As I sit down on the couch, it occurs to me that I never changed out of my suit from the wedding. I should've changed while in there, but it slipped my mind. Is she already asleep?
"Hazel?" I say, knocking lightly.
"Come in."
"Hey, I need to grab some night clothes." I gesture to my suit. "Can't sleep in this comfortably." A pair of grey sweatpants and a t-shirt is found and I leave her be again.
As I lay on the couch, wishing I could fall asleep, having her this close to me makes me think about how things were between us before graduation. I grab my phone off the coffee table and pull up social media to scroll through old photos of us. Every waking moment was spent together, in between classes, at lunch, after school studying, and when we weren't in the same room, texts were exchanged. There was something about her that kept me intrigued since I met her volunteering at the homeless shelter that summer. My dad had already passed, and honestly, I was still grieving and trying to figure out how to help my mom around the house and take any pressure off her that I could. Hazel became my rock quickly. I could talk to her about anything without being judged like the football team. They all called me a pussy and told me to stop crying. She never did that. When my mother passed away, she stuck by me all night, holding me, and listening to me cry inconsolably.
This is when my feelings peaked, and I never wanted to let her go. You see, my parents, they were great, but there is something about having someone intimately know you and still continue to come back around. I was fucked up when she met me, between the loss of my dad, and trying to figure out who I wanted to be. Everyone at school referred to me as the jock quarterback, but I was more than that, and Hazel was the first person to take the time to get to know me.
What would have happened if I didn't sign up to volunteer that summer? I went back and forth on it for almost a month. My high school years were undoubtedly better because of Hazel being by my side. Would I have ended up that dumb jock everyone thought I was? Who knows.
Up pops the pictures of us on prom night, one of my fondest memories. Honestly, prom is the signification of the end of high school, and becoming an adult. I was foolish and never thought we wouldn't stay together, and maybe that's my fault. I shouldn't have assumed. Yet, the night went as well as could be expected.
Some couples have sex in high school, not knocking it, but Hazel was the type of girl who wanted it to be with someone special. I get it, you only have one first time. She mentioned that she was ready, and when I showed up at her house and she walked down the staircase in that ravishing red dress, I started to drool. She knew what the color red meant, and the night went perfect. That's why I always compliment her when she wears red. It brings me back to that moment in time, when we were young and in love. Oh what I wouldn't do to go back to those days and have her in my arms again.