Because of You

Chapter 7: The Spaghetti and Meatballs

"Hi Ms. Williams, these are for you," he gives her a small pink bouquet. Then he looks at me. He flashes his perfect smile at me, and I melt to the floor. "And these are for you." He hands me a small red bouquet. My heart does a cartwheel. Seriously, can he get any more perfect?

"Thank you, Hayden! And you can call me Lacey," Mom winks. "Just have her home by ten. Be safe!" My mom gives Hayden a little side hug, kisses me on the cheek, then Hayden and I walk to his car. I glance back at Mom and she gives me a thumbs up and a big cheesy smile.

Like the gentleman he is, he opens my door, lets me in, and closes the door for me. I notice that his soft smile never fades. Ugh, my heart. How is he so perfect? Like can someone please explain it to me?

He gets inside, hands me his phone and says, "You pick the music."

**

We drive into Atlanta listening to a Spotify playlist I made specifically full of songs that describe how I feel about him. Collide by Howie Day, Falling In Love in a Coffee Shop by Landon Pigg, A Thousand Years by Christina Perri, you get it.

The sun is starting to set and the sky is a beautiful canvas full of pinks, oranges, and yellows. Sitting here next to Hayden, singing some of my favorite love songs with him, driving into the sunset, I've never felt so alive.

On the way to dinner, he tells me that he got promoted to manager at the grocery store. He's super excited about it, not only because he has more control over his work schedule, but because it will look great on his resume. He wants to study business in college, and his dream is to be a CEO of a company one day. And I can totally see it. The mysterious, handsome, successful businessman. My dream guy.

We eat dinner at a local Italian restaurant. The lights are dim, and romantic lamps and light fixtures really set the mood. The inside of the restaurant is relatively small and intimate. The brick accent wall and plants really give it a homey feeling. And to my surprise, the setting eases my nerves a little.

Walking to our table, I feel Hayden lightly place his hand in the middle of my back. I inhale quickly and sharply at his touch, and it takes everything in me to remain calm. We take our seat, and I notice the lovely Italian music playing in the background. Trying to seem cool and confident, I glance up at him. Hayden Hartford is staring right at me. And he doesn't take his eyes off me the whole dinner. The knots in my stomach reappear tighter this time, which makes it pretty hard to eat. But I try to get down some spaghetti and meatballs, and daintily sip my water. Despite how nervous I feel, there's a sense of comfort and peace when I'm with him. I know he wants to know the real me. I know I shouldn't be nervous. I know he wants me to feel comfortable with him. And yet, the knots are still there. I guess I'm just nervous about messing all of this up.

I try to keep my cool and stay focused on our conversation. We talk more about dance for a while. I tell him how I started Ballet when I was three years old and have been dancing ever since, and about my favorite recitals I had growing up. I tell him how Mom lets me help her choreograph our routines for football and competition season, and how that's one of my favorite things we do together. Then I explain how I've done multiple summer productions with a musical theater company in the city. I've always just been an extra, or a dancer in a group, but this year I'm auditioning for one of the lead dancers. I give him details on my training with Elise and what my audition piece is like. And of course, he's a perfect listener.

"I'm really excited, but nervous. I mean, there's lots of great dancers that work in the company so it's not guaranteed," I admit.

"Bridgette don't be nervous. Seriously. You dance beautifully. I don't think you have anything to worry about." Hayden Hartford just used my name and the word 'beautifully' in the same sentence. Someone kill me.