by Molly O'Hare
As he walked up the stairs the rat escorted him. He was probably just as concerned for his mother as Hunter was at this point.
Once he got to the top, he looked at the oversized scrotum. “Which way?” The rat in a bright pink turtleneck ran past him in and into the door on the right.
Okay, that way.
Following behind him he stepped into the room.
It was way worse than he thought.
Abbie was on the floor amongst a pile of clothes, shoes, and lord knew what else. “Abbie?”
“Oh my god, get out. You can’t see this,” she mumbled from beneath a pile.
“See what?”
As she jumped to her feet, the mountain of clothes she had piled on her bed toppled over on her causing her to fall back onto her ass.
That explained why he kept hearing her fall over.
With a chuckle, Hunter walked over to Abbie. He effortlessly grabbed her waist hoisting her into the air before placing her on the edge of the bed. “Has anyone ever told you, you freak out?”
“Screw off.”
He looked around the room. “What happened in here?”
“I don’t know. I started pulling out a blouse I thought I would need then I realized I didn’t have a good pair of pants to go with it. So, I started looking for a skirt. Then I realized what if I forgot to pack something or what if I leave something behind I might need? Then I started going through everything I own and tried to make sure I didn't forget something important. What if I forget to pack a bra? I can’t walk around with my tits flopping all over the place. I’ll probably give myself a black eye,” she rushed out.
Damn, she was adorable when she freaked. And lucky for him, that was Abbie’s permanent state. He had to fight the urge to bend down and kiss her pouted lips.
Hunter’s gut clenched.
He could still remember the kiss he’d shared with her sixteen years ago. Something over took him as he slowly leaned forward.
Then Rupert bit his ankle.
“What the fuck?” He jumped back.
Abbie looked behind him. “He doesn’t understand what’s going on. It’s normally really clean in here. He probably thinks we’re having an earthquake.”
“So, he bit me?”
Abbie shrugged as she resumed going through the remaining clothes on her bed. “He thinks you caused it.”
Hunter glared at the rat staring at him as it licked its lips. “The fuck?” A chill went down his spine as he turned back to Abbie while also keeping a close eye on the thing. “Let’s take a deep breath, okay? First things first, where is your suitcase?”
“Downstairs in the hall closet. That’s why I was bringing my clothes down there.”
His eyes widened. “Please tell me you’re not planning on trying to pack all that shit down there are you?”
Abbie’s eyes swam with tears causing his heart to break for her. She was so vulnerable right now. Without fighting it, Hunter leaned over and kissed the top of her head. “I’m gonna get your suitcase. Why don’t you call your mom now and tell her what’s going on? That way you can ask her to take care of the rat? I’ll meet you downstairs once you’re done. Okay?”
To his surprise, she nodded completely helpless. He didn’t like this Abbie. No. He’d rather take her threatening to unman him every second than this Abbie.
Before he did something stupid like kiss her, he turned on his heel and jogged out of the room.
She must really hate flying if she was freaked out this much. Although, she had an aversion to keeping her cool when it came to him, she was always organized and ready for anything. This wasn’t the Abbie he knew.
No, this was an Abbie that was terrified beyond belief. And all he wanted to do was take her in his arms and kiss away her worries.
Hunter ran down the stairs and quickly made his way over to the kitchen turning the kettle on. Might as well give her something to calm her. He then walked over to the hall closet and retrieved her suitcase.
At least he could do this for her. He placed it on the coffee table and started going through her clothes on the couch.
As he worked through what she had, he heard a chomping. Hunter then turned only to see Rupert was now sitting inside the suitcase staring him down as he chewed on the side.
“What the hell is wrong with you?”
The cat meowed before it looked over at its treats.
“Jeez, dude.” Hunter walked over to the bag and watched as the rat danced in a circle. “Sit.”
Rupert did it without hesitation causing Hunter to cringe away. He then looked at the princess bed and shook his head.
At this point, nothing surprised him anymore.
He tossed some treats onto the floor keeping the rat occupied. He moved back to the couch. “Well, if I’m gonna do this, I might as well start with the most important things.”
The corner of Hunter’s mouth lifted as his eyes honed in on a pair of lace purple boy shorts. “Panties it is.”
Abbie took a deep breath as she looked around her room. It was a mess. No, mess wasn’t a word to describe it, it was a disaster.
Just like her.
She had absolutely no idea why or how she’d lost her mind, but here she was in the middle of World War three in her bedroom.
Abbie knew she was being overdramatic. There was absolutely no reason for her to be acting like this. Especially, in front of Hunter.
She cringed. She didn’t even want to think of the fact he’d been a witness to all of this. She figured she could deal with that later though, first things first, she needed to call her mom. It only took two rings before her mother answered.
“Baby! What do I owe the pleasure of you calling in the middle of the day?” her mother sang from the other end of the line.
“Hey, Momma.” Abbie toyed with the bottom of her shirt.
“Abigail, are you okay?” her mother’s concerned voice came through the phone. “You don’t sound okay. Are you sick? Oh baby, you’re sick. Okay, I’ll be there in twenty minutes I just gotta go to the store and get the fixings for soup.”
