Hunter tenses next to me, his breath stilling.
“Hey, Trav!” Landon exclaims, dapping him up.
“Happy birthday, bro!” he says with a wide grin.
My stomach knots. This is him—the guy who broke Hunter’s heart. The man who shattered his self-esteem and made him question his worth.
Travis’s gaze sweeps the crowd until it lands on us. His face tightens. He slides his sunglasses into his hair, and for a beat the only sounds are the firepit’s crackle and the muffled buzz of voices and music from inside.
A cocky grin curves his mouth. “Hey, Hunt. Long time, no see. Happy birthday.”
Hunter swallows hard. “Hi, Travis. