My head swivelled around to make sure no one could hear us before I inserted slyly, “Don’t worry, pretty boy. I’ve come prepared.”
Hunter smirked. “What have you got on you, huh?”
“My Luna, my trusty gun, and my latest read about a centuries-old werewolf who finds his witchy mate in a treasure hunt and is currently going feral for her.”
Hunter let loose a throaty chuckle. I loved that sound. “Are you serious?”
“Mhm.” I skipped a little to keep up with his long-legged strides. He slowed his pace to match mine. “A girl’s got to be prepared for anything.”
“So your cat to scare away the intruder, your gun to kill him if he gets too close, and your book to read after you finish the job?”
I tilted my head and pretended to jokingly ponder it. “I mean, when you put it like that…that was my logic, yes.”
His broad shoulders shook with his laughter. “You’re something else, Gabriela.”
“I’m going to take that as a compliment, Hunter.”
“You should.” He grinned. “It is.”
I placed my hand in the crook of his elbow and peered up at him. “How am I doing on mending your broken heart? Am I forgiven yet?”
“That depends on whether or not you’ll come to my next game?”
I nodded eagerly. “I’ll do my best. And if I can’t come, then I’ll try to make it for the one afterwards. I promise.”
He extended his pinky finger towards me.
I hooked mine with his and squeezed.
“Good.” Hunter didn’t let go of my finger, our hands swinging between our bodies as we walked. “I’ll be sure to get you a jersey with my name on it.”
A burst of colourful confetti shot inside of me when he finally released my pinky, just to fully weave his fingers with mine. I’d been intimate with men in the past—partaken in some of the raunchiest activities—but something as simple as holding hands with Hunter was making me blush.
I felt breathless, similar to the moment right before the swift drop on a roller coaster, my pulse skyrocketing high.
We were friends.
But now I was harbouring a crush on him and it felt forbidden.
Hefelt forbidden, akin to the fruit in the tree of knowledge. And just like Adam and Eve, I wanted to bite into him, sink my teeth into his flesh and unravel all of his secrets and taste allof his desires, while avoiding punishment for breaking my own rules.
I blew on my tea and took a sip, trying to ease my nerves and collect some composure. “How was your game today?”
Hunter squeezed my hand and drew an invisible half-moon on the back of it, like he was unable to help himself. “I scored two touchdowns.”
My eyes widened. I knew enough about football—mostly through hearing Josh talk about his games whenever I hung out with him and Layla—to understand that touchdowns were coveted. “Wow. That’s like twelve points, right?”
“Huh, so you do know a little something about my sport.” Hunter smiled almost bashfully before mumbling, “Yeah, that is twelve points. We ended up winning thirty-five against twenty-seven.”
“Hunter, that’s really amazing.”
He shrugged like it was no biggie. “It was a team effort.”
“I bet you’re a wonderful captain.”
My compliment caused the high points of his cheek to pinken the slightest bit. He cleared his throat and took a sip of his tea. “What makes you say that?”
It wasn’t poised in an accusing manner but rather in genuine curiosity. It reminded me of his tone when he’d asked me why my choice of weapon was a gun and why my choice of nail colour was black. Almost like he wanted to learn the inner workings of my mind on a deeper level.
