Hadley stared at the stain forming on her pant leg. She was so stupid! Trying to cut time, she had run straight into a puddle. She glanced at her phone. Shit, she was going to be late for her interview. She put her coffee cup down and tried to wipe the muddy water off with her hand.
“Hey, need some?”
Hadley glanced up into sea grey eyes and dark hair. An attractive man was watching her? Great. She fingered her muddy pants in embarrassment. He was handing her napkins though, so she took a couple.
“Thanks,” she muttered.
“Hayley, is it?” The man asked, gesturing to her coffee cup.
“Hadley,” she said with a sigh.
He grinned and two dimples popped out. He showed her his cup – Paktin.
“Paktin?”
He laughed. “It’s Paxton, but people mess it up all the time.”
She wished she could be as chill as him. She glanced down at the stain. Today was the worst day for this. The universe really hated her, didn’t it? Was this karma for never being spontaneous like her ex had wanted?
“Listen, thanks for the napkins but I fear this is a lost cause. And I’m sorry but I have to run.” She glanced at her phone again. Two minutes had gone by.
“Well nice to meet you Hadley.”
“You too,” she muttered and rushed off, forgetting her coffee.
Thirty minutes later, Hadley entered her apartment and slammed her keys on the front table. Huffing, she tore off her coat and threw it on the back of a chair. She stared at it haphazardly falling off, then sighed and hung it up in the coat closet. Her ex was right- she couldn’t be spontaneous, could she?
Her roommate Katie poked her head around the corner. “Everything all right?” she asked.
“Yeah…they just messed up my interview day. Now it’s on Monday.” A whole weekend to stress about it.
Katie’s eyes widened. “That’s terrible!”
Hadley flopped down into the chair, but then a sweet smell reached her nose. She sat up and looked at Katie. “Is that…?”
Katie grinned. “Sure is!”
Eating chocolate chip cookies did lighten her mood.
“Want to come out tonight with me and Stephen?” Katie asked.
“Nah, I’m going to watch The Notebook,” Hadley replied.
“But it’s Friday night!” protested Katie. “I think you need a fun weekend, unlike the last two…”
“Hey, last weekend was fun! We got through a whole season of Off Campus!”
Katie laughed. “You’re right. But YOU need to go out. Come on, please?”
“No, I’m okay.”
However, one hour into The Notebook and being unable to keep her ex from popping up in her thoughts, Hadley changed her mind.
“I’m coming,” she texted Katie.
“Yay!” Katie sent back enthusiastic emojis.
Even though she wasn’t in the mood to go out, Katie’s enthusiasm was infectious. Hadley put on a blouse and a mini skirt before grabbing an uber.
While belting out the chorus of a karaoke song with Katie twenty minutes later, Hadley noticed a guy with black hair. He grinned when they made eye contact. That hair, that smile- shit! It was the attractive man she had run into that morning. The one whose name had also been spelled incorrectly. What was it, Patrick? No, Paxton. A flush crept up her neck. She tried to focus on anything else as they finished the song, but his eyes never left hers.
As they left the stage, the guy made his way toward her. Shit.
“I have to go to the bathroom,” Hadley muttered to Katie and booked it, but not fast enough.
“Hey,” a voice sounded behind her.
“Hey,” she said turning around.
“We met earlier, right?” he asked.
“Yeah, I think so.”
“Hadley, was it?”
Hadley was taken aback. “Yes.”
”I’m…” he began.
“Paxton,” Hadley finished. “I remember.”
He grinned and those cute dimples appeared again. Hadley had been thinking about how to get out of this conversation, but those dimples were distracting. She heard the karaoke stop and the DJ start. Paxton glanced behind him.
“Hey, this might seem impromptu, but would you like to dance?”
It was on her lips to decline- say she needed the restroom and escape to another bar, but then she glanced up at his sea grey eyes and she heard herself say “sure”. Pulling her to the dance floor, he put his hands on her waist and began to sway to the music, but then he paused.
“This okay?”
“Yeah, you’re fine!” She placed her hands around his neck. Hadley saw Katie’s grin across the bar. Katie gave her a thumbs up as if to say ‘I approve!’ Hadley flipped her off behind his neck, but she was grinning. This was turning out to be an okay night after all.
Turned out, their friends had a lot in common! Paxton and his friends Peter and Sebastian were from New York. The group decided to grab late night food after dancing.
While Hadley took a bite of her juicy burger, Paxton leaned over. “What brought you out tonight?”
“What?”
“Katie mentioned you were not going to come out, but you did. I’m curious, what changed your mind?”
Hadley put down her burger and hesitated.
“If you don’t want to share, totally cool!” Paxton put his hands up in a gesture of surrender, but the fact that he cared, changed her mind.
“I, uh, needed to get my mind off my ex. We broke up a couple weeks ago. I didn’t feel like going out, but I realized staying home and wallowing was worse.”
“I’m sorry.”
Hadley blushed. “It’s ok, these things happen.”
“Are you okay?”
“Honestly? Not really. I got laid off a month ago and I’m still trying to find a job. I was supposed to have an interview today, but it got moved to Monday. This whole month has been…rough.” She stopped and swallowed, trying to get past the lump in her throat.
“Sounds like the universe is looking out for you.” Paxton replied. She blinked, expecting to see mirth in his eyes but he was dead serious.
“What?” Hadley asked.
“Yeah, sometimes it’s all in how you frame it. I had a long-term girlfriend a few years back. She was a perfect match, my parents thought. They weren’t too happy when I broke up with her and moved to the city.”
“Why did you?”
He shrugged. “Everything felt too perfect. I know that might sound strange, but I needed to go out on my own. I know people see trials as bad things, but I see them as opportunities. It was hard at first. My mom thought I was ruining my life by not marrying the perfect girl. My dad thought my stable job as a carpenter in our small town was enough. But now I’m a traveling nurse and I love it. I get to see the world, visit new cities and make new friends. The way I see it, sometimes the universe gives you a little push to grow. It’s not a bad thing.”
Hadley stared at him. This was a philosophy she had never considered.
“I think the universe knew you needed the interview moved to Monday because you’re going to crush it.” He smiled.
“How can you know?”
“I can tell you’re an amazing person. Attentive, fun, caring. Others just need to see that.”
This semi-stranger telling her how great she was warmed her heart more than she could say. “Want to get coffee after my interview?” She blurted out.
Paxton grinned. “I’d love to! I have to catch a flight Monday afternoon though, so I can’t be too long.”
“Back to New York?” Hadley guessed.
Paxton hesitated. “Yes, and you should know, I’m headed to Hawaii after that.”
“For vacation? How fun!”
“No, for my job, for six months.”
Hadley’s smile faded. “Oh,” She tried to perk back up. “That’ll be awesome,” she managed, then excused herself to the bathroom.
She hid in a stall to cry. Why was she crying over this guy?! She must really be desperate. She needed to get a grip. Sure, he was nice, but she barely knew him. Of course the universe would send her a gorgeous kind guy and take him away the next day. She couldn’t have nice things. But then she stopped. She thought about what Paxton had said. It was all in how you framed it. She shook her head and wiped her eyes. “I deserve nice things and I WILL have a good night.”
“You okay?” Paxton asked as she sat down.
“Never better,” Hadley grinned.
Monday came, and when she left the interview an hour later, she had the job. She could have called her mom, or texted Katie, but she found herself going to Paxton first.
“I got the job!!” she texted him.
“I told you! Congrats! Ready for that coffee?” he replied.
“Yes,” she hit send. Even if this relationship didn’t go anywhere, she was determined to enjoy the journey.