Hunter
Hey. Are you having a good time?
Would you think I’m an asshole if I said no?
Hunter
Of course I wouldn’t think that. Why? What’s happened?
Can I call you?
Hunter
Yeah, give me two minutes. Let me go to my office and I’ll call you.
Moments later, my phone vibrates in my hand, and I quickly swipe to answer and bring it to my ear.
“What’s going on? Are you okay?” he asks the moment the call connects, and that dull ache in my chest eases at the concern in his voice.
Closing my eyes, I tilt my head back until it rests against the wall. “Ethan and Jacob got married today.”
“Oh,” he says with a hint of surprise. “Congratulations to them.”
“Yeah, but I wasn’t invited, and I feel like a dick for being upset that I wasn’t invited.”
“Did anyone else go?”
“My brother, and Alex, and Ethan’s mom.”
He’s quiet for a moment, and his voice takes on a softer tone when he says, “I don’t think it’s a case of they didn’t want you there, El. Maybe they wanted to keep it small, or it was a venue requirement.”
“That’s what Blaine said, but I’m still upset by it, and I don’t know why.”
He hums. “It’s only natural to feel left out when there’s a significant event involving loved ones. It doesn’t make you an asshole. It just means you care.”
I pick at a thread on my jeans. “I kinda wanna go home now.”
He sighs. “I’m sorry you’re feeling like this. If I wasn’t working, we could go for ice cream.”
That makes me smile.
“You know, I’ve never been kissed on New Year’s before,” I admit.
“Ever?”
“Nope. I just stand there like a gnome while all my friends kiss their partners.”
He laughs softly under his breath. “A gnome?”
“You know, like if you have a gnome in the backyard, they’re usually on their own, just fishing or doing something with a mushroom.”
He chuckles again. “I can’t say I’ve ever seen a mushroom gnome.”
“I’ll buy you one if I see one.”
He laughs, and I grin to myself.
“Don’t read too much into the whole New Year’s kiss thing. I guess it falls down to the age-old superstition that kissing at midnight brings love and luck, and going without equals loneliness.”
