16. Sutton
Sutton
“Hunter,” I huff, “I can’t breathe in this thing.”
When we arrived at Greer’s Halloween party fashionably late, every spot near her or Luke’s houses was taken, so we parked on the next block over. As if wearing our ridiculous costumes at the party wasn’t enough, now we’ll be traipsing the neighborhood dressed in inflatable dinosaur costumes.
He was right, mine being pink makes it better.
“Turn around.” Hunter makes a spinning motion with his finger, and I quickly follow his direction.
He zips the costume, his fingers lingering on the back of my neck a breath longer than necessary. I hear the low hum of the inflator kick on behind me before cool air rushes through the costume.
“Okay, just remember the air pump is back here, so if it gets disconnected, it’ll deflate on you. Got it?”
“Let’s hope it doesn’t come undone, because I’d rather not be trapped and suffocate dressed as a pink T-Rex.”
Hunter runs his hand along the edges of the costume near my ankles, wrists, and neck, checking for any gaps in the airtight seal. He steps around me, a giant smile on his face.
“You’re loving this, aren’t you?” I roll my eyes.
“I mean, you do make a cute dinosaur.”
I frown. “We couldn’t have gone as something cool—a princess and prince or, hell, I’d have even gone for a sexy cop and robber.”
He groans. “Thank you for that.”
“For what?”
“For putting the image of you dressed as a sexy cop in my mind. Tell me, would you use the handcuffs?” He raises an eyebrow, challenging me to play with him.
“Nope,” I say firmly, to which he frowns. “That’s your job, remember.”
Hunter opens his mouth to respond, closes it, and opens it again. “Would you let—”
I wink. “If you haven’t caught on yet, I seem to be very receptive to you, so, yes, I’m pretty certain I’ll let you do anything to me.” I lean forward and kiss the tip of his nose.
I swear his eyes darken as he simultaneously releases a growl. “You say something like that right before I’ve got to share you with everyone?”
“You’ll be fine. But just so you know,”—I fold my lips between my teeth, tampering down a smile—“I’m not wearing any underwear.”
“Good. Me either.”
I immediately look down at his lower half. Visions of a very naked Hunter flash in my mind. He catches me under my chin with one finger and lifts my face to his.
“If you have any desire at all to make it to this party, don’t provoke me, baby girl.”
“I can’t make any promises,” I all but whisper.
I don’t know what I imagined when I pictured Hunter in the bedroom, but this level of dominance was surely not it.
Granted, I’ve only been with three men, so my bedroom experience is lacking and has never been very lively.
Even with Brandon, we’d had an initial passionate spark, but as the years passed, the flame fizzled, and his frustration grew the harder it became for me to reach orgasm.
Hunter swallows a visible lump in his throat and braces his hands around the column of my neck, thumbs tracing along my jaw. “Want to play a little game then?”
I place my hands on top of his. “What kind of game?”
“The first of us to deflate gets to be in charge tonight.”
“Hmm . . .” I smirk. Hunter’s a big guy, and, by the looks of traffic, there are more people in attendance than anticipated, which means less space for this cowboy to maneuver his dino tail around . . . “Deal. But no sabotaging.”
His hands still. “I would never.”
I give him the look. “Yes, you would. Am I the only one who remembers my freshman homecoming?” My date had just shown up, so my parents were being parents by taking thousands of pictures.
Mom wanted one of me, Luke, and Hunter, but as my date stepped away, he ran his hand along my shoulder, and Hunter “suddenly” tripped, spilling a can of soda pop all over my feet.
“That was purely an accident,” Hunter says.
“Sure it was.” I roll my eyes. “You were just trying to ruin something I was excited about.”
“I’m pretty sure I was jealous.”
I bark out a laugh. “Yeah, right.”
I step back from him, the bulky dinosaur costume squeaking softly as my back presses against the side of the truck, but he crowds me anyway, leaving me nowhere to go.
“Yes, I was. I thought about that moment for years.” His voice is low and gruff. “I think I loved you even then.”
My heart literally skips a beat at his declaration.
“Okay,” Hunter says, “let’s get your head on.”
Hunter pulls up his own costume, and I manage to flick on his air pump even with my hands inside this ridiculous getup. Hunter gestures for me to take the lead. Together, we swish swish swish our way to Greer’s house. We’re about to turn the corner when I see Hunter and burst into hysterics.
“What the fuck are you laughing at?” Hunter turns toward me, as best as he can.
