by Megan Smith
We got all the bags into the house. Jaylinn, Mrs. McCormick and I put all the food away while mom and Jackson went upstairs to check on Chloe. Thirty minutes later, mom and Chloe came downstairs and asked if I was ready to go get our pedicures.
"Chloe, are you sure you are up to going?" She still did not look as if she felt very well. Her flushed cheeks and pinched eyes let me know her pain had not gone away.
"Yeah, I need to get out and get my mind off this pain. The doctor said if I still have these pains by tomorrow morning to head over to the hospital. I was just at the doctor on Monday. With my being only two centimeters dilated, I am probably experiencing painful Braxton Hicks contractions. They aren't coming close together or anything, so he isn't too worried."
What the hell is a Braxton Hicks? "I have no idea what the hell that means, but if you still want to go, let's go." I told her laughing.
By the time we finished our pedicures, and had stopped for ice cream, Chloe said that she was feeling much better. We got home and convinced Jackson that Chloe really was fine, so they headed home for the night.
Heading up the stairs to my room, I thought I heard Hailey's giggle. I stopped and waited for it again. I needed to make sure it was Hailey before I walked in on Mason or Cooper with some girl. I heard it again and knew that it was definitely Hailey's giggle. I knocked on Mason and Cooper's door. Cooper opened it and I saw Hails and Mason on his bed. Cooper and his friend Amy were sitting on his bed. Hunter and some blonde I did not know were sitting on the floor.
"Hey Hails, I thought I heard you. What are you up to?" I made sure not to look in Hunter's direction.
What the hell was he doing?
"Just hanging out. I came over to see you, thinking you would have been back by now, but Mason said you were still out with your mom and Chloe."
I glanced over at Hunter, then the girl next to him and then back to Hailey again. I said, "Ok, well, I don't want to interrupt you guys. I'll see you later." I turned around, shut the door and walked towards my room.
What the hell was Hunter doing with that girl? So fucking much for him waiting for me.
Just as I was about to open my door, Hunter called my name. I turned to him and said, "Hunter, whatever you are about to say, don't. Just go back in there, and I'll see you later." I walked into my room, locked the door and grabbed my iPod. I cranked the music on full blast and started to clean my room. If he tried to knock, I did not hear him. Around midnight, I fell into an exhausted sleep.
The next morning I woke up early and went downstairs to help my mom start cooking for Thanksgiving. I needed to stay busy so I would not think about Hunter. I needed to focus on me. I would not survive my heart being broken again.
"Good morning baby girl, how did you sleep?" Mom asked from the sink where she was washing the turkey out.
"I slept just fine. What do you need help with?"
"Start with making the stuffing."
The rest of the morning and early afternoon, I stayed busy helping my mom in the kitchen getting everything ready. A few hours before dinner, I went upstairs to take a shower and get myself ready before everyone came over. As I was going back downstairs, I ran into Hunter on the stairs.
"Hey."
"Hey, got a second to talk?"
"No, I need to get back downstairs and help mom get everything out for dinner…maybe later."
"CC, please don't do this. I don't want you pissed off at me. I'm not interested in that girl; I was just talking to her. She came with Amy. I couldn't just ignore her." I knew she did not mean anything to him. How could she? We have not even been here for months, but still, it bothered me.
"Hunter we aren't together. It doesn't matter who you talk to or don't. Now please excuse me; I need to go help mom." I refused to give in to my emotions. I wanted to hug him and tell him I believed him. I just could not take a chance with my still-mending heart.
"We're talking about this later CC," he stated.
Nodding my head, I passed him on the stairs and went to the kitchen to help mom set the table for dinner. I loved Thanksgiving dinner; we always got together, ate way too much food and watched football. I was setting the table when mom walked in with the turkey; once everything was on the table, we all sat down to eat. Everything was going great. Jackson and Chloe were there, but you could tell she was not feeling well and it looked like Jackson had not slept in days.
I kept feeling Hunters eyes on me throughout dinner. I caught Cooper looking at me and then at Hunter and shaking his head. I was not giving off any kind of signals so I do not know what he was thinking.
