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.
*****
After Hazel Winter's mom got sick, all emotion vanishe...
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The following morning River and I are tangled together in the sheets. With his head on my chest, his long body is sprawled out on the bed, his ankles dangling over the edge. I run my hands through his curls over and over again, letting out a sigh at the bruises on his face.
Despite how incredible our night ended, the moments before were a complete nightmare. I'm unsure where we go from here or how River wants to handle the situation. Did Loafer-boy end up pressing charges? Are the police looking for River right now?
Oh god, what if they showed up at his house? What if Tracy and Steve are worried sick about him?
"Even when you're overthinking..." River rasps, groggy from just waking up. "You're still beautiful as hell."
I glance down to see him blinking tiredly up at me, a small grin tugging at the corner of his mouth. My conscious is telling me to make a plan for today, but the selfish sliver I carry with me is saying to enjoy this bed with him for a few more minutes. "Good morning," I say. "Sleep well?"
"I slept very well, thanks to you. I'm still in shock your mom let you spend the night with me if we're being honest."
Running my fingertips down his back, he closes his eyes from the feeling. "Me too," I reply, "but my mom and Tracy have gotten close since we introduced them, so I have a feeling she may have had some sway in her decision. Plus, she was devastated when we had that falling out and practically begged me to speak to you again, so sending me off for a night away with you was better than not being together at all."
"That was a shitty two weeks," he mutters.
I nod, watching as he moves away from me to stretch out in the bed, the sheets revealing the lower half of his naked body. He catches me staring, a lazy, knowing smile sprawling onto his face. "Where are you going?" he asks as I stand up from the bed. I grab the comforter from the floor to wrap it around me, hearing him chuckle. "You realize I have seen every inch of your body after last night, right? In fact, I think I licked--"
"Shut up," I emphasize. "I'm going to my car to grab your cake and gift. Plus, our bags with all of our stuff are in there. We need to get ready to leave. I think we have to check out by noon."
I scan the room to find my clothes, finding them scattered everywhere. My underwear is on the bathroom floor, and my jeans are wrapped around one of the poles of the king-sized bed.
"Right there," he says with a devilish smile, pointing to the bathroom door handle, where my bra hangs off. "Remember? when I took it off one-handed and knelt right on my knees for you?"
I roll my eyes. "Has anyone ever told you you're an incorrigible flirt, River Beckett?"
He moves onto his side, resting his head on his bicep. "Incorrigible," he repeats. "Mmm. I love it when you talk writer to me."
Finding the rest of my scattered clothes on the floor, I try to hide my smile as I change quickly and dart outside to grab our things before he tackles me right then and there. When I return, I place the small gift bag and cookie cake before him and toss our bags onto the floor.
