“I promise,” I said in earnest.
He had just opened his mouth when the sky opened up and water drenched us. Hunter looked stunned as the rain seeped through his clothes. We both stood, motionless and mute, as chilled water blasted us from above.
Hunter quickly leapt into action when I started shivering, gently grabbing my bare, wet arm and dragging me down the street. About halfway down the block, he stopped and pulled me into a side alley, where an awning hugged the side of the building, providing shelter.
I fell back against the wall with a grunt, a puff of air expelling from my mouth and hitting him in the face. His expression was solemn as he stared down at me, pushing some of my fallen strands that were stuck to my cheeks behind my ears. Hunter’s palms rested on the sides of my throat, his thumbs sweeping across my jaw. With a shuddered breath, I wrapped my hands around his wrists, holding him to me.
“You hurt me,” I said softly, my eyes on his throat. I watched his Adam’s apple bob before I stared up at him. “I can’t pretend you haven’t, because you have… so much.”
His eyes closed, pained at the reminder. “I know,” he choked out. “Trust me, I know. But I couldn’t—”
“I know.” I let go of him briefly only to cup his cheeks a moment later, forcing his eyes open. “I’m not saying you were wrong, it doesn’t really matter. I’m just…”
“Telling the truth,” he finished with a small smile. “Like always.”
“I’m trying to. I want to be who my parents taught me to be, not who your father forced me to be.”
Nodding, he shifted even closer. “I want that, too. For both of us.”
My gaze zeroed in on his lips. God… what I wouldn’t give to taste them again. Hunter moved forward and his lips hovered over mine, giving me time to push him away or pull him closer. His mouth had been so far away for so long that nothing could stop me right now. There wasn’t a force on this planet that could keep our lips apart.
I didn’t kiss him.
He didn’t kiss me.
It wasn’t a decision either of us made, we were just pulled into one another, like we’d always been.
And the second our lips met, I swear to God I thought I was going to cry.
He eagerly grabbed my face, like I was going to disappear and he’d be alone again. Slanting my head, he kissed me like it was the first and last time all rolled into one.
My own hands dropped and wound around his lower back, pulling him into me while the rain continued beside us.
His tongue caught mine and I relished the warmth flowing through me despite the cold trying to find its way in. He tasted like bitter coffee and sweet love. Every swipe of his tongue or shift of his lips felt purposeful, and I could understand the words flowing through him as easily as if he said them.
I’m sorry.
I missed you.
I still love you.
I won’t ever hurt you again.
Hunter’s hands skated back down my neck and across my shoulders before settling on the side of my breasts. I was silently begging for his hands to shift a little closer, but he didn’t try for more. He just kissed me, exploring my mouth like he was getting reacquainted. This wasn’t about sex, it wasn’t about tearing each other’s clothes off—though I couldn’t wait to get to that point either. It was about reconnecting. It was about remembering our time together in our youth, grieving the time we lost, and reestablishing something for the future.
Eventually his kisses slowed and his hands moved to my waist. We separated and drew in deep breaths, our foreheads resting against one another.
“What now?” I asked, secretly hoping for an invitation back to his room.
Instead he leaned forward and gave me another soft kiss before asking, “Will you let me take you on a date?”
Despite the teenage hormones flooding my body, I said yes. I’d missed everything about him, not just the sex.
We both turned toward the downpour and without even looking at each other, he grabbed my hand and we ran out into the rain. My giggles rang out and Hunter looked back to smile at me. By the time we got to the hotel I was completely invigorated. I hadn’t felt this good in years.
He let go of my hand and asked for my key. While he unlocked my door, I was spinning around with my arms spread wide. It probably seemed ridiculous to most, and even I had to admit I felt like a kid.
But what was so wrong with that?
I used to think growing up would be a wonderful thing. Even when people told me I’d miss my younger years—I still had this hope that there would be more freedom in growing older. More joy.
