Page 4 of Rhodes
“Yep.”
“And I just invited him—”
“Yep.”
“Okay.” She holds her hands up in surrender. “That’s my bad.”
“You think?”
“I’m sorry.” She looks genuine when she says this. I told her all about that night Ethan ended our friendship. It was the same night that I was going to tell him how I felt. It crushed me. He crushed me.
“It’s just one night,” she says. “Then you won’t have to see him again.”
Chapter 3
RHODES
“You look pretty pleased for someone who just spent the afternoon with elementary school kids,” Tanner says, as I hang up my gear.
“What can I say, I’m a natural public speaker and they loved me.”
“Or is it possible that you might be hot for the teacher?”
I know he’s joking, but the sudden urge to punch him in the shoulder surges up inside me. I don’t want him or anyone else talking about Hazel like that, especially not in front of me.
Tanner holds up his hands in surrender, reading my expression and knowing not to press it any further. “Sorry, just making an observation.”
I take a breath and close up my locker. “Hazel and I have a history.”
“Clearly,” he chuckles. When I just stare at him in confusion, he continues. “You never volunteer for grunt work. I saw the way you lit up when you heard the name of the teacher. Doesn’t take a codebreaker to crack that code.”
Tanner walks with me out to our trucks.
“She and I used to be close when we were younger. And then—” I pause, the memory of that night playing back in my mind. I shake my head, trying to erase the uneasy feeling in my stomach. “And then we weren’t.”
“Well, looks like the universe is giving you second chance at first love.”
“She never felt that way about me.”
“Did she tell you that?”
“No.”
“Why don’t you ask her before you write off a chance at something real?”
I think a lot about what Tanner said as I head home and get ready. I’m not sure if Hazel and I were ever going to head in the direction of dating back in high school, but I know that after seeing her today, I’m definitely interested in seeing if there could be more.
The cold water in the shower does little to ease the ache at my body’s reaction when I think about Hazel. There’s a quiet beauty about her, like she doesn’t know how beautiful she really is. It feels like a secret only I know, and I’m desperate to keep it that way.
I close my eyes and let the water cascade down my body. The image of the soft curves of her body looked so inviting this afternoon. It took all of my will power this afternoon not to stare at her while I was with her. The dip of her waist. The swell of her ass. The fullness of her breasts.
“Fuck,” I breathe out.
My hand finds my hard cock and I begin to stroke it, trying to find some relief so that when I see her this evening, I won’t embarrass myself. I let my imagination wander, thinking about stripping Hazel out of the sweater and pencil skirt she was wearing and plunging myself deep inside her.
I groan out loud thinking about the sounds she would make as I fuck her on top of her desk. My hand pumps harder up and down, pushing me closer and closer until I finally feel that sweet relief of pleasure. I rest my forehead against the tile wall. I’m playing with fire letting Hazel back into my life, I can only hope that this time neither one of us gets burned.
HAZEL
