Perfect for Me by Claudia Burgoa

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Elliot

“I don’t buy idea of second chance. With hope we make a lot of chances.” ― Toba Beta

Elliot: Do you want me to pick you up?

Hazel: Sorry!

I check my watch, and it’s almost nine. Hazel is late.

We agreed to meet at the pub down the street from where she works at eight. She had a few projects to finish and some reports to write for the weekly meeting with her grandfather. It’s a quarter to nine. This week has been long during the mornings and too short during the evenings when I meet with her for dinner or drinks. I’m not sure how she’s going to react when I tell her that we can’t go to La Jolla this weekend.

Mom is going out of town, and my sister needs help babysitting. Our weekend alone will have to wait.

“Want another one?” The bartender wipes the counter and takes my glass.

“Not yet, thank you.”

“I’m so sorry, Eli!”

I straighten my posture at the sound of her silky voice and turn around. Fuck, she’s a vision. Kyle is right. She looks better wearing formal clothing and those fucking heels. I swear every time I see her wearing them, I want to feast on her. Yesterday, I went to drop off my reports, and I salivated when I saw her wearing a tight skirt and a see-through blouse. She had a jacket on, but who the fuck cares when I could see her lacy bra. I wanted to bend her over her desk and…I left her office before I did or said anything stupid.

“You made it.” I receive her with open arms.

Tonight, I hope we go to her apartment and fool around. She’s wearing a short dress, molded to her curves, and a pair of high heels. A naughty student-teacher scenario pops into my head. I need a ruler to spank her ass for being a bad, bad girl. I can’t wait until Saturday. I slam my head. Fuck, we can’t go.

“Hi, Elliot.” She hugs me back, giving me a peck close to my lips.

“I was starting to think you weren’t coming.”

“It’s been chaotic at the office. Next week, I have to travel back to New York.”

“Why?” My jaw clenches as I wait for her to tell me that fucking Scott Everhart is back in her life.

We are doing so well without him around. We just need our weekend together so she can remember how great we can be. Everything will come full circle. She’ll forgive me, and I’ll start making it up to her. I swear that for the next sixty years, I’ll be the best man she deserves. Everything she’s always needed.

“We have a lot of deals to close. There are a couple of board meetings I can’t miss…forget work.” She slumps her shoulders.

She takes a couple of steps closer to the bar and calls the bartender. “Can I have a glass of Mount Veeder?”

“The lady knows her wine,” I state.

Hazel laughs, shaking her head. “Not one bit. I know what to ask for in certain places.” She points at the wine bottles. “I was taught to look for certain brands.”

“Why wine?”

“I’d rather have tequila or whiskey, but I have to work tomorrow.” She shrugs a shoulder. “A few more days, and we’re going to La Jolla. On Saturday, I won’t care about anything.”

I lean in closer until our noses are almost touching. I hold her chin with my index finger, leaning forward to kiss her. The slight touch turns me on, igniting my skin and spreading through every inch of my body. I’ve been dying to kiss her since I first saw her in her office. I’m desperate to taste her again, to touch her. I run my thumb along her lips, and my eyes hold her gaze.

“Eli.” She gasps my name as I hug her by the waist and pull her to me.

I press my mouth to hers, kissing her softly, tenderly, until I slide my tongue between her lips. She opens for me, and the way her body melts into mine, and her tongue meets mine heats my body. I can’t keep this rhythm. So, I kiss her harder. Faster. Deeper. I tug her bottom lip the same way I’d like to nibble on her clit.

Kissing her has never been this way, and I can’t wait to have her under me. Melting as I thrust myself into her and remind her how amazing we are together.

Hazel moans. I grow hard with the musical sound coming from her throat. I want so much more, but she breaks the kiss.

“Wine, chat, and we take this slow,” she declares with a wide smile. Her eyes have an intense brightness to them. “It’s just, we’re in a bar.”

I lift my hands. “Sorry,” I say, taking a step backward.

“It’s been so long.”

She frowns. “Long?” She flashes me a gorgeous smile. “That, I don’t believe you. When was the last time you had sex?”

“Ah, sex,” I say, pulling out my wallet and handing my card to the bartender.

“Bring me another beer and keep my tab open.”

“You closed it?”

“I wasn’t sure what you wanted to do,” I say, handing her the glass of wine. “So, I paid for my beer.”

“I take it you’ve had sex recently.”

“Yeah,” I answer casually. “But not since you came back.”

“Now you practice abstinence.” She rolls her eyes.

“How many times do I have to say—”

“I believe you, you didn’t have sex. When did you start having sex after we broke up?” Her eyes zero on mine while she waits for my response.

“Honestly, I can’t remember. It’s been long, Hazel. Too long.”

I shouldn’t lie, but we’re doing so great that I don’t want to risk what we’re building. If I tell her that the weekend after she dumped me I was sleeping around, she might not forgive me. I can’t go another ten years without her.

We grab two stools once the bartender brings my drink.

Hazel stares right at me. “Okay, let’s forget about that subject.”

She runs her hand up her hair, taking off the pins holding it. As her hair cascades down her shoulder, she runs her hand through her silky strands.

“What happened to your locks?”

She brings the drink to her lips and takes a long sip. “It’s the hairdo. I’m sure they’ll come back now that they’re free to party,” she jokes.

“Tell me, how was your day, McFee?” she asks, running a thumb along my jawline.

This is what I love the most about having her back in my life. That I have someone to share my day with and laugh at nothing for a couple of hours. There’s nothing better in this world than Hazel. She’s the only person who makes my life worth it.

I brush a kiss to her lips. “It was great, but it got better once I heard your voice.”

She squints. “What’s going on?”

“Dahlia. I have to babysit her children this Saturday.”

“Well then…” She opens her mouth and closes it. “Right, La Jolla won’t happen. We can go another day.”

“But we can do something Saturday night,” I offer, hugging her by the waist. “And hang out for the rest of the week.”