I want to be the one greeting her with a hug and a kiss the second she walks through the door. Or better yet, picking her up at Blissful Brews so she doesn’t have to drive home in the dark. We’d share dinner while we talked about our days, and then snuggle on the couch until she fell asleep in my arms. Then I’d carry her to bed, careful to not wake her. I’d be there to soothe her back to sleep if she had a nightmare. And in the morning, we’d have sex while the light of the rising sun streams through the window?—
Whoah.
Where did all that come from?
“Alec?” Hazel touches my arm. Her brows are drawn into a worried V. “Are you okay? You just went all quiet.”
“I’m fine.” I try unsuccessfully to block out the images now filling my mind; of Hazel’s gorgeously naked body stretched out beneath me, her rose-colored nipples taut and jutting towards me, her legs spread in invitation, her skin flushed with excitement…
“Anyway,” I continue, leaning closer to the table to hide my second erection in less than five minutes. “I’m good. Really. I was just thinking about—” What? Hazel’s naked body? Our nightly routine in a hypothetical scenario where we’re not just dating, but apparently living together?
“The gift I brought for you,” I finish. “Do you want it now, or after dinner?”
Hazel flashes me a look of surprise. “You got me a gift?”
“It’s not much,” I hurry to add. “Just something I picked up in town while I was headed to get our food.”
A moment later, I reconsider my wording. Did I make it sound like the gift was an afterthought? LikeHazelwas an afterthought? When in reality, I’d been thinking about finding a present to cheer her up all day?
But to my relief, Hazel’s face lights up with a smile. “Alec. That’s so… Thank you.”
“Well, you haven’t even seen it yet,” I reply with a laugh. “You might not like it.”
“Impossible. I’ll like anything you give me.”
My heart rolls over. Squeezes.
To cover a rush of emotion I wasn’t expecting, I tease, “What if I gave you liverwurst? Or a bouquet of dandelions? I’m not sure you’d like those.”
Hazel slips her arm around my waist and gives me a quick side hug. “I love dandelions. They’re cheerful. Hardy. And liverwurst…” Trailing off, her brow creases as she thinks. “I’m sure it has some nutritional value. And if I put enough condiments on it, I bet it would be good.”
“Haze.” My heart squeezes again. “Only you could put a good spin on dandelions and liverwurst.”
She tips her head back so her gaze meets mine. “Only dandelions and liverwurst from you.”
Oh.
Her cheeks go pink. In a rush, she adds, “I mean… That sounded weird…”
Seeing Hazel flustered brings my protective instincts to the forefront. “It didn’t sound weird. It sounded nice. And I’m glad you wouldn’t like dandelions from anyone else.”
We stare at each other for a second before bursting out laughing.
“Are we really having a conversation aboutdandelions and liverwurst?” Hazel asks between giggles.
I smile at her. “I think we are.” Grabbing the gift bag from the table, I hand it to Hazel. “I think at this point, you should just open it now. Since you’re probably expecting some sort of weird deli meat or weed.”
She takes the bag and looks at the front of it. “Not unless the bookstore added a deli counter.”
“You never know.” I raise my eyebrows at her. “Stranger things have happened.”
With another quick smile, Hazel reaches into the bag. “It doesn’t feel soft or cold,” she reports, “so I’m guessing it’s not meat.” Then she lifts the tissue-wrapped book out and turns it over in her hands. “Oh! Look at this sweet paper with little books printed all over it.”
As she starts to unwrap the book, a jolt of nerves hits my belly. I’ve never felt nervous about giving someone a gift before. When I shop for my family, I buy things from their Amazon wishlists, so I always know I’m getting them what they want. Presents for my friends typically involve beer or tickets to a sports event, which is basically a no-brainer.
But buying something for Hazel… I want her to like it. Not just like it, but know I was actually thinking of her when I bought it and not just grabbing the first thing I saw in the store.
So I guess Winter was right. The giftismeaningful.