I think Mason caught on to the tension that was coming off Hunter and me because he spoke up. "Kenzie, what's wrong with you? You are really quiet today?"
"Nothing, I'm fine, just a lot going on lately. I'm good though, nothing I can't handle."
"Is Dominic still harassing you at school?" he asked.
"He is leaving me alone for the most part. How are things going with you and Hailey?" I already knew the answer; I just did not want to talk about Dominic.
"Good." Mason looked over at Hunter and asked, "Are you seeing anyone?"
"No, I'm hoping this girl from school will give me a chance, but lately she has been really distant, so we will see what happens."
Mason just glared at him when he said that. I was curious enough to ask, "Have I met this girl? I don't remember seeing anyone hanging around."
"Guess you're not paying attention then." Hunter's cell phone chirped. He reached in his pocket, read the message then cursed under his breath and stood up.
"I have to go. Thanks for dinner Mr. and Mrs. Cahill. Mom, Jay, I'll see you guys a little later. I'll be back before dessert and then I'll take you home."
"Dude, what's going on?" Cooper asked, standing up to follow Hunter into the kitchen with his plate. I could not hear what he said but when Cooper came back in, he looked at Mason and nodded his head.
"What the hell is going on?" I asked, with panic in my voice. The last time something like this happened, I found out my boyfriend was having a baby with another girl. I could not handle anything else.
"Nothing, everything is good. Hunter just had to go take care of something." Cooper said.
"Quit the bullshit Cooper, what's wrong?" I said glaring at him.
"Relax, it's nothing; he'll be back. If he wants you to know, he can tell you when he comes back."
"Whatever!" I yelled. I got up, took my plate to the kitchen and then went to the living room to watch the football game. I heard my mom and dad ask everyone what was going on, but Cooper and Mason just told them everything was fine. I must have fallen asleep on the couch because I woke to Hunter rubbing my arm.
I sat up as soon as I saw his split lip and the welt on his cheek; obliviously he got into some kind of fight. "Oh my God Hunter, what happened? Are you ok?"
"Yeah I'm fine, just had to go take care of something."
I reached out to touch his lip and he winced at first then kissed my finger. I stood up and pushed Hunter to sit on the couch. "I'll be right back." I disappeared into the kitchen to grab some ice. Mom looked over at me and asked if I was ok. I nodded my head to her and left the kitchen quickly.
"Here put this on your lip and cheek." I told him. His cheek was already turning black and blue.
"CC I'm fine really. Can we talk now?" Hunter asked, grabbing the ice from me and placing it on his lip.
"Yeah but not in here with everyone; let's go outside."
"It's raining."
"I need to get out of here." I told him. I really did not want to talk to him about us with the possibility of someone over hearing.
"Ok, let's go."
Hunter grabbed my hand, led me outside into the pouring rain and to his truck parked at the end of the driveway. He stopped walking when we reached his truck, looked from the ground to my lips and then he took a step closer to me, pushing me until my back was up against the cold wet truck. He reached up and cupped my face. "I'm done
trying to stay away," he sighed then continued. "I can't do it anymore. I need you like my life depends on it." The rain was streaming down on us but right now, I did not care. "I just need you." He gently pulled my head to him and whispered, "I am going to kiss you now."
That is exactly what he did. I was tired of fighting my feelings for him, tired of being upset, just tired. That kiss was amazing; it had all the passion and longing we had been holding onto for so long. That is when the dam finally broke for me and I started crying. I knew right then that Hunter was the only one I wanted. He was my happily ever after.
All I could think about was Hunter's lips on mine. There was a tingly feeling that spread from my lips, down my chest and right between my legs. A deep growl came from Hunter; I knew he was feeling this too. He deepened the kiss; his tongue slipped in and found mine. I reached up and tangled my hands in his hair. I did not ever want this kiss to end. I was not sure what would happen when we broke apart. I would not be able to stop my heart from shattering if he said this was a mistake again. I did not care if our family was sitting in the house or not. I needed this kiss as if my life depended on it.
