Hazel winced. "Oh God, this is a tough one, because then you aren’t in the crossfire."
She didn't get it. She couldn't get that he was only happy that I was Interpol when it suited him, but when it didn't suit him, he didn't want it. Which was hypocritical to say the least. But God, did she have a point? Hazel continued. "All I'm saying is that when you love someone, you want to keep them safe. Don't you want to keep him safe? If someone was shooting at him on a daily basis, wouldn't you want it to stop?"
I frowned. "Well, of course, but I don’t get shot at on a daily basis."
"But sometimes you do, and you can’t fault him for seeing that there’s a safer way for you to do your job and wanting you to take it. That’s just love, but you guys have to agree on some kind of middle ground."
Emma just stared at her. "So you're suggesting she needs to pretend she's not who she is, you know, to make things harmonious?"
She shook her head. "No, I'm not saying that. I'm just saying they need to figure it out. But he should realize that wanting to take care of her isn't going to help."
God, why was she here? She was so annoying. But she also had somewhat of a point. One, I was horny. Two, I was horny. Three, it was hard to keep fighting with someone who was constantly trying to take care of me. And it wasn't that I was ungrateful. It was that I wanted him to recognize that I was strong on my own and that I didn’t need him but I wanted him. I need him to understand that I didn't need to be protected.
"Ever since I got shot, it's like he's in protective overdrive."
"Yeah, and you've been the perfect patient, right?" Hazel asked with a raised brow.
Livy stifled a giggle. "Oh, she's the worst. She's even worse than me."
I whacked Livy on the arm. "Thanks for that vote of sisterhood."
She laughed and popped some popcorn into her mouth. "Hey, it's the truth. I mean, he's overbearing. Honestly. The handwashing of your knickers, that's some next level dedication."
"I'm pretty sure he's doing something untoward with those knickers. I don't want them back."
Everyone laughed except Hazel. "What do you think he's doing with them?"
Telly wheezed with laughter. "Oh, poor Hazel. I should really explain the birds and the bees to you."
Hazel flushed a deep red. "I understand what the birds and the bees mean. Hell, I'm engaged. I just don't understand what he could possibly do with her knickers."
Clutching her side as she laughed, Telly rolled onto her back on the carpet. "Um, very likely he's sniffing them and then wanking off."
Hazel went pale. "Oh. Oh. Wow. Okay, I did not need that visual."
Telly spread her arms. "Hey, I tried to warn you."
I snorted a laugh because I couldn't help it, which sent Livy into a fit of giggles. Emma joined in. Bryna, who had been in the bathroom, came out. "What are we laughing at?"
Hazel explained, and Bryna froze. But then immediately her face contorted into this twisted expression, and she fell out laughing.
As much as we were all enjoying ourselves, Amelia turned her attention on Hazel. "Okay, my dear, since you are the one who is engaged and dating Nyla's ex, we have to know… Why Denning? All due respect to my boss and all that, but why him? You're young and in a terrific graduate school. Your whole life is ahead of you. Why him? Of all people?"
Hazel tucked herself into the club chair in the corner. "I don't know. I know he's not always great or kind, and sometimes he can be a real dick, but to me... To me he's always perfect. He treats me like gold. And I didn't have a lot of that in my life. So that's fine with me."
Emma looked like she wanted to gag, but she mostly held it together. It was Telly who asked, "Right, so he's nice to you but mean to everyone else?"
I wanted to smack her. I did not want to talk about Denning, not one iota, and I wasn’t sure Hazel did either. But she invited herself, so she’d just have to take it.
I started to speak, but Livy's hand on my knee stopped me. Then she said, "Well, I get that he loves someone as kind as you. That's great. But wouldn't you rather be with someone who's... you know, generally a good person?"
Hazel frowned. "He is. He just doesn't show it. You know, work is so stressful, and he's not entirely focused on other people sometimes."
Livy raised a brow. "I don't know. I'll try to reserve judgment, but from what I’ve heard so far, his attitude leaves a lot to be desired. You could probably do better."
Hazel shrugged. "You would think, but I dated a string of loser after loser. One of them even went to jail. So, to me, Denning is everything.”
Bryna was the soft touch of us all. "Guys, leave her alone about who she's dating. It's her choice. Besides, if he's good to her, that's all that matters. We're not going to interfere because Lord knows none of our men are perfect."
Telly snorted. “You see, this is why I gave up on men. It’s always something. Half of your problems would be solved if you suddenly found women attractive.”
“Who said anything about suddenly,” Bryna said with a wink.
Telly clutched her heart. “Now she tells me.”
Amelia shrugged. "Uhm, I'm still searching for my man, so the rest of you need to stop saying 'our men' okay?"
As I sat back, I surveyed the room full of these new friends that I'd made. Sure, I'd always had Amelia, and she was my go-to. My solid plus one. It was nice just to have some other occasional solid plus ones too. People I could actually count on if necessary. It made me happy that, even with Hazel’s presence,
