U home? 1 страница

Maybe. Y?

Bringing my sister by.

If she looks like you, she's welcome.

And if not?

I'll vacate the premises.

U ass.

He didn't answer, so I shut my phone.

“He said he'll be there as long as I said you looked like me.”

She laughed.

“Yeah, that guy totally wants you, Kid.”

“He's just pushing my buttons.”

“That's not all he wants to push, ” she said, pointing her fork at me. Ugh. Maybe Hunter and Tawny would get along. That would be the worst.

We left Tawny's car downtown and took mine back to campus.

“Stop freaking out.”

“I'm not freaking out, ” I snapped.

I was freaking out and I couldn't exactly say why. Maybe it was because Tawny's was the opinion I trusted the most. I trusted her judgment more than my own. If she didn't like Hunter, really didn't like him, that was it.

“Aw, this is so cute, ” she said when I opened the door. “Not nearly as scuzzy as I was expecting.”

I glanced around, but didn't see Hunter. Guess he'd decided not to be home after all. I heaved a sigh of relief, and then the bathroom door opened and he emerged in a cloud of steam wearing only a small towel around his hips.

He saw us and his face spread into a grin.

“Hello there, you must be Tawny. I'm glad I stuck around. I figured if you shared the same genes you would be just as hot.”

I glanced at Tawny to see her reaction.

“And you must be Hunter, ” Tawny said, her eyes raking him up and down. I had a hard time not doing the same thing, even though I'd seen him shirtless before. “Yup, you were right, ” she said to me.

“Right about what? ” Hunter said, shifting the towel so it didn't fall. Sweet Christ.

“You think? ” I said. It was fun having a secret that Hunter didn't know. How do you like me now?

“Yup, ” she said, walking closer to Hunter and slowly circling him and taking him in. “Just as you said.”

I nodded.

“Red flags? ” I asked.

“Not yet, ” she said, making another circle. In all fairness, Hunter stood still and let her assess him.

“You look like you're enjoying yourself, ” I said, because he did.

“I have two beautiful women undressing me with their eyes. What's not to enjoy? ”

Tawny tipped her head to the side and squinted. I saw his eyes flick down to her forearm, which was covered in a peacock feather tattoo she’d gotten as soon as she turned eighteen.

“So, what are you intentions toward my sister? ”

Hunter's met her eyes without blinking.

“Well, at first I wanted her for the best one-night-stand of my life.”

“And now? ”

“I don't just want her for a one-night-stand, ” he said, his eyes lasering into me. My skin went cold and then hot in waves.

“Are you aware that I am in the position to grab your dick and break it off if I wanted to? ”

“Very aware, ” he said, tearing his eyes away from me. Was it getting hot in here? I needed to open the window.

“Good, ” she said, patting him on the shoulder and sitting on the couch and grabbing the remote. “Why don't you put some clothes on before you and my sister eye fuck each other to death? ”

Hunter laughed and shook his head.

“You're not single, are you? ” he said.

“In your dreams, towel boy. Run along and put some clothes on, ” she said, motioning with her hands.

“Yes, ma’am.” He winked at me before shutting our bedroom door. It must have been my imagination that I heard a hint of a southern accent when he said it.

“Well? ” I said.

Tawny grabbed the remote and clicked the television on.

“He's one of those guys. But there's something about him I like. I can't really put my finger on it. If I was a few years younger, I would have totally gone for him.”

“Really? ”

“Hell, yeah. What girl doesn't want a guy who isn't ashamed to say he wants her? Everyone wants to be wanted.” I sat down next to her, and she put her arm around me. “Just be careful. A boy like that can be the greatest thing to happen to you, or the worst.”

“What do you think Hunter will be? ”

“That's up to you. You've got him totally whipped already. Despite what he says, if you told him to jump off a bridge, he'd do it.”

“Yeah, right.” I put my head on her shoulder and pulled my feet up on the couch.

“Just wait, Kid.” Tawny didn't mess around and she called things like she saw them. But I couldn't believe that about Hunter. To him, I was just another conquest. A shiny toy that was out of reach. While he didn't know I was a virgin, I was sure he suspected. Guys like that had virgin radar.

“Just wrap it before you tap it, Kid.”

