Dear Neighbor Boy,

Second Double Dates Are No Better Than the First (Part 2)

*Hazel's Pov*

HazelBagel✨🌺: Hey Caleb, we got kicked out of the rink. Sorry for ruining the date but hey we can still go to Sally's! We can just wait for you guys outside until the time is over. See you!!

I pressed send on the text message to Caleb and waited.

"Man, this is a load of bologna!" I grunted as I kicked a rock. We were sitting on a curb waiting for our dates.

"It's a big load of bologna." Asher mumbled as he kicked a smaller rock.

We were pretty quiet when Asher randomly blurted,"What do you see in him?" He squinted his eyes and shook his head.

I was caught off guard. "U-uh... I mean, he's a great guy. He's really nice and he can be funny..." I awkwardly trailed out of that sentence. "What about you? Sheyla's the worst. One of my friends literally had to punch her to get her to shut up and stop being mean."

He looked at the ground. "She's just... misunderstood." I scoffed and he looked up at me. "Really, she's not as bad as you probably think."

I looked at my shoes and didn't say anything else.

We sat there for a few minutes in boredom and frustration when I worked up the nerve to ask him something. "Do you want to do something while we wait for them? They still have...," I checked my phone for the time,"an hour and 20 minutes left." I turned to him with a cocked eyebrow.

He scraped the bottom of his shoe against the pavement and played with the silver ring on his middle finger. "You know I can't resist an adventure with you."

He jumped to his feet and smiled. "Where to, Princess?" He held his hand out for me and pulled me to my feet alongside him. I felt the silver ring when my hand was in his.

"Um... Ooh! How about we just play hide and seek tag out here while we wait. There's plenty of spaces out here!" I said as I looked around me.

"Yess!! Wow I never noticed all the places out here where you can hide. Kidnappers must thrive out here." I slapped his chest and laughed after he said that.

"Okay, you're it!" I yelled at him as I slowly stepped back. "Count to thirty-five!"

"Dammit." He muttered under his breath. He sat back down on the curb and hid his face in his hands. "One, two, three..."

I was tip-toeing around, looking for a place to hide when my eye caught the perfect place. I almost squealed before I realized that would give away my location.

"Seventeen, eighteen, nineteen..."

I tried not to make any sound as I went inside the alleyway. I was about to hop into the bin that homeless people use for fires at night when someone behind me whistled.

Aw darn, did he finish counting already?! He found me!! I turned around to face him. "You got me Ash-"

Except it wasn't Asher. "Um, hi?" I said, subconsciously taking a slow step back.

"Hey. What's a pretty girl like you doing in an alleyway all alone?" It was a man a few inches taller than me and definitely a few years older than me. He had a cigarette in his mouth and was wearing really dark clothes. His stubble was turning into a beard. He must've been at least twenty-five.

"I-I was um playing hide and seek w-with my friend and I thought this would be a good hiding place." I continued to slowly back away. He started to slowly walk forward.

"Hm, I guess the wrong person found you then, huh? Or maybe not." My back hit the wall behind me and he stepped within inches of me.

"Listen I'm just trying to play an innocent game of hide and seek. I'm not looking for any trouble." I said in a shaky voice but tried to keep it stern.