Perfect Love Story (Love 1)

“You ready to go get our pizza on, and then I was thinking we could go for a walk,” I tell her, thinking of maybe taking a walk down Main Street.

“Let’s go, Freddy,” she says, wiggling herself out of my arms. I walk out the door with her and buckle her into her booster seat, kissing her nose. Getting behind the wheel of the truck, I start the car and “Despacito” comes on. I groan as Mila starts singing in the background. I pull out of my driveway and drive down the street, coming to a stop at the corner where I see blond hair right in front of me.

She walks with a little bit of a limp, but I know right away it’s Hailey. I’m about to drive by, but Mila shrieks as she rolls down her window. “Hailey-bailey.” My eyebrows pinch together as Hailey turns her head, and I take in her face. The darkness around her eyes is gone. Her face is a little bit fuller as is her body. Fuck, am I checking her out? I’m about to drive right past her, but she waves at Mila in the back, and I stay there stopped wondering what to do. “Hey there, Mila-fila,” she jokes as she walks across the street, and I take her in a bit more. Her black tights mold to her lean legs with a simple V-neck t-shirt and a plaid sweater tied around her waist. Her black sneakers make the whole outfit. “What’s up, Princess?” She continues to talk to Mila as I continue to watch her.

“Are you going for a walk?” she asks as I see Hailey switch from foot to foot.

“I am. I’m going down to get some pizza.”

“We are going to eat pizza,” Mila informs her. “You want to come with us?” I groan inwardly. Hailey looks at me, her smile falling, and then back at Mila.

“Um,” she says, and I see her trying to come up with an excuse, but Mila doesn’t give her a chance and neither does the car in back of me who honks.

“Get in,” I say harsher than I want to, and Hailey just looks at me. If Mila wasn’t there, I’m sure she would turn away and tell me to fuck off. “Please.” But the horn honking again has her walking around the truck. She opens the back door and gets in on the passenger side next to Mila. I put the car in drive as we make our way to D’Amore; the girls chattering in the back make me grip the steering wheel tighter. I park the truck and get out, opening Mila’s door to find her already unbuckled and climbing out on Hailey’s side. They walk around the truck hand in hand while Mila tells her about the afternoon she had with my mother.

We walk in, and the hostess asks me how many. I say three, but Hailey tells her that she is going to order for takeout. “You aren’t going to eat with us?” Mila asks as Hailey looks from the hostess and then back at Mila.

“Okay fine, three,” she says as the hostess brings us to the only available table with three seats. It’s at the end of the table with one seat on one side and then two on the other side. Mila walks to the single seat while Hailey walks around the table and sits down, waiting for me to sit down also.

The chairs are so close together that our legs are touching, and the heat from her leg seeps into me. “What can I get for you guys?” the waitress asks. Mila says, “Apple juice. Hailey, you want one too?”

“Sure, I’ll have an apple juice. You want pepperoni, Mila, or did you want to have the cheese like we had yesterday?” I look at Hailey.

“When?” I ask her, and she looks at me. Finally, for the first time, our eyes meet. The look in them cloudy, stormy, like she is fighting something again.

“We had lunch yesterday at my house,” she informs me quietly as the waitress waits for the rest of the order.

“We will have cheese with three apple juices,” I tell her, then she grabs the menus from us. “So when did this lunch happen?”

“I have to go potty,” Mila says. I start to get up, but Hailey is already on her feet, looking at me.

“I can take her to the women’s one. If it’s okay.” Mila holds her hand while Hailey looks at me, and I just nod. After they turn around and walk to the back, the waitress appears with the apple juices. Fuck, what I would give for a beer. They come back laughing a couple of minutes later. Hailey picks up Mila and places her on her chair.

“So you guys had lunch?” I don’t let her change the subject as Hailey nods.