Chapter 16 Hunter
HUNTER
I shake out my hands, pacing outside the Hook & Hustle.
Why am I so nervous?
I already told her that I liked her, sounding very much like we were in high school and I had a crush on her.
What could have my heart racing and my palms sweating?
I promised myself I wouldn’t get involved with anyone until Natalie was in the clear. But damn it, Zoey made it impossible for me not to like her.
And maybe my sister was right. How long was I going to put off my chance at happiness? I’m not getting any younger, and every year passes a little faster than the one before.
“What are you doing?” Zoey asks from the doorway of the bar, and I nearly jump out of my skin.
“Shit.” I clutch my chest as I turn around to find her staring at me. “Sorry. I wanted to give you some time.”
“In this freezing-ass cold?” She lifts an eyebrow, calling my bluff or my insanity.
“I was hot,” I lie, doing my best not to shiver as a gust of cold air hits me square in the face.
Zoey laughs and motions for me to come inside. “Get in here before you get frostbite. I’m almost ready to go.”
The bar is still open, and the place is packed. There’s only one seat open around the bar, and every table is filled. “Are you giving shit away?” I ask as I follow her.
“You’d think so,” she says over her shoulder when a group at one table starts to yell back and forth but not in a way that’s alarming to anyone in the place.
I slide onto the open stool to wait for her, and a beer is in front of me a few seconds later. When I look up, Mason’s standing before me on the other side of the bar. “Figured you’d need one.”
“More than you know,” I tell him.
Work was rough tonight. I had two women with horrific stories, and both wanted Medusa tattoos. There wasn’t much talking, but the little they did was impactful and ripped out my heart. I was honored that they picked me to do their ink, and hopefully it gives them some of their power back.
“So, when’s Lizzy coming to town?” Mason asks, rolling a toothpick around his mouth with his tongue.
“You’re going to choke on that,” I tell him, pointing at the wooden stick that could very easily slide down his throat and get lodged there with no hope of a rescue without a trip to the hospital.
He pulls the toothpick from between his lips and slides it behind his ear. “So…Lizzy.”
“This weekend.” I take a sip of my beer, ignoring the cold as it slides down my throat to my stomach. I could’ve gone for something hot on a cold night like this, but the alcohol is needed more than the warmth.
His face morphs into an easy, satisfied smile. “I’ll have to drop by and say hello.”
“I’m sure she’d like that,” I say, throwing him a bone. He’s not a bad guy. I mean, he can’t be if he’s Zoey and Lulu’s cousin. They don’t seem to put up with too much shit, and if he were an asshole, I have no doubt they’d set his ass straight in a hurry.
His eyebrows rise as his eyes widen. “Really? You’re okay with that?”
“Sure,” I say around the rim of my beer.
Lizzy put up with about as much bullshit as Lulu and Zoey, so I know she could handle her own with Mason. It doesn’t hurt that she likes the guy, and although I am her older brother, she is a full-grown woman and doesn’t need my protection from everyone.
“It’s Zoey’s Christmas party this weekend. Maybe she’ll come and we can hang out there.”
I’d completely forgotten about her party. Lulu invited me when I first moved in, but it had slipped my mind. “We’ll both be there,” I tell him with a dip of my chin.
“It may be the first year I’m looking forward to it, then.”
Zoey comes up behind him and asks, “Looking forward to what?”
Mason jolts at the sound of her voice, but he quickly rebounds. “Your Christmas party. Although it’s not Christmas yet.”
“I like to do it before everyone gets too busy. Early December is perfect,” she replies.
“I like it,” I say.
“You like everything she says,” Mason states with an added eye roll. “Suck up.”
I can’t argue with him. I won’t disagree with Zoey about anything, especially at this point in our relationship.
I sober, my stomach dropping.
Is that what we were in? Have we hit that stage yet? Does saying that you like someone mean you are together together? I haven’t dated in over a decade, and I have no clue how shit works now.
