Page 16 of Ozzie

He sits on the couch a few feet from me. “You were in a rush to leave, and I figured you would forget. And I grabbed that from the office, so I do owe them a bottle.”

Durango is still standing near the door, watching us with his arms crossed.

“Thank you.” I open the bottle.

Ozzie stands and goes to the kitchen. He comes back with a cup of water, and I take the pills. “You play?” He nods to the guitar.

“I do, but my real passion is writing music.”

“How do I not know this?”

“Probably because I haven’t done it for two years. Something about this place inspires me.”

Ozzie and I stare at each other, grinning.

“I hadn’t realized how friendly you two had become,” Durango says as he walks to the couch.

I smile up at him. “Yeah, Ozzie is a great guy.”

There’s another knock at the door. “Nowthatshould be the groceries.” Durango goes to retrieve them.

“How long can you stay?” I ask Ozzie.

He glances at Durango. “Probably not long. I wanted to make sure you were okay.”

“Hey, Oz, help me in the kitchen,” Durango says as he carries the bags that way.

Ozzie follows him, and while I can hear that they are talking, I can’t make out what they are saying. My cousin is keeping his voice low, which means he’s likely talking about me.

I try to focus on my music again, but I can’t.

They both emerge from the kitchen. Ozzie scratches the back of his neck. “I’m going to head out. If either of you needs anything, call me.”

“Head out?” I stand up and grab the crutches. “You just got here.”

Ozzie glances at Durango. “Yeah, I wanted to check on you.”

I move closer, hoping to hug him goodbye, but before I get too close, he backs up to the door. “I’ll see you two later.” And then he’s gone.

“You hungry?” Durango asks as he turns and goes back to the kitchen.

I follow him and sit on a bar stool at the kitchen island. “What the hell did you say to him?”

He avoids my eyes as he washes a cantaloupe. “We were only catching up. That’s all.” He moves to a cutting board and cuts the melon in half.

“Bullshit.”

Now, his eyes meet mine.

“Look, I’m well aware that you have a crush on Ozzie. Hell, the entire office is aware of it. You don’t hide it well. But he’s not the guy for you. Trust me.”

“It’s more than a crush. He and I have a real connection, and you’re going to have to learn to live with it. I really care for him and plan to date him.”

Durango sets the knife down, takes a step back, but leans against the counter. “Not him. Find someone else.”

“No.”

When he looks up, anger greets me. “Has something happened between you two?”

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