We laid there and panted, breathless and spent. I curled myself closer and lay my head on his shoulder. He wrapped his arm around me and brought his hand to rest on my side. My eyes fluttered closed and I drifted off to sleep.
* * * *
When I woke up, Hunter was still there. I tilted my head, careful not to disturb him. He looked so peaceful, so serene. His lips twitched.
“Good morning, sleepyhead.”
I stretched and kissed his cheek before I nestled back down against him. “Good morning.”
He ran a finger up my side.
“If you don’t stop that, I’m going to have to retaliate.” I placed my hand on his chest.
“That was kind of the point.” Hunter laughed.
I pushed myself up and leaned on my elbow. “Really? Again?”
Hunter opened his eyes. “I could spend all day in this bed with you.”
“Mmm.” I pressed my lips to his and slid my tongue along his lower lip. “That sounds like a great plan. Do you think they’d miss us at the reunion? We could hide up here the whole time.” I ran my hand down his stomach, but he grabbed my wrist and stopped me from going farther.
“I’m not going to let Mitch hurt you, Summer.”
I bit my lip and nodded. I knew this. I even doubted that Mitch would be an asshole to me in front of his entire family. A fear stirred in my stomach and I couldn’t shake the feeling that something bad was going to happen. I felt ridiculous, stupid, but no matter how many times I told myself so, the feeling never left.
I lay on my side. Hunter rolled over to spoon me. He rested his hand on my hip. He was propped on his elbow now. Kisses, soft and tender, landed on my neck, behind my ear. “I promise he won’t hurt you anymore.”
I wasn’t afraid of Mitch hurting me. It was going to be awkward to see him again, but it wasn’t him I was afraid of. It was Hunter. He promised to protect me from Mitch, and I believed him, but who was going to protect me from Hunter? He was everywhere now. He was on my mind almost constantly. I couldn’t shake him. I didn’t want to be hurt again. I couldn’t take another heartbreak, but I was in too deep to pull back now.
I shut my eyes and let myself enjoy the slow steady breathing from the man who held me. No, it wouldn’t be Mitch who hurt me. It’d be Hunter and this thing between us, whatever it was. I was already too attached.
I wrapped myself in his arms. I didn’t care that I knew this could never end well. I held on. I’d work on letting go later.
Chapter Ten
Through some miracle, or Hunter’s excellent persuasion skills, the reunion wouldn’t happen until midway through the summer. He and I spent that month sneaking around. Sometimes we’d tell everyone we were going to separate locations, then meet up somewhere else. Other times we’d avoid each other all together. It was a game to us. Who would break first? We never made it a whole day without one of us sneaking into the other person’s room.
The morning of the reunion I stepped out of the shower and was drying my hair when my mom knocked on my bathroom door.
“Summer, honey, are you in there?”
“Yeah.” I wrapped a towel around myself and then opened the door. “What is it?”
“God, this is embarrassing.” She chewed her lower lip. “Do you have any tampons?”
I reached into the cupboard under the sink, ripped the new box open and handed her a few. “No offense, Mom, but aren’t you a little old?”
She rolled her eyes. “I should be, but Mother Nature sure has a funny sense of humor.” She patted me on the shoulder. “Thanks for rescuing me, honey.”
“Anytime.”
Mom left the bathroom, and I continued drying my hair. I spotted the box of tampons and tossed them into the cupboard. Then it hit me. I’d missed my period. I had it just before school let out. I’d been here for a month already. A whole month of uninterrupted sex with Hunter. I gripped the counter and sat on the lid of the toilet. We’d used protection a couple times, but not every time. I wasn’t on the pill. I stopped taking it when I caught Mitch cheating. Sex was the last thing on my mind. Until Hunter.
I covered my face in my hands. What was I going to say? How could I tell him? I couldn’t do it today, his entire family was coming. I didn’t even know if I was pregnant for sure. I hurried into my room and pulled on a pair of yoga pants and a loose-fitting sweatshirt. It was stupid. If I was pregnant, there was no way in hell anyone could tell already, but it didn’t matter. The paranoia had already set in.
I was halfway down the stairs when I ran into Hunter.
“Hey, beautiful.” He tucked a strand of my damp hair behind my ear. He noticed the keys in my hand. “Where are you going? Shouldn’t you be getting ready?”
I didn’t want to hurt his feelings, but I couldn’t let him come with me.
“I’m running to the pharmacy. I’ll be gone ten minutes.” I scanned the area for any onlookers and then kissed him.
“Want me to come with you?”
“No, that’s okay.” I started down the stairs, but Hunter followed me.
“Are you okay, Summer?”
“Yeah. I will be. I just have a bit of a sick stomach today.”
“I told you I could un-invite Mitch.”
I took Hunter’s hand. I could almost picture his hands wrapped around my big swollen belly. In my mind, he’d kiss my stomach and talk to the baby. He’d tell it all kinds of awful things you’re not supposed to tell babies, but it’d be sweet anyway, because it was him. My heart felt as if it were going to tear in half.
I shook my head. “It’s fine. I’m just going to get some antacid and Tylenol.”
I scurried away before he broke me. I could never keep anything from Hunter for long. I worried that if I stood there for one more minute, I’d fling myself into his arms and tell him everything.
I drove to a pharmacy on the other side of town. It was near one of the hotels Hunter and I frequented. I grabbed two pregnancy tests and then marched them up to the counter. I didn’t bother to buy ten other things I didn’t need in hopes that the cashier wouldn’t notice the pregnancy tests. I was in college. I could do this one thing without help, without faltering. If I couldn’t, I was doomed.
Back home, I crept in and ran to my room. I entered the adjoining en-suite, locked the door and pulled the boxes out of my purse. I read the directions five times. Not because I didn’t know how to use one. They were pretty straight forward. Remove cap, pee on stick. Wait. I was afraid. I was afraid of being pregnant and having to tell everyone that my stepbrother was the father. I was afraid Hunter wouldn’t want to help me raise the baby, that he’d hate me and think I’d tried to trap him. Most of all, I was afraid that I wasn’t pregnant. Once the possibility entered my mind, I knew I wanted it.
I took the test. I waited the two minutes. A breath shuddered out of me as I prepared to turn around and look at the little stick on the counter.
“Summer, are you in there?” It was Hunter this time. No doubt he was looking for a bit of fun before the festivities started.
“Yeah. I’m almost done, though.”
“I have something for you. Open the door.”