Step Scandal - Part 2 by Rossi St. James Page A

Jenny said, ushering us inside the building.
    Xavier slid his hand down my arm until he found my hand, where he quickly interlaced his fingers into mine and gave it a squeeze. We found our assigned seating and enjoyed the movie. On any other planet, we were just having a nice night out. But that night, it felt like a real date. It looked like a real date. For all intents and purposes it was a real date.
    Our secret, our dirty little secret, had a kind of genuineness I couldn’t ignore.
    “Harper, didn’t expect to see you here.” I turned around in my seat to see Hayden McDaniel. Up until lately, I hadn’t seen him in years, and now all of a sudden it was twice in one week.
    “Hayden.” I pursed my lips, and I could see Xavier fidgeting out of the corner of my eyes. He hated Hayden.
    “Mind if I steal you away for a second?” Hayden asked, eying a very agitated Xavier.
    I turned to Xavier. “It’ll just be a second.”
    “Yeah, actually I do mind. She’s here with me tonight,” Xavier leered. He squeezed my hand tighter. “Get lost, man.”
    Hayden threw me a look, and it took everything I had not to laugh at the complete absurdity of the situation.
    “I just want to apologize.” Hayden said, clearing his throat and looking around the room as if he were embarrassed to admit he owed me an apology.
    My eyes pleaded with Xavier to let me go, but he stood firm in his stance and gave me a tight head shake ‘no’.
    “You guys are fucked up. I don’t know what the fuck’s going on, but it’s some fucked up shit,” Hayden scoffed before stomping off. I watched from my seat as Hayden took off in his $1,500 suit and immediately found a pretty girl to saddle up to as his face morphed into that of a handsome actor. He could turn his charm off and on like a faucet.
    “You’re better off.” Xavier released my hand. “You’ll thank me someday.”
    “I don’t know why you care.” I crossed my arms, keeping an eye on Hayden from afar. I’d never tell Xavier, but I really wanted to know what Hayden had to say and if he were genuinely sorry for what he’d done to hurt me. I’d needed that closure for years. I needed to hear him apologize. And now I never would.
    “It doesn’t matter why I care,” he said. “Just know that I fucking care.”
    I stood up.
    “Where are you going?”
    “I need to use the ladies’ room,” I lied. Waiting until he turned back around, I left and made a bee line for Hayden, whispering in his ear to follow me to the restroom area.
    We found a private hallway just past the restrooms. It was dark and dimly lit, but we could be alone. We could talk in peace.
    “What did you want to say?” I asked, peering up at him through dark lashes. I bit my lip and stifled a smile as he looked at me the way he did once upon a time – back when we were young, dumb, and in love. I’d give anything to feel those butterflies one more time, just not with him.
    “I just wanted to tell you I’m sorry,” Hayden said, slicking a hand over the side of his head. “And that I’ve been thinking about you a lot lately.”
    His words were magic. They had healing properties, of that I was certain. It was almost as if his apology melted a layer of the ice that had formed around my heart over the last two years.
    “Thanks,” I said. I had no intention of getting back with him, but it was good to hear those words. “I’ve been waiting a long time to hear you say you were sorry. You really did a number on me.”
    He stepped in closer to me, pressing his hand against the wall behind me. Our lips were just inches apart. This was going entirely in the wrong direction. All I wanted was my damn apology. This wasn’t an invitation to get back together.
    “What the fuck is going on with you and your stepbrother,” Hayden asked. “I’m seeing these articles and pictures all over.”
    I laughed. “It’s nothing. I swear. You know how the tabloids are. It’s all lies.”
    His eyes flashed with an amused