Page 77 of Hazel and Elijah Find Out: First They F*cked Around

“Fuck.” He groaned. “Let’s stop by my place so I can grab my real winter coat and snow boots.”

“You’re coming?”

“I can’t let you drive from Detroit to middle-of-nowhere, Michigan, in this shit by yourself.” He pointed at the snow.

“If the roads go sideways, it’ll just put you in danger.”

“Yeah, but if it gets really sketchy, I’ll be able to convince you to pull over.”

I opened my mouth to argue, but he cut me off, “Man, I’ll just worry about you if I don’t come along.”

I snorted. “You’re a fuckin’ sweetheart, man.”

His mouth pulled to one side, and he shook his head. “It’s fucking annoying.”

Chapter 24

Hazel

AllIwantedwasto be home and in my bed. But with the attention my post had gotten over the past day and a half, I didn’t want people to feel like I was hiding. It was probably a ridiculous thing to do, especially since the snow was accumulating quickly outside.

At least the storm had convinced most of the crowd to stay home.

Not me, though. It was leaning toward foolish for me to be out and about with road conditions worsening.

I hadn’t been to Benji’s since the auction. It might have been the half-filled space, or just my general state of missing Elijah, but I couldn’t stop being nostalgic. That was where we swayed—but did not dance—to the music. That booth was where we made out like we were the only two people in the world. That patio was where he told me he wanted to hold my hand and get to know me—to see how we worked together. My nostalgia was turning morose as I just… missed him.

It had felt right to acknowledge his goodness publicly, especially since people so often referred to him as bad news.

It felt right when most everything else felt wrong.

Lifting my drink to my lips, I tried to breathe through the tight squeeze in my chest. Would thinking about him ever stop hurting? It didn’t feel like time was doing me any favors.

Nora shot me a concerned look from where she was flirting with a ski tourist at the bar. I waved her off. It had been enough of a struggle to convince her not to hover.

The front door opened and closed. A gust of cold wind swept in. It brushed through the hairs at the nape of my neck. I shivered. I welcomed it. It made me feel like I was present when I’d been feeling absent.

I stared into the middle distance. I planned to finish this hot toddy and then head home. But Nora straightened and looked behind me with her eyes wide, giving me an unsettled apprehension. With my eyebrows drawn together, I followed her gaze.

A man I’d never seen before pushed back the hood of hishugebright red coat. From his boots to his head, he looked fortified to scale Mount Everest. He was far too prepared, instantly marking him as an outta towner. His friend was more appropriately clothed.

Pressure crushed my chest, and I sucked in a quick breath.

Elijah licked his lower lip, then bit down on it. His green eyes met mine.

And thatrightfeeling fit back into place.

It was as if all the lights had been dimmed, but when he entered the room, they illuminated to their full potential. Shining light into the dark spaces of my heart and putting all the lurking shadows to rest.

I instantly distrusted it. I’d felt this before, and it’d opened me to a hurt too deep. It was terrible to know he was the cause of my pain, and to still want him.

Muscles flexed in his throat as he swallowed.

His friend’s attention flicked from me to Elijah, before taking confident strides to the bar.

There were half the number of patrons than usual, but every single one watched us. Their gazes pricked at my skin. I wanted to shrink under the table and hide, but instead, I sat up straighter in the booth.

“Hi.” Elijah’s voice skimmed over me, pitched low and tentative. Even on just that word, a single syllable that was more breath than language, it lit parts of my brain that had been quiet for the past couple of weeks.

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