Hunter started to pull away but I tightened my hands in his hair, holding his head to me. I was so scared to pull away from him. He reached up, removed my hands and positioned them between us. He pulled back ever so slightly and caught my lower lip between his teeth. I whimpered. He rested his forehead against mine; we were both panting.
"You know," he said, chuckling, "We have a thing with kissing in the rain."
We were both soaked and I truly did not care, but then I remembered the cut on his lip.
"Oh god, I didn't hurt you did I?" I asked him, reaching up to run my thumb over his cut. God, what an idiot I am. That is why he was pulling away.
"It was worth it." He bent down and kissed me again. "I guess I'm forgiven for talking to that girl yesterday?"
"Yeah, I think you are, but just don't let it happen again." I said. "What happened to you?"
He pushed my bangs out of my face. "I got a text from Hailey telling me that she ran into a very drunk Dominic. He said he was on his way to talk to you. So, I had to stop him before he came over. Let's just say that he isn't going to be going anywhere for a while."
"Hunter, you shouldn't have done that." I was thankful that he handled Dominic but I did not want to see him like this.
"Yes, I should have. I couldn't have him come over here and throw himself at you, I can't handle that shit."
"KENZIE!" Mason yelled from the front door.
"Shit." Hunter said, stepping back from me.
"Get your ass in here. Mom wants you." Mason was glaring at us; I knew this was not going to go over well. I just hoped he would not make a scene with everyone here.
"Coming." I yelled back to him. "I guess we better get back inside." He reached in and grabbed his keys from his pocket. "I'll be back later; I'm going to run home and change. Tell my mom and Jay that I'll be back."
"Ok. See you in a little bit." I did not know what to do. Did I kiss him goodbye or just walk inside?
I did not have to wait long as Hunter grabbed both of my hands, entwined our fingers, pulled me closer to him and kissed me goodbye.
"You know, you can drag my ass out in the rain and kiss me anytime you want." I told him when we broke apart from our kiss.
Smirking at me, he said, "I'll have to remember that."
"Alright, see you in a little bit." I turned and walked back towards the house.
I ran up to my room and quickly changed and dried my hair.
Someone knocked on my door. I went over to it and opened it. Jaylinn was standing there with her hand on her hip and her eyebrows raised, frowning at me.
"Where did you run my brother off to?"
"He went home to change. He said to tell you he would be right back." I was trying not to smile at her.
"And why did he have to change?"
"Because we…"
She cut me off before I could answer her. "Wait, don't answer that. I don't even want to know."
I busted out laughing, I could not help it; I was on cloud nine from my kiss with Hunter. Jaylinn just shook her head at me.
"Well, I'm glad to finally see you laughing again and I'm glad it was Hunter that did it." Hailey said leaning against my doorframe.
"Well let's not get a head of ourselves. I still have to go downstairs and deal with my brothers." I pulled my hair up in a ponytail. "Alright, let's go face the music."
Everyone was in the living room hanging out and relaxing when we went downstairs. Hailey went over to Mason to try and run inference against the ass chewing I was about to get, and Jaylinn went over to Cooper.
I took a seat in the recliner next to Jackson and Chloe. "So Chloe, how are you feeling today? Any better?"
"No, not at all, I'm so uncomfortable." She said groaning. Poor girl, she was so ready to have this baby.
"Well with your shower on Saturday, hopefully it will take your mind off of it for a little while." I tried to shine some kind of light on the situation.
"I sure hope so."
Hunter walked in looking hot, even dressed in sweat pants and a t-shirt. There were not any seats anywhere, so I jumped up. "Here, sit here." I told him.
He walked over and sat in the recliner. I was going to sit on the floor between his legs, but he pulled me onto his lap instead.
I quickly glanced over at Mason and he practically leaped off the couch, throwing Hailey to the floor. "Dude, that's my fucking sister. What are you doing?"
"Mason, watch your mouth." My dad spoke up.
