Evans #2
Shaking my head, I ignore the lingering warmth his hand leaves on my skin.
After he says goodnight to his parents and promises the twins they can go out on the lake tomorrow, he grabs his beers from the fridge, where Ivii must have stashed them earlier.
Her and Percy had wandered off for a walk a little while ago and honestly, part of me was grateful we were slipping away without them having some sort of lingering goodbye.
Besides, we’d be back down here in the morning for breakfast.
Clambering into his car, I toss my head back and let out a small sigh. My body relaxes, surrounded by Hunter’s scent and for a moment I’m tempted to sniff the t-shirt I’m wearing.
“Yeah, they can be a lot.” He says, almost apologetic as he starts the engine. “They mean well.”
“I liked it.” That wasn’t a lie. It was fun, having dinner with them. I can’t say I’ve ever thought the same about having dinner with my father. With him, it was more like a business meeting where I was an underperforming employee. “I just didn’t realise how tired I was.”
Hunter snorts, “Being a stowaway will do that.”
“Asshole.”
We drive back up the dirt track that led us here, and about half way there’s an offshoot I hadn't noticed earlier. We follow that along for a few minutes.
“There is a trail you can follow with solar lights, but we have my bags and it’s easier when it’s dark.” He explains as we pull up outside another cabin that’s not really a cabin.
“I really think your family needs to think about the word ‘cabin’. This is fucking mini mansion,” I grumble as I grab my bag from the trunk, along with one of Hunter’s. How much did he bring with him?
“Don’t be dramatic, heir to Pembroke Holdings.” He chuckles as he enters the keycode and opens the front door. “Just FYI, there’s only one bedroom, and it’s mine. I don’t share.”
“Exactly, that’s why I know this isn’t a cabin.” As I enter the lights must be on a sensor as they flicker on, revealing a cosy open plan lounge with a kitchen. “And that’s rich coming from someone who is only too happy to crawl into my bed in the middle of the night.”
“There was a fucking monster in my room.” Hunter grunts as he puts the beer in the fully stocked fridge and pulls out his snacks. His parents or the housekeeper must have ordered groceries before we arrived.
“It was a bird, dumbass.”
“Anyway, the sofa pulls out in the entertainment room or you can stay here in the lounge, they’re both pretty comfy.
” He motions to the large blue sofa dominating the lounge and a door behind him to the left.
“My workshop is to the right, it’s a bit of a mess so you’re probably better off avoiding it unless you want to be covered in paint. ”
In the living room, retro film posters line the walls along one side.
On the opposite side, it’s like a miniature gallery.
Mismatched frames of all different shapes and sizes cover the space, and inside each one is a different artwork or photograph.
Some are paintings I recognise or famous artworks, others I’ve never seen before.
The photos are a mix of landscape scenes and members of the Ashbourne family.
Even here there’s no escaping how much love there is between this tribe of people.
“Why do you have your own cabin?” I ask as I lean in to look at a photo of him and Ivii collecting pebbles down by the lake edge when they were children.
He shrugs as he opens a bag of popcorn, shoveling one of his huge hands into it and grabbing a handful. He munches it between words, like he hasn’t just had dinner. “I’m a fully grown, sexually active alpha who doesn’t want to share with his parents.”
“But you’ve never brought anyone else here before.” I know because Ivii told me about it earlier. Well, she’d told Percy, but I couldn’t help but overhear.
He grins, giving me a wink. “That my parents know about.”
I find myself smiling back, but my hands curl into fists. This is Hunter. He’s a playboy who bed hops and doesn’t care who he spends his time with. It’s who he’s always been. Fuck, it’s one of the things I used to admire about him. Why was I getting twisted into knots over this?
“Did you want to head to bed early or do you want to drink beer on the porch?" He asks, offering me the bag of popcorn, he drops it down on the counter when I shake my head.
“I will never say no to beer.”
Grabbing two bottles, he pops the caps off and hands me one before leading me down a short corridor, explaining again where the entertainment room and workshop are as we pass. Hunter doesn’t have bifold doors like his parents, but the large door at the rear of the cabin opens out onto a porch.
Flipping a switch, a series of solar panel lights come on, illuminating what appears to be a large pond.
Stonework had been built on one side to create a bench of sorts that dipped below the water’s surface with a rustic slab table.
The gentle sound of running water tells me that this must feed down into the lake.
“So you have your own natural spring?”
“It’s cool, isn’t it?” He smiles as he yanks off a covering, unveiling some porch furniture.
Tossing the cover inside a storage box, he then yanks off his T-Shirt, draping it around his shoulders before kicking off his shoes and socks. His nipple ring glints in the low light. To be honest, I was impressed he’d stayed dressed for as long as he had.
“It’s not the same as the lake, and it’s not very big but it does the job if I want to swim or unwind.” He pulls one of the loungers closer to the edge of the porch before dropping down onto it, motioning for me to do the same with the other one.
“Why have you never brought us here before?” I ask as I stare up at the stars through the trees.
Taking a swig of his beer, he pauses and I find my gaze fixated on his throat as he swallows. “Because you always wanted to go out drinking and partying. It wasn’t your style.”
He turns to me, blue eyes watching me closely as I take a gulp of my own beer.
He wasn’t wrong…back at Oakley we partied a lot.
And if not at college, then we’d jump on my father’s plane or Zale’s yacht.
There was always another city, another club, another wild night.
But Hunter had been there right along with us.
Fuck, he was the one gettign in trouble right alongside me.
I scoff, “Bro, have you seen me? Anything is my style with a face like this.”
“Hmmmmm.” He stares out at the water now, taking another sip of his drink. Condensation rolls off the glass, landing on his chest, dripping onto one of his tattoos.
“Just saying, we totally could’ve kicked it here.”
“No harpies allowed I’m afraid.”
Ignoring the Sadie reference, I wiggle my brows. “So Percy…”
Hunter scrubs his face with a small huff. The noise warms my insides.
“Your sister thinks he could be the one.”
“Maybe.” Hunter says avoiding my gaze, the corner of his mouth lifting. “Maybe not. Are you ready to talk about ponies yet?”
I blink, confused for a moment. “Peonies.”
“Eh.” He shrugs, his nonchalance making me roll my eyes. Of course my life was falling apart at the seams and he couldn’t even remember the details.
“Dick,” I murmur. “It just was too much, too fast.”
That was an understatement. Sadie was suffocating me. Using my father to corner me, and I could feel the shackles getting heavier and heavier every time we were together.
“Evans, you’ve been low-key dating her for a while. I gave you an out at the Vos cabin and you didn’t take it.” He makes a disgruntled noise before peeling the label off the beer with his nail. “How is that too fast?”
He didn’t understand. He didn’t know how hard it was dealing with my father.
For a long time, Sadie was the only one who saw that side of my life.
Yes, we were friends with benefits, but she cared.
Or at least, it felt like she did. Now it was abundantly clear all I was to her, was a name and status.
We hadn’t even had sex in months. I avoided her in public.
I tried to tell her over and over that it was finished between us.
But each time, she just pushed her way back into my life.
Now, she was manipulating my father to get what she wanted.
I was done. This was the final thread binding me to her, and I was more than willing to cut it.
“Silvercrest made me realise some things. I wasn’t ready back then...” My voice is low, like I’m afraid of what might come out of my mouth.
“And you are now?” Those blue eyes are on me again, searching for something as he gives me all of his attention. I don’t think we’re talking about the same thing anymore.
“Look I don’t know what the fuck was going on in my head.” Placing down my beer, I cover my face with my arm as I lean back in the sun lounger. “I just knew I had to get out of there before I went to her parents house. Before there was no going back.”
“So you decided to crawl into the trunk of my car?”
"I didn't know where else to go." Lowering my arm, I glance over at him and he’s still there. Still staring.
"Why?"
“I don’t know.”
“Bullshit.”
“You’re just…” My mouth is dry and my tongue feels heavy, like it’s weighed down with all the words I’ve been trying to swallow back for months. “It doesn’t matter what mad shit I get into, you’re there in it with me.”
Silence.
Somewhere in the woods, an owl hoots. I become hyperaware of the sound of water, trickling over the rocks. Or the way the leaves rustle in the light breeze.
Glancing away, I watch as a firefly floats past us. "You're my safe place, alright?"
Fuck.
I shouldn’t have said that.
He curses, mumbling something to himself and I think I hear him say, “Not fair.”
Was he mad at me?
Did I do something wrong?
Before he can speak, I open my mouth and blurt, “I’ve gotta ask…why does your fridge have so much food when you can only make rice and beans?”