2. HAZEL

2

HAZEL

"You guys, that was so embarrassing," Sterling whines.

"Oh, come on, that was the greatest thing ever," I exclaim. "Who cares what people think."

"We live in this town now girls, we have to care what people think. How are we ever going to find husbands if we don't control ourselves?" Sterling replies primly.

"Husband?" Rebecca gasps. "Girl, we're eighteen years old. I'm just looking for a good time!"

I laugh at them because this is what I've been missing. When I enrolled in college here in Magnolia Point, I didn't just leave my hometown, I also left my best friend, Nina, and I miss her every day.

She wasn't ready to leave our hometown, but I needed a chance of scenery. Sure, Magnolia Point appears to be the same type of small town I left, but it's a chance for me to start over. It's a chance for me to meet new people, to set down new roots.

From the time I've spent at the university, this place is a steppingstone for many. It's a college town where people come for an education and then leave, but I don't want that. I'm looking to settle in and find my forever spot. I know I'm young to be making big life decisions, but I want to fall in love with my town and then I want to fall in love with a man from that town. I love where I come from, but I need something different , not necessarily more . I'm still in love with the small-town feel.

Sterling leans across our little bar top table. "Don't turn around now, but there's a table of guys behind you that have been watching us for the last few minutes."

"Are they cute?" I whisper.

Rebecca glances over my shoulder. "Yes, and I think I know one guy. I've seen him around campus. Actually, I think he was working there."

"Oh, so he's a college guy?" I ask.

"I don't know, I don't think he was a student. He seemed a little older to be there."

"Tell me when I can turn around."

Sterling's eyes look over my shoulder again and a smile comes across her face. "Count to seven and then turn around."

I frown in confusion. "Seven? That's such a weird number. Why not five? Or ten?"

"Stop being ridiculous and look!"

I laugh and turn, looking over my shoulder to find the most gorgeous man I've ever seen in my life. Between his shaggy hair, five o'clock shadow and the muscular forearm that he's resting on the table, I can tell he is not a college student. No college guy I've met looks like him.

He's staring directly at me.

Instantly, a hot blush rushes over me, his intense gaze holding me hostage. My heart rate spikes and I bite my bottom lip nervously as I turn from him reluctantly.

I stare at Sterling and Rebecca with wide eyes and they both laugh. Then Sterling says smugly, "I told you. And he's been checking you out."

"I saw that little stare you guys just had, go talk to him," Rebecca urges.

Suddenly feeling completely out of my comfort zone, I ask, "And what do I say?"

"Ask him if his ears are bleeding?—"

"Stop it," I hiss.

"Just go introduce yourself. Tell him that you're new to town. You just said that we shouldn't care what others think about us so just go say hi. From the way he's been looking at you, I bet you he wants to talk to you."

I sigh then waste a good thirty seconds debating before finally getting up from my chair. Straightening my shirt and smoothing out my jeans, I walk over to his table where the two other guys watch as I approach.

"Well hello, beautiful," the guy with the dirty blonde hair greets me, kicking out the chair next to him. "We enjoyed the performance. Why don't you have a seat."

I laugh and lean on the back of the chair. "If you enjoyed it then I need to question your choice of music. Or better yet, your hearing."

The middle guy who had my attention from the start laughs and leans back in his chair, but he doesn't say anything, so his friends jump in again."It wasn't so bad when the crowd joined in. They almost drowned you out."

I look directly at the middle guy, my guy , and ask, "Did you join in?"

He crosses his arms over his chest, his lips curving into a smirk. "If there could be anything worse than listening to you, it would be listening to me. Nobody wants to hear that."

I laugh at his honesty and the smile I get in return blooms butterflies in my stomach. "Well," the man to the left of him says, "I'm gonna go grab us another round. Can I get you something?"

"No, thank you. I'm all set."

"Okay, we'll be right back." The two men walk off, leaving me with the one who's making me second-guess everything in life.

"You don't drink or you can't drink legally?" He raises a brow.

"Legally. I'm sure you heard that I'm new to town so if you're asking how old I am, you already know I'm eighteen so, no, I can't drink. But it's not something I care about. Drinking tends to ruin a good thing, and I wouldn't want to miss out on a good thing if it happens to come my way."

He leans forward playing with the beer bottle in front of him. "If you do it responsibly it's fine."

"How long have you been responsible?" I ask and his lips twitch as he reaches his hand out to me.

"My name is Wes and I have been responsible for twenty-eight years." I laugh at the formality but still take his hand. It's large and wraps around mine, giving me a feeling of being safe and warm.

"I'm Hazel. It's nice to meet you."

"So, how new to town are you? It's September so I'm guessing your classes just started?" He looks past me and around the bar and I feel like I'm being dismissed.

"Yeah, I moved here from Georgia and just got settled into the dorms with my friends over there."

He sips from his beer, his eyes meeting mine briefly before looking away again. "How do you like our town so far?"

"It's been good. Tonight made it a little better."

His focus jumps back to me, and he asks, "What made tonight so special?"

"I like to meet new people and sometimes I get a good feeling about that person." I pause as his eyes glance away, making it obvious he's not too into our conversation. "Does my age bother you? I'm getting the feeling I'm wasting your time."

He shrugs and leans back in his chair again, putting distance between us. "Doesn't bother me too much. Maybe in five years, it'll bother me less."

"Gotcha," I retort as I step back from the table. "It was nice meeting you, Wes with twenty-eight years of responsibility. Maybe I'll see you around in three years or so."

I turn to leave just as his two friends come back to the table holding three beers, so I say politely, "Have a good night, guys," then I walk away from them and sit back down at the table with the girls.

"So, what happened?" Rebecca asks. "Why are you back here so quickly?"

"Tell me what's happening behind me right now," I whisper. "But do it casually ."

I add the last bit because I know Sterling likes to make a scene wherever she goes. She looks past me, watching for a moment or two before saying, "Well, his two friends came back and are leaning in close to him. They look like they're questioning him, but he's sitting back in his chair, ignoring them and staring at the back of your head."

"Just like I thought. I could tell he was interested, but he's older and I don't think he liked that I was a," I pause, making finger quotes as I say, "‘teenager.'"

"How much older?"

"He said he was twenty-eight."

"Then why is he hanging out in a college bar?" Rebecca asks testily.

"Not a clue but it's fine. Come on, let's get out of here."

They both agree with me and we stand from our table, saying goodbye to a couple of friends that we know. As we head for the door we walk right past the table, but I don't say a word.

It isn't until we're out in the parking lot that one of the friends comes running out, laughing. "Hey, I didn't introduce myself, but my name is Maverick and please don't judge us by our friend."

"Wow, you're moving right in, huh?"

He smirks and puts his hands in his pockets. "I like to have a good time as much as the next guy, but I saw Wes watching you. I don't know what he said that made you leave so quickly but please know he's not a bad guy."

I frown because I'm not understanding why he's making a thing out of it. After a moment I shake my head and laugh. "It's fine. I don't think he's a bad guy. We talked for a couple minutes and that was it. I don't think he likes teenagers and that's fine too. He's in a different stage of life than me and there's nothing wrong with that. I don't hold his age against him."

Maverick eyes me for a moment. "Yeah, different stages of life. I get it. Have a good night, Hazel. It was nice meeting you."

I watch as Maverick walks back into the bar before I jump in the car to leave, left wondering about this strange encounter.