AllFreeNovel Stories worth discovering

Golden Days

Page 35

by Stef C.R.

I shrug and he deflates. “Let’s find some food,” I say.

A moment later, I see Hazel walking next to Rosie, her hand rubbing circles on her friend’s back.

“Hey,” I say, waving awkwardly at them. What am I doing?

“Hi,” Hazel says.

Rosie freezes to the spot when Ezra and I walk up to them.

“I am so sorry about that, I didn’t mean to interrupt your dinner by spilling drinks all over the floor,” she says meekly.

Ezra shakes his head. “It was an accident, don’t even worry about it. Those guys were being dicks to you though. Are you okay?”

Rosie stares at Ezra for a beat. “Yeah, I’m okay,” she breathes out.

I look at Hazel with a soft smile and she raises an eyebrow at me. It’s an unspoken question—Can you believe these two?

I smile and decide to help my friend out. “We were trying to decide on where to go for dinner. Any suggestions?”

“I hope you didn’t leave dinner because of me,” Rosie says, appalled.

Ezra gives her a boyish smile that lights up his whole face. “If my favorite waitress is not there, then I don’t want it.”

Rosie laughs and the way Ezra is looking at her, blue eyes sparkling, makes me feel like I’m intruding on a private moment. When I shift my gaze to Hazel, she’s already watching me.

“Do you want to join us for dinner?” Rosie blurts.

“I’m sure they can find something better than a taco truck,” Hazel says, blushing.

“I love tacos,” Ezra pipes up.

“My favorite,” I agree.

Twenty minutes later we’re pulling into the parking lot of Poncho’s Tacos. It’s a local food truck near an outlet mall. There are benches and tables nearby, but it mostly looks like a takeout spot.

“Hey”, Ezra says to the girls as we meet them in line for the food.

Rosie beams at him, blushing from the tips of her ears all the way to her chest, which is on display thanks to the black V-neck shirt she’s wearing. Without another word, she grabs his elbow and leads him to the food truck.

My eyes roam over Hazel. She’s wearing the same white dress uniform from earlier and I take a deep breath at the reminder of how good her legs looked every time she crouched or jogged over to me on the course.

“I’m sorry if we’re intruding,” I say, clearing my throat.

“You’re not. This is our favorite go-to place for dinner, by the way. It’s cheap, authentic, and delicious.”

“Sounds perfect,” I say as we step in line behind our friends.

While Ezra and Rosie flirt right in front of us, my conversation with Hazel is stilted. I don’t know how to be…friendly.

I steal a few glances at her and catch her looking away a few times. What is she thinking right now?

Rosie and Ezra order first and he gestures for the two of us to order too. “My treat,” he says.

The food comes out quickly and we grab one of the empty picnic tables.

I hand the two tacos that are not mine to Hazel. Our fingers brush in the process, and I feel a spark between us. It’s a little zing of electricity that travels from my hand all the way up my arm. Am I having a medical episode?

“Sorry, I shocked you.” Hazel laughs, pulling her hand back.