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CHAPTER ONE

Hazel

Why are men the way that they are?

“Brody, why would you turn off my alarm?” I groan into the pillow after noticing the time. I’m gonna be late. “You know I need to get to work on time, I can’t afford to lose this job.”

My soon-to-be ex-boyfriend doesn’t answer me, and I quickly stand from the bed and turn to look at him. Every single thing he does recently is getting on my nerves.

The particular sight in front of me further exasperates me. Now that I’m out of the sheets, he's taken over my side, sprawled wide across every inch of the double bed, wearing nothing but a pair of navy blue underwear.

I take a second to admire him in his mostly naked glory and think that staying together might not be so bad. He might be a terrible boyfriend, but at least he’s hot. His black hair, blue eyes, and athletic physique combine into the kind of look that makes women of all ages gawk at him whenever we’re out in public. I drag my eyes across his body and smile fondly at his rumpled hair. That smile drops when I notice he’s scrolling on his phone with one hand, the other reaching down to scratch at his crotch.

“Brody!” I call out more sharply than intended.

He drops his phone on his face. “Ow, what?” he groans, rubbing his forehead.

I shake my head at him in disappointment and look around the room for my work uniform. “Why did you turn off my alarm?”

“You turned it off yourself. I was asleep the whole time,” Brody smirks, lying through his teeth.

While I do care about him, I think our relationship has run its course. He doesn’t have any of the qualities I want in a partner—someone reliable, empathetic, a good listener, a guy that makes me laugh. Brody is just…not that guy.

I really need to dump him and move out, but much to my disappointment, I don’t have any other roommate prospects, or money, to move out on my own. Thanks a lot, student loans.

The three-bedroom apartment I currently share with Brody and his college friends is decent. The guys keep it clean most of the time, especially after I’ve introduced them to the chore wheel. I also have my own closet, so that’s something. Yay for small wins.

I kick his dirty laundry away and make my way into the bathroom to get ready for the day. I sigh when I take in the dark circles under my eyes from all the overtime I’ve been putting in at the club.

I don’t have time to shower so I clean myself up as best as I can, throwing my long brown curls into a low pony after finger-combing the worst of the tangles, and put on an ivory hat with the green Hartford Heritage Golf Club logo on it.

A quick glance at my watch tells me I don’t have time to do my makeup, so I settle for the bare minimum and brush my teeth. While I get dressed, I contemplate how to break up with Brody. Do I let him down gently? Or rip it off like a Band-Aid?

I don’t think he’ll be too upset up about it. We haven’t even had sex in a few months, for crying out loud. I’m too exhausted from work and he goes to bed really late, opting to play video games with our roommates in the living room until three in the morning. I wish they wouldn’t be so loud sometimes so I could get some decent sleep.

“Are you coming to my baseball game?” Brody asks as I contemplate what life would be like if I were single.

I wouldn’t be going to amateur league baseball games in my very limited free time, that’s for sure.

I sigh. “I don’t know, depends if I work late or not.”

“You should just quit that place. Find an office job or something.”

As always, his advice is unwelcome, but I bite down my frustration and shake my head. “You know this is my only option to become a pro golfer. An office job is not going to help me get there.”

“Babe, be real, do you really think you’ll make it as a pro?”

His comment draws me up short and I stare at his sprawled form on the bed. He’s still scrolling through his phone, only half paying attention to me. He’s said similar things to me in the past, but never so bluntly. Never been so uncaring and insensitive to my feelings.

“Brody, what the hell?” I whisper, tears threatening to spill. Brody finally looks up at me and realizes how stupid his comment was. His eyes widen and he jumps up, approaching me and trying to give me a hug. I back away until I hit the door and he follows, wrapping me up in a hug that I very clearly don’t want. God, he’s the worst at reading the room.

“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said that.”

It’s not lost on me that he’s only sorry he said it, not sorry that he truly believes it.

“You’re such a dick,” I say without any bite and gently shove him away.

“I know, I’m sorry. But I just want you to have fun. We used to have fun together, but now all you do is work at that golf club, and I barely even see you. We don’t even have sex anymore.”