This is what I've wanted my whole life. Her. Here. Choosing to stay.
There's just this one thing. Small. Barely worth mentioning.
Her phone's been buzzing more. She checks it, face going careful, then puts it away without saying anything. When I ask if everything's okay, she smiles and says "Yeah, fine," and kisses me until I stop asking.
I tell myself it's nothing.
My phone vibrates while I'm in the shower. Chace.
Chace:Lake tonight- Don’t forget. Everyone's going. Bring beer.
I stare at the message for a second, water running down my back, then type back.
Me:Yeah, I'll be there.
Chace:Bring your girl.
The text comes with three emojis—winky face, chili pepper, eggplant—because Chace is nothing if not subtle.
I don't respond to that. Just finish rinsing off and get out, towel around my waist.
I'm pulling on a clean shirt when Hazel emerges from the bedroom, still buttoning her cutoff shorts. She's wearing one of my flannels over a tank top, tucked in on one side, left loose on the other. Her hair's down, falling past her shoulders in waves.
She crosses to the door where her boots are waiting next to mine and pulls them on.
I watch her pull them on, those long legs on full display, shorts sitting high on her thighs, and something twists low in my gut.
"What?" she asks, catching me staring.
"Nothing."
"Liar."
She grins and grabs her jacket, and I'm still standing there wondering if I'll ever stop wanting her this intensely. If this need will ever settle into something manageable instead of constant.
Probably not.
"Come on," she says. "We're gonna be late."
"Yeah. Let's go."
***
The drive to the lake is quiet in the best way.
Her hand lands on my thigh automatically. The way it always does now. I thread our fingers together and she leans back with that soft sigh I've learned means she's content.
"Shae's been harassing me about tonight," she says.
"She give you the 'people will forget you exist' speech?"
"How'd you know?"
"She gave it to me too."
Hazel laughs. "We really are terrible at being social."
"Maybe we're not regular people."
