Bye-Bye Jerk, Hello Mr. Right by Rosie Steppe

Chapter 84

"You'll never get it to turn!"

"It's been rusted shut for years."

"The ground's so hard now, the valve's practically buried."

People were whispering among themselves, but I couldn't take my eyes off Hayden.

I definitely didn't expect him to go full-on flat on the ground like that. His veins were popping out of his temples and arms as he pushed with everything he had, muscles straining under the effort.

But even with all that, the valve wouldn't budge. His face started turning red from the strain.

"Young man, save your energy. A few strong guys already tried, and they couldn't get it," an older neighbor said, noticing how hard Hayden was pushing himself.

I started feeling worried. "Hayden, maybe we should just leave it and call someone else to handle it."

Just as I said that, Hayden suddenly relaxed, and with a calm tone, he said, "It's done."

Then, in one quick move, he got up, casually brushing off the dirt and grime. "Let's head upstairs and check."

the stairs, and stepping

we should wait until the water dies down," I

shoes, then back at

"No,

those words left my mouth, I felt my cheeks heat up,

on my face like he was picking up on something. Then, he said, "I'll go

could respond, he reached out and

mine, I flinched without thinking.

had

I had known each other since we were kids. Holding hands or hugging had always been easy. familiar. But there was never that spark, that electric jolt people talk about when they were really in love. At that moment, I started to get what Jace meant when he was talking

was just standing there, lost in the moment, watching him until an old lady's voice brought me back to reality, "Young lady, that's

+25 BONUS

not afraid to get his hands dirty, lying down on the ground like that," another old lady added. There

even hotter, and I felt this weird flutter

I made my way upstairs. The door

and waded inside, heading straight

the valve. When he noticed me, he explained, "This section snapped off. It was probably corroded from years of

The pipes hadn't been touched in over a decade, so it