Dauntless & Drumsticks ≫ Irwin

Each day is an occasion to reinvent ourselves.

❝Each day is an occasion to reinvent ourselves.❞ - Ralph Lauren

     Hayden pinned some of her hair back and admired herself in the mirror. Her slim black dress was plain but elegant and it highlighted her figure nicely. It was a easy favorite. Ralph Lauren was a magician with some needle and thread. After reapplying her peach lipstick, she slipped out the door of her and Cora's apartment. Making sure to text Cora she wouldn't be home till later.

     After a short elevator ride, Hayden found herself stepping out of the building and into the slightly-less-humid nighttime air. She watched several cars chase after each other before the sandy blonde stepped out from a taxi.

     "Hayden, wow." Ashton smiled, jogging up to her. "You look-breathtaking."

     She giggled at his excitement. The hem of his button down shirt was tucked into his best pair of black jeans. His hair more soft and fluffy than usual.

     "Thank you." She murmured, captivated by his presence. "You're quite the looker yourself, you know."

     The boy blushed and went to push back his glasses before remembering they weren't on his forehead. He reached for Hayden's hand instead.

     "Want to walk for a bit? Our reservation isn't quite ready."

     "Of course."

     The two of them stepped into the glow of the streetlights, following the dozens of other Miami strangers. The humming of the cars beside them had begun to sound peaceful, when Hayden spoke up.

     "I can't believe you found that stupid letter. I dropped it from a helicopter, you know?"

     "You have a helicopter and you didn't tell me? Jesus, why are we even walking right now."

     "No, I don't. But I have connections to one." She smirked.

     "We could've saved so much time!" He whined. "Also we wouldn't be here, if it wasn't for your 'stupid' letter so I'm grateful." He put air quotes around the word and made at goofy smile at Hayden.

     Their palms we becoming sweaty from the humidity but neither one of them complained. "You know, that reminds me- in the mix of all these coincidences- I never got to ask you why you were at my school. You don't go there, do you? I would've seen you before."

    "No. I'm not really cut out for college. But I give acoustic lessons there to those studying audio production."

     "I didn't even know that was a thing." She confessed. "You play guitar?"

     "It's for students aspiring to become producers or radio technicians. I help them find their aesthetics. So yeah, I play guitar a little bit. But I'm more of a drummer, really."

     "Wow-" She was cut off by Ashton's abrupt stop and the dropping of their intertwined fingers.

     "We're here." He grinned.

     "But- this is an apartment building."

     "No. It's my apartment building."

     Whatever it was Hayden had planned for this date in her head was abandoned when she walked into the maroon colored lobby of Ashton's apartment building. There was no romantic, five star restaurant. Only the endearing, tenderhearted prince with no castle.

     He pressed the gold button for the elevator and waited until it's mirror-like doors opened for the pair to get in.

     "Why, exactly, are we going to your apartment? I thought this was a date." Hayden asked as he pressed the bold number 7.