“Then I’ll be fine. I’ll even let you hold my hand if you get scared,” he teases, and I laugh because I have a feeling it’ll be Hunter grabbing for mine instead.
“We’ll see. If you really want to go, I’ll go with you,” I agree, and Hunter smiles.
“Cool, it’s a date then,” he says, but before I can ask what he means by that, the back door opens again and my parents walk out.
“Are you staying in the water all night, or planning on joining us?” Dad calls out, taking the patties off the grill. He’s not totally on board with Henry and Mira’s relationship yet, but I’m glad Dad isn’t treating him like a criminal any more. We’re not back to normal, but we’re better off than we were a few weeks ago.
“I’ll get out,” I reply, and Hunter offers me a hand after he stands. I take his help, but instead of allowing him to pull me out, I push off the wall, dragging him into the water with me.
Mom bursts into laughter as Hunter surfaces, sputtering. “You’re so lucky I left my phone and keys inside.”
“I think you’re the lucky one.”
“Kait, you’re going down,” he warns, moving to grab me as I dart away, laughing. For the first time all week, I’m not thinking about how Bailey broke my heart because I’m too busy having fun with Hunter.
Hunter lasted all of two minutes in the haunted house before grabbing my hand when a clown laughing maniacally jumped out at us.
I kept waiting for him to let go, but I didn’t totally hate it when he held on as we kept moving further into the house. “Are you okay?” I ask, choking back a laugh as I squint, trying to focus on Hunter’s face in the darkness.
“Yep, I’m great,” he says a moment later. “Are you having fun?”
“I am,” I say, squeezing his hand. My heart feels like it’sgoing to pound out of my chest from the adrenaline rush, and we enter the next room of the tour as thunder crashes over the surround sound. There’s a woman on the bed, but I can’t tell if she’s a prop or an actor until she sits up quickly, screaming as the lights flash.
Hunter jumps at the same time I do, his grip on my hand tightening. “Fuck,” he swears, laughing as I pull him through the room. The hallway we enter narrows, and I swear it wouldn’t be so freaky if we could see where we’re going or the sound effects.
“You’ll never escape us” is playing on repeat over the speakers, and finally the path starts to widen again, leading to a long hall lined with doors. I think we’ve finally reached the end based on the exit sign over the door at the end. The eerie, flickering lights make me hesitant to move forward, and I glance over my shoulder at Hunter just as he yanks me back against him when a person darts out a door, screaming as they run right in front of me into another door.
“Holy shit, thanks,” I breathe out, glad Hunter was paying attention.
“I’ve got you,” he says, and I believe him. Hunter’s always there for me, and I’m glad he asked me to come with him tonight. This was exactly what I needed, and it means even more knowing how far out of his comfort zone he is.
“I know,” I say, giving him a smile.
The last door before the exit has the final jump scare—literally—when an actor inside jumps at the frosted window, banging from the other side. “Let me out! Let me out!” he wails, and I don’t think twice before going out the exit.
Hunter’s cheeks are flushed, and I’m not sure my heart will slow down for a few hours. “That was incredible,” I say, and he laughs, shaking his head.
“I’m glad you had fun,” Hunter says, a warm breeze tousling his blond waves. The door we walked through opensagain as the people who were behind us exit. The screams coming from inside the haunted house are audible as we start walking by all the people waiting in line for their turn.
“Do you regret asking me to come with you?”
Hunter squeezes my hand, reminding me that we’re still holding hands, and my stomach flip flops for an entirely different reason. “Nope, but I probably won’t ask to go next Halloween.”
“That’s fair. You grabbed my hand first, you know,” I tease, expecting him to pull away, but he doesn’t.
“Maybe I wanted to hold your hand,” he answers, his eyes finding mine.
What?
My shoe catches on a crack in the sidewalk making me stumble, but just like in the haunted house, Hunter catches me. “Sorry,” I say, feeling my cheeks flush. His eyes comb over my face only to land on my mouth, and I feel my breathing quicken.
Oh my god, was this a date and I didn’t even realize it?Holy shit. I’m just like my brother—fucking oblivious.
“Excuse us,” someone says, and Hunter steps to the side, pulling me with him. One hand lands on my hip, and the other finally releases mine to tuck my hair behind my ear.
“What are you doing?” I whisper, feeling like a deer caught in the headlights.
“I can’t be your best friend anymore,” he says, and I feel like I’m dangling over the edge of a cliff as he cups the back of my neck.