But all the things I’d seen since I met Hunter made me realize how foolish that thought was. And I’d never admit this to him, but he was responsible for giving me my first real taste of the world, the ugly, horrible world that contained ugly, horrible people. Sometimes it was nice to forget all that and just feel like a child. Innocent and carefree.
And when I couldn’t feel like that, all I had to do was look at Hunter. Because while he may have been responsible for my first real look at the world, what he always failed to realize was that he also showed me that good men like him could prevail. He showed me strength… and I saw that now as he stood there waiting for me, smiling at my happiness.
The world was dark, we couldn’t avoid that, but not everyone got someone like Hunter, not everyone got that kind of light. So regardless of what he thought, he gave me more than he ever took away.
I slowly walked toward him. His smile fell away and as soon as I was close enough, he reached out and pulled me into him, kissing me in my doorway, the soothing sound of the rain as our backdrop, until I was dizzy with need.
Putting my hands on his chest, I pulled away.
“O-okay, I should get going,” I whispered. He smirked and let go, his hands raised in surrender. The shudder that ran through me sobered him up and he peeked into my room to look at the clock. It was almost three o’clock.
“I’ll pick you up at five?”
I couldn’t help but laugh at his question. “I thought only senior citizens ate that early.”
He grinned. “Yes, and a guy who wants to spend as much time with his girl as possible.”
HIS GIRL.
Those two words were the only thing on my mind as I got ready. And for a date with the love of my life, I was oddly nervous. My palms were sweating as I stood in front of my open suitcase, three different outfits laid on top.
Two minutes and several eye rolls later, I grabbed the closest thing to me and got dressed. I hadn’t thought about what I was wearing in years. Yeah, I’d always wanted to look nice, but I was never thinking about how others would perceive it. I never cared about what they thought, I just wanted to feel good.
Besides, Hunter had seen me in every state imaginable. In ratty clothes for painting, in three-day-old clothes when I was sick, in my prom dress, in date clothes, in no clothes… and every single time he looked at me like I was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen. I had never suffered from self-esteem issues and I had to assume he was part of the reason. Having someone in your life who has looked at you like that since you were ten years old will do wonderful things to your ego. It wasn’t inflated, society made sure to keep it in check, I was just lucky enough to have had Hunter to balance out all the negativity.
He would be amazing with a daughter.
I froze with my hand on the buttons of my shorts. Where the hell had that thought come from?
We’d never talked about kids when we were together, mainly because we were still kids ourselves, and over the years I became so numb that marriage and kids hadn’t ever been a thought, but now…
Now it seemed like a whole world of possibilities had opened up in front of me. But this was the wrong frame of mind for a first date, so I shook off thoughts of the future and focused on the present.
My eyes strayed to the soft cotton dress I had also laid out. Quickly shedding my shorts, I pulled the dress on instead. It was
a simple baby-pink sundress with a fitted bodice and an open back. The material fell just above my knees and would most definitely fly up if I twirled around like I had as a child whenever my mom bought me a new dress. The thought made me smile as I adjusted the straps before adorning my feet with gold flats.
I kept my makeup minimal, only foundation, mascara, and some of my favorite strawberry lip balm. My dark red hair, freshly showered and smelling like mint, fell down my back in natural waves.
After I was done I looked in the mirror, noticing that my lips seemed to tip up more naturally and my eyes appeared a little lighter. I looked… happy. Not just okay, but genuinely happy.
I hoped it would last.
Everything felt like it was moving too fast, and yet not fast enough. Less than four hours ago I was standing in this exact spot convincing myself that our lunch wasn’t a date, and now I was actually getting ready for one.
And even though I knew there was something he’d yet to tell me, I knew Hunter. He wouldn’t have done any of the things he did without a good reason. I was hurt and confused, but he was right there with me. He’d made poor choices that night, and in the years that followed, but how could I not forgive him when I knew none of them were choices designed to hurt me? None of them were made with malicious intent.
