She stretched her legs along the backseat of his car. He laid his head on her chest. Their fingers tangled with one another. They could hear people chattering not far from where they parked by the beach. But they could hardly care, the world belongs to them as far as their concern.
Hazel remembered how she used to imagine what it feels like to be his girlfriend. She couldn’t help comparing what she had with Lee. They were friends first before they were boyfriend and girlfriend. The shift was different. She had to admit that her friendship with Lee was better than their romantic relationship, it was the biggest part she missed the most.
With Theo … it never was a friendship, it was a longing, she had always wanted to be his girlfriend and she settled for friendship because it was all she could have with him. So the shift was electrifying.
She ran her fingers through his hair, touched his face, and she could feel the little spikes of what will be his facial hair. She imagined him with beard, and smiled. His face had always been smooth, but then again, she never had the chance to touch him that way.
“I told my mom about us,” she said.
He covered his face with his hands, “Oh … God … how did she take it? Did you tell her not to tell Max?”
“I told her we want to tell Max ourselves.”
“No … I will tell him myself … it has to come from me,” he let out an exhale, “He’ll punch me … but at least he’ll hear it from me.”
Hazel giggled, “Do you really think he’s going to punch you?”
“Oh yeah …” he rubbed his face in distress, “He’s going to beat the hell out of me.”
“Are you starting to regret it?”
He turned to look at her, “What? Us?”
She nodded.
“No … absolutely not …” he kissed her, “It’s the best thing that ever happened to me,” he kissed her again.
“Do you say that to all your girlfriends?” she smiled flirtatiously.
“Are you my girlfriend?” he asked.
She furrowed her brows, “Am I?”
“It’s weird calling you that … you’re Micky … my Micky,” his green eyes rested on her face as she blushed under his gaze. “I mean … we practically grew up together, you were always there … I want to say like a sister but that would be even weirder …”
They laughed.
“No … not like a sister … I mean … you’re the girl that’s always there … and I feel like it’s meant to be, we’ve always cared for each other more than just friends or people we meet along the way … at least that’s how I feel,” he glanced and waited for her response.
She nodded, “I feel the same … well …” she clicked her tongue, “Of course, I always had a huge crush on you since I was nine … but who’s counting?” she covered her face with both hands. “I can’t believe I just told you that … you’re not going to use that against me, are you?” she laughed.
“I had a huge crush on you too … don’t you remember Goldstone? Harry Styles? God … that was awful,” he reminisced.
“Speaking about Goldstone … my mom had made arrangements with Marlon’s dad, we will be leaving for Goldstone next Friday,” she tiptoed around the issue because she knew how Theo felt about Marlon.
“Friday? Can’t it wait until Monday? I have practice next weekend, I can’t skip it … and then we can go on Monday together.”
She wiped his cheek, “No … I promised Marlon I will go with him on Friday … he has some stuff he wanted to show me, he wants to show me around his hometown I guess … you can come on Monday or as soon as you’re done with practice.”
Theo grabbed her hand and pulled her close to him, “Do I have to worry about him? Aren’t you a bit too close together? I don’t like how he always want you for himself.”
“Marlon? No … I’m not his type … he likes … models … you know? Like …” she gestured large boobs and large behind with her hands.
Theo grimaced, “And that’s suppose to make me feel better? You’re not his type? Is HE your type?” he raised his brows, “After all … he’s Justin Bieber lookalike … oh no … worse … Josh Reynolds lookalike, he drives a Tesla and a Lambo, and what other car does he drive?” he gave Hazel a look.
She laughed, “You don’t think I’m interested in his car, do you? Are you jealous?” she pressed his face with her hands, “That’s so adorable … Lee used to do the same thing … and I can’t emphasize enough … Marlon and I are just friends, we grew close because we clicked as friends … you know? Like you and Max … he’s my person and I’m his person.”
His expression fell flat, he wasn’t happy with her answer, it actually made him feel worse. “But you’re not Max … you’re Max’s little sister, look what happened to us …”
She laughed it off and kissed him, “Come on, Theo … let’s not make a big deal out of it … he’s my friend, you have to try and get to know him, so we can all get along, then you’ll know there’s nothing to be jealous about.”
At that point she knew she had to restrain herself from telling him about her mom’s guardianship over Marlon.
He wasn’t convinced, but he knew it wasn’t his place to object to their friendship. Not yet anyway. He stared into her eyes in silence. He felt the burn in his stomach but he could see how she cherish her friendship with that guy.
He kissed her, tugged her lip with his teeth, slipped his hands under her shirt, unhook her bra and pulled her closer. She sighed.