Abbie’s heart swelled at her mother’s words. Her mom was always trying to take care of her. Even if most of the time it was done in an overreaction.
That’s when it hit her. She rolled her eyes.
Abbie was doing the same thing. She placed the palm of her hand on her head. “No, Mom. I’m not sick. But I need to ask you for a favor.”
“Are you sure you're not sick? Something sounds off.”
“I’m not sick, Mom. I need to go away for a few days and I need for —”
“Go away where? What’s going on?!”
Is this how she sounded when she freaked out? Dear god, she hoped not. “Calm down, mom. The project I’ve been working on needs to be presented in person. My flight leaves in two hours.”
“You're going to fly?”
“Yes.” Her voice sounded small even to her.
“You’re terrified of flying. You always say people aren’t meant to fly. Are you sure you can’t drive?”
“I already asked. And no, we can’t video conference apparently. The client wants an in-person meeting.” Why they had to be there in the flesh Abbie still had no freaking clue. Tears welled in her eyes.
“Oh, baby…”
“It’s going to be okay, Mom.” She wiped away her tears. “I just need you to take care of Rupert and my plants.”
“What plants? Do you have any living right now?”
“Mom…” She rolled her eyes.
“What, it’s an honest question? Of course, I’ll take care of them, even the dead ones.”
“As a matter of fact, I do have a plant living. It’s in the kitchen right now. Hunter saved it.”
“Who’s Hunter?”
Abbie’s heart dropped as she realized what she’d said. Oh shit. “Uhh, gotta go, mom. Flight leaves in two hours. Bye.”
“Abbie, don’t you dare hang up this phone! Wh—”
Abbie threw her ph
one across the room like it was on fire. “Shit. Shit on all the crackers.” Slowly she walked over to her phone like it was a bomb about to go off. And with the number of chimes it was sounding, that could be at any second.
Carefully she picked it up only to see text after text coming in.
Did you really hang up on me? Your own mother!
Is Hunter your boyfriend?
Why did he save your plant?
Why didn't you tell me about him?
Is he treating you right?
Should I have a talk with him?
Answer me, Abigail Collins. I will drive over there right now. Actually, that’s what I’m doing. I’m getting in the car.
Abbie quickly sent a text back.
Jesus, Ma. No, it’s not like that. To make a long story short, which I promise to call and explain about later, but it’s Hunter James.
Abbie smacked her hand to her head after hitting send. “Really? Why did you say that?”
Her phone instantly chimed.
AS IN HUNTER JAMES FROM YOUR CHILDHOOD?!
Damn it! Damn it straight to hell. She swallowed as she sent the next message.
Yes…
Abbie turned off her phone. You can’t have your phone on while in flight anyway. She was just starting early. That was her story and she was sticking to it.
In flight…
She gulped. Oh god, she was about to board a flying death machine. This was it. This was how she was going to die.
Just as her panic started to resurface, she remembered Hunter was downstairs. Abbie looked to the ceiling. “Really, Universe? Fucking really? Am I a joke to you?”
Quickly she hopped up from the bed and left her room not caring that she’d have to deal with the mess when she got back.
As she raced down the stairs she saw Hunter going through her clothes before picking up one of her shirts. He then folded it before placing it neatly in her suitcase. “What are you doing?”
Hunter turned and looked up at her. “Packing. What does it look like I’m doing?” He sent her an arrogant smile.
“You’re packing my clothes?”
“No, I dumped mine out and wanted to re-pack.” He quirked a single brow at her. “Of course, they’re your clothes.”
“You can’t pack for me.” She crossed her arms over her chest.
“I already did.” Hunter placed another item, which looked like a shirt. “You’ve got four business shirts. Two skirts, one pair of black and one pair of brown pants.” He pointed to the suitcase.
“What?”
As she stared at him in disbelief, his face beamed in amusement. “Six pairs of panties and two bras.” The fucker then pulled out a purple polka-dotted bra. The same purple polka-dotted bra from the day the jerk walked back into her life.
Watching it dangle on his finger made her snap. Before she knew it, she was in the air, her target acquired.
Chapter Twelve
This isn’t so bad.
Abbie closed her eyes as she felt the plane pull away from the gate and head toward the runway. Yeah, this is easy. We’re just driving right now. Driving to the runway. That’s safe. Driving is on the ground.
Nothing to see here. See, she was fine.
Abbie looked to her right to see Hunter staring at her in concern. There was a part of her that wanted to send him the finger, but there was a bigger part of her that was relieved he was there.
After tackling him to the couch, he quickly turned the tables on her. Hunter had ended up flipping them over and somehow gotten her pinned to the floor after the pile of clothes — including them, avalanched off the couch.
After making sure she was okay, he then promptly secured her arms over her head…again.
Bastard.
That was also the same moment her heart did that stupid flippy thing again as she looked up at him. Abbie didn't know what the hell came over her when it came to Hunter but she didn’t like it.
And no matter how bad it pained her, she was glad he was there. It might sound silly but the fact he took the decision away from her with packing, actually helped quite a bit.
