“Yes,” he said.
Without even a wave of acknowledgement, he pulled me away from the table. I didn’t miss Kiara’s surprise as she stared at Reid. A petty part of myself filed that in my “win” folder. Because Reidwashot, especially with this whole dark, smoldering look he had going on right now. The fact that he didn’t even give Kiara the time of day pleased me more than it should.
The bar was packed nearly shoulder to shoulder as Reid guided me through. Bodies banged into mine even as he tried his best to shield me. When we finally made it to the front, away from the blasting music, he paused before the exit.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” he asked, eyes scanning my face.
I nodded. “How did you find me?”
“You said this was the bar you were going to. What happened?” he asked, eyes still studying me.
“I’m fine, why—oh, shoot. The text. My bad. I was going to ask if you could call me with an excuse so I could leave early, but I ended up just growing a pair and excusing myself.”
He let out a deep sigh of relief and removed his hand from my shoulders to run his fingers through his hair. “Shit, Hazel. You scared me. You need to add some more context.”
“You didn’t text me back,” I said.
“I did.” He pulled his phone from his pocket and waved it in my face. “Three times. Then I called you. Twice.” The worry lines were still etched in his forehead.
I scrambled to pull my phone back out, but I had no new notifications. There was an SOS icon in the corner, though. “Shoot, sorry. I guess the service in here isn’t great. The signal must have been going in and out when I sent that.”
He lifted his gaze to the ceiling and shook his head. “Do me a favor? Next time, don’t just text ‘Need help.’ Okay?”
“You got it,” I said, warmth flooding my chest despite his frustration. He cared. He cared and he came. For me.
“Let’s go home,” he said. Those words had my entire nervous system on high alert. I knew he just meant ‘home’ in the logistical sense, but I liked the way it sounded coming from him.
Reid took me by the hand and ushered me outside.
Once the frosty evening air hit, I slipped on my jacket. Reid led us to his car, parked just down the street. The sidewalks buzzed with a handful of people milling about, switching bars or in search of food after a night out.
“So how was it?” he asked, opening the passenger car door and letting me spill in first.
“Fine.” My answer was clipped.
He circled around and slipped into the driver’s seat. He gave me a once-over, his expression tightening. “You don’t look fine. Was it Kiara? Did something happen?”
A defeated sigh escaped my lips. “No, not really. We can rule her out as a suspect, though. She clearly doesn’t need any extra money and, apparently, she’s deathly allergic to cats.”
Reid grimaced. “I mean, she was a loose theory, but it’s still good to check her off the list.”
I nodded. Instead of starting the car, he continued to stare at me.
“Hazel, what’s wrong. You’re being quiet?”
A soft laugh escaped my lips. He was always so observant. “Are you trying to tell me I’m normally loud? Because I hate to break it to you, Reid, but you haven’t seen the worst of me.”
“What’s the worst of you?”
“Well, for one, don’t even think about dragging me to karaoke. I’ll hog the machine all night. And post me up in front of a bad horror movie, and I promise you I’ll talk through the entire thing. It doesn’t even matter if we’re in the theater.”
“Something to look forward to.”
“My commentary is unmatched.”
He smiled, but it faded quickly. He was completely turned in his seat, assessing me. “Seriously, Hazel. Talk to me. Your shoulders are hunched, you can barely look at me. You seem…sad.”
I briefly met his concerned gaze. “I guess Iama little sad. I don’t really like hanging out with those girls.”
