Back to Square One

“What’s with that nasty smile on your face?” Tristan asked me when I walked into the kitchen.

“Yeah, Hazelyn just totally walked in here a few minutes ago with a nasty frown on hers,” my sister added.

“Nothing,” I chuckled.

“What did you do?” my sister groaned.

I pouted at her and gave her an innocent look. “Nothing, what are you talking about?”

“What did you do?” Tristan laughed.

I shook my head and told them what had just happened a few minutes ago at the mainland.

“Whoa,” Stephanie began laughing. “Go up there and start explaining or something and be sickeningly sweet again,” she rolled her eyes and pushed me towards the stairs. “Oh and mom’s noticing something’s missing. You’re practically fucking each other with your eyes, but you’re not kissing,” she smirked.

“Shut up. You’re a bitch,” I laughed, the memory of the kiss came into my mind. I climbed the stairs with a grin on my face.

“Oh, and bro?” Tristan called out, popping his head out of the kitchen door.

“What’s up?”

“Good to see that smile again,” he laughed before he and Stephanie disappeared back into the kitchen.

I walked into our room and saw that she was dressed back into her shorts and a tank top. She was seated on the couch on the window, looking out at the stunning view. She was twirling something in her hand, but I couldn’t quite see it.

“Haze?”

She jumped from her seat, shoving whatever she was holding into her back pocket and faced me with a glare. “What the hell are you doing here?” she asked. “Aren’t you supposed to be out fucking that whore?”

I shrugged. “No, because I apparently have a girlfriend,” I smirked at her.

She glared at me and mumbled something incoherent, before trying to stomp off past me. Trying. I blocked her, and pulled her in a hug, which she tried hard to get out of. Again, she TRIED. “You should stop wasting your energy because I’m not letting go,” I informed her as I just held on to her until she finally stopped squirming and gave off a sigh.

“Are you done trying to get away?” I asked her. She meekly nodded and sat back down on the couch. “Now, let’s try this again. Why were you mad?” I asked as I sat next to her.

“I wasn’t,” she shrugged, squinting at the rays of the sun that was hitting her face through the window. I raised an eyebrow at her as she gazed at me. She just shrugged and rolled her eyes. “Please, don’t let this change your lifestyle. If you wanna fuck her, go right ahead.”

“You do know we have rules, right? And I’m not about to break the rules.”

She nodded thoughtfully as she shrugged. “Well, suit yourself,” she said as she stood back up, and walked out of the door.



We had dinner at the rooftop with everyone. Hazelyn and I were seated on the loveseat, Leslie sat on the comfortable couch adjacent to us while Tristan and Stephanie cooked our food on the grill.

Hazelyn and I were practically intertwined with each other as our legs were tangled together and so were our arms. It was way more comfortable than how I described it.

“You’re adorable,” Leslie pointed out as she sipped on her wine. “I don’t know why you two even split up, I mean, I could’ve had a grandchild already,” she pouted. “Laura would’ve loved that as well but we would fight over the kid.”

Hazelyn buried her face on my chest while she whined. “Mom, please. No kid talk. I don’t want kids,” she mumbled.

Leslie looked horrified, and so did I.

“What?! You don’t want children?!” she practically yelled.

“Mom,” she whined again.

“Why not?” her mother asked, as she put her glass down.

“I don’t know. Can we get off the subject?” she mumbled as she buried her face on my neck, slightly kissing it - making me shiver.

“Whatever. Your move. Just don’t get pregnant if you’re not married yet, please?” she told us.

“Deal,” Hazelyn mumbled.

Leslie and Hazelyn had small talk about the company while I just dozed off and my gaze fell upon my sister and her husband. She began to make a duck face at me, telling me to kiss Hazelyn. I shook my head no, but she pointed at Leslie. I knew what she was telling me.

Leslie stood up and walked over to the other couple. Hazelyn and I were again left alone. I looked down at her with a soft smile, as she gave me one back. “You’re pulling this off pretty well,” I whispered to her.

“So are you,” she said closing her eyes and leaning back a bit. Once she opened them again, her eyes didn’t land on my own pools, but lower. It was as if something came over me and I started to lean my lips, closer to hers and before I knew it, fireworks blasted.

It was even better than that spontaneous one at my door. It was slow and sweet, not spontaneous and mysterious.

Every move was synchronized. Every move meant something. Every little thing I noticed. It was like stepping into a dream, as if everything just felt surreal. Out of all the girls I’ve kissed, nothing has compared to her lips. The passion, the emotions. Everything seemed to set me on fire. With just one kiss, all the memories just came crashing back.

The first day we met, the first fight we had, the first kiss we shared, everything.

It was amazing. This was definitely better than the first one. It was as if she was telling me something.

“Whoa,” she gasped as she pulled away.

“Whoa,” I repeated, ready for her to untangle herself from my grasp and walk away, but she didn’t. Instead of a glare, I received a smirk.

“You’re still a pretty damn good kisser, Dolciani,” she told me.

“I wish I could say the same DeLuca,” I smirked back. “Seems like you haven’t polished your skills in awhile.” She smacked me playfully and pulled away slightly, but I just held her closer.

“Don’t feed your ego too much. I was just trying to make you feel better at your horrible kissing skills babe,” she teased, but instantly stopped herself when she realized the word she had used. “I mean, uhhh,” she stuttered. “I’m gonna go check on the food,” she hurriedly said before trying to get untangled from me.

I laughed as I held onto her. “Relax. Just relax,” I smiled at her and hugged her closer.

We ate dinner around the fire, since it was a bit of a chilly night. We laughed about the past and were just reminiscing. A few times Hazelyn brought up memories that included making fun of me, but I didn’t mind. It was good to know that she remembered that about me. Even if it was those memories.

After dinner, we all decided to go downstairs and watch a movie. Stephanie was cuddled up with Tristan and Hazelyn was cuddled up with me once again. She was even more touchy-feely now. She was twisting my hair with her fingers, she was tracing shapes on my chest, and she frequently ran her fingers through my hair.

We decided to watch some romance flick that I didn’t even catch the title of. I was too busy paying attention to the woman that I had in my arms. Before I knew it, the movie was over.

“Wouldn’t it be perfect if my life was like a movie? Perfect guy, perfect life,” Hazelyn sighed.

“You do have a perfect life, you just don’t have a perfect guy,” I told her. “Plus, why would you even want to live like a movie when it only lasts two hours?” I asked her.

There was a moment of silence, everyone just staring at us.

“Deep bro,” Tristan laughed, making everyone else follow suit awkwardly.

“I’m going to bed,” Leslie smiled at us. “I haven’t spent time with all four of you at once. Maybe tomorrow, Nate and Sandra will join us,” she chuckled. “Goodnight.”

We all chorused our goodnights and went our separate ways. Hazelyn and I walked into our room and both crashed on the bed. I expected her to be on the edge of the bed, but she pulled me to the middle and cuddled into my chest.

“Hazelyn, your mother isn’t gonna walk in here anytime soon. You don’t have to keep up the charade,” I told her.

She just shrugged, and latched onto my waist. “Just go to sleep,” was what she simply told me.