A light tapping sounded on the door. I checked the clock. It was five, on the dot. Smoothing my hands down my dress, I gave myself one last look before moving toward my date.
My nerves were a little assuaged when I looked out the peephole and saw him fidgeting. I opened the door and we both froze. His eyes drank me in while mine did the same. He wore dark wash jeans and a simple black T-shirt, nothing terribly different from what I’d been seeing him in, but something had me itching to drag him inside and insist we order takeout. The sudden feral look in his eyes suggested he felt the same.
“Wow… you look… wow.”
I smiled. “Thanks.”
“You ready, Sher bear?” He smirked and held out his hand. A small smile blossomed over my face, nostalgia rippling through me as I felt both happy and sad at the reminder of my parents. I put my hand in his, but he kept me at a distance, looking down at my dress again.
“Pretty in pink,” he said with a smile. “Just like that first day. Minus the pigtails.” He lightly tugged on a piece of my hair.
I tilted my head. “You remembered that?”
“Like I could forget the first time I saw you. Of course,” he whispered before pulling me forward and placing a soft kiss on my forehead. “Now, c’mon. I’m hungry.”
Nodding, I shut the door and waited for the automatic click of the lock. When I turned around, his eyes flew up. Was he…?
“Were you checking out my ass?”
“Yeah,” he replied shamelessly, licking his lips for extra effect. “And it looks just as heavenly as I remember.”
I wasn’t prone to blushing, but I couldn’t deny the sudden flush I felt in my cheeks. “I thought you were hungry.”
“Oh, I am.” Hunter’s eyes continued to run over me, heating me up and causing my skin to tingle everywhere his eyes touched.
Grabbing his arm, I pulled him toward the street. “Oh no you don’t. You had that chance earlier and you asked me on a date instead.”
“And there’s no way I can change your mind?” he asked.
“Nope.” There was. There totally was.
“Hmmm…” He was stroking his chin as we stopped at the crosswalk. “What about if I shoved up that dress of yours and tongue fucked your pussy? You think that could do it?” he whispered.
Dear God.
I loved how his inhibitions weakened when it came to sex.
Hunter looked victorious when I quietly whimpered and shuffled my legs to relieve some of the sudden tension. Hadn’t I just thought about dragging him into my room? What the hell was stopping me?
Truthfully, I wanted to prove this was about more than sex. I hadn’t slept with anyone besides Hunter, and I wasn’t sure where he stood, but I needed to know that sex wasn’t trumping everything else. So far it hadn’t, and us wanting it didn’t negate all that, but I also really wanted to go on this date.
“Nope,” I replied, albeit somewhat breathlessly. “I’m stronger than that.”
I felt his smile against my skin as he kissed my cheek. “No matter. It’ll just be some great foreplay.”
The crosswalk sign changed and I watched my date’s fantastic ass as he walked away from me.
“God give me strength,” I mumbled before quickly following after him.
I knew Sherry better than anyone. Even if she was horny as hell, she still loved going on dates. It was the exact same way when we were teenagers. And to be honest, I preferred it too. I loved whispering dirty things to her in public, gliding my hand up her leg until she was a quivering mess, begging me to fuck her in the bathroom.
We never did. But when we were finally able to, it was explosive. It made all the waiting worth it. Delay of gratification was an art some guys couldn’t appreciate.
It was what Tyler hadn’t understood in high school. Our trust, our love, was what made our first time special. I could have taken his advice to screw around—which I had zero interest in—but it never would have felt like it had with Sherry. That type of intimacy could only be found with someone you loved and trusted. All those idiots had no idea what they were missing as they scrambled around trying to stick their dick in anything that moved.
That was how I felt now. I could drag her back to the hotel and fuck her five ways from Sunday, but I knew it would feel ten times better once I spent an entire evening with her. I would stare at her lips as she spoke, imagining all the different ways I could kiss them. I’d look at her hands and picture all the ways she would touch me. And I’d salivate over her delicious body as I counted all the ways I would finally have her.