I glanced around the room and everyone was staring at us. I looked at Hunter and thought it was better just to sit on the floor; we did not need a huge family fight.
I got up off Hunter's lap and I think that surprised him because he was looking at me as if I just did something wrong.
"Kenzie, what are you doing? You're not sitting on the floor." Cooper said.
"Coop, it's fine." I did not want this shit to happen, not here on Thanksgiving with our whole family here.
I decided to try to defuse the situation so I walked into the kitchen to start doing the dishes that did not make it into the dishwasher. Mason followed me into the kitchen, I assumed to finish our argument, but he was not alone. Hunter and Cooper came too.
"What the fuck is going on between you two?" Mason seethed through his teeth.
Cooper put his hand on Mason's shoulder and said, "Mase man, just let it go."
"No, I'm not just going to let it go. You're only sticking up for them because you're fucking his sister." Mason fired back at Cooper.
My mouth dropped opened.
"What the fuck Mase!" Cooper yelled.
"You're what, Coop? That's my fucking sister." Hunter yelled back.
I thought it was going to be a free for all, but thankfully, Jackson and my dad walked in before anyone could get too crazy. I guess Hunter did not know about Cooper and his sister. I had kind of put two and two together but I did not know for sure.
"What the hell is going on? Why is everyone yelling?" My dad asked.
I just shook my head at my dad. I was not about to get into this. I turned and continued to do the dishes.
"Your daughter wants Hunter." Mason told my dad.
"Wait, I thought you were with Dominic." my dad said to me.
"Nope, haven't been for a few weeks. But while we're talking about it, Mason wants Hailey." I fired right back towards Mason.
My dad reached up to rub his forehead, surely from the headache that we were all causing.
"And what about you?" my dad asked Cooper.
I started laughing at what a complete disaster this is.
Hunter spoke up and answered before Cooper could. "He wants Jay."
My dad threw his hands up and walked out. That made me laugh, and earned me a glare from everyone but Jackson, who also thought this was insane.
"This is a cluster fuck." Jackson stated and then he
turned around and walked back into the living room.
Mason and Cooper stormed out leaving me alone with Hunter in the kitchen. He walked over to me and caged me in as I continued to wash the dishes at the sink.
"Well, that went over great." He pushed my hair back off my neck then kissed it and put his hand back on the counter. "Did you know about Jay and Coop?"
I pushed back on him, snuggling a little closer and shook my head no. Hunter groaned and whispered, "Stop that."
"Stop what?" I asked innocently.
"You know what." Hunter moaned softly in my ear.
A throat cleared behind us. "Hunter," Mrs. McCormick said.
Hunter pushed off from my back and said, "Yeah Mom?"
"Could you run me and Jaylinn home now? We have to get up early to go shopping with the girls, so we need to get some sleep."
"Yeah sure. Get Jay and I'll meet you in the truck."
Mrs. McCormick walked over to me, gave me a hug and a kiss on the cheek and said, "I'll see you tomorrow morning sweetie."
When she walked out of the kitchen, Hunter crushed his lips to mine. I moaned a little when his tongue brushed against my lips. He picked me up and I wrapped my legs around him. He walked me over to the door and pushed me against it. All my muscles started to tense, both from the kiss and from the fact that anyone who walked in would catch us.
"God, I don't think I could ever get sick of kissing you." Hunter said.
"Good, cause I don't either."
Hunter set me down on my feet and kissed me again before he said, "I better get out of here. I'll see you tomorrow?"
"Maybe, I'm going shopping with the girls then we have to get the favors and stuff ready for Chloe's shower on Saturday."
Hunter locked his eyes with mine, those panty dropping eyes that I could get lost in forever. "I'll see you tomorrow." He was telling me, not asking.
Four in the morning came way too early, but this was a family tradition so I dragged my ass from bed. It was my birthday in just a few days. My mom always let me pick out my presents while we were shopping. Hailey had slept over last night with Mason, so we just had to go by Hunter's house to pick up his Mom and sister.
