Page 72 of The Cinnamon Bun Book Store

‘I’m serious. You should talk to him. I think this is a really great idea, Noah. You did beautiful work here and if you kept going with it, I think it could be really amazing for the town and for you... and...’

She faded off when he cupped her face in his hands. He needed to kiss her, he needed to stop all these beautiful and wonderful words spilling from her mouth because he couldn’t take them all in. He needed to slow them down. He wanted to explore them one by one, slowly. He wanted to put them on his windowsill like secret treasures.

Hazel Kelly thought he’d made something beautiful.

For the first time in a long time, he didn’t feel like a screw-up. And for a minute, he felt like he could be worthy of a girl like Hazel.

He wanted to stay in that minute forever. So he kissed her, long and slow and sweet. Sweet until it wasn’t anymore, until it was aching and desperate, and Hazel was making little moans and whimpers against his lips and her fingers were clutching tightly to his shoulders.

He wanted to back her up toward the bed, he wanted to lay her down in all those pillows and kiss her everywhere. He wanted to taste her. He wanted to feel her legs wrapped around his hips as he dove into her.

She pulled away suddenly. ‘Wait.’

Noah stopped, hands still tangled in her curls, his mind still five steps ahead of what they were doing. ‘What’s the matter?’

‘You can’t keep doing that.’

‘Doing what?’

‘Distracting me like that. Whenever we’re actually talking about something real.’

‘This is real, too.’ He lowered his head to kiss her again but she extracted herself from his touch.

‘This is you running away.’

Her words stung. ‘You think you really have me pegged, huh, Hazel?’

‘I just want to have a conversation without you using your...’

‘My what?’

‘Your body to distract me.’

He knew his smile was cruel, he knew he was only lashing out because he’d been so happy a minute ago and now here he was feeling like he had nothing to offer all over again, but he couldn’t seem to stop himself.

‘Isn’t that why you’re here? I’m showing you a good time before you turn thirty. That’s what you wanted from me.’

Her face fell and he didn’t know how this night had gone so horribly wrong.

‘Then maybe we should stop.’ Hazel’s words were loud and final in the small space. Panic surged through him. Panic at losing her. Panic at this thing ending before he’d had the chance to convince her to stay.

He needed to back up, to rewind, to fix it before she walked out.

‘I don’t want to stop.’ Not exactly a riveting argument, but at least Hazel paused in her path to the door.

She turned back to face him. ‘I’m sorry.’

Noah blinked. Why was she apologizing when he was the one clearly being an asshole?

‘I’m sorry if I made you feel that way, that I was only using you for ... for physical stuff. That’s not my intention. It’s just . . . I thought that’s what you preferred . . . and I didn’t want to make you uncomfortable, but obviously I screwed that up.’

She gave him a weak smile. ‘So let’s just end this as friends, okay? Before we make things worse.’

Friends?Suddenly, the worst word in the English language.

‘Hazel, no listen. I’m sorry. I’m acting like a dick. This summer has been amazing. Spending time with you is amazing.’

She let out a little disbelieving laugh. ‘You don’t have to lie to me, Noah.’