot a panicked look to Gabe, who even though was "just a friend" was still not allowed to "sleep over", according to my father. Whoops?

"Er-" I said, slapping Gabe's hand away as his fingers began to caress my bare thigh. "Some Nutella?"

"Okay. What do you want for dinner?" he asked, oblivious to the fact that my non-labelled boyfriend was feeling me up as we spoke.

"Tacos," I breathed as Gabe continued to torment me.

"Okie dokie," he replied cheerfully. "See you in 10."

The line went dead and I leapt off my bed. "You need to go!"

"Do I?"

"Yes, Gabe. Like, now," I said, swatting his hands away from me. As usual, his strength surpassed mine, so he easily tugged me effortlessly back down on the mattress.

"What were you saying?"

"That you need to leave."

He snaked his arm around my waist and pressed his lips against my ear, which he knew was a weak spot of mine.

"What was that?"

Immediately, my eyes rolled back as I felt his breath against my skin. Whatever I was thinking disappeared from as he tilted my chin back and kissed me. All thoughts of Dad coming home and catching us definitely slipped away. I wrapped my arms around him and pulled him closer. His response was to run his fingers through my long, blonde hair.

My thing with Gabe just started. I knew I 'liked' him for a while. But it wasn't until two weeks ago, when we attended a gathering thrown by my friend Courtney, that I realised he liked me, too. We weren't dating or anything, but we were definitely getting to 'know' each other better.

Our little tryst, which felt like it went on for only a few seconds, ended abruptly when I heard a car door slam, successfully snapping me out my Gabe-trance.

"Crap!"

***

"I don't have that many rules, Hayley," Dad said with a sigh as he paced in front of me. I sat with my hands clasped together on the dining room table. "But having boys sleep over is in fact one of those rules. You managed to break it."

"I'm sixteen!" I groaned and face-palmed in frustration. "Can you stop treating me like a child?"

"That's exactly my point! You're only sixteen!" he exclaimed, throwing his hands in the air. "You shouldn't be sharing beds with a boy until you're 30, at least!"

I slapped my hand to my mouth as I laughed. "I'll be married with kids by then!"

"Oh dear Lord," he groaned, rubbing his hands roughly across his face. "That's a terrifying thought."

Sensing that he really was upset, I decided to just give in to him just this once.

"I know I went against your rules, and I'm sorry. But I like Gabe, and I think you would, too."

What's nice about my relationship with my Dad was I could be honest with him. I didn't have to pretend to be 'cool' while I was with him. I could just be myself.

"Hmph."

A relieved grin broke out on my face at his response. I immediately got to my feet, walked over, and wrapped my arms around his torso. He immediately hugged me back.

"You're still my little girl," he mumbled into my hair.

I tightened my hold on him before I stepped back. "I know. Now grab some spoons so we can eat Nutella and finish off those last few Prison Break episodes."

"Yes ma'am," he laughed.

That's the thing about Dad and me. If we ever got into an argument, or if he was mad at me, it blew over in about three seconds. We just weren't the type to fight. Well, fight with each other, anyway. We were both too lazy, if I'm honest.

"So," Dad said as he collapsed beside me on the lounge. "Tell me about this Gabe fella."

***

"You're such a sore loser!"

"Am not."

"Are too!"

"You cheated!"

"How could I cheat in Wii Bowling?" I asked in exasperation.

"If I knew that, we wouldn't be having this argument now would we?" Dad said snippily with his hands on his hips.

"You're so frustrating."

"Well if you just played fairly-"

"You can't cheat in this game!" I cried out in annoyance.

Dad and I were the absolute worst when it came to competitive games. We were both way too stubborn to back down against a challenge or accept defeat. It just wasn't in our nature.

"After years of raising you, this is how you turn out. A cheater," Dad sighed dramatically. "What kind of parent have I been?"

I rolled my eyes at him. "You're stupid."

"I know you are, I said you are, but what am I?" he teasingly retorted, which made me recall a particular incident when I was in fifth grade. Of all the people that could come up with such a childish response, it had to be my dad. I cringed and shook my head in disbelief.

"I don't ever want to hear you say that again."

He just laughed. He approached me and wrapped his arm around my neck, successfully putting me into an effortless head lock. He jokingly ran his knuckles roughly along my hair that I cried out in a mixture of discomfort and laughter. I pushed against him in attempt to get away.

"I hate it when you do that!"

"I know," he said with a smirk.

With an exaggerated sigh, I smoothed my hair out of my face once he took a step back. Afterwards, I wandered to the kitchen as I began to twist my long hair into a plait down the side of my face.

"Think fast!" Dad suddenly yelled. No sooner did he say that, a bag of pretzels hit me square in the forehead.

"Ow," I mumbled, continuing with my braid. "That's unfair."

"I know," he laughed.

My Dad is such a kid. Honestly, it was like he was my age, or younger, but trapped in a man's body. We were too alike and too childish together. We probably seemed strange to others. And, as weird as it is, he's honestly my best friend. Yeah, sit down Ameika.

"Can we go get ice cream and sit by the pier?" I asked as I tied the end of my hair up.

"I suppose we could do that. I just have to make a few phone calls first."

"Oh?" I asked, quirking an eyebrow at him suspiciously.

"Just some work stuff. I've got a new... uh... business deal, I guess. Still smoothing over some things."

