Chapter 29
Chapter Twenty-Nine
A week slips by, and it feels like Hunter and I have fallen into a dangerously easy routine.
Beach picnics during lunch breaks, flirty texts when we’re apart, nights tangled up in each other until I can’t tell where I end and he begins.
The rhythm is as natural as breathing—and terrifying when I remember how temporary it all is.
Derek’s warning keeps looping in my head. The last thing I want is to hurt Hunter, but the truth is, I’m too selfish to let him go. The sex isn’t just good—it’s a mind-bending high. He’s my drug of choice, and this summer is my bender. I’ll keep using until I have no other option but to quit.
Tonight is no different. After working a closing shift at Beachside Burgers, I went straight to his place, and he rode my cock until I saw stars. I don’t know how the hell I’ll go back to forgettable hookups when I’ve had this. When I’ve had him.
Now, I’m in his obnoxiously luxurious bathroom, the mirror fogged with steam. I know he doesn’t like showering together after sex, and I don’t push him, no matter how much I’d love to see more of his flushed, soapy body.
I wrap a towel around my waist and step back into his room.
He’s already dressed again, hunched over the desk in the corner.
His laptop glows against his face, glasses perched low on his nose.
He doesn’t even look up when he says, “Sorry. I just need to finish these slides before I lose my train of thought.”
I hum, resting my chin on his shoulder. “What’s the presentation for?”
He tenses beneath me. “During the first week of the fall semester, every grad student in my department has to present their research. It’s in front of the science faculty, staff, and a huge lecture hall full of students.”
“Sounds like a big deal.”
“It is.” He fiddles with his mouse, chewing his lip. “Which is why I’m trying not to think about how badly I’m going to screw it up.”
I frown and press a reassuring kiss to his neck. “You won’t.”
He leans away, giving me a look that’s equal parts amused and doubtful before sighing. “Even if I don’t, it’s still… I don’t know. Nerve-wracking. It’s not like I’ll have anyone there to support me.”
A knot twists in my chest. “Your family won’t be there?”
He shakes his head. “No. My parents both have to work. And Landon told me he’d rather claw out his own eardrums than listen to me talk about plants for thirty minutes.”
I laugh softly, though it doesn’t feel funny. He turns back to the laptop, typing something with sharper keystrokes than before.
I stare at him, at the curve of his shoulders, the gold necklace chain catching the lamplight. Every part of me wants to say I’ll be there for him. That I wouldn’t miss his presentation for the world. That he won’t be standing in that giant room alone.
But that would be a lie. We both know how this ends. Showing up after he’s back in Shelby Harbor might give him the wrong impression.
So I keep my mouth shut.
I step away from the desk and peel the towel from my waist. I change back into my clothes, wiggling on my black jeans and T-shirt, and slide my pump into my pocket. When I glance up, his chair is swiveled toward me, his eyes following every movement. A faint blush warms his cheeks.
He clears his throat. “Heading out?”
“Yeah, it’s late,” I murmur. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
I lean down for a quick kiss, but he fists my damp hair, deepening it. His tongue slips past my lips, daring and assertive. He’s grown bolder these past few weeks, and God, I love it.
By the time he lets me go, I’m already straining against my jeans. Jesus Christ. I just came less than an hour ago. I never used to get hard this easily. I shift quickly, hoping he doesn’t notice, but his smug little smile tells me he does.
“Goodnight,” Hunter whispers as I turn to leave.
I pause at the doorway, fingers lingering on the frame. “Goodnight.”
***
By the time I pull into the trailer park, the house is dark except for the glow leaking out from under Maddie’s bedroom door. I push the front door shut as quietly as I can, but I still catch the low hum of her voice through the thin walls.
I pause, halfway down the hall.
Her tone is hushed but giddy, the way she used to sound when she was sneaking candy into bed after lights-out. I lean closer, and the words slip out clear as day: “I can’t wait to see you again.”
The beat of silence that follows tells me she ended the call.
I knock twice on her door before I can second-guess it. “Mads?”
Her voice comes out a little too high-pitched. “Yeah?”
I crack the door open. She’s perched cross-legged on her bed, phone still in her hands. When she looks up, her eyes dart everywhere but mine.
“Who were you talking to?” I ask.
Her fingers tighten around the phone. “Leah.”
The answer’s fast and practiced. My brows knit. “Really?”
“Yeah.” She shrugs, feigning casual, but she still won’t meet my eyes. “Who else would it be?”
I study her for a second, trying to read her face. Something about the way she tucks her hair behind her ear feels… evasive. A secret boyfriend? Maybe. The thought settles heavy in my chest, but I don’t push it. Not tonight.
She clears her throat and pivots. “Were you with Hunter?” she asks with a knowing smirk.
I exhale, running a hand over my face. “Yeah.”
Her smirk widens, but I ignore it.
“Goodnight, Maddie,” I say, backing out of the doorway.
“Night,” she chirps.
I shut the door behind me, the faint sound of her giggle following me down the hall.
***
I should’ve known better than to get attached to the fragile routine Hunter and I built together. Happiness never sticks around—not in my life. Trouble always circles back, patient as a vulture.
When I tug on my lifeguard uniform the next morning, the fabric still carries the scent of sunscreen and lake water.
My curls refuse to cooperate, so I tie them back in a bun.
My keys jingle in my hand as I step out the front door, bracing myself for another long shift at the beach, but I freeze on the porch.
There’s a maroon sedan parked beside my truck—a car I don’t recognize. Leaning against the driver’s side door, arms crossed and posture stiff, is Stephen.
The sun bounces off Stephen’s sunglasses, hiding his eyes. He’s wearing a navy jumpsuit stained with oil, his name stitched in neat red thread across the chest.
“Mason,” he greets firmly. My name sounds foreign and clumsy rolling off his tongue, like he hasn’t said it in years.
I clench the keys in my fist, the sharp metal biting my palm as I bounce off the steps. I don’t stop until I’m crowding his space. Only then do I realize I’m taller than him.
Huh. When did that happen? Sometime between the day he left when I was eight and now, I guess.
“What the fuck are you doing here?” I demand.
He presses a palm to my chest, nudging me back gently. “Please, calm down.”
“Don’t tell me what to do,” I snap. “You’re not taking Maddie with you. I won’t let you.”
His brows pinch, his hands raised defensively. “I’m not here for Madison—”
“Maddie,” I cut in, my voice sharp. “She hates being called Madison.”
He exhales a shaky breath. “I’m not here for Maddie,” he says gently. “I’m here for you. I just want to talk.”
“You had thirteen years to talk.”
His face twists, like my words physically pain him. It makes my mouth twitch into a satisfied smile. Good. I want him to carry a fraction of the hurt he inflicted on Maddie and I.
“Let me buy you a coffee,” Stephen offers.
I shake my head and rip open my truck door. “Can’t. I have to work so I can support my sister,” I say bitterly.
He catches the door before I can slam it shut, his fingers curled tight around the frame. For half a second, I imagine crushing them in the hinge.
“Lunch, then,” Stephen says lightly. “Please. If you hear me out and still hate me, I’ll never contact you or Maddie again. That’s a promise.”
I chew the inside of my cheek until I taste blood. Nothing he says could erase thirteen years of abandonment, but he won’t leave us alone until I play his little game. If that’s the price of getting him to stay out of Maddie’s life, then fine.
“You promise?” I grind out, eyes narrowed.
“Promise.”
“Fine. Meet me at that café on Lakeshore Avenue at noon. Don’t be late.”
Stephen nods and finally releases the door.
I slam the door, crank the engine, and tear out of the driveway, gravel spitting beneath my tires. In the rearview mirror, Stephen grows smaller and smaller until he disappears, the same way he did all those years ago.
***
As I haul myself up to the lifeguard tower, I’m seeing red. I can’t believe Stephen has the audacity to show up at our house after everything he’s done—after everything he didn’t do. My fingers dig into the foam life ring in my lap, hard enough to leave dents in the surface.
Thank God I’m paired with Aliyah today instead of Ryan. She knows me well enough to recognize when I need space. We sit in silence, scanning the waves, her presence steady but quiet. I’m sure she can feel the heat radiating off me.
The beach is overflowing with people, towels and umbrellas crowding every inch of sand. Frankly, I don’t have the patience for it today. I even snapped at a random guy who asked for directions earlier. Aliyah had to intervene and calm me down.
I drag a hand over my face, willing myself to focus, when a familiar shadow crosses beneath the tower.
“Hey,” Hunter calls up, voice light and easy, like sunshine cutting through storm clouds.
He’s got his backpack slung over one shoulder, skin glistening with sweat.
A loose tank sticks to his chest under an unbuttoned overshirt, paired with baggy denim shorts only he could make look good. “You ready for lunch?”
Aliyah flicks me a look, knowing. “Go ahead, take your break. I’ll cover.”
I give her a short nod. “Thanks.”