to a group of guys from the team. I recognized the boys’ team captain, Justin, and I was friendly with some of his friends. I watched Hazel talking to them, and I’d admit it…
I pried.
Well, at the very least, I watched, and I tried to figure out who the strong, determined, crazy fierce girl of my dreams had the hots for.
The thing about being a photographer? It was easy to watch people. It was easy to study them through the lens. Since I’d become known for taking pictures—for the paper, the yearbook, and just for kicks—no one blinked when I started snapping candid shots of this crowd.
If they noticed that my photos were mainly of Hazel, they didn’t say anything.
Hazel didn’t even seem to notice at first because she was involved in some conversation with her teammates about their next meet. She looked beautiful when she was earnest, but if I wanted to help her with her little project, I needed smiles.
I needed laughs.
And whatever these guys were talking to her about, it wasn’t stand-up comedy, that was clear.
“Come on,” I said when the guys started to turn their attention to some girls who’d walked in. Unlike Hazel in her thick sweater, jeans and trainers, these girls were dressed to kill, and they were flashing flirty looks in our direction.
Hazel clearly noticed that the attention was shifting, and she stood there nibbling on her lower lip, looking absurdly sweet and vulnerable until I tugged her to the side.
“What are you doing? I thought I was supposed to be…” She waved a hand, and her expression spoke of panicky desperation. “I don’t know, flirting?”
I stared at her. Then I stared some more. “Wait…” I said slowly, my gaze going from her to that group of guys. “That was flirting?”
She blinked a few times, and for one horrifying second, I thought she was going to cry.
But this was Hazel. Of course she didn’t cry. She huffed in exasperation and crossed her arms over her chest.
That was my answer, I supposed.
I had so many questions about her definition of the word ‘flirting,’ but before I could pose one, another realization hit me upside the head. “So he’s one of them.”
It came out before I could stop myself, and it came out...harsh.
I cleared my throat as Hazel arched her brows in surprise.
I looked away. “I mean…” I pointed to the guys in question. Justin, Bobby, and a few others. “I’m assuming if you want to go back to...I’m sorry, what did you call it? Flirting?”
She scowled.
“If you think you’re supposed to be over there flirting, then you clearly like one of them.”
She stared at me blankly for so long I started to fidget. I was pretty sure she could see right through me. She had to know I wasn’t doing this for fun but to get close to her...
Then she huffed again and looked away. “Way to go, Columbo.”
She’d muttered it under her breath, but I laughed out loud. “Columbo, huh? How old are you, eighty?”
Her lips twitched a bit but no smile.
“What?” she said. “It’s a good show.”
I laughed harder. “You and my grandmother might be the only people who still watch it.”
The tiniest hint of a smile surfaced. “Sounds as though I’d like your grandmother.”
“You would,” I said. “She’s the best.” I lifted my camera and clicked before that little smile could disappear on me again. “I know she’d like you.”
There it was. Wariness.
“What?” I said.
She shrugged.
“What?” I said again, louder this time. I was learning a thing or two from Emma. With Hazel, you had to be persistent, but she was worth the effort.
“What do you mean ‘what’?” she asked.
“I mean…” I shifted closer until she was forced to look up at me. “Why do you always look so suspicious? Did I do something to you that I don’t remember? Pull a prank, maybe? Kill your cat?”
Her lips did that twitchy thing again, and I tightened my grip on my camera.
“I just…” She exhaled loudly. “I just never know if you’re laughing at me.”
I’d been ready to laugh, but the laugh died, and my smile faltered at that. “I’m not.”
She tilted her head to the side. She didn’t believe me.
“I would never laugh at you, Hazel,” I said in all seriousness. “Maybe laugh with you—”
“I’m not laughing,” she said. “I’m never laughing, and you’re always laughing.”
I flinched in the face of her honesty and that rare glimpse of vulnerability.
This was why she was the strongest girl I knew. I mean, sure,