Page 92 of The Prospect

“My best friend,” I admit without an ounce of resistance, hardly hearing that little voice in my brain that tells me to stop what I’m saying right now.

“Your best friend?” Amira repeats back to me as she continues to guide the way, opening up the doors to our building as she leads me inside.

“Yup.” I smile with a confident nod of my head. “I have been since I was seven years old. He’s the only man I’ve ever loved, and probably will be the only man I ever will.”

It feels good to finally get that off my chest, say it out loud. The confession has been on repeat in my mind for years—this is the first time I’ve ever felt it on my lips and now that I have, it feels good; it feels right.

“Wow, note to self, you’re a confessional drunk.” Amira hits the button to summon the lift. “Care to share his name?” She leans up against the wall—folding her arms inquisitively across her chest.

Suddenly, a stint of sobriety kicks in, but still, the six tequila shots still have me in a chokehold as I murmur. “Daniel Green…my Greenie,” I tell her. “It’s him. It’ll only ever be him.”

They say that when time comes to a standstill, you’ll know it, and for the first time, you’ll feel the Earth beneath your feet. The air around you will grow thick, and all at once, your heart will begin to race—at least, that’s what I’d always seen in the films, but now here I am, living in my own genre that I don’t even know how to categorize.

Is this a thriller?

An action?

My own romance?

I have no idea. It’s like I’m the leading lady in a film, but don’t have a single indicator of what my lines are, what my plot is, or how I even got cast to begin with.

“That face of yours looks awfully familiar, Hazel,” Green admits, brushing his cool hand along the warmth of my cheek. I’m bright red; I can feel it. “You wanna know why?” he asks rhetorically. “Because I looked the exact same way when Amira told me about everything,” he admits, swallowing hard. “But then I came out here, to this spot, the place that’s always been ours and for the first time, I started to ask myself,fuck, how did I not see it sooner?”

“Green…” I’m trembling—too emotionally and physically unprepared to allow him the luxury of finishing that sentence.

“But now, when I really think about it, Hazel.” My interruption doesn't seem to phase him in the slightest. Rather, it only fuels him that much more as his tender gaze longs over my face. “Ididsee the signs. They were always there. Perhaps I was just too naïve to realize, but the truth is, Hazel, you’ve been steadfast in the chaos of my life. You’ve always been there when I’ve needed you and through all the turmoil....” He peers down athis feet before diverting his attention back up. “You’ve been my peace.”

The rustling sway of the trees fills the lingering silence that follows his four words.

“You’ve been my peace.”

What do I say to that? What do I do with that? Never in my wildest dreams had I imagined I’d hear those words fall from his mouth. Never had I imagined that this day would finally come.

“You’re like a magnet, Hazel. You drew me in from the moment I first laid eyes on you. I mean…” He scoffs playfully in laughter. “If that’s true, then I guess that explains why I was pulled into your classroom.”

I join in on the faintest laughter with a roll of my eyes. “Something tells me that a football might’ve been the culprit for that one.”

“‘Maybe.” He breaks into an aching smile and tucks a loose strand of hair behind my right ear. “But I’d like to think that it was something greater, something like…” He loses traction with his words and locks into my eyes for support.

“Fate?” I throw it out there, not expecting that to be the answer he was searching for.

It was.

“Yeah,” he nods with certainty. “Fate. So, here it goes. Maybe I didn’t know which direction your signs were leading me in, Hazel, but I do know this, and this, I don’t need to think twice about.I’m in love with you.” He gently clasps a hold of my cheeks and whispers, “I’ve been so in love with you that I’ve been blinded by it. Numb to it…”

I can feel his breath as he murmurs his ongoing confession, but most of all, I can feel the way that he’s finally looking at me like I’ve been looking at him.

All. These. Years.

“How could I have been so stupid?” Green shakes his head in defeat, releasing me from his hands as he takes a cautious step back. “I…I don’t deserve you, Hazel. I never have. Life gave me a blessing when I met you, and all I’ve managed to do is figure it out too late.”

I’ve propelled myself forward with a few eager steps before I can even rationalize the action. “‘Too late?’” I repeat. “What do you mean ‘too late’?”

“You said it yourself,” Green retorts. “Hart. He’s waiting for you, and by now, you’ve probably moved on,” he protests with a raised voice. “I missed my chance. Besides, who am I to stand in the way of you finally being happy with?—”

“You,” I finish his sentence, silencing him immediately.

It’s my turn to talk now.

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