Page 28 of Side Hustle
The bat hit for the fourth time and a loud pop had me jumping straight in the air. The girls all screamed their excitement as objects rained down on my head and littered the forest floor. The deluge was over quickly and I spun to check out what prizes had landed at my feet. The girls hopped up and started to grab things, clutching them to their chests like the third graders we sometimes acted like.
I crouched too and got busy snatching things off the ground. A bright red lace thong, a chocolate bar with almonds, a blue silk scarf, a six-pack of ribbed condoms that were supposed to taste like cotton candy, a mini vibrator, and a pair of pink fuzzy handcuffs.
The frenzy died down as our hands got too full to grab anything else and yet more goodies remained on the ground. We looked down at our prizes and then at each other. Lucy burst out laughing and the rest of us followed. Even Lenora had somehow gotten down on the ground to score some good stuff. Pretty sure she had no idea how she’d get back up.
I couldn’t find an ounce of anger left in my system. Just pure joy. “Best. Subscription. Box. Idea. Ever. This was just what I needed. Thank you!”
Lenora smiled at me and I knew, if she could have, she’d be over by my side giving me a hug. Lucy ripped her chocolate bar open and inhaled half of it before we could stop her.
“Oh my God, so good.” Her lips and fingers were smeared with brown stuff.
“Are you supposed to be eating sugar?” Amelia asked her, her nose scrunched up.
“Shut up and let me have something!” Lucy spat back, holding the rest of the chocolate bar tight to her chest.
We all barked out more laughs, digging into our own stash of chocolate. We ate in silence, just the pop of the fire and the hoot of a nearby owl to keep us company.
Lucy finally sat back and rubbed a hand over her belly. “Oh man, that was good.” She took a deep breath and hit me with her laser beam gaze. Oh shit, this wasn’t going to be good.
“You’re running from pain again, Hazel. You need to have a conversation with your mom and settle things. Trust me. Just rip the Band-Aid off. You can’t keep running.”
“Don’t ruin my piñata glow, Lucy.” I pouted.
“She’s right, though. You do tend to run instead of facing things.” Amelia shrugged like she couldn’t help the truth spilling out of her mouth.
I frowned at her.
Lenora shifted on the ground, looking uncomfortable. “We don’t even know what happened between you and Rip back in high school, but you’ve spent thirteen years running away from him. That’s a pretty big commitment to running away instead of facing your challenges, kiddo.”
I crossed my arms over my chest. The anger was gone, but so was the newly found joy. All I felt now was a surprising amount of shame. Shame that they’d caught on to me. Shame that they were totally right. Shame that I couldn’t face my fears like a damn adult. I swallowed hard, but couldn’t find words to address their advice.
“We love you, Hazel. We just want the best for you.” Lucy reached out and laid her hand on my knee.
Then Amelia reached over and did the same on the other side.
“Air hug,” Lenora said from across the circle, her arms in the air like a total dork.
I snorted, some of the shame shifting with their love extended. “Fine. You guys might have a point.”
We got back to partying after that, all of us working hard to get Lenora off the ground and into a chair again. Amelia and I finished the second bottle of champagne. Lucy and Finnie drove us all home safely once the fire burned down and we had no further logs.
And I made damn sure to take my collection of condoms home with me.
Who knew? Maybe if I didn’t run from my Rip issues, I might have a need for those little foil packets after all…
11
Rip
“What the hell was I thinking?” I muttered to myself, staring at a guy I barely recognized in the mirror.
It wasn’t the new haircut or the fancy collared dress shirt that were throwing me off. It was that light in my eyes that hadn’t been there for so long I couldn’t remember if it had ever been there. I swallowed hard and wished I had some sort of vice to fall back on. Drinking myself into oblivion sounded perfect right about then.
The doorbell rang before I could talk myself out of going to the press conference I’d scheduled for noon that day. The Gold Rush Festival got started right after, which meant most Auburn Hill citizens would be around for it. The three-part plan Hazel and I had come up with rested entirely on the whole town being there to witness my announcement. Without them, I had no doubt dear old Dad would find a way to strip me of that property in some form of shady subterfuge.
Unlocking the deadbolt, I swung the door open to find both Hazel and Yedda on my doorstep. Despite the disparity in their ages, both had matching grins, proving to even a stranger that they were related. I couldn’t help but smile back, happy to see them both in a way I didn’t feel about most people. My stomach decided to do cartwheels when Hazel swept past me, but a pat on the cheek from Yedda as she sailed through the door had me pulling my brain from the gutter. No kissing would be happening today. Despite that, I was glad for the distraction.
“Getting nervous?” Hazel’s round eyes took me in, her gaze sweeping from my shoes to the top of my head. “You look damn good, Rip Bennett.”
