Page 91 of The Prospect

“I made a mistake, Hazel.” I refuse to let up despite how badly I want to pull her into my arms and feel her touch against my own. “I thought that this plan was what I wanted. For us both to find someone, but I was stupid. So stupid, Hazel, because….”

I can’t help but reach out for her hand. It’s soft, cold, yet as I bring it to my chest, it warms my heart as I say, “All along, it’s beenyou. It’s always been you.”

I can feel my heart pounding out of my chest as I bask in her blank, almost wide-eyed stare.

She’s beautiful, she’s perfect—she’smine.

“I’ve wasted so much time, missed so many signs and brushed off so many emotions in an attempt to keep this plan going, but no more.” I shake my head. “I refuse to carry on any longer, Hazel, because out of all of the mistakes I’ve made in my life, my biggest was thinking that I could convince myself that seeing you with anyone else butmewas a good idea.”

And just like that, as my truth finally breaks free, so do my emotions as I pull Hazel in for a kiss, one I never want to end.

Sure, I might be a man full of regret, but this girl, this moment,thistruth, this will never be a part of that.

TWENTY-SEVEN

H A Z E L

I’d livedmy life watching the films, reading the books, and dedicating myself to the world of romance because I’d been searching for a love story that would mask the imminent reality of my own.

I’d thought being transported away and living vicariously through another would aid me in my battle against the emotions I’ve been fighting since I was seven years old. But with the grace of his lips displaced against mine, it feels like only now I’ve come to the conclusion that I’d known all along that watching the films and reading the books would never appease me. Why? Because the only love story I ever wanted was withhim.

Is this a dream? I can’t tell if I just said that out loud, but for some reason, I don’t care. Regardless of whether or not this is or isn’t, everything about this moment feels otherworldly.

When Green and I last kissed in this exact spot a few weeks back, I knew that the only way to ensure my survival—to ensure that I could go forward, would be to suppress the kiss to a depth of no return.

But with his one hand tousled within my hair and the other cinched onto my waist, the once repressed emotion starts to resurface, and I struggle to fight it, nor the desire to want to.

His truth, quite like his lips, sways me without even trying, parting my mouth in desperation as I quiver beneath his grasp, allowing the kiss to escalate as I feel the air inflate into my lungs.

At this moment, I’m persuaded that without Green, life is breathless. He’s like oxygen, reminding me that he’s a necessity—the one thing I’ll never be able to live without, but with that reminder comes another, one that’s just as hard to forget as it is one to remember right now.

Hart.

He’s there, at the house, waiting for me and yet, in my attempt to say goodnight to Green, somehow, I’ve ended up kissing him on this bridge.

The formidable action leads me to the same thought that I can’t seem to shake:this can’t happen.

I’m displaced as I toy with the options in my mind. What should I do? Do I stay within this blissful dream I’ve ached for all my life or do what’s morally right and pull back?

I opt for the latter as I’m reminded that sometimes in life, the right decision isn’t always the most pleasurable one.

“I—I can’t, Green.” I shake my head, stumbling back until I find my way toward the side of the bridge. “Hart… He’s waiting for me. What’s he going to think? What’s he going to do? What is he going to say?—”

“Stop thinking about everyone else right now, Hazel.” Green cuts my senseless rambling short as he clutches hold of my hand once more and pulls me in tight. “The two of us have fallen victim to that for far too long. Now tell me,” his voice turns serious, “what is it thatyouwant?” he asks. “Is it me? Do you want me?”

The answer to his question is simple. So simple that it rests at the tip of my tongue comfortably like it’s always been there. It has always been there.

“I just don’t understand.” I can’t seem to wrap my mind around all of this. “I can’t understand.”

“You don’t need to, Haze,” Green tells me. “I couldn’t make sense of it myself either, but then when Amira told me about how you felt too?—”

“Amira?” I cut him off. “Woah, woah, woah,” I’m stuttering like a nervous wreck. “What did Amira tell you exactly?”

“Everything,” Green confesses, and my world just about comes to a stop. “She told me about how you feel about me, Hazel.” There’s a smile aching to break free from behind his lips. “How you've always felt about me.”

“You know I’ve been in love before,”I slur out as Amira slings her arm over my shoulder, steadying me in place.

“Is that so?” She smirks down at me, looking for more details. “With who, huh?”

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