“Tap what? ” Hunter came around the corner wearing a Radiohead t-shirt and black workout pants. Even that made me stare at him. He was really good-looking. How had I not seen that? He really did have a fabulous jawline. He’d shaved, but I preferred the non-shaved look on him.

“Wouldn't you like to know? ” Tawny said, grinning at him.

“I think I do, ” he said, taking the crappy chair because Tawny and I had taken over the couch.

“God, it's hot in here, ” she said, fanning herself.

“You want some water? ” I said.

“I'll get it, ” Hunter said, before I could get up.

“With ice, ” Tawny called as Hunter went to the kitchen. What the what?

“Told you so, ” she whispered in my ear.

“You're crazy.”

“No, I'm right, ” she said as Hunter came back with a sweating glass, complete with ice.

“Thank you, towel boy. Now fetch me a piece of cheesecake.” I nudged her with my shoulder. “So, what's your story? Did you win the room assignment lottery? ”

“Looks like it. I was supposed to live with my cousin, but that fell through. I contacted housing, and they sent me an email and I showed up. Your sister answered the door and that was it.”

“I also heard she punched you in the face.”

He rubbed his jaw, which was now bruise-free.

“And kicked me in the balls, yes.” Hunter looked down and smiled, as if it was a fond memory.

“What did you do to deserve that? ”

I was staying quiet through Tawny's interrogation. I wanted to watch Hunter flounder under her scrutiny.

“I may or may not have offered her a proposition, ” he said.

“I heard, and that's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard, that my sister would agree to something like that. And YOU, ” she said, pointing at Hunter, “you are an ass, plain and simple.”

“I am aware of that fact, ” he said, calmly. “I thought it would give her a way out.”

“Yeah, but only when you decide. That's an asshole move, and you know it. How dare you take advantage of my sweet baby sister.”

“Tawny, ” I said. “I think I can take care of myself.” This had been a bad idea. I’d thought she’d simmered down about the bet, but apparently not.

“No, don't you do that thing. I'm your sister and I get to be pissed if someone is taking advantage of you.”

“He's not taking advantage of me.” Hunter sat back and watched, but I could tell he was taking everything in. “Maybe he is, but I'm not unaware, and he knows that if he does anything I don't like, I'll punch him again. I'm not a damsel in distress. I'm not a baby, and you can't fight my battles for me.” I stopped talking, embarrassed that Hunter had seen that.

“She takes good care of herself, ” he said.

“Don't you dare tell me about my sister. You've known her for five seconds. You probably don't even know her middle name.”

“Elizabeth, ” he said. How did he know that? I couldn't recall ever telling him. “It was listed on your Mainecard. You left it on the table one day.”

“Oh, ” I said. That was way less creepy than I thought it would be.

“Prove to me that I can trust you with her. I'm not leaving until you do.” Tawny pulled me closer and angled her body so she was in front of me. Oh, please. Now it was going to turn into a pissing contest.

Hunter stood up.

“Hit me, ” he said, looking at me.

“What? ” I said.

“Go ahead, hit me. I know you want to. You always want to hit me, so get it out of your system. It’s been almost a week since the last time.”

“I'm not going to hit you.” Given other circumstances, I'd love to, but I didn't want to do it just because he told me to.

“Come on, Missy. Go ahead, ” he said, putting his hands behind his back and looking at the ceiling.

I glanced at Tawny, who was studying Hunter.

“Well, what are you waiting for? Give him a good one.”

Tawny tried to pull me upright. What the hell was she doing?

“I am not going to hit him just for the hell of it. You're both crazy.”

“Why not? ” Tawny said. Hunter started whistling the Jeopardy tune. That was it; they were both psychotic.

“Yeah, I'm going to go the bathroom. Don't kill each other until I get back.”

I got up and blew past them, not breathing until I'd shut the bathroom door and locked it. It was still filled with steam from Hunter's shower.

I couldn't escape him. He was everywhere. In my head, in my room, in my face. I sat on the sink after wiping it off with a towel. I had to hand it to Hunter; at least he wasn't a slob. In fact, he was one of the cleanest guys I'd ever met. He didn't leave his clothes on the floor or hair in the sink when he shaved. He showered regularly and cooked. So what was the problem?