"Okay," I said with a shrug. I didn't really like to get involved in his work life. This time, though, something felt a little off. The way he mentioned about the business deal sounded odd to me. However, I also know he gets pretty stressed sometimes, so when he comes home, I just want him to forget about it all for a while and just hang out. No pressure. Therefore, I don't ask him about work. Simple as that. With that thought, I decided to just drop my suspicions this time.

"I'm going to go get changed," I replied instead and headed for my room.

As I dragged my feet across the carpet, I finally got to the hallway. I paused before I went in and stared at the old, tarnished photo of my mother that hung on the wall. The more I looked at her, the more I couldn't deny that I was the spitting image of her.

She was tall and thin, like me, but instead of having dirty blonde hair, she had soft, mouse brown hair that was twisted into a braid down her back. I was born with naturally brown hair, but throughout my teenage years, I decided to "revamp" my image by dying my hair blonde.

I also inherited her round, doe-eyes, which were tinted with the colour of moss in the photo. We also had the same face shape and smooth, lightly tanned skin. A sigh escaped me as I thought about the uncanny resemblance. Not often did I stop to stare at her, but when I did, I always wondered what she would have been like, how similar we would have been in personality and whatnot, and how much different my life would have been if she was in it.

I didn't have one single memory of her. She died in a car crash when I was a year old. My father rarely spoke of her. But during the times he did, I could tell from the way he spoke about her that they were pretty deep in love. I don't know if he's truly gotten over her. She just wasn't a topic we discuss anymore.

"You ready?" Dad called out all of a sudden. I jumped in alarm, not realizing how long I stood there for. I shook my head slightly at that and finally returned to reality.

"Um, one sec," I called out and swiftly headed to my room, which was an absolute mess. I haven't cleaned it for a long time. As a result, it looked like a bomb had been set off in it. After countless sarcastic comments and reprimands, Dad gave up and would just sigh as he stared at how messy it is. At this point, it was impossible to keep tidy so I don't bother anymore. My clothes were no longer stored in my dresser. They're just spread around my floor, my night stand, my desk, my bed...

"You're never going to find anything in that mess," Dad said, making me jump again.

"Stop picking on me."

"You haven't seen me at my worst, darling."

I rolled my eyes as I dropped to my knees and began rummaging through the endless piles of clothes in an attempt to find a cardigan of some sort. Dad took that as an opportunity to taunt me one last time that day.

"Last one to the car has to make dinner for a week!" he called over his shoulder as he took off down the hallway. My mouth dropped open. He wasn't kidding. He was literally going to refuse to cook for the next week now.

A dramatic groan left my lips. I am living with a child.

***

"Jordan? No way," Ameika denied then resumed slurping on her slushy. She lay back down on her towel, re-adjusting her position. "I couldn't date him. We're only friends."

"Oh pfft," I scoffed with an eye roll. Judging by how flustered she was, I could tell she was lying.

The hot sun was thankfully out and I sighed as the heat from it felt amazing against my skin. Tanning, although unhealthy for us, was a favourite pastime for Ameika and me. It was a tradition of ours to get raspberry slushies from the local fish & chip shop and go soak up some vitamin D at Main Beach. I had to maintain my tan, especially since it was summer after all. Ameika hardly needed to tan since her skin was always bronze and sun-kissed. It was hard to out-tan her considering she turns five shades darker in the summer, regardless if she spends time outdoors or not. I was secretly jealous of her naturally tanned complexion.

"Seriously, it would be weird," she argued. However, as she said it, she looked at anywhere but me. She completely avoided my gaze because she knew that I would know she's lying. She's had a little thing for Jordan ever since we first became friends with the boys. Jordan has always been head over heels for her, but she was completely oblivious to it. I couldn't figure out how they both couldn't see that they liked each other. It was more obvious than the sunburn I was going to get after this tanning session.

"Whatever you say."

"You're one to talk Hayley," she pointed out.

"I don't know what you mean," I replied cluelessly.

"I don't even like Gabe, he's just someone I hook up with sometimes," she said, mimicking my voice. "It's so obvious you actually have feelings for him."

"I don't ever have feelings for anyone. You know that."

"Until now."

"Not until now," I argued, refusing to admit anything to her. With Dad, I could one hundred percent be me. Although, I could be myself more with Ameika than any of my other friends, I still wouldn't admit my feelings for Gabe even to her. I just couldn't.

"Of course. You're too 'cool' to like anyone," she said, rolling her eyes.

She knew me too well. Not that I would ever admit that, of course.

"Do you want to swing by some shops this afternoon?" I asked instead to change the subject. "I want a new swimsuit for Chanel's pool party."

"It's not for a few weeks."

"I know, but I need to be prepared. I want to look good."

"For Gabe?" she teased.

I grabbed a chunky bit of ice from my slushy and flicked it at her. She let out a little squeal which made me laugh. I would have continued, but my phone vibrated next to me. I fumbled in my bag until I finally took my phone out and read a message from Gabe.

'Meet me at the beach tonight. 9pm ;)'

A sly grin spread across my face as I quickly typed a reply. Afterwards, I contentedly reclined on my lounge, unable to wipe the smile from my face.

Life was pretty good... until that fateful night.

-----------------------

Hope you enjoyed seeing a sneak-peak into Hayley's life before Colin!

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Other Works ---

Childhood Sweethearts, The Best Thing For Me, Chasing Casey, Coach's Number One, Not Quite Dead, Bad Liar, Faithless, Coach's Second Best & Darker Than Sin 🖤

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