The Secret Crush (4 page)

“From your lips,” I murmured, glancing around the room to see who we were waiting on. I had two papers due on Friday, and I hadn’t started either of them since I was dealing with this whole fundraiser. If everything got done tonight, I could at least start them and have some hope of passing this semester.

Aiden and Davis were talking about last week’s football game. Aiden waved as I glanced his way, and I smiled back. I was really glad he was here. He had great connections in town, and half of the donations we’d obtained were because of him. Davis had been able to convince his fraternity to partner with us, and most of his house was volunteering to play parts, which was a huge help.

Chloe and her roommate Aisha were flipping through a magazine. Both of the girls were in the theater department, and between them I think they sewed over half of the costumes we were using.

Caleb and Ethan were watching the SportsCenter highlights on the TV. I walked over to the pair. “So you’re sure you guys don’t mind using your own vehicles for the haunted hayrides? I know it puts a lot of liability on you if something goes wrong.”

“No big deal, Hadley,” Ethan said, giving me a wink. “Besides, we have liability insurance, and we’re going to be going what, like ten miles an hour? I don’t think anything serious could happen at that speed.”

“He’s right. It’s going to be fine.” Caleb reached over and rubbed my shoulder, immediately releasing tension. I sighed contentedly as he continued to work the knotted muscles. “You’re doing a kickass job here, Hadley. Everything’s going to be fine.”

He let me go as Piper hurried into the room, late as usual.

“Sorry! Sorry!” She rushed over, pulling up the last seat. “Ooh! Are those cookies?”

She reached out toward a large leather ottoman where a plate of cookies had been placed. She grabbed two, taking a big bite. “Mmm, snickerdoodles are my favorite! Who brought these?”

“Wait. They’re snickerdoodles?” Chloe asked. “Oh my god, I love those! My mom makes the best snickerdoodles like, every Christmas. I swear I could eat a dozen in one sitting.” Chloe snagged a cookie, breaking it in half. “Soo good!”

Ethan reached in, grabbing three. “No way I’m passing up homemade food. And these are my favorites!”

“Toss one here!” Caleb chimed in.

“Who brought them?” Piper mumbled behind a mouthful.

Aisha shrugged. “I don’t know, but I’ll come to every meeting if there are yummy cookies! Hadley, can you make that happen?”

I chuckled. “I’ll get right on that. As soon as I finish the thousand other things on my list. Okay, first we need to finalize the volunteer schedules and have backups in case people don’t show or get sick or something. It would be awful to have a Psycho room with no Mrs. Bates, ya know?”

Two more days until part two of my plan was set into motion. As I sat on the leather couch, watching her take on this huge undertaking and handling it like a pro, pride swelled in my chest. God, she really was absolutely amazing. I wasn’t sure if there was anything she couldn’t do.

Two. More. Days.

CHAPTER SEVEN

THIS WAS IT. TONIGHT WAS
the opening of the Gamma Delta Haunted Hayride and Haunted House. We’d spent countless hours planning every tiny detail, all for this moment. I honestly couldn’t believe that it had only been two weeks of planning and prep—it seemed like I’d been working on the project for a year. But tonight, we were ready to open the doors.

Campus had been abuzz about the event, but the only thing my mind could focus on was my “secret crush.”

After the coffee incident, I hadn’t heard anything in a few days, and I began to think it was a stupid prank. But then a large bouquet of forget-me-nots, my favorite flower, arrived. They were absolutely beautiful, reminding me every time I saw them sitting in the crystal vase that someone out there was thinking of me.

I’d gotten another surprise only a few days later. It was a simple typed letter in my campus mailbox, tucked inside a cheesy grade school Simpsons’ Valentine that said, “I choo, choo, choose you.” Anyone who knew me knew my longtime love of The Simpsons, and I couldn’t believe that someone could even find the Valentine this time of year. The effort alone to find it made my heart swoon, but it was the note inside of it that brought out so many emotions; I didn’t know which one to feel first. It was, by far, the most beautiful thing I’d ever read.

I stood, stunned into silence by the eloquently typed words, tears freely flowing down my face.

I’ve known you now for over a thousand days, Hadley. Twenty-five thousand hours where your smile brightened the room more than the sun ever could, where your laugh was like a sweet melody whispered in my ear.

I found myself wanting to tell you how I felt every second you were near, but I was a coward. Never bold enough to admit my feelings louder than a sigh, but please never doubt that they roared inside my head until I could hear nothing else but your name echoing off every beat of my heart.

The first time I saw you, my soul and my heart rejoiced, whispering in unison, “She’s the one I’m going to marry some day.” Every time you smile, it brightens my day. Every twinkle in your eye makes me feel like I could walk through fire and be okay.

You captured my heart without even trying, and now I’ll risk everything to show you mine.

I’d read the note a thousand times since then. I had the words memorized, and as I walked into my classes or passed by people in the cafeteria, I wondered who was behind the words.

