I turned to the others. “You guys go ahead. We’ll meet at the parking lot.”
Alex smirked, and I rolled my eyes. Not every moment needs to be soaked in cliché romance, with the smitten hero disguising his feelings behind a flimsy facade. Just throw in a little danger for the girl, cue the dramatic confession, and voilà—you’ve got yourself a chick-flick.
Those conflicting feelings, however, didn’t stop me from wrapping us in the blanket like a breakfast burrito, hiding from the rain. I held her close as we sat through the final ten minutes, listening to the heartbreaking monologue.
I felt Hazel peek at me as I tried to hide my glistening eyes, my fingers entwined with hers. And even though I had no right to hope for anything, even though I could’ve done better today, I still wished that this birthday, this moment, would always be one of her favorites.
* * *
The drive back was quiet. Everybody was tired from the long day, and most of our friends had nodded off. Hazel still had my jacket draped over her shoulders, clutching it to retain somewarmth. At least, that’s what she claimed. She stayed wrapped in it even with the heater blasting.
I’m not the girl you want.
I’m not the girl you need.
The words replayed in my head like a broken record.
“Why so sour?” Hazel asked suddenly, her voice perfectly matching the soft tones of the music.
“I’m not. Just focusing on the road. A little tired,” I lied. I wasn’t tired for a second. “You still cold?”
“I’m good,” she murmured, burrowing deeper into my jacket. “So, is the night over, or should I brace for more surprises?”
“That’s classified.” She giggled, and the way her chest moved with it made me snap my gaze back to the road and clear my throat.Jesus, get it together.
Luckily, we were already home.
“Rise and shine, weirdos,” I said, shifting into park.
A chorus of groggy, unintelligible groans, including Logan’s whale sounds, made it to the front, as everybody slowly got out of the car.
“Luke.” Ava looked at me. “Yeah?” she asked, confirming our plan.
I nodded. Hazel’s head whipped between us, trying to figure out where the rest of the sentence had disappeared.
“Alright, everybody, let’s go,” Ava announced, leading the way. Hazel reached for the door, but I locked it from my side.
“Oops. No clearance from the commander yet,” I said.
“And you’re the commander?”
I shook my head, watching the others disappear. “Ava.”
“Is there something else planned?”
“That’s classified.”
“You already used this one.”
“Commander’s orders,” I teased, watching her scrunch her nose in adorable disapproval.
The rain had simmered down, leaving behind soft raindrops. Our little bubble closed in around us again. “It’s still raining,” I murmured to myself in the quiet of the car.
“You arenotkissing me in the rain,” she blurted, half-serious, half-laughing. “You may be Ryan Gosling, but I’m no Rachel McAdams.”
I smiled, until I didn’t.
“Hazel... It’s not true,” I said, my voice quieter now. The petrichor (the pleasant smell after a rain, as Hazel informed me) turning into a pinch of vulnerability.