I put my head on my knees and let out a sound of frustration. I waited for a knock at the door and a voice to ask me if I was okay, but it didn't come. I took a deep breath and hoped that Hunter and Tawny weren't strangling each other in the living room.

I peeped out the door, and laughter met my ears. What the what?

“No way, she did not do that.”

“I swear, she did, ” Hunter said.

I came around the corner and saw that he was sitting down again and Tawny was back on the couch. There wasn't any blood, and no one was missing a limb, which shocked me.

“Hey, guys...” I said hesitantly.

“We were just talking about that night at Blue Lagoon, ” Hunter said. “I was filling in your sister on your dance skills.”

“You hussy, ” Tawny said. “I didn't think you had it in you.”

“Why not? I went to plenty of dances.”

“There's a difference between high school prom dancing and club dancing and you know it.”

“Is there? Because I saw plenty of girls at prom who should have been attached to a pole.”

They both laughed at me.

“Has she always been like this? ” Hunter said.

“Not always. She changed a lot after our parents’ divorce.”

I glared at Tawny. Hunter didn't need to know about Dad.

“So your father isn't in the picture? ” Great, thanks a lot Tawny.

“You could say that, ” Tawny said.

I struggled to find some way to change the subject.

“Why don't I give you a tour of campus? ” I blurted out. It was the first thing that came to mind.

“That would be fun. I've never really seen the whole thing. You want to come? ” Tawny directed the last part toward Hunter. “Unless you have somewhere else to be? ”

“Not right now, ” he said. “You okay with me tagging along, Missy? ” His eyes teased me, knowing that my plan had been to get him away from Tawny.

“Fine, ” I said, smiling brightly. Suck on that, Hunter.

“Let me just find some shoes, ” he said.

I glared at Tawny when he left.

“Oh, Kid, you've got it so bad, but so does he.” She just shook her head. “I'll give it a week before he's tattooing your name on the other side of his chest.”

“I thought you didn't like him. What happened to being pissed at him about the bet? ”

Tawny shrugged. “I was overreacting. Typical big sister move. He explained why he did it, and it makes sense, in a slightly twisted way. He's not a bad guy. He's just a jerk. But a nice one.”

“That doesn't make any sense.”

“Men rarely do.”

Nine

After the longest tour of the UMaine campus ever, Tawny decided it was time for her to get back to Belfast.

“Remember what I said. He could be the greatest or the worst thing to happen to you. It's up to you to choose, ” she said as she hugged me. “Don't let my past dictate your future, okay? I want you to be happy.”

“You sound like a Hallmark card, ” I said when she let go.

“I know what I'm talking about, Kid.” She pressed her thumb in the middle of my forehead, as if to impart her wisdom into my brain. “I'll call you when I get back. When are you coming home next? ”

“Not sure, might do a weekend in October, but if I don't, it'll be Thanksgiving.”

“Well, I'll try to get up again before then. Love you, little sister.”

“Love you, big sister, ” I said as she put the top of the Volvo down and cranked the radio. She honked as she drove away. I just shook my head.

*****

When I got back home, Hunter was gone, but there was another note on my bed.

Went out to objectify some women. May have sex with some of them. Be back later. By the way, your sister is welcome back anytime. He signed it with just the letter Z.

I crammed that one in my desk with the other. For all I knew, he was having sex with a bunch of different girls. I hated to admit it, but I'd snagged his phone one night when he was in the shower and scrolled through his contacts. He'd messed with mine, so I had to return the favor.

I recognized a few of his contacts, including his cousin and his guy friends. The others, not so much. He had six contacts named Ashley alone. Ashley B, D, H, F, R, and T. The theme continued for the other common names like Heather, Sarah and Liz. I couldn't even count how many names there were. Really, though, was I surprised? Not so much.

I rarely ever saw him talk on his phone, but he texted a fair amount. Every time he did, I wondered which one of the Ashleys it was.

I didn't see him until I came back that night from Megan's where I’d had my fill of chocolate, girl talk and objectifying Richard Gere and Channing Tatum.

“Did you have a good time talking about your periods? ” he said, not glancing up from something in his lap.

“Yeah, we even started discussing pap smears. Hey, is that my e-reader? ” It totally was.

“Maybe. You left it on your desk.”