I’d have to limit myself of course, because walking in jeans with a hard-on was not a pleasant experience.
After she caught up to me, I grabbed her hand and linked my fingers with hers. Deciding where to take her was easy. Sherry could never say no to pizza. When we arrived, her hand tightened around mine and she pulled herself closer.
“I love this place.” I always made fun of her when she spoke about this place. Her tone often mimicked the reverence one saved for church. But this time I wasn’t even tempted, I was just happy to see her happy.
“You had it when you came back though, right?” I asked.
She shrugged as we stepped inside and waited for a hostess. “I got it delivered. Anything to limit the amount of time I spent walking around town alone. The first two years people felt like it was completely normal to ask me about what happened. Not to see how I was doing, but to gossip. Apparently tragedies are time sensitive.” She shook her head, a humorless chuckle escaping her. “Hell, there’s even an inflatable Titanic slide out in the world. Over a thousand people died, but I guess since it happened more than a hundred years ago, that suddenly makes it okay.” Sherry stopped, a faraway look in her eyes, when a worker came over and brought us to a private booth near the back of the restaurant.
“Sorry. I’m not trying to bring down the date.” She looked chagrined as she unrolled her silverware and placed the napkin on her lap.
“You’re not bringing it down.” I tried to soften my words with a smile, and when she gave me one back, I knew it had worked.
Our waitress arrived, a middle-aged woman I didn’t recognize, and set cocktail napkins in front of us. “Ciao! Mi chiamo Andrea. Have you guys dined with us before?”
“We have.”
“Excellent!” She clapped before reciting the specials and telling us she’d be back in five minutes.
“I missed actually coming in here though.” Sherry looked around at the Italian decor.
It was a decent size, but since they went to great lengths to make each table feel homey and private, there was a great deal of space between dining parties.
When her gaze met
mine, she smiled. “This was the perfect choice.”
“I know my girl.” Her eyes lit up, just like they had earlier, and I made a mental note to say that more often. It definitely wouldn’t be a chore.
Andrea came back and took our order. We always got the same thing, a small meat lovers’ pizza and a plate of linguini to share. I took a sip of my Coke before leaning forward and crossing my arms on the smooth wooden table.
“So, tell me about these best friends you mentioned earlier, and the guy… if you must.” I grinned to let her know I was joking. I believed her if she said there was nothing between them.
Her light laughter floated across the table and settled inside me.
“For the first three years I only had three really good friends: Alara, Naomi, and Derek. I met them freshman year; I wasn’t exactly in the best headspace.” Sherry’s smile was grim. “But Naomi was pretty… obdurate. She saw me and decided we just had to be friends.” She rolled her eyes, but I could see her smile turning genuine. “The more I think about it, the more I feel guilty for not telling them anything. They saved me from myself.”
“You never had any female friends in high school. I’m curious what they’re like.”
“It’s strange. We’re not all that similar. Alara, she’s pretty quiet. Doesn’t talk unless she has something to say, and even then her shyness makes it difficult.”
“And Naomi?”
There was no trace of sadness in Sherry’s eyes when she answered. “She’s always talking.” Sherry laughed. “And she’s loud, so loud and crazy. I’m somewhere in the middle I think.”
Reaching over, I placed my hand palm up, grinning when she automatically placed hers over it. “And Derek?” I asked.
“He’s my best friend.” Her palm spasmed against mine and her shoulders rose, like she felt guilty.
“Sherry,” I said quietly, shifting my hand so my fingers were wrapped around her wrist. “It’s okay. I’m glad you had him.”
“He was never you.” The assuredness in her eyes was all I needed. “But he’s a really good person. Always willing to help out his friends. I think you two will really get along.”
Unveiling Ghosts (Unveiling Series, Book 3) Page 16
