Spending that afternoon at Lee’s house made them closer. They played video games in his room, watched video clips of their favorite artists, they seem to have endless things to talk about whenever they’re together. It felt like she had found a new best friend.
She even got to know his brother and sister because they came into his room and stayed there for a while. He was really good with them too. She didn’t even feel like going home even though she had to be home before dark.
“I can walk home, it’s really close.”
“No … you shouldn’t, I’ll take you, come on … my dad just bought me a scooter, I can finally use it,” he said and then he took her to his garage.
It was a two-person scooter. His dad bought him the scooter to take his brother out on a stroll around the neighborhood but Michel preferred to ride on his toy Mercedes and Lee followed him with his skateboard.
He took on the helmet and put it on Hazel’s head. “Have you ever ride on a scooter before?”
“Not since I was 8,” she said.
“This one’s similar to that, it’s just for adult and it’s electric … so it’s faster, just hold on tight if it’s a bit wobbly,” he stood in the front and Hazel got on the back.
It was kind of wobbly, maybe because the standing space was narrow. She had to put one foot in front of the other and when it turns, it felt like she would fall to the side. So she wrapped one arm around his waist.
Even riding on a scooter with him felt like so much fun. He smelled sweet too after a shower he took before they left. Then she felt his abs that she had stalked on his social media, she smiled. The only guy she ever held that close was her brother.
She didn’t want the scooter ride to end either, but her house was surprisingly close.
“Maybe we can take another go around the block? This scooter ride is really fun,” she laughed. Or maybe being that close to him was even more fun.
He smiled, “Okay.”
“Can you go faster this time?” she put both arms around him this time.
“I can try,” he turned the clutch all the way down, the scooter went just a tad faster, they laughed.
They pass Hazel’s house and saw TJ’s car was parked in front of it. She didn’t care, the day wasn’t dark yet and she’d never rode on an adult scooter before.
“Is he always at your house?” Lee asked.
She laughed it off, “He’s my brother’s best friend since they were kindergarten, he practically lives with us.”
“That’s nice … so if we’re best friends, I can live there too?”
That made her laugh, again, it was a nice thought, “Why not?”
He made a sharp turn. She squealed and held him even tighter, pressed her face against his back. If they were on his skateboard, he would’ve made a jump.
But all good things must end, he finally dropped her off at her house.
“We’ll ride again next time … are you going to be at the tournament tomorrow?”
Hazel nodded, “Yeah … every day ’til spring break … are you?”
He looked at her intently with a faint smile, “If you’re there, I’ll be there too.”
She pressed her lips together, “Okay … I’ll see you tomorrow then.”
They waved. He left. She felt a little empty, but happy. She had a really nice time that day. She walked into her house with a wide smile on her face.
She was welcomed with a scene resembling a family meeting at the dining room. Her mom and dad sitting across from Max and Theo.
“Hey … what’s going on?” she greeted them.
“Hi, sweetheart … nothing, we were just talking, we have some great news today,” her mom said.
“Really? What is it?” she put down her backpack on the sofa and walked over to the dining table.
Theo was sitting at the end of the table chewing on a toothpick, “Hey, Mickey … where did you off to? We won the game today.”
“Yeah … I know, I was there, congratulations, you played well today … I was with Lee, I just got back from his house.”
“Well that’s the first news, and also … Max just received a letter today … from Glendale University,” her dad added. Max had applied to several Universities and Glendale in Gastonbury was his first choice. “And we just got accepted.”
She screamed and jumped over to Max to give him a hug. “Oh my God … congratulations … that’s awesome! I know how much you wanted to go there! We should celebrate!” They were jumping up and down.
“Thanks, Hazel,” Max kissed his sister on her temple and hugged her some more.
“Does that mean I can have your room?”
“No … you can keep your own room, I don’t want you to turn my room pink,” he protested.
“And Theo just got accepted at UOG,” her mom said.
She gasped, UOG was Theo’s first choice which was also located in Gastonbury, “Oh my God … so you’ll be living close to each other? That is so awesome … congratulations … I can’t believe I missed this today.”
Theo stood and opened his arms, “Do I get a hug too?”
Of course, he did, he was family too, right? She came over and hugged him too. It felt good to hug him, his wide chest, stern arms, and muscular abs, to top it all off, he was Theo.
“Sooo … your dad and I are going to Gastonbury with Max in the first week of summer to take care of some stuff there, he still needs to do another interview for the scholarship program he’s applying to.”
She wasn’t sure where that leaves her, “Do I come too?”
“That’s what we want to ask you … you’re 16, you’re old enough to be left alone at home, we know you’re responsible enough not to do anything illegal,” her mom laughed, “And Theo is 5 minutes away, you can ask Jan to stay here while we’re gone.”
The thought of having the whole house to herself was kind of exciting, “How long will you be gone?”
“At least a week, because we need to look for some lodging there too if worse comes to worst your brother’s gonna have to settle for the dorm … you know how expensive lodging is in Gastonbury.”
“Okay … I guess I can stay by myself … no problem … can I ask Lee to come by?”
Her mom raised her brow, everyone was staring at her. “Are you dating him now?”
She shrugged, “No, we’re just friends … we’re just hanging out.”
“Well … Theo here can keep an eye on you ‘hanging-out’ I don’t think having a boy staying over without us here is a good idea,” her mom pointed at Theo who now has a smirk on his face.
“Oh my God … I don’t need a chaperone … it’s not like we’re going to do anything, he won’t be staying, just hanging out,” she can’t imagine having Theo babysit her while her parents were gone.
“Okay, alright, as long as he’s not staying is fine … but at least invite him for dinner here first, let us get to know him … we really want to know this new friend of yours you seem to be hanging out with a lot lately.”
“Yeah … sure, I’ll let him know … when?”
“How about next weekend after the tournament? We’ll have a family barbeque in the backyard … before you guys leave for Goldstone … invite Jan too, Mia and Peyton, and everyone,” her mom said.
“Cool,” she tilted her shoulder and went up to her room.