Chapter 17 #2
“Yeah, if you don’t like cheese, we should part ways now before this goes any further.” I cocked my head to one side and smiled, savoring the moment. Further where?
I hummed, considering my next move. Now she was the one watching me.
“I don’t know. When I was little, I wanted to be a librarian. You?” she said.
“Salesman turned lifeguard, maybe?” I lifted my gaze, and it locked with hers. For a moment, we just stayed there, trying to read each other’s minds.
“Tell me about your parents,” Hazel said, moving her knight.
“No, sweetie, it’s my turn now.” I smiled, dodging the question and earning a bonus—a rosy color on her cheeks. It was probably the sweetie that did it. I’d have to remember that.
“The most spontaneous thing you’ve ever done?” I asked.
“This trip,” she admitted with a smile. I was secretly happy for being part of the reason.
“What always relaxes you when you’re stressed?” she shot back.
“Complimenting people. Speaking of which, you look very pretty today. And relaxed.”
She froze for a second, eyes still on the board, caught off guard. “Are you stressed right now?”
“No.” I wasn’t. At least not anymore. Not after that hug she granted me. “Which means you can believe me when I say it.”
“Yeah,” she dismissed me. “It probably has nothing to do with your whole flirty vibe.” It stung a little bit. Deservedly so, I guess. Why does she do that? She never accepted compliments. Was it because they came from me or because she didn’t believe them?
“It doesn’t mean it’s not true.” I searched for her face, but she was hiding her gaze in the game.
Hazel smiled to herself, giving a little shake of her head. If she’d had a fling or two in her life, the guys probably said nice things. Still, I had a feeling she never believed them, since most were just chasing a night, not a person anyway. But she didn’t seem like the type who did that.
“Have you ever had a one-night stand?” The words left my mouth before my brain could stop them.
Her head snapped up, cheeks flushing. Embarrassed. I was surprised, too, but I hid it better. I wasn’t sure if adding anything would make it better or worse, so I just waited. Maybe she would throw me out or book the next flight home.
“No.” A quiet confession left her lips. I realized I was staring at them now. She cleared her throat and looked away, embarrassed by something that she shouldn’t be.
“I’m sorry. It’s none of my business. Let me change the question. What—”
“That’s not fair. You got an answer to your rude question. You don’t get another one.”
I smiled. She was now back to being happy and argumentative. “Okay, your turn then.”
“What’s one skill you wish you had?”
“Flying.”
“What about your fear of heights?” she teased.
“I’m not afraid of heights,” I snapped back, but she just laughed.
“I probably wouldn’t be annoyed by heights if I knew I couldn’t fall,” I added.
“I guess that’s true.”
“My turn. Weirdest thing you like.”
Hazel paused, brows furrowing as if she was examining the question itself. Or maybe even deciding if she should trust me with the answer.
“Promise you won’t laugh?”
“I will promise no such thing.” Another pause.
“I kind of... like open wounds.” Bingo, we have a winner.
“What?”
“I’m not a psychopath. I don’t want to inflict them,” she tried to explain. “I’m just fascinated by how they look when I see one up close.”
“Yeah, that doesn’t sound psychotic at all,” I said. “So if I, say, break my leg and a bone is sticking out, you’ll check it first for your own curiosity, then call 911?”
She grinned. “I can probably do both at the same time.”
“Smartass. Okay, I’ve got a good one,” I said. “Advice to your younger self.”
She formed a silent O, impressed by the question, to which I mouthed Right?! She needed to think about this one, which was probably why her eyes drifted from the chessboard to the horizon. My heart beat alone in silence for at least a minute, but then, the corner of her mouth lifted.
She took a deep breath, turned to me, and said with an honest smile, “You’re gonna be okay. Cry it out, you definitely should, but you’ll be okay, I promise. It’ll pass. It gets better.”
I looked at her, or more like inside her.
Like she was giving me a piece of her soul.
It broke my heart a little, that she’d once needed to hear those words.
That she still did. But what surprised me unexpectedly was the fact that I wasn’t certain I could say the same to myself.
To the child who needed to hear those words. Was I okay?
“Oh, and buy Bitcoin,” she added, earning a chortle from me, and continued. “If you could have a conversation with anyone in the world, living or dead, who would it be?”