“So you thought you'd just use it? How much of my other things have you used? ”

“Just your underwear, ” he said, his eyes still on the screen.

“Hand it over, ” I said, holding out my hand.

“No way, I have to find out who she ends up with.” He held his arm up, so it was out of my reach.

“Give it back, ” I said, hopping on the bed and grabbing at his arm. He kept moving it out of my reach. I grabbed his arm with both of mine and yanked, but he chose that moment to poke his fingers into that ticklish spot right under my ribs.

“Hunter, stop it, ” I said, trying not to curl up in the fetal position as he continued to tickle me. I tried reaching for the e-reader, but it was no use. He tossed it on my bed and came at me with both hands, flipping me onto my bag and attacking me. I was laughing so hard I couldn't breathe. He was laughing at me, but there was nothing I could do about that.

“You want it back? You really want it back? ”

“Yes, ” I gasped.

“Then tell me if I kissed you right now, you wouldn't kiss me back.”

His hands didn't leave my ribs, but the tickling stopped. I tried to catch my breath and tipped my head so I could look at him. He was serious. His body hovered over mine, and I realized I was lying in his bed. His sheets were soaked in his scent, and I wanted to turn my head so I could inhale it better.

“You have a great laugh, by the way. Low and sexy.”

“I wouldn't kiss you back, ” I said slowly, because it took a lot of time to find the words. Most of my brain was distracted by his face and his body and how warm he was and how good he smelled and other thoughts about him.

His face came so close that his breath moved the hair on my forehead.

“Liar, ” he said and slowly got off me.

I stayed where I was, unsure if I could actually move.

“Here you go, Missy.” My e-reader came into my line of vision. He had been reading the first book in the series I'd also been reading. “I'm rooting for the vampire, ” he said before leaving the room and shutting the door.

It took several minutes for me to peel myself off his bed. Most of the blood seemed to have left my brain and gone to other places. It was a good thing I wasn't a guy, because I would have needed a cold shower and a few minutes alone.

Hunter was right; I was a liar. I would have kissed him back. I would have done a lot more than that. I would have wanted him to do anything and everything and then asked for more. Yeah, I needed a cold shower.

*****

Things cooled off for a few days after that. Hunter backed off. Again. Not from his comments about wanting to sleep with me, or telling me that I looked hot or any of that, but he stopped invading my personal space. Well, he stopped invading it so much.

He started a new routine every night when we went to bed.

“Love me? ” I'd answer no. “Hate me? ” I'd answer that with sarcastic comments, listing the things that he'd done that day that pissed me off. The list was usually pretty long. I'd end that with saying no again. Then we'd both turn over and go to sleep. It was a strange thing to do, but it turned out we were both strange people.

I stopped caring if he saw me put in my retainer. He started taking more of my stuff and caring less when I got pissed.

Darah came back from her date with Mase with her eyes glowing. Somehow he had completely won her over, and he became a fixture at our place, as did Dev and Sean. They were both a little smitten with Renee, and she flirted back with them, but never took it further than that.

Classes ramped up in intensity, and I spent more and more time reading and writing papers and other busy work. Hunter and I spent our first mediation meeting with the RD trading quips back and forth.

The RD, Chris, tried to steer us back on track, but he wasn't a very good mediator. I just ended the session wanting to punch Hunter, and he ended it with a smile on his face. So, we'd made zero progress. We still had to meet the next week, and I didn't have any hope things were going to change anytime soon. Besides, I'd agreed to the bet, so I couldn't really go and throw him out without backing out, and I wasn't going to do that. I'd given my word and I was going to stick to it.

On Wednesday, I finally got an email about the library job, and they wanted me for an interview the next afternoon. It was short notice, but I agreed to it. The money I'd made at my summer job at a local lobster shack was quickly disappearing.

I found the department in the back of the library, tucked into a corner. There were a lot of pipes and ugly green paint, and it was clear this was a neglected part of the building.

I met with Tom, the head of the department, and he asked me about my work ethic and all those questions about hours and so forth. Standard stuff. I'd practiced before I went and was grateful. I'd thought about asking Hunter to let me practice with him, but he just would have asked me ridiculous questions and would have been no help. So I'd asked Renee to help when Hunter was at class.

