Seventeen-year-old Hazel never saw having a sick mom in her future. And the last thing she expected was for her new next-door neighbor to give her a checklist that would change everything.
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After Hazel Winter's mom got sick, all emotion vanishe...
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Despite my every instinct telling me to jump straight to the last surprise, we needed a proper dinner, and popcorn wouldn't cut it.
I took River to the diner he first took me to, and we talked endlessly over burgers and fries. Whenever I spoke, his eyes were on my lips, and when he laughed, I admired how he threw his head back, the veins in his neck prominent and exposed just for me.
We didn't bother sticking around after the check was paid, River slinging one arm around my shoulder as he pushed open the door to the diner with the other.
The cold slaps us both in the face, the wind whipping around us as we head for my car.
"How did you pay for this, anyways?" He asks as one brow of his lifts.
I shrug. "My mom and Tracy may have pitched in to help. It wasn't a free handout, though. I helped Tracy organize her pantry while you worked a shift at the theatre, and I gave my mom a spa day. Painted her nails and everything."
He gives me a genuine smile as he opens my car door for me, but an annoying whistle sounds off in my direction, River's body going completely rigid.
"Look who it is!" Loafer-boy calls out to us. I still don't even know his name or care to. All I remember is that look in his eye when he challenged River to kiss me during Spin the Bottle. Like I was a piece of meat he wanted to devour right then and there.
"Just ignore him," I say calmly to River. "He wants a reaction."
Loafer-boy is with his friends, looking as preppy as ever. Of course, he has his usual loafers on his feet, paired with khaki pants, a long-sleeved cashmere sweater, and a puffer vest on top. His black hair is slicked down with too much product, and although he may be attractive to other girls, he's the biggest red flag I've ever encountered.
His friends snicker beside him as they meet us a few feet away, standing on the curb just outside the diner. "Surprised to see you out here on a snow day. Did you come to give that kiss you owe me?"
I roll my eyes. "In your dreams."
"Often," he says with a smirk, and River steps in his direction. I can practically see the black cloud of anger swarming him as if he's holding onto the last tether of self-restraint he has not to tackle him right on the pavement.
"Hazel, get in the car," River says, but I remain where I am, clutching onto the back of his t-shirt to keep him in place. I don't want him to react like last time.
Loafer-boy directs his attention on River. "I didn't realize she was taken." He focuses on me again. "And I didn't peg you as the type to fuck a charity case."
My jaw drops open but quickly closes when I feel River's fists ball up into fists.
Why does this guy want anything to do with me? He knows nothing about me or my life. He's holding onto some fantasy at a party from months ago. Are men truly that territorial?
