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Chapter Eleven
Mason
I’d never met anyone more confusing in my life. Hazel had stolen my heart and my virginity in high school. We’d been each other’s first and vowed to only love each other forever.
It had been a fantasy, an empty promise that neither of us kept after we had graduated high school. I’d gone into the military. Hazel had gone across the country to college, somewhere out west. When or why she returned to Chicago, I wasn’t certain. In fact, I didn’t even know with absolute certainty that she left Chicago as she had intended.
It would be a lie to say that I never thought about her. I found myself comparing other women to her constantly. She had been the one who got away—the woman who I loved and let escape. I hadn’t chased her. Maybe I should have. With time, I assumed we’d grown apart. We were two different people than when we knew each other back at boarding school.
She’d had that predatory look in her eyes when Ariella left the two of us alone. I hadn’t thought anything of it at first. I’d assumed she’d watch television, and I’d make sure that Franco didn’t find out where she stayed.
I hadn’t wanted to stop. Her pert little body tucked tight under my hips. I could have spent hours memorizing every curve and tasting every inch of her skin. I wanted to discover her all over again, see if she was just the way I remembered her.
We couldn’t let desire interfere and risk her life. I needed to be alert, keeping an eye on the room or anything suspicious happening nearby. It was hard to do that while my lips were locked with hers. Her soft lips still sent tingles throughout my entire body.
I needed a cold shower, but that was out of the question.
Instead, I’d gotten the cold shoulder. She’d locked herself in the bathroom for nearly an hour. Ariella would be back any minute from the store. Did Hazel wait for Ariella to return so that she wouldn’t have to be alone with me and face me after what happened?
I approached the bathroom door, my hand perched on the wood. I gave a soft rapped. “You all right in there?” I asked. I wasn’t expecting her to have an issue with Franco or need me for anything that she couldn’t handle on her own in the bathroom. I just was trying for a basic conversation starter, a way to get her to retreat from her hiding place.
“Fine.”
Any woman who ever told me she was ‘fine’ was never all right. I’d learned repeatedly that ‘fine’ was a code word for ‘leave me the fuck alone’ or ‘it’s all your fault.’
I wasn’t sure how this was my fault other than I’d stopped us from going any further. While we were two consenting adults, I also didn’t think it was wise for Ariella to walk in on us hot and sweaty between the sheets. I wasn’t one to kiss and tell, let alone let the new girl at the office pay witness to our cravings.
I held up my hand to knock again, but that seemed counterproductive. If she wanted to come out of the bathroom, she could join me. I let my hand fall to my side and dug out my cell phone, glancing at the messages briefly before putting it on the table. There wasn’t anything timely or important that came through.
I slumped back into the chair, my attention on the door as I waited for Ariella to return. Hazel would undoubtedly come out of the bathroom when Ariella returned. Right?
* * *
Twenty minutes later, Ariella had arrived with several shopping bags of clothes and toiletries for Hazel.
Hazel wouldn’t look at me as the two women sat perched on the bed, going through the contents of the bags.
I sat in the corner of the room, observing the two of them. It was almost as if I didn’t exist. Ariella glanced up at me and gave me a smile before returning her attention back to Hazel.
Well, I wasn’t invisible at least.
“Do you want me to cut your hair and then color it?” Ariella asked.
Hazel looked distraught, her eyes wide and skin ghastly. “I knew I’d have to do this. I’m just not ready yet.”
“I promise I’ll make your hair look good, and no one will recognize you. We can chop off several inches, and with a bombshell blonde, no one will think twice it’s you,” Ariella said.
“I hope so.”
“Come with me.” Ariella brought the shearing scissors into the bathroom.
Hazel stalled for a long moment, her attention on the floor. She wouldn’t so much as look at me. When this was all over and Hazel was safe, the two of us needed to have a long talk.
“Are you coming?” Ariella asked.
Hazel meandered to the bathroom and then abruptly shut the door. I could hear chatter, and then the bathroom fan turned on, probably to drown out any discussion of me.
Had Ariella noticed the shift in mood with Hazel? I tried not to give any impression things had changed over the past hour while she’d been away.
