Total pages in book: 84
Estimated words: 80774 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 404(@200wpm)___ 323(@250wpm)___ 269(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 80774 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 404(@200wpm)___ 323(@250wpm)___ 269(@300wpm)
“I’m not playing like it. I haven’t been for a while.”
“Is it still fun?” My question causes him to pull away, and I immediately miss the contact.
He paces the kitchen before heading to the counter across from me, so we’re facing each other. “Football was always fun to me.”
“Was or is?”
“I still love it. I’ll always love it.”
“That’s great if you do and okay if you don’t, but you’re not answering my question. Is it still fun?”
“It’s my job.”
When I cock a brow, he groans, dropping his head back and showing off the corded muscles in his throat, making my mouth water. God, I’m such a piece of shit for wanting him the way I do.
“No. It’s not fun anymore.”
“Maybe that’s what’s missing. You need to make it fun.”
“I don’t know how. Nothing is fun anymore.”
His truth breaks my heart, and as fucking ridiculous as it sounds, I want to be able to fix it for him. I want to be the one who makes Hunter happy again, even if half the time I’m not happy either.
“I guess it’s lucky for you that I’m so fun.”
“I have yet to see proof of that.” There’s a slight sparkle to his eyes that wasn’t there a moment ago.
“I’ll have to keep trying, then. But I’m warning you, I’m very fun, and once you see that, nothing on earth will compare.”
He barks out a laugh. “You’re so fucking cocky.”
“Yes.” I grin, and Hunter rolls his eyes.
His gaze flicks to the counter, then back to me. “Can I have a piece of cake?” he asks, and the tension I didn’t know I was holding melts away.
Maybe it’s just me making shit up in my head, maybe I couldn’t be more off, but I’m taking his asking for cake as Hunter saying he wants to try—to have fun, to let shit go, to just fucking be—and maybe this strange, unexpected friendship of ours will be a part of that.
“Abso-fucking-lutely. A big piece.”
I smile.
He smiles.
Then I grab a knife and dig into the cake.
We eat our second breakfast, one that’s really fucking terrible for you, right there in the middle of my kitchen. When we’re done, Hunter says, “Let’s go on a hike.”
“I think you’ve mistaken me for someone who’s athletic.”
“You’re athletic,” he says. “I’ve seen you play football.”
I pretend to vomit. “God, I hate that sport.”
“It’s the best one there is.”
“If you say so.”
“Go on a hike with me, Lucas. I ate cake with you. It’s short and easy. I promise.”
“Well, now I’m annoyed you think I need an easy hike. I’m not helpless.”
“Two seconds ago, you said you’re not athletic.”
“Yes, well, it’s okay for me to think or assume something like that about myself, but not you,” I tease, pushing off the counter. “Let me get dressed and grab my camera. If you’re going to drag me out of the house, I should at least get some photographs out of it.”
The truth is, I love the outdoors, and I’m sure he knows it, but I wouldn’t be me if I didn’t pretend it’s torture. I’m never supposed to be happy or satisfied. That’s just the way it is.
“Five minutes,” Hunter says.
“Fifteen. I’m naturally pretty but not that pretty. I need a little time.”
His eyes dart away.
Okay. No jokes about me being pretty. Got it.
“Make yourself at home. I’ll be back.”
I already showered this morning, so I brush my teeth, throw deodorant on, and get dressed. I put a camera battery in my bag, slip on my socks and shoes, then make my way into the living room with… “Seven minutes to spare. Damn, I’m good.”
“Wouldn’t go that far. You have toothpaste on your face.”
Hunter does the absolute last thing I expect—he uses his thumb to wipe the corner of my mouth. As if realizing what he’s done, his eyes go wide in a way that would be funny if he didn’t look one second away from descending into a full-blown panic attack.
“I left that there on purpose to see if you noticed,” I lie, my playfulness thankfully distracting him. “Now, where are we going on this hike?” A hike he invited me on. I’d expected him to tell me he had to go, but instead, he asked me to go on a hike with him. What is happening?
“You’ll see. I’ll drive.”
Hunter turns for the door, but I’m stuck for a moment, like logic has rooted my feet to the floor, and then I follow him.
CHAPTER TEN
Hunter
The whole drive to Studio City, my gaze flickers to Lucas in the passenger seat of my car.
This situation is incredibly fucked up. I hadn’t expected to see him in the gallery that night, but that’s less shocking than the fact that I just left his condo, where I had breakfast and chocolate cake with him and then invited him on a hike. What I’d planned to say when I opened my mouth was, I should head home, but my brain had other ideas.