“I can’t believe you did that! What if the ride stopped in the middle of that and people caught us!”
He laughs at me. The music has stopped letting me know the doors are about to open. “Baby, I would never let anyone see you like that. I went to school with Ben the operator. I may have slipped him a twenty to give us an extra-long ride.” He slaps my ass before the door opens and we walk toward the exit. My legs are so shaky I feel like Bambi taking his first steps. As we go down the steps, I hold the railing really tight, trying not to fall.
“Mommy, that ride makes you dizzy; let’s go on that!” I hear a little boy yell from the line.
A blush spreads across my face, thinking of what really made me dizzy. I can’t believe we just defiled a child’s amusement park ride.
I’m going to hell.
The rest of the rides are much less eventful. Thank God. By late afternoon, I am absolutely exhausted and starving. I was pleasantly surprised that no one noticed who I was. It was great to be able to have a day where I was just a nobody. A day where I could blend into the crowd instead of creating one.
“You ready to go have dinner?”
I nod and lean against him, his hand curling around my waist as we walk toward the exit. “Where are we going?” I look up at him and he shakes his head. I groan in frustration. “Did I mention I am totally OCD and the unknown drives me bat shit crazy?”
He laughs as he opens the door to his car. “Babe, nothing can drive you crazy when you’ve been there for years.”
He shocks me speechless and closes the door before I can respond.
Ass.
Chapter Twenty One
Samantha
We pull up to a building but I didn’t really see anything on it telling me where we are. “Please tell me there is food here because I’m starving.”
Hunter looks over at me and smiles. “You don’t know how fucking happy it makes me to hear you say shit like that.” I look at him in confusion. “To hear you saying you want to eat. It scared the shit out of me when you were in the hospital. I’m glad that was a wakeup call for you.” His hand strokes my cheek and I lean into it.
I think back to that night. To feeling like I was on top of the world then feeling as if I couldn’t even hold myself up. Between my hospital scare and Hunter’s constant support, I have worked to overcome the issues I had. I also think the decreased interaction with my mother has been a great help too. There are times that he offers me junk food that he is eating and I cringe at the thought of it, I hear her voice judging me. Then I remember that night we stood in front of the mirror, the night when he made me feel like I was good enough just the way I was.
I kiss him, trying to express how grateful I am that he came into my life. He has made me see that there are people who actually care. That not everyone wants something from me. He showed me, contrary to everyone else in my life, that someone could love me. That I was worth loving.
“We need to get out of this car before I say fuck dinner and take you home. Unless that’s what you want.” I’m about to say he would get no objections from me when my growling stomach interrupts me. We both break out in laughter. “Come on.”
We walk into the building holding hands. Hunter gives the hostess his name and she walks toward the back of the restaurant and then turns down a hallway. As she slides a door open, I see a room filled with all of Hunter’s friends. There is a happy birthday banner hanging on the wall and they all yell surprise. How did he know?
I look at Hunter in shock, a tear falling down my cheek. “How did you know?”
He turns toward me. “I can’t believe you didn’t tell me. I found out last night when Joe asked if you needed him for any special plans today. Jules helped me plan dinner while I had you out today.” I pull him to me, hugging him and trying to express how much this means to me. We walk into the room and I am greeted and embraced by all of these amazing people. A few more tears fall as I take in how drastically things have changed for the better since Hunter came into my life. My heart is about to burst from all the love it has received from these people. They took me into their lives without hesitation, and made me a part of their family.
“Hey, birthday girl!” Jules hugs me.
“Thank you for helping him with this, for doing this for me.”
“Please, it wasn’t even a question. I was happy to.” I give her another hug before turning back to Hunter.
“I love you, Hunter Stone.”
“I love you, Samantha Baker.”
“Fuck!” I hear Mason shout and we all turn to face him.
“Haha yes! Pay up, motherfucker!” Brian yells back at him. Mason hands Brian some money.
“What are you two idiots yelling about?” Hunter says, shaking his head.
“I told Mase you were pussy whipped and he bet me that you wouldn’t admit it for at least another month; he never thought you would utter the dreaded L word.” Brian has a smile as big as The Cheshire Cat as he waves Mason’s money around.
“Well, what the fuck? I mean this shit was like night and day. One week he is screwing anything with a goddamn hole and the next he strapped on a ball and chain. I need a damn drink. Another brother down.” He turns away from the group and starts to talk to the waitress.
“What was that all about?” I ask Hunter, semi-confused.
“Mason being Mason. Anti-love; girls, relationships, and anything other than booze, work, and us.” He shakes his head as he watches Mason.
The waitress comes up to us to take our order and before I can say anything Jules shouts, “She’ll have a margarita!”
I can’t help but laugh and nod at the waitress letting her know that’s fine. We sit down and I notice the table isn’t a normal table. “Is this a hibachi?”
Hunter nods. “Another first for you, cupcake.”
Jules sits next to me and we start talking about how Hunter called her in a panic this morning and tried to plan stuff before I came out of the room. “Did you give him the ideas for today?”
“Oh no, girl. He knew exactly what he wanted he just needed me to orchestrate getting everyone here. I don’t know what the hell you did, but he is like a completely different person.”
I take in what she says. He has changed a lot, but so have I and that is because of him. My confidence has improved so much since I met Hunter. He showed me that I don’t need to change for anyone.
Dinner is amazing and we spend the whole night laughing and talking. I turn to Hunter as they are clearing the table. “This is the best birthday I’ve ever had. Thank you for everything you did today.” I kiss him, needing him to feel me.
Ryan comes up behind us and whispers something into Hunter’s ear. He nods at him before turning back to me. “When we leave here, we are going to meet Ryan at my house. He says he found some stuff he wants to talk to us about.”
My stomach drops. Ryan has been looking into my stalker. Did he find something? I’m lost in my own thoughts when I hear clapping and everyone starts to sing Happy Birthday. I look over and the waitress is walking in with a cake full of candles. As I glance around the room at everyone singing, I can’t help but smile. I have a family now; they may not be blood, but that doesn’t matter. They are my family.
The waitress places the cake in front of me and I blow out the candles. Everyone cheers and I start to remove the candles.
“What the hell kind of cake is that?” Brian says from behind me.
“It’s a cupcake cake.” Hunter replies, his eyes on me the whole time. I blush, thinking of the significance that no one else knows.
We all eat cake and then Hunter and I say our goodbyes. We walk out of the restaurant hand in hand and when we get to the car, I stop and wrap my arms around his waist. “Thank you for being so amazing. I will never forget this day and how special you made me feel.”
I think back to our relationship the first few days he worked for me and how far both of us have come. He has shown me such a different side to him. He smiles down at me. “You can thank me later,” he says with a wink before pinching my butt and walking around to the other side of the car.