“You okay?” Zoey asks, touching my hand from across the bar. “Your face drained of all its color.”
“Yeah,” I say, finding my voice after clearing my throat. “I’m fine. Good. Great, really.”
I am fine too. Better than fine. For the first time in a long time, I feel like there is a world of possibilities in front of me. A new town. New job. And maybe even a new girl.
She stares at me for a few seconds, unconvinced of my answer, before she turns to Mason. “You’re okay with me going now?”
“Yeah. You two get out of here,” he says. “There’re enough workers here tonight to help me close up.”
Zoey lifts on her toes and kisses her cousin’s cheek. “You don’t have to tell me twice,” she says before skipping away to grab her stuff.
I know that’s my cue. We’re headed home, which means a walk in the freezing cold. I down what’s left of my beer, needing the alcohol to give me a false sense of warmth.
Before I moved here, people warned me about the frigid cold. I thought they were yanking my chain, but in the few weeks I’ve been here and experienced the start of winter, I’ve learned they weren’t being dramatic.
“I’m ready,” Zoey says, coming out of the back room with her coat half on and carrying our pizza. “Let’s go before he changes his mind.”
I place my hand on the small of her back, ushering her toward the door, although she doesn’t need the extra push. As soon as we’re outside, she twirls around with her face toward the sky. The snowflakes land on her cheeks and instantly melt.
“I feel like I’m skipping school,” she says with her arms wide, looking every bit like a little kid finally gaining their first taste of true freedom.
“I like this side of you,” I tell her, unable to wipe the smile off my face.
She stops, turns to me, and closes the space between us in a few short steps. “You like all sides of me,” she says, grabbing my coat and hauling me flat against her. “Don’t you?”
I stare into her eyes, my heart racing as I slide my arms around her, holding her close against me. Her breath is the only warmth around us.
“I want to kiss you,” I tell her, choosing honesty instead of questioning if this is the right time or place.
“Then do it,” she whispers before her gaze dips to my mouth as she licks her lips.
I don’t overthink it as I lean forward, taking her mouth with mine. The kiss isn’t soft or gentle as our lips meet, sending a bolt of electricity through my body that I’ve never felt before. The sounds of the city melt away around us, creating a bubble where only we exist.
She slides her fingers through the hair at the back of my head and I groan at the contact, but my knees go weak when she rakes her nails downward along the same path.
I deepen the kiss like a starved man, wanting to taste, needing this connection more than I need to breathe.
Zoey kisses me back with as much ferocity and hunger as I do her. I slip my hands under her jacket, finding her warm skin. She jolts at the cold but doesn’t pull away as I drop my hands to her ass, not wanting her to freeze.
Giggles sound around us, bringing us back to reality. She pulls away first, her eyes soft and lips puffy. I blink a few times, trying to clear my mind from the haze of lust that’s taken over.
“That was hot,” a woman says, barely able to stand upright if her friend weren’t holding her.
“Sooo hot,” the friend tells her as they wobble down the sidewalk in a zigzag pattern, clearly drunk.
Zoey smirks as she looks at me. “It was,” she says, agreeing with the two women who interrupted the most amazing kiss I may have had in my entire life.
I hold out a hand, wanting to get out of here. “Home?” I ask.
She slides her warm palm into mine and nods. “And more kissing.”
“Perfect,” I say, closing my fingers around hers.
Before I take a step, a crack rings through the air, and I’m thrown backward like I’ve been struck by lightning.
I fall to the ground, my head tilting to the side to see a man running down the street, glancing over his shoulder with terror in his eyes.
“Hunter!” Zoey screams as her warm hands touch my face.
“What…” I try to say, but speaking is a struggle.
“Stay still!” she yells.
I want to tell her she doesn’t have to scream. I can hear her fine, but the pain lancing through my chest makes it too hard to force out words.
The world around me goes fuzzy. The streetlights and neon signs start to fade, and I close my eyes, focusing on my struggling breaths and the sound of Zoey’s voice.