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“Maybe even love?”

“Let’s not push buttons.”

Eli chuckled as she pulled onto the field in front of her. She shone the lights of the truck out into the dark. Black blobs moved slowly or stood still in front of them. It was almost easier to see by the moonlight than the headlights. Azalea was about to say as much when Eli turned the lights off.

“So…if you like her, and she likes you…”

“I don’t know.” It was as truthful as she could get. Everything about the situation scared her. They were best friends, and Azalea did not want to lose that vital connection, that vital relationship. She needed Jewel to always be there. She relied on her so much that it would be next to impossible to think about living without her. “She’s younger than you.”

“Only by a couple years, though, right?”

“Two.” Azalea pressed her lips together hard as she reached for the travel mug of coffee. “But that’s a good gap.”

“There’s a gap between me and Sarah, too, you know. It’s not always a bad thing. Sometimes it’s damn nice.”

“I’m not sure I want to know what you mean.”

“Sure you do.” Eli took a swig from her thermos. “She’s quite experienced, which makes sex amazing. She already knows a whole lot.”

“I really did not need to know that.”

Laughing, Eli set the thermos back in its place on the dash. “Yes, you do. Not because of it being me having sex, but because you need to realize what you have to offer her.”

“I don’t have much to give.”

“You have everything.” Eli grinned. “Trust me on that one. I wish Sarah weren’t in the middle of a tour right now because I would call her and make her talk to you.”

“I think Jewel would appreciate that more than I would. The two of them could likely talk for hours over music.”

“Probably, but I think Sarah would have some other things to say to you, instead.”

Azalea didn’t answer, because she wasn’t sure how to. Talking to Eli’s girlfriend about her own dating woes? Not anywhere on the list of conversations that she thought would be good, comfortable, and not awkward. She didn’t even know the woman.

“I really should talk to Jewel about this.”

“You know what? You should.” Eli laughed. “So what the hell are you doing out in the fields at five in the morning?”

Azalea slid her gaze from the front windshield to Eli. “Point taken.”

“I’m not quite done yet. You both keep avoiding each other, and you just need to give up and give in already. Seriously. It’s driving me crazy.”

This amount of blatancy from Eli was abnormal. It was pushing Azalea to the limit of her patience, which she was already quite thin on that week anyway. Her mind buzzed from every random and fleeting emotion that threatened to topple her over.

“Give in to what?”

“Talking to her, Azalea. You can’t have a conversation with someone without talking back to them. You can listen to her all you want, and I’m sure she appreciates it, but you need to do some talking, too.”

“When did you get so—”

“Wise?”

“Not what I was going to say.” Azalea pouted, crossing her arms. “I was going to say nosy. You’re turning into your mother.”

Eli barked out a laugh. “I am not. And you know I don’t do this often, but I’ve got a particular fondness for you, and I don’t want you to screw this up.”

“Screw what up?”

“Probably the best woman who has ever walked into your life.”