“Yeah, you do. Quinn thought so too.”
He did? Awkward. What to say to that?
My mother’s somewhat questionable advice came to mind:When in doubt, deflect.So I did. “And, um, what did your sister think?”
Hunter’s gaze sharpened on me for a while, as if he was trying to understand something.
I lifted my brow quizzically.
“I don’t get you.”
“What don’t you get?”
“A lot of things.”
“Then ask me. Sometimes it’s the best way to get the answers you’re looking for.”
“That so?”
I nodded. “For example,” I said, “what happened to your legs?”
Hunter looked at his lap and back to me again. “Some guy beat me up on the school quad after basketball practice one night because I like dick. Bad stroke of the bat left me paralyzed from the waist down. Are you gay?”
“Since I’ve only ever been with women, I’d say not. Did you catch the guy who did it?”
“No. That was the hardest on my family. There was no one to place the blame on, no name to be angry at, to take to court, to send to prison.” He shrugged and went back to staring through the window.
I glanced at the stretch of path I’d been kicked on. How lucky I’d been for The Raven. What might have happened if he hadn’t turned up? I shuddered as Hunter cleared his throat.
“Are you involved with anyone?”
It was strange to share such personal details, but it was somewhat refreshing too. “There’s a girl at work who’d like to go out on a date. I’m still undecided.”
“Does she hit all the right buttons?” He swerved a gaze toward my crotch and winked.
“I really don’t know yet. She’s smart enough, and kind...”
“But?”
“But we work together. It could get uncomfortable if things don’t work out.” I shrugged. “In the girl department, things don’t usually work out. It’s not their fault. I’m... I guess you could say ... more work-focused.” Just thinking of work gave me a little thrill. I really couldn’t wait to get back to it.
“How are you so confident?” I asked, glancing at Hunter’s legs. “So positive?”
Hunter gripped the steering wheel. A rush of warm windfunneled through the car. “It’s true. I could be a miserable prick and I’d have some right to be. People would forgive me for it too, for a while. But why would I want that? You’ve only got one life, and I want to make the most of mine. I’m not saying sometimes life doesn’t fucking suck, but I choose to focus on good stuff. That’s the guy I want to be.”
I glanced up in time to catch his wink.
“Any other questions you got there, Liam?”
Actually, I had quite a few. In fact, I’d even written some down a few nights ago in my notebook. I lifted myself just enough off the chair to reach my pocket. “Yes.”
“Holy shit. Quinn wasn’t joking. I’ve heard of this infamous notebook. This should be interesting. Fire away.”
I leafed to the back where I’d jotted down a few curiosities. “Okay,” I said. “I have some personal questions that I’m curious about. I’ll list them, but you don’t have to answer if you don’t want to.”
“You want to know how I go to the bathroom, right?” he said, lifting his brows. “And whether my junk still works.”
In fact, those were two of my questions, though I’d have phrased them differently. “Yes.”
