Chapter 2
1255 Words
Hazel returned to her quiet home, and her aunt Sofia had gone to sleep. The weight of the morning's conversation settled heavily upon her.
She entered a dimly lit room, the silence amplifying her troubled thoughts.
The night stretched before her, long and filled with unspoken anxieties.
She wanted to let go of all these things, but she simply couldn't.
Suddenly, her phone rang, and she was a bit shocked. His friend Sabrina Leon was calling. She picked up the call.
"Where were you, Hazel?"
"I tried to call you for an hour."
"I was attending to patients."
"Ohh..! Okay, there's a party at the club tomorrow night. Will you come with me?"
Hazel needed an excuse to get out of all these memories.
"Yes, I will come." The call ended.
She took a bath and lay down on the bed to sleep.
The next night, she had to attend a party with her friend. Hazel wore a red backless short dress, with a pair of heels. Her crystal green eyes and auburn hair with loose curls made her look so stunning and sexy that every man would surely stare at her.
Hazel and her friend Sabrina entered the club.
The club is loud. Music shakes the floor. Colored lights flash — red, blue, purple. People are dancing, laughing, and moving like they don’t care who’s watching.
Hazel walks in with her best friend, Sabrina. Hazel looks beautiful. Her hair shines under the lights, and there’s a playful smile on her face.
She spotted Vincenzo across the crowded dance floor, drink in hand, dressed in black. A flicker of recognition in his usually stoic eyes widened when their gazes met. After a moment, Hazel headed to the bar to grab drinks with her friends,her heels clicking softly on the floor. She takes a sip, then turns.
Now, he stood before her, drink swirling in his hand, the dim lighting highlighting the sharp angles of his face.
"Dr. Hazel," he said, his voice a low murmur that cut through the music. "I wasn't expecting to see you here." She’s a little drunk, bold and glowing. She steps closer to him — close enough to feel the heat between them.
"Surprise, “Vincenzo. Small world, isn’t it?” she breathed, a playful lilt in her voice. “Still handsome. Still pretending you don’t want me?”
The champagne was doing its work; her usual caution felt pleasantly distant. "You look… very handsome tonight. The office lighting really doesn't do you justice.
Vincenzo opens his mouth to speak, but she touches his lips gently.
Shhh. Just feel this.
" Hazel giggled, the sound slightly off-key, and swirled the remnants of her wine in the glass.
"So, Vincenzo," she slurred, leaning closer, her breath warm on his ear. "That suit… it's… very powerful. Makes me want to… well, you know…"
She trailed off, a mischievous glint in her usually sharp eyes, now swimming with a hazy drunken charm.
Vincenzo, normally unflappable, felt a surprising jolt. He encountered countless flirtatious advances, but this… this was different.
There was a vulnerability in Hazel’s drunken boldness, a rawness that intrigued him.
He discreetly adjusted his tie, the silk cool against his skin, a stark contrast to the heat rising in his cheeks.
"Ms. Hazel," he began, his voice low and controlled, a practiced effort to maintain his composure,
"I appreciate the compliment, but—"
"Call me Hazel," she interrupted, her hand, a little unsteady, reaching out to touch his arm.
"And you… You can call me whatever you want. Vincenzo… Vinnie… Big Vinnie…"
She giggled again, this time a little louder, attracting the attention of a nearby couple.
She quickly pulled her hand back, her cheeks flushing crimson.
"Sorry," she mumbled, suddenly self-conscious.
Vincenzo found himself smiling, a genuine, unguarded smile that rarely graced his lips. "Hazel," he repeated, the name feeling surprisingly comfortable on his tongue.
A clumsy waiter, laden with a precarious tower of glasses, barreled into her, sending a wave of icy liquid cascading down her arm. Hazel slips — but he catches her. Their bodies pressed together. Her arms go around his neck. His hands held her steady. For a heart-stopping moment, she felt the world tilt, everything focusing on Vincenzo's face, inches from her own. Then, lips met lips.
Everything else disappears.
The world seemed to stop at that moment. The music becomes soft in the background. The lights slow down. The crowd fades away. It’s just the two of them. The world feels quiet.
The kiss is warm and slow. Sweet, but full of fire. Like they’ve been waiting forever.
She pulls back, just a little. Their faces are close. She’s smiling. His lips were soft and warm, and she could feel the heat radiating off his body. Their eyes locked.
For a heartbeat, they just stood there. Breathing the same breath. Sharing the same stillness. Her hands rested lightly on his chest, feeling the quiet thump of his heart. She responded eagerly, her arms winding around his neck as she deepened the kiss.
The kiss was slow — gentle — full of things they hadn’t said.
Her lips met his with a softness that made time stop. No rush. No hunger. Just feeling.
It was a kiss that said, I’ve missed you.
A kiss that whispered, "You’re still the only one."
A kiss that asked, Can we begin again?
Vincenzo responded with equal tenderness. One hand moved to her cheek, his thumb brushing her skin like she was something precious. His other hand stood at her waist, holding her close, steadying them both.
Their lips moved in perfect rhythm, a quiet dance. Warm. Honest. Intimate.
Hazel’s eyes fluttered closed. She wasn’t thinking anymore. She was just there—in his arms, at that moment, with the man who had once broken her heart but still made it beat faster than anyone else ever could.
He pulled back slowly, his eyes dark with a mixture of surprise and something that looked suspiciously like desire.
When the kiss ended, she stayed close, their foreheads touching.
For a long moment, neither of them spoke; words didn’t feel necessary.
And just like that, the noise of the club returned — but it didn’t matter.
Because in that kiss, they had found a piece of something they’d both been missing.
HAZEL
(softly)
“That felt like something real.”
VINCENZO
“It is.”
Hazel murmured, "It all happened so suddenly; I couldn't control it."
Vincenzo softly said, "Never mind."
Her phone buzzed. Sabrina was calling her. "She must be looking for me. I have to go!"
"Of course".
"Is it just me, or is she experiencing some feelings?"
Hazel left the party, and Sabrina was waiting for her in the car.
"Where did you go, Hazel? I was searching for you."
She sat quietly, listening attentively.
"Are you going to say something now"?
She immediately said, "I kissed him."
She exclaimed in disbelief, "What? You're out of your mind!"
"You know who he is, and you are responsible for everything that happened."
"So what else could I do? "I saw this as the only way to get close to him." Sabrina stopped the car. "What do you mean.?"
"When the waiter hit me, I fell onto him and changed his pen with my microphone pen." She was feeling somewhat uncertain.
"And if he discovers the truth."
"How will he know?I'll take it back before he finds out."
Before destroying him, a kiss isn’t a bad deal.
- Writer