Also, a good question. I thought of famous people, inspirations, friends, but right now, none of them seemed good enough.
“I think I’m here. Having it.”
“Oh, please.” She dismissed me again, as if it were an act. “Just save it. Give me a real answer.”
I just stared, confused.
“We’ve established you’re not getting into my pants, so there’s no reason for this,” she laughed and laughed.
At me. She laughed at my attempts to be honest. Hazel looked up, expecting me to joke, smile, something.
But I couldn’t move a muscle. I wanted her to know I was serious, that I wasn’t playing with her.
Hazel’s smile slowly faded. I leaned in over the board, holding her gaze. Her breath hitched.
“Hazel,” I said, voice quiet but firm, “listen to me very carefully.” She swallowed, her body suddenly aware of our closeness.
“I’m not playing games here. Yes, I’ve slept with a lot of women.
” I let my eyes roam her face, then moved to her beautiful lips.
“But I’ve never deceived anyone. I’ve never lied my way into anyone’s bed.
They always knew my intentions.” Her breathing got faster, more uneven.
I liked it. “So when I say you look pretty or that I enjoy your company, it’s not for your benefit. It’s because I mean it.”
Her shoulder strap had fallen, and I selfishly took my chance. I reached up, lightly brushing my knuckles against her bare skin. Goosebumps rose along her arm, and I tilted my head, savoring the moment. Savoring her.
“It doesn’t matter if you don’t believe me, or no one’s ever said it to you,” I doubted the latter, “I call it as I see it. If that makes you uncomfortable—too bad.” I slowly lifted the strap, placing it back on her shoulder, imagining how it would feel to take it off instead.
Tasting this moment, her silence, her breath between us, the feel of her skin beneath my fingertips.
The flush on her face made her look even better.
“Okay?” I finished my tantalizing with a soft question, letting her know there was no other answer that I expected from her.
“Okay,” she breathed out.
“Good. Checkmate.” She didn’t register it at first, but then her head snapped to the board, eyes widening at my queen’s move. Her rosy cheeks clashed with the shock on her face before she let out a defeated sigh.
“Don’t worry. You’re getting better. This was much better than your first game,” I tried to comfort her.
She kept analyzing the board, searching for where she went wrong.
“Some people just have different strengths.” She shot me a skeptical look.
“For example, I could never make a cup of coffee as magnificent as yours.”
“Oh, thank you. That’s like calling a woman a good dish washer.”
I snickered. “Good thing we’re not playing for money, though,” I added. “Otherwise, we should switch to Monopoly dollars.” She suddenly stilled.
Then, slowly, the edges of her mouth curved into a wide, unexpected smile. One of those rare, luminous ones that made the room feel warmer.
“What?” I asked, caught off guard by the shift in her.
She shook her head slightly, eyes soft, lost somewhere far away.
“Nothing. Just...” A soft laugh escaped her.
“My mom and I used to do that. We’d sit on the floor with a pile of Monopoly bills and pick out our dream houses from newspaper ads.
We’d count the money like we could actually buy them. That was our thing.”
For a second, she wasn’t here. She was back on that floor, laughing beside someone she loved.
And just like that, something cracked open in my chest. I wasn’t expecting it.
I wasn’t ready for the simplicity of that memory to feel so sacred.
But it did. Like I’d been handed something delicate and quietly precious.
And all I could think was: I wanted to be a part of the things that made her smile like that. Not just witness it—be in it.
“Oh, damn,” she checked her phone. “It’s late, we should probably go to sleep.”
A small disappointment settled in my chest, but it was fine. We had time.
“Yeah, we probably should,” I said, collecting the chessboard.
Hazel had reached the bedroom when she turned to me. “Hey, Luke?”
“Mm?”
“You were right. I...” she hesitated. “I sat at the beach today, and I really did feel better.” Her face softened as she gifted me this small confession. “I felt at ease. And that’s because of you. So, thank you.”
My heart expanded a thousand times over. That’s all I needed—her to be comfortable and safe. For now, it was enough. But like an addict, I suspected it wouldn’t be enough soon.
“Good night, Hazel.”
She closed the door, unaware of how deeply she was creeping into my heart. It terrified me—how she was breaking down my walls piece by piece. Truthfully, I hadn’t anticipated it either. After all, I’d never let anyone do that before.
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