48. HUNTER
48
N ever in a million years did I expect to wake up like this when I walked into the bar last night. When her dark blonde hair crossed my vision, it felt like I got struck by lightning. Frozen in one place, yet completely electrified.
Now she’s here.
In my arms.
I brush her hair out of the way, exposing her pretty face as her cheek rests on my chest. I watch her closely, a warm feeling in my gut when her torso slowly moves up and down at a steady pace while my hand is draped on her back.
I wanna say it’s weird. Strange even, to grasp the feeling she thunders alive in my core, because I haven’t felt it in so long. I desperately want to hold on to it. To her. But I already know I’m gonna have to let her go again.
I press a kiss to her forehead, while my hands gently brush her back, and she slowly stirs awake, letting out a soft moan that breezes all my senses alive.
“Morning, babe,” I whisper against her hair.
She gives me a sweet smile, her eyes barely open as her gaze scans around the room. “I can’t believe after all these years we had sex in your bedroom. It’s still exactly the same.”
I chuckle, knowing teenage Hunter is fist-bumping me right now .
Holding her in my arms, I glance around the room that looks a lifetime away from the life I’m living right now. Everything back in LA is luxurious, spacious, and grand, representing the life I’ve made for myself, while this tiny teenage bedroom reminds me exactly where I came from. I don’t miss a thing from this house, but lying here with Charlotte makes me realize this still feels like home.
When I left, a few years ago, I literally threw some clothes in a weekend bag, tossed an old family picture in there that reminds me of better times, and left. Jumped on that plane and never looked back. As soon as I started making money, I bought this house, and sent my mother a check every month, making sure she always had a roof over her head and food on the table. Or liquor, whatever she prefers.
But I never felt the need to come back to Braedon after Charlotte went to UNC and ended our friendship, simply because I didn’t have a reason to.
“Feels like a teenage dream.” A wet dream I’d like to relive over and over again.
“You think your mother is gonna freak out on me?”
“Do you care?” I smirk, brushing my lips against her forehead.
“Nah, not really.”
“I’m sorry I didn’t go to see your mama,” I offer, staring out of the window, looking out at the big oak tree I used to climb out of.
“That’s okay. She’s actually away for the weekend with a friend.”
“Really?” I ask, surprised. “She’s really doing good then?”
“Yeah.” She nods, glancing up at me. “I don’t want to get too excited, you know? But yeah, she’s feeling great. She glows more every week, and she’s almost done with the treatment, so hopefully, she’ll be in remission after that, but the prognosis seems really positive. ”
“That’s great, Charls. I’m so happy for you both.” I stroke her arm affectionately. “You gonna get that dog now then?”
“Ha!” A spark of joy travels across her face. “Can’t believe you remember that.”
“I remember.” Sometimes I remember so much, I wish I didn’t, but I don’t tell her that.
The look on her face falls a little, as her eyes soften. She bites her lip, like my words cut her heart deeply, then she shakes her head before another smile appears.
“No, I don’t want another thing to take care of. Not yet. When Mama is better, I want to explore the world a bit. Maybe travel after graduation. See what else is out there, you know?” She moves her body up, resting her head against my shoulder. “I could even visit you sometime.” The tone of her voice is careful, as if she’s not sure if I want her to, and I hate how she picks her words like that.
“Yeah?” I brush her cheek with the backs of my fingers, peering into her eyes that are filled with insecurity as they keep looking at me in question. “That would be great, Charls.”
She sucks in a sharp breath, bracing herself for whatever words are about to come out of her mouth, and I shoot her an encouraging smile.
“You know I still love you, right?” she confesses, stuttering my heart. Staying quiet, I swallow hard, as my eyes just keep blinking. My mouth turns dry, and I ball my hands into fists, not knowing what to say.
She means a lot to me. Maybe even the world. But I vowed to myself a long time ago that I don’t do love. I don’t want the heartbreak that is bound to happen when you give your heart to someone else. It’s the reason I asked for her friendship all those years ago, making sure she wouldn’t leave and take my heart with her.
I didn’t expect her to do it anyway .
Panic hits her body, making her let out a troubled chuckle, putting a smile on her face that doesn’t match her eyes.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable. I shouldn’t have said anything.”
“No, don’t.” I grab her hand. “It’s fine. It’s just—you know I’m not capable of love.”
“That’s a lie, Hunt,” she whispers with pity.
“Maybe.” I shrug. “But I can’t give you what you deserve.”
She gives me a coy smile, nodding, before getting out of bed to collect her clothes.
“It’s okay, Hunt. I get it.”
