Page 24 of Hazel and Elijah Find Out: First They F*cked Around

I leaned against Elijah’s side. His body was comforting and warm in the booth next to me—the chill that lingered in my bones slowly leeching away. We’d moved inside almost an hour ago, when the outdoor furnaces couldn’t keep the cold far enough back.

His arm was wrapped around my shoulders. His thumb drew circles on my upper arm, following the knit pattern of my dress. The combination of yet another long week, Moscow mules, and the persistent beat of his heart against my ear caused my eyes to drift shut. But I didn’t want to go home. I didn’t want to hug him goodbye. I didn’t want to say good night.

Not yet.

I wanted to keep soaking up his presence.

“What’s your favorite color?” I asked, trying to stay awake.

“Midnight blue. What’s yours?”

“Green.”

Like your eyesI left unsaid, but just barely. I was halfway through my third Moscow mule and my inhibitions were showing it.

“It suits you.” He brushed my hair back from my face and craned his neck to look at me. “Do you wanna go home? You seem exhausted.”

I shook my head. “I’m not ready.”

He pulled me closer. “Okay.”

“Get Low” was pounding from the speakers. Nora, Brooks, Remi, and Sterling were dancing with half the town’s population of twenty- to thirty-year-olds. They laughed as Sterling twerked.

I laughed too until Elijah asked, “Would you like to dance?”

I recoiled. “Oh god, no!”

“Don’t like dancing?” His schooled expression hid most everything, except the amusement in his eyes.

“No.”

“Not even alone in your house?”

“No. I don’t like dancing alone. I don’t like dancing in front of people. I don’t know if there’s anything more embarrassing than dancing.”

“Aw, baby, don’t be embarrassed.”

My brain went fully offline, remembering the last time he’d called me that. He’d pushed me to the point where my need was too much, and my hands sought out relief. But then he asked,‘You need it that bad, baby?’and he sent me over the edge on his tongue.

It took a while, but eventually, I regained the ability to speak. “If you’d like to dance, I’m good. I’m perfectly happy to sit here drinking water and watching you.”

In response, he’d tucked me against his side.

I spotted Emily, the bartender, and Millie, the owner of the local coffee shop, share surprised looks at the sight of me and Elijah together.

No one could be as shocked as I was.

A few songs later, I was comfortably nestled against him, my mind adrift and drowsy. The tension eased from my shoulders with each breath.

“Are you falling asleep?” Elijah’s voice rumbled low in my ear.

With a sharp intake through my nose, I sat up straight, trying to appear awake. “Hmm?”

“How are you getting home? Is your car here?”

I shook my head.

“I have my bike, or I’d offer to drive you.”

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