Piper, as predicted, went crazy when I showed her the note. She vowed to find out who my secret crush was and started stopping random guys to ask if it was them. The only thing that resulted in was some very strange looks from guys all around campus.

There was a crispness in the air. and the almost-full moon lit the area, adding to the eeriness of the night. I stood at the ticket booth as the first group of people came down the drive. The tractor moved slowly as it pulled the trailer teeming with hay and excited students behind it. The long driveway had been outfitted with haunting music, and volunteers from the Gamma house lined it every few hundred feet, jumping out and scaring people with axes or chainsaws. By the time they arrived at the ticket counter, half the girls were already clinging to each other as they forked over the twenty-dollar admission fee.

Money was rolling in, only hours after opening, and we’d made close to a thousand dollars. I was giddy with how much we were going to be able to donate to Habitat for Humanity this year.

“Hey, Hadley?” someone called over the intercom.

“Yeah, what’s up?”

“Someone threw up over in the zombie section. Apparently they were drunk already and having a zombie chase them made the girl toss her cookies.”

I sighed. “Just great,” I said before clicking the walkie on again. “Okay. I brought some extra supplies just in case. They’re in my car. I’ll grab them and bring them over. Just close off that section and lead people through the Purge room instead.”

“Will do.”

Piper grabbed the clipboard and walkie talkie from me as I trudged over to my car. I’d hidden my car behind the refreshments stand, so it only took me a few minutes to get the supplies needed. I entered the haunted house through the back, trying not to disrupt the experience for others with my flashlight.

Creepy music and screams echoed all around me as I made my way to the zombie room. I laughed as a guy with a fake chainsaw jumped out in the next room, making one of the girls fall to the floor. Apparently, we were doing a good job of giving people their money’s worth.

The theme song from the Jason movies filled my ears as I walked deeper into the house. Smoke from fog lamps swirled around my feet while a mix of strobe lights and black lights completed the spooky effects. If I hadn’t helped create it, I would have been really nervous to go in by myself.

I finally found the zombie room near the back of the house. It was probably my favorite room. One of the set designers from the theatre department had been in charge of this area, and it looked straight out of my favorite television show. It was very realistic, making me think Daryl and Rick were right around the corner somewhere.

The area had been cordoned off, like I’d instructed. I ducked under the tape and headed inside. I turned off the fog machine hidden behind a bloody corpse as I shone my flashlight over the floor, trying to find the mess I needed to clean up.

It took a few second for the smoke to clear enough for me to see, and when it did, I was shocked.

“What in the world…” I mumbled. My brow furrowed as my eyes scanned the room. There wasn’t anything. No vomit, fake or real, anywhere. There wasn’t anything at all.

I began to reach into my back pocket for my walkie talkie when a large hand clasped my shoulder and pulled me close.

A scream ripped from my throat, but it was drowned out by all the other ones that filled the house. My heart pounded in my chest as I squirmed to get free.

“Shh, it’s okay, Hadley,” a man’s voice whispered. I stilled, trying to figure out where I knew the voice from. It was hard to hear with all the other noises, and his whisper was low, but I knew it was familiar somehow.

“Who are you?”

He didn’t answer my question. “I’m sorry to bring you here under false pretenses, Hadley,” he murmured against my ear, his warm breath tickling me and sending chills down my arms. “And I certainly didn’t mean to startle you. I simply wanted a few minutes alone with you.”

“Why?”

“Because some things can’t be fully expressed in a note. Some things are better said face-to-face.”

My eyes widened as I realized this was my secret crush. The guy who had been sending me messages and flowers and drinks for weeks now.

“It’s you.”

“It’s me,” he whispered back.

He let go of my shoulder, sliding his arm down my own before he wrapped it around my waist, holding me steady. My skin sizzled everywhere he touched, even through my clothes. I wasn’t sure if it was the mystery of not knowing who he was or the sultry voice that lingered in my ear, but my heart was racing.

My back was pressed against his chest. It was solid and broad as his frame engulfed my tiny one. “Why won’t you tell me who you are?”

“I want to.” His voice never rose above a whisper, making it impossible to know who he was. He moved his face against my hair and neck. My eyes slid shut as he held me there. “There is so much I want to say, Hadley, but it’s not time yet.”

“Please, just tell me.” Between the sweet things he’d done, his romantic words, and the way he set my body on edge, I was more than ready to know who it was. I reached my hand around, feeling for him.

His free hand found mine and he entwined our fingers, gently brushing his thumb over my knuckles. “If I reveal myself to you now, Hadley, you won’t see all of me.”

“I will,” I assured him. “I promise. My mind is completely open. Just tell me.”

“I waited three years for this chance, Hadley. You can wait a little bit longer.”

My head tilted back, and I leaned on his chest. His thumb continued, now sliding up and down my forefinger. Tiny swipes back and forth, each one like a flame licking my hot skin. My fingers tingled with the need to touch him back, but I couldn’t move. All the noise from the other rooms seemed to fade away as he held me there. And even though I didn’t know who he was, I felt at home in his arms. Like it was where I belonged.