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"Do you run up stairs in your htened and looked up into his hazel eyes

"Fair point However, I do run over twenty-six miles"

"Shoot me," she said

He tilted his head and s so She wasn’t sure what it was, but his eyes were assessing her Had she done so down the hall

They reached the end of the hall and entered the aparts of various mediums--oil, acrylic, and watercolor--covered much of the wall space, nearly all of them unbelievably perfect depictions of landscapes with the occasional portrait and abstract thrown into the collection The furniture was in all earth tones, and candles were on every table as well as the mantel of the fireplace Liz instantly felt comfortable in the apartment

"Is she here?" Liz heard a voice call from off in the other direction

"Yeah, Ja Liz’s suitcase off to the side and closing the door

"Ohthe corner draped in a paint-splattered apron She looked nothing like Hayden, with a chin-length black bob with red highlights and long bangs that swept across her forehead and tucked behind her ear She was shorter than Liz, with a naturally tiny frame The one quality it seemed she and Hayden shared was her charisht up to her

"I would totally hug you, but I can’t guarantee you wouldn’t get paint all over you!"

Liz laughed "That’s all right"

"I’lad you’re here"

That was a common senti si How h As daunting as it was to co the opportunity to otten how much she liked to spend time with other people

"Hayden wasn’t sure what you wanted for dinner, but he said he already knew that you liked Italian I happen to na," Jamie said, bubbly and friendly Liz couldn’t have kept a smile fro in to eat We can go out if you want I’et super exhausted after driving for a long tiht not be like that…"

"Ja his head, "breathe"

Jamie rolled her eyes at hi up and down on the balls of her toes

"Ignore her I swear she gets hopped up on caffeine when she’s in her studio," he said, nudging Liz

"Whatever, Hayden I’na sounds great," Liz cut in, knowing a faet started on that then," Jao change," Hayden told Liz "You can bring your stuff intothe couch"

"Oh no, I can take the couch I don’t mind," she told him quickly

Hayden leveled a look at her that she had seen ti out of this He reached forward and picked up her suitcase and started walking it back to his bedroouest"

Liz shrugged and walked with hiht and saw Jamie’s studio It was a small bedroom covered in easels, canvas, and paint The floor had a sheet of plastic over the carpet, and the walls were a strange array of colors from where paint had splashed Jamie removed her apron as they passed

"One of Jamie’s roommates moved out for the summer, so I took over her bedroom Otherwise I would have had to live in the suburbs with my parents Really lucky, I’d say," Hayden told her as he opened his bedroom for her

This was more what she expected froether and sensible compared to his eccentric artist sister A queen-sized bed sat in one corner with a green coainst one wall, and that was pretty much it as far as the room went He clearly spent more time at the office than in his rooe and sleep

Liz set her bag down in the corner as Hayden rue in the bathroo out Liz had moved to his bed and taken a seat while she waited It felt a bit strange to be sitting on Hayden’s bed, in Hayden’s apart out with Hayden She was sure this summer would be the most memorable she would ever experience Brady…and now she was sitting on the bed of the guy she had liked for two years Even if they were just friends, it was a bit bizarre

He reappeared in the doorway in khaki shorts and a fitted T-shirt "Thanks for co to be able to make it"

"I wasn’t sure either…ith school and everything," she said, not really wanting to get into the real reason No, she was pretty sure she never wanted to tell him the real reason

Hayden walked over and took a seat next to her, stretching back on the bed "How is school going? You’re finished with the serades back already?"

Liz turned to face him on the bed She stared down at his lean runner’s build all stretched out on display and tried not to blush "This see Professor Mires really helped me do more with my project than I’d ever intended Thank you so ot an A on that article"