All in all, I thought it went well, and when I shook Tom's hand and left, I felt fully confident I had it.

I made a detour to the gym before I went back to the apartment. It had been forever since I'd worked out, and I was really missing my kickboxing class. Luckily, there was a sign-up sheet for a Saturday afternoon class, and I immediately put my name down. I hit the elliptical for a while and then did some weight training, but I wished I had something to punch.

I was still riding the high of my interview and my workout that night when Hunter decided to make another crazy delicious meal and have everyone over. It had somehow turned into a ritual, and we'd even picked up a few more people in our complex that had smelled the food and wandered over.

That night we ended up feeding no less than fourteen people. We'd turned our apartment into a mess hall, of sorts, and had actually started to leave the door open. People would walk by and say hello, and I found that I liked a lot of them.

“What are you making for the crew tonight? ” I said. Hunter was surrounded by shopping bags. I had no idea where he got his money, seeing as how he’d never mentioned a job.

“Well, since we're feeding about half of campus, I thought we'd go with pizza. Then everyone can do their own and bake them in their own ovens.”

“Sounds like a plan. You need any help? ”

“Yeah, if you could start chopping those peppers, that would be great.”

I pulled out a cutting board and started chopping. Renee came and helped me when she got home, and Darah arrived shortly with Mase, her fingers entwined with his. They were an odd couple, but somehow they worked. Mase was so laid back and chill, and Darah as so uptight and orderly. Maybe they'd even each other out. Time would tell. God, if they broke up, it was going to be really awkward.

Everyone pitched in and we got an assembly line going. Greg and Todd, two of the guys who lived next door, offered their oven, and started putting in pies as soon as we could finish them. It was complete chaos, but somehow out of that emerged a group of people all intent on one goal: delicious pizza. I refused to go near the pepperonis so Hunter dealt with that, washing his hands after and helping me assemble my veggie pizza and shoving it in the oven with the plain cheese pizza.

Our pizza party spilled out into the hallway as people either stood or brought chairs from their own rooms. We put on some music, and it was loud and crazy and fun. Sophie, Heather and Gabby also offered the use of their oven, putting in the done pizzas so they could stay warm.

We broke out the Solo cups and everyone pitched in with what alcohol they had. Hunter found some spiced rum somewhere and made me a rum and Coke. The alcohol flowed and everyone told stories and laughed.

“Thirsty Thursday! ” someone yelled every now and then, and we were all required to drink. I hoped that no one would call any of the resident assistants to come check IDs. We would definitely be screwed.

At some point Hunter pulled out his guitar and started playing.

“ Free Bird! ” someone yelled. Hunter rolled his eyes and played it, and we all sung along. Then someone yelled another song, and another. We turned our pizza night into an impromptu sing-a-long. I joined in and caught Hunter watching me. He played, but didn't sing. We ended with a rousing rendition of Billie Jean.

Everyone shuffled back to their rooms after disposing of their plates and cups and napkins. We all agreed to do it again next Thursday, and everyone started voting for taco night. I was fine with that, as long as I could make my own in a separate pan.

Dev and Sean wanted Hunter to come over and play video games, but he declined. Renee said she had to head to the library, and I decided to go with her. I had a paper to write for my Medieval History class that was going to take a lot of concentration. I'd taken to escaping to the library frequently. Trying to do work with Hunter around was too distracting.

It started drizzling as we walked down, so by the time we got there, we were both damp and irritated. Luckily our bags were waterproof, so our books and my laptop were not harmed.

Renee got right to work, pulling out one of her anatomy textbooks — the kind with graphic pictures of nasty diseases. Yuck. I booted up my laptop and tried to resist the urge to click on the internet icon. I opened a blank word doc and got out the research I'd done the other day. Ugh, this was going to be horrible.

Two hours later, I had ten pages, aching wrists and burning eyes. Renee had gotten through twenty-five pages of reading, which was a lot considering the print was absolutely microscopic and she had to take copious notes. We both stretched and blinked our eyes multiple times to make sure they still worked.

“I'm beat. You ready? ” Renee said, shoving her book back in her bag as I packed up my laptop.

“Wonder what Hunter's gotten up to while we were gone.”

“Who knows? I really wonder what he does when we're not around.”

