Chapter 93 : Kiss Shifting
HAYDEN’S POV:
I don’t know how long I stood there after I stopped hitting the tree.
My chest was still heaving, knuckles throbbing, the sting of it grounding me just enough to keep everything else from spilling over again. The forest was quiet, too quiet and it only made the noise in my head louder.
The missed pass, the goal, the look on the coach’s face.
Stephen.
I swore under my breath, dragging my hand down my face.
“Hayden!” The sound of my name cut through everything.
I stiffened, turning slightly just as Ariana came into view, pushing through the trees like she’d been running. Her hair was a mess, her breathing uneven, and there was something frantic in the way her eyes locked onto me.
“What are you doing out here?” she demanded, closing the distance quickly.
I let out a dry laugh, shaking my head. “Taking a walk. What does it look like?”
“It looks like you’re losing it,” she shot back, her gaze dropping briefly to my hand. Her expression tightened. “Did you seriously punch a tree?”
I didn’t answer.
She exhaled sharply, stepping closer, her voice softening just a little. “Hey… hey.” Her hand came up, hovering near my arm before she rested it there. “It’s okay.”
I let out another short laugh, harsher this time. “Yeah? Didn’t feel very okay out there.”
“It was one game,” she said firmly. “One. You’re acting like your entire life just ended.”
“It might as well have,” I muttered. “Scouts were there. I played like shit.”
“You didn’t play like shit,” she argued immediately. “You just… had an off day.”
I shook my head. “That’s not how it works. You don’t get days off when it actually matters.”
Her grip on my arm tightened slightly. “You’re being way too hard on yourself.”
I didn’t respond because she didn’t get it. No one did.
Ariana studied me for a second, then sighed, like she was deciding something. “Okay,” she said, reaching into the bag slung over her shoulder. “If talking isn’t going to work…”
She pulled out a bottle.
I blinked. “Is that…”
“Vodka,” she confirmed, holding it up like a solution to all problems. “Figured you might need it.”
A small, humorless smile tugged at my lips despite everything. “You came all the way out here with vodka?”
“I came out here because you stormed off like you were about to fight a bear,” she said dryly. “The vodka was just… preparation.”
I huffed out a breath, tension easing just a fraction.
She unscrewed the cap and held it out to me. “Take it.”
I hesitated for a second, then I took it.
The burn hit immediately, sharp and biting as I swallowed. It settled in my chest, warm and heavy, cutting through some of the edge.
“Jesus,” I muttered, handing it back.
She grinned slightly before taking a swig herself, less bothered by it than I was. “See? Already better.”
“Debatable..” But I didn’t stop her when she handed it back again.
We stayed there like that for a while, passing the bottle back and forth, the silence between us not as suffocating as it had been before.
The tension didn’t disappear, but it dulled.
My thoughts slowed, the sharp edges softening just enough to make breathing easier.
Ariana leaned back against a nearby tree, watching me with that same steady look. “You’re allowed to mess up, you know.”
I scoffed lightly. “Not really.”
“You are,” she insisted. “You’re human, Hayden. Not some machine that’s supposed to get everything right every time.”
I looked away, staring at the ground.
“Besides,” she added, a teasing note slipping into her voice, “you’re still the best player out there. One bad game doesn’t change that.”
I shook my head, but there was no real bite behind it this time.
“Come here,” she said suddenly.
I frowned. “What?”
“Just….come here.” There was something softer in her tone now.
I hesitated, then stepped closer.
She reached out, her hands settling lightly on my arms, grounding me in a way that felt… different.
“Relax,” she murmured. “You’re wound way too tight.”
I let out a slow breath, my shoulders dropping slightly despite myself.
Her gaze flicked up to meet mine, and for a second, everything stilled. The forest, the noise in my head, the lingering frustration. It all faded into the background.
“You’re okay,” she said quietly.
Something about the way she said it, like she actually believed it, made my chest tighten in a completely different way.
“Yeah?” I asked, my voice lower now.
“Yeah.” She didn’t look away. Neither did I.
The space between us felt smaller all of a sudden or maybe I just stopped noticing it.
My hand came up without me really thinking about it, brushing lightly against her wrist. She didn’t pull back.
If anything, she leaned in slightly.
The alcohol buzzed faintly under my skin, dulling the hesitation that might’ve stopped me otherwise.
“Hayden…” she started, but her voice trailed off.
I didn’t give myself time to think. I leaned in. The kiss wasn’t careful. It wasn’t slow or hesitant or anything like that.
It was messy and immediate, like everything I’d been holding back had nowhere else to go.
She responded instantly, her hands gripping my shirt as she kissed me back just as hard.
The frustration, the anger, the noise—it all twisted into something else entirely.
Her back hit the tree lightly as I stepped closer, closing the space completely. Her fingers curled tighter in my shirt, pulling me in as the kiss deepened.
It wasn’t gentle. It wasn’t meant to be. It was a release, a distraction, and a way to feel something that wasn’t the weight sitting in my chest all day.
My hand slid to her waist, steadying her as she tilted her head, the kiss shifting, changing, but never slowing.
For a moment, just a moment, everything else disappeared.
Her breath hitched slightly when we finally broke apart, but she didn’t move away. Neither did I.
We stayed there, close enough that I could still feel the warmth of her breath, her hands still resting against me.
“See?” she murmured, a faint smile playing at her lips. “Better.”
I let out a quiet breath, my forehead resting briefly against hers. “…Yeah,” I admitted.
And for the first time since the game ended….It actually felt a little true.