His serious tone only makes me laugh harder. I can practically see his What is your deal? look through the small mesh face opening.
Hunter shakes his head and continues toward Greer’s house. I double over in laughter. This big-ass cowboy dressed like a blue dinosaur waddling down the block is still trying to wear his damn Stetson.
My eyes tear as I point to his hat.
“You’re in so much trouble later,” he grumbles as we approach Greer’s door.
“Only if I don’t win.” I kick my foot against the door since I can’t really knock.
“Even if you do win,” he leans in close, “you’re still going to be in trouble.”
I try to contain my giggles even though he’s trying to be sexy dominant Hunter right now.
The door flies open, and we jump back from each other.
“Shit,” Hunter mumbles as his hat topples from his head. He does his best to pick up his hat, but with his abnormally short arms, it’s no use.
“What the hell?” Luke steps forward and grabs the hat, his face a mixture of anger and annoyance. “This is not fair.” He shoves the hat into Hunter’s chest.
“What’s not fair, big bro?” I step forward, pushing past him into the foyer. He has no choice but to step back.
“Luke, who’s here?” Greer calls from the kitchen.
When I turn the corner, she loses it. “Sutton? Is that you?”
Hunter swish swishes his way behind me. Everyone stops what they’re doing. I can’t see Hunter’s face, but I know he’s grinning like a fool.
“This is not fair,” Luke says again from behind Hunter.
“What’s wrong, Luke?” I ask. “You afraid of a little competition for best costume?”
Hunter jostles into me as Luke pushes past us both.
“Not at all,” Luke says. “Nothing beats hobbit feet.”
The rest of the party guests turn their attention elsewhere, and I let out a quiet sigh of relief. I know everyone’s accustomed to seeing Hunter and me together, but I can’t deny the nerves twisting inside me. I’m still trying to wrap my brain around how much has changed between Hunter and me.
“Don’t forget our bet, baby girl,” Hunter smiles and squishes past me, his dino suit rubbing suggestively against mine.
As if I could forget.
I step into the kitchen, meeting Greer’s bright smile. “What?”
She snickers and grabs a bowl of popcorn. “Nothing.”
“The costumes were Hunter’s idea,” I say. “My pick was fairies, but he crushed that idea pretty quickly.”
Greer doubles over, nearly spilling the popcorn. “That might have been better than this.” She motions up and down the length of my body with her head. “We haven’t talked all week. I take it your date was successful?”
I manage a glance over my shoulder. Hunter is talking with a few friends. “It was.”
“That’s all?” She flicks a piece of popcorn at me. “C’mon, Sutton, I need details.”
I huff a laugh. “If you must know, we went to the costume shop, then the diner for dinner before dancing at Big Joe’s.”
She stops eating her popcorn mid-bite and looks straight at me. “That doesn’t really sound like a first date. That’s what you guys always do—well, except the costume shop.”
I suppress my grin even though she can only barely see my face through the mesh opening. “I’m pretty sure making out in the middle of the dance floor is something we’ve never done.”
Her mouth drops open. “Um, yeah, I’d say that’s definitely date-like shenanigans.”
Hunter’s boisterous laugh catches my attention. When I look at him, he’s focused solely on me. I know if I could see his face, he’d be giving me that smirk of his, but instead he dips his head down in recognition. I wiggle my butt in response.
Greer tosses another piece of popcorn in my direction. “Did you just—”
“Shut up,” I say. I’m sure my cheeks are ten shades of pink.
“I think I like this version of Sutton.”
“What version is that?”
She steps into my space and wraps her arms around my dinosaur waist. “The head-over-heels-in-love-and-happy one.”
“No one’s talking about love.” Once again, my tone takes on a defensive nature.
“Woman,” she steps back, holding me at arm’s length. “It’s clear as day you are in love with that man over there. And in case you’re too blind to see it, he looks at you like you’re his entire universe.”
I clear my throat, unsure whether to believe what she says. Sure, he says that he thinks he was in love with me in high school, but that doesn’t mean he still feels that way. A look doesn’t mean he’s in love with me.
“Don’t you have party guests to entertain?” I’m hoping she’ll let me alone to process my own spiraling thoughts.
“You know,”—Greer takes one more step back and holds both sides of my dino face—“this will be good for you.”
My stomach dips as she throws the words I always told her about her situation with Luke back at me.
“Just remember to let go and enjoy it, okay?” She drops her hands and joins a group of her work friends nearby. As if my thoughts weren’t already a jumbled mess, she goes and swirls them up like a tornado.