"Okay, but you think he's hot, right?"
"I mean, objectively speaking, he's not that hard to look at," I said, feeling my cheeks flush.
"Wow," she said with a laugh. "So, that's a yes."
I scowled in response.
"Well, he obviously thinks you're hot."
My gaze snapped to hers. "What makes you say that?"
"I saw the way he was looking at you in there," she said. "Pretty sure everyone did."
"How was he looking at me?"
"Like he couldn’t wait for practice to end."
Was that true?
"He's usually all about the kids, but his eyes were eating you up the whole time," she added. "Sparks were flying out on that ice."
"Now I know you're joking," I said.
Hazel just shrugged. "Believe what you want. But having a hot, nice guy like Tolliver at your beck and call? I bet most girls would be all over it."
I lifted a brow. "Would you?"
"Oh yeah," she said, surprising me. "I have a ton of things on my to-do list, like moving heavy boxes around my room, taking out the trash, driving me to and from the library, getting me coffee in the morning. Not to mention, it would be nice to have someone to run ideas by about my writing. I might even let him hold my book as I read."
"Tolliver is my unofficial page turner," I said.
"Genius," she replied.
"Thanks."
"But I bet he'd do more if you let him."
No doubt he would.
Did I want that?
"I'll think about it," I said, meeting her gaze. "Thanks, Hazel."
"I didn't do anything," she said.
"Seriously, my cousins are all busy with their own stuff this summer, so I don't really have anyone to talk to."
She lifted a brow. "What about Tolliver?"
"Yeah, but I miss this," I added, gesturing between us. "Having girl friends is vital. You know?"
"I do." Hazel sighed then dug her phone out of her pocket. "Listen, I usually hate these things, but desperate times."
My phone pinged a second later.
I looked at the screen and saw that I'd been added to a group text.
It was called The Society of Awkward Delinquents and Bad Lyricists Underwriting Eulogies and Sorrow. Also known as the S.A.D. B.L.U.E.S.—the unofficial/official name of our writing group—Hazel came up with it to try and keep people away. But the attempt failed. She also said she'd been going for Edgar Allen Poe meets Taylor Swift—which I, personally, thought was a success.
