“Baby, I’ll treat you like glass if it means I can keep you with me. I’ll never let anything or anyone hurt you, including myself.” He dusted his nose against mine. “All I want is the opportunity to show you how good it can be between us.”
He’d already shown me how good it could be between us and for once, I wasn’t scared.
“Okay. First date this weekend?” I said teasingly but thoroughly meant it.
“On one condition.”
“What?”
“You let me plan it. From start to finish.”
I loved a proactive man. “Deal.”
Hunter’s smile was so radiant and infectious. It incited my own. “Fuck, is this really happening? I feel like I’m dreaming.”
I pinched his butt and an amused sound erupted from him. “See? Not dreaming.”
He shushed my chuckle with a claiming kiss that left no room for argument. Simply the understanding that we were two individuals who were finally taking the chance that we owed ourselves.
“Are we moving too fast?” I couldn’t help but ask.
“If anything, we’ve been moving too slow. I’ve been pining over you for more than a year, Gabriela. Give me some credit. I want you. I’ve wanted you from the first second I saw you at Josh’s birthday party, looking like the most beautiful girl in the world. I wondered about your name, about the things you liked.” He kissed me again. Like he couldn’t stop himself. Like I was just that addictive. “I also wondered about the feel of your lips, the taste of your skin.” His voice took on a husky edge. “And there’s a part of me that likes to believe that you’ve wanted me and wondered about these things too. At least from the moment we crossed paths again on the terrace.”
“I have,” I admitted as Hunter laid kisses along my jawline, my fingers curling over his shoulders. “I meant it when I said you haven’t left my mind since. I think about you all the time. You make me smile, you make me laugh, you make me feel at peace. Doesn’t matter what we’re doing—watching a movie, taking a walk, or simply texting each other. You ease my anxiety and quiet the demons in my mind. When I’m not with you,I count the hours until I can see you again. And when we’re together, I want to make every second last because I’ll miss you so much when we say good night.” Remembering his words from the shower, I added softly, “I need you to know that I see you, Hunter. It may have been later than when you saw me, but I acknowledge your existence. I see it, I feel it, and it’s so precious to me.You’reso precious to me.”
A small noise rumbled in the back of his throat and Hunter crushed me in his arms. His mouth pressed to my forehead and he held it there, breathing me in. “Fuck, baby. What are you doing to me?”
Exactly what you’re doing to me.“It’s the truth, Hunter.”
“What made you change your mind from last night to now?” he asked and I sensed that a part of him gnawed over the fact that I may be pitying him.
He was far from a charity case. I’d make sure moving forward that he never felt unwanted or unworthy.
To me, he was everything and more.
“Honestly?” I grasped his face, loving the feel of his trimmed stubble against my palms. “I grew tired of denying myself the thing I want most—you. I spent all night crying over how I lost you when I could have had you—in the way we both want—and I no longer want to keep self-sabotaging. Please know that anytime you’ve felt like I’ve retreated, it’s never had anything to do with you and everything to do with my own issues.”
“Your ex?” he guessed bitterly.
I nodded.
“Okay, I’ll take it. Whatever you’re able to give. It’ll be enough for me.”
I could feel him wanting to sayfor nowbut holding back.
“At the end of the day, I just want to be with you—to keep making you smile and laugh. Whenever you’re ready to talkabout your fears, I’ll be here to listen without judgement and help you work through them.”
“I adore you,” I murmured, kissing him.
He kissed me back. “I adore you, too.”
After a few seconds, Hunter tightened his arms around me and hesitantly said, “It wasn’t easy for me to put myself out there. I took a gamble and was glad that it paid off, especially when I realized how easy it was to talk to you without feeling like I was making a clown out of myself. You have no idea how fast my heart pounded with excitement whenever we talked, whether in person or through texts. For all my confidence, there was a part of me worried that you wouldn’t want me the way I wanted you. I’m not one to flirt or chase after girls, but I bent those rules for you, and I don’t think I’ve ever been as happy as I’ve been these last few weeks with you. Gabriela, there aren’t enough words to convey how much joyyourpresence brings me. You’re like a ray of sunshine. You brighten my world. And you were the first person to make me feel like I could be my raw self and you’d accept me as is—and you did.” He kissed the tip of my nose. “You’re not the only one who’s been hurt in your past. So have I. But I’m willing to work through those issues if you’re willing to do the same. I’m just like you. I have insecurities, but…we’ll figure it out together, okay?”
His speech left me a little shaken up but relieved too. “Deal,” I replied, my voice laden with emotions. “Also, what are you insecure about? You’re basically perfect.”
Hunter’s Adam’s apple bobbed, his features imploring. “I’m glad you think so, but I’m really not, Gabby. I’m human, just like everybody else, and I’m more than my physical appearance. Having my entire worth reduced to just that one singular, superficial aspect has left me with more bruises on the inside than I can count on two hands.”
My expression fell and my mind wandered to his bitch of an ex, wondering if she was responsible for birthing these so-called bruises inside of him. If she was, she’d better pray she never came face-to-face with me. “I’m so sorry. For what it’s worth, though you’re drop dead handsome, the most beautiful part of you isn’t your physical appearance.” I placed a hand on the left side of his chest, gazing at him knowingly. “It’s your heart.”