“Probably jacking off. He can't really do that when you're sleeping in the same room.”

“Oh, God, I don't even want to think about that.”

“You know he does it, ” Renee said, pushing open the library door. It was fully dark, the security lamps fully illuminated.

“I really, really don't want to know.” Yes, I knew that guys had to do that, but that didn't mean I wanted to think about it, especially thinking about Hunter doing it.

“Oh, grow up, ” Renee said, shoving my shoulder. I changed the subject and that carried us up the horrendous hill and up the stairs.

I was still trying to get the image of Hunter jacking off out of my head when we walked into the apartment.

“What is that? ” Renee said, sniffing the air. It smelled like someone had lit about a million chocolate-scented candles.

“Surprise, ” Hunter said, pointing to an absolutely gorgeous-looking cake with peanut butter frosting and chocolate dripping off the sides.

“You made that? ” It looked professional, like he'd gone out and bought it.

“I did.” If I hadn't seen demonstrations of his cooking skills before, I would have thought he was full of shit.

“What for? ”

“Just because, ” he said, shrugging. His face was serious, and I could tell something was on his mind.

“I don't trust you, ” I said, eyeing the cake.

He chuckled.

“You shouldn't.”

“Can we eat it now? ” Renee said, tapping her foot.

Hunter handed her a cake cutter I'd never seen before.

“Be my guest.”

Renee grabbed it and sliced into the beautiful cake. We should have taken a picture of it beforehand. I wasn't sure how often we were going to be seeing things like that.

She pulled the piece out with her hands and then seemed to realize that she didn't have a plate. Hunter handed her one from a stack he had waiting. He'd thought of everything.

“I wanted to make this, but I didn't want the masses devouring it. Nothing sinister, I swear, ” he said, holding up his hands.

I still didn't trust him, but cut myself a piece anyway. It had three layers, with a thick layer of frosting in between. I knew before I tasted a bite it would be heaven.

It was.

“I'm not going to sleep with you in exchange for this cake, ” I said.

“I don't need to use cake to get you to sleep with me, ” he said, handing Renee a fork so she’d stop using her fingers.

“Can we stop with the sexy talk? I'm eating over here, ” Renee said, her mouth full.

I crossed my eyes at her, finished my slice of cake and licked my fingers. Hunter swiped some frosting from his cake and smeared it on my cheek.

“Hey! ”

“That's it, ” Renee said, taking her plate and going into the living room, “when the frosting starts to fly, I get out of the way. If you two want to have sex on the counter, can you just clean it up after? Oh, and please don't screw each other on the cake? I'd like to have another piece.”

I really, really wanted to retaliate, but instead I swiped the frosting off my face and stuck my finger in my mouth.

“Tease, ” he said.

“Takes one to know one. What kind of guy makes a girl an amazing cake without expecting something in return? ”

“A guy who doesn't exist! ” Renee yells from the couch, her mouth still full of cake. I hoped she didn't choke.

“Me, ” he says.

“Whatever. You do owe me for the e-reader incident.”

“You enjoyed that as much as I did.”

“Whatever.”

“Like I said, Missy, I wouldn't need cake to get you into bed.” He looked at me in a way that made me go bright red. Ugh. I looked away as quickly as I could and grabbed the cake cutter.

“I will stab you with this, don't think I won't.”

“Threatening violence, interesting. You know you do that when you're uncomfortable.” His voice lowered until only I could hear it. Renee was licking her plate to get the last of the cake crumbs.

“Bite me, ” I said.

“You also say that when you're uncomfortable. Why, Missy? Are you sexually frustrated? ” That was none of his damn business.

“You're not ever lying in bed, thinking of me in the next one, sleeping naked right across the room and my hands and —”

I turned and snapped my elbow toward his stomach. His flinch was satisfying.

“Nope, ” I said, flipping the cake cutter in my hand and catching the handle again. I'd taken baton for like a month when I was five and my wrists were still good at flipping and catching things like that.

“Liar.”

I ignored him and went to sit with Renee. I needed her as a buffer. Darah came in a few minutes later, so I had at least two people. Not that it made Hunter have any more of a filter. I was pretty sure he was born without one. Well, I didn't have an anger filter. When those two things combined, it was anyone's guess.