“Are you mad at me?” I throw the covers off my body, getting up to close the distance between us, not willing to let her run out the door if we’re not cool. I need everything to be settled between us, because I don’t think I can go another year without her. I will never be able to give her what she wants, but I hope that we at least broke down enough bricks between us that we can be friends again.
“No.” Her tone is harsh, yet I can see by the look in her eyes that she means it. “Why would I be mad?” she asks, pulling her jeans over her legs, then grabs her shirt from the ground, throwing it over her head. “It is what it is, Hunter. Your life is there. My life is here. I know you don’t want to say those words.” She shrugs, muttering with a mocking expression. “Even though it’s only eight letters.”
Nodding in agreement, I grab her hand, dipping my head as my other hand takes a hold of her chin.
“Can we keep this, though?”
“What’s that?” The tension in the room rapidly rises, now that we are face to face once more, and the memory of last night is still fresh in our heads like a forbidden dream.
“This. You and me. I don’t want to go back to LA and not talk to you like we have for the last year. I want to know what’s going on with you. I want to know how your mama is doing, and I want to get a picture when you finally get that dog.”
She tries to give me a cautious look, trying to hold in a smile. “I don’t know, Hunt. The last time, that didn’t really work out well.” Then she dramatically rolls her eyes. “You practically neglected me.”
“I neglected you?” I huff indignantly, a smile on my face as I jokingly push her back and grab my sweatpants from the floor while she gathers the rest of her stuff. “You weren’t exactly blowing up my phone either.”
“I was in college. There were too many boys demanding my attention.”
Her words make me take a long stride toward her, crowding her space, as I narrow my eyes at her.
“We both know there’s only one boy who can really demand your attention.”
“Stop flirting with me.”
“Maybe.” My eyes move back and forth over her face, clenching my jaw to resist myself from covering her lips with mine again, but I want nothing more.
To devour her.
To corrupt her like only I can.
To flirt with her until she’s sick of me.
She swallows hard, and I tell myself she’s feeling the same struggle, before I take a step back to get dressed, and she lets out a soft breath of relief. Quietly, I get my shirt off the floor while she waits for me, resting her back against the door, eying my every move.
“What?” I nod my chin toward her with an arrogant smirk.
“You’re an asshole.” She purses her lips, but doesn’t seem pissed. No, she’s enjoying this just as much as I am. Loving the banter we throw at each other like we used to every day for a year. “But yeah, we can keep this . ”
She pushes off the door, sauntering toward me, then stops in front of me, her face more serious than before, silently demanding me to really listen to her.
“But you have to put as much effort into it as I do. Both of us. If we’re gonna be friends again, we really need to be friends. You gotta share the important stuff with me, even if it involves some kind of fucking bimbo.” She dramatically rolls her eyes, and I lick my lips, amused. “I don’t want to read no shit on TMZ before you tell me. That includes whenever you get back together with Laurie.”
“That’s not happening anytime soon.” Considering I told her she’s a superficial little girl, who has a better relationship with her phone than with her boyfriend—AKA me —I doubt she’ll be trying to catch my attention when I get back to LA.
Charls’s eyebrow cocks in a dare. “You said that before.”
“I called her superficial,” I counter.
“Ouch.” She winces, then I catch the smug smile. “Not your smartest move, Hansen.”
“I know.”
“Well, it doesn’t matter. Laurie, or whatever other supermodel that might pop into your life. You have to tell me about it. I can’t be your friend if I’m in the dark all the time.”
“What are you suggesting?” I tilt my head at her.
“Every other Friday, we call and catch up.”
Less than I was aiming for, but I’ll take anything she’ll give me. “Can I call you on fight night?”
Surprise washes over her face. “You’d rather start your fight night with me than your girlfriend?”
“She is not my girlfriend,” I rebuke like a smartass. “But yes, I want to call you before I get into that cage. It’s a ritual. I can’t do it with anyone else but you. Bad luck and all.”
“You’re one fight removed from being the welterweight champion. You clearly can do without a little luck. ”
I grab her chin, my fingers possessively spreading over her cheek as I bring my lips close to hers. “I can do without it. But I don’t want to.”
Her reply is barely audible. “Okay.”
“So I can call you?” I let go of her face and a ghost of a smile lands in the corner of her pouty lips.
“Is your favorite ice cream flavor clementine vanilla?”
“Right.” I chuckle at her defiant stance, adoring how cute she looks as she pulls a face at me. “Okay, babe. Every other Friday.”
She offers me her hand, and I incredulously shake my head at her silliness before I take it, shaking it in agreement.
“Deal,” she quips, a pleased smile on her face.
“Deal.”