Page 55 of Crazy Love

“The amount of work he put into it is crazy. It’s so beautiful.”

Hazel looks at me incredulously, snapping her laptop shut with a resoundingclick.“Youlikehim.”

A laugh mixed with a scoff escapes my lips. “No, I don’t.”

“Oh my god, youdo.Kalina Cooper!” Hazel cries.

Heat races to my cheeks. “Shut up.”

“You don’t catch feelings.”

“Ihaven’t.”

Hazel taps her chin. “I mean, I guess you were a bit schoolgirl-ish with Alex, but that was short-lived-”

“He doesn’t feel that way about me!”

It’s Hazel’s turn to scoff. “Did he say that?”

“Yes.”

“What were his words, exactly?”

I think back to the past few weeks, focusing in on the day we decided to keep things low key between us. “We established rules about keeping things uncomplicated and unofficial. He was down with that.”

She shakes her head. “You mean,youestablished rules and he agreed.”

I blink at her. Did he ever say he wasn’t interested in more than sex? I replay that first conversation in my head. I remember all the moments we’ve spent in the studio together. Our first date on the mountain and the time we spent running around the arcade. The way he looked at me in the photo booth.

The way Ifeltwhen he looked at me.

“Oh no.” My hands cover my mouth with the realisation.

Hazel’s eyes are wide with knowing.I told you sois written all over her stupid face.

My stomach tightens.

I’ve been so sure of the type of person I am for so many years, the thought of going against what I thought I knew is jarring. At this stage of the dating game, I’m bored, or at least, looking elsewhere, but thinking about it, I haven’t been interested in another person since I met Anthony. The thought of bringing another person into the mix spikes jealousy. The image of another woman touching Anthony makes my blood boil.

I back away from the entryway, as if being near Anthony’s latest handiwork will somehow make it more real. “No, no, no. This is wrong. I can’t like him.”

Hazel laughs kindly. “Why not?”

“He’s likeme. He’s not into monogamy.”

“Except he hasn’t seen anyone since he started seeing you.”

“We don’t know that,” I argue.

“Are you blind?” Hazel cries. “Any time he’s not working he’s spending it with you; helping you get the studio up and running, building you an entry way, taking you out. You are delusional if you can’t see what the rest of us can.”

My feet take on a life of their own, pacing up and down the room as a rush of unfamiliarity sweeps over me.

Ilikehim.

I like Anthony.

Hazel notices my spiral, because her smile fades. “Don’t panic.”

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