When he finally let her up, Abbie was ready to go through the packed items and tackle him all over again. But once she saw what he’d packed in her suitcase, it was like all her tension was released.
She was impressed.
Hell would freeze over before she told him that, though. Instead, she glared at him for touching her panties to begin with as she walked to the bathroom and grabbed her toiletries. When she came back out, he handed her a to-go cup of tea. Her heart had done that stupid flip again.
She took the tea as she tossed her stuff in her bag. It was a sweet gesture.
Probably filled with poison, but sweet.
Abbie had given Rupert a big kiss on the head and told him his grandma was coming to check on him and to not have any wild parties or at least if he did to not get the cops called.
The ungrateful jerk only blinked a few times at her before going back to sleep.
Good to know where she ranked on his importance scale. That nightshirt was definitely being removed from her online shopping cart.
“Not so bad, right?” Hunter asked, distracting Abbie from her thoughts.
She turned to him and forced a fake smile on her face. “Sure. We haven’t left the ground yet.”
Abbie insisted Hunter take the window seat which honestly didn't matter to her. If the plane was going down, it was going to go down regardless of where she was seated.
Although, if something did happen, she wanted to be in the aisle seat. Rest assured she would be the first one off this bitch if something went down.
She glanced at Hunter. Her boss had booked them in first-class giving each row only two seats. It gave her more legroom, which she was all for.
Hunter stretched out with a sigh. “If a plane is gonna have an issue, it normally happens when it takes off or lands.”
Her body froze as her heart raced. “We’re about to take off.”
“I know.” He smirked at her.
“Asshole.” Abbie’s palms began to sweat as her mind raced with all the bad things that could happen.
Then out of nowhere Hunter reached over and grabbed her hand giving it a squeeze. “It’s gonna be okay, Abbie.”
Her eyes filled with tears as she looked at him. “How do you know?”
“I promise you nothing will happen.” When Hunter looked her in the eyes, it was like he could see into her soul. And, for some strange reason, she believed him.
He squeezed her hand tighter. “It will be over in a few minutes.”
“What will be over?” Abbie panicked as she looked around. Her heart plummeted. She knew what was coming.
She closed her eyes.
Death.
Death was coming her way.
“The take-off, Abbie. Relax.” He squeezed her hand again causing her to look at him.
“I can’t relax. Not when I’m about to die!”
Hunter chuckled. “Close your eyes, Abs. I’ll let you know when it’s safe to open them.”
Without even questioning it, she did what he said. Well, she also prayed to the Universe and squeezed the ever-loving crap out of his hand.
Holy fucking shit!
Don’t get him wrong. Hunter was ecstatic he was holding Abbie’s hand, but with her Sumo Wrestler death grip she had going on, he was pretty sure he’d lost all circulation in his fingers. Looking down at their conjoined hands and seeing how purple they were he was positive of it.
“We’re clear for take-off,” came over the intercom.
“Oh god, oh god, oh god.” Abbie squeezed his hand tighter. “Hunter, we’re gonna die.”
Oh, fuck. He thought he felt a bone break. “Shit, Ouch. Where the hell is this strength when you’re attacking me?” Hunter groaned moving to see if he had any feeling left in his fingers.
“Yes, we are,” she ignored him. “We totally are. We’re gonna die and then I’m gonna be some weird fl
oaty ghost that can only haunt this plane and that’s gonna suck ‘cause I’ll be forever cursed to fly.”
“If you're dead, it won’t matter if you fly.”
Abbie stared at him horrified. “Don’t say that.”
As Hunter realized she had no intention of loosening her grip, he cocked his brow. “You can say you’re gonna die but I can’t?”
“No, you can’t! You’re supposed to be the sane one between us. Don’t you know that?”
“You're admitting you’re being overdramatic, then?”
She stared at him blankly. “Have you met me?”
“My bad.” Hunter held up his other hand in surrender.
“If I die, I’m not haunting this plane, I’m haunting you.” Her eyes narrowed on him. “That settles it. I’m gonna make your life a living hell as your permanent ghost.”
“Wouldn’t we both die?” He fought his smile at her horrified look.
“Not if I have anything to say about it!”
“You’ve got some serious issues, Abs.” Hunter shook his head.
“And you’re annoying.”
Hunter pulled their clasped hands to his mouth before kissing it. “At your service.”
“Eww. Don’t do that!” Abbie finally released his hand in a frantic move before wiping the back of her hand on her pants.
“You’re welcome.” He shrugged as he opened and closed his hand to see if it was broken.
Abbie gasped snapping her head to his. “I’m welcome? For what? Your nasty germs? No, thank you!”
Hunter pointed out of the window. “We’re level.”
In a split-second Abbie was crawling over the seat and him. She had both her hands in his lap as she strained her neck to see.
He felt the heat of her hands on his thigh.
Fuck.
“Holy shit. Oh my god, Hunter, look how high we are. You can’t even see the ground.” As she pushed to get closer to the window one of her hands slipped between his thighs causing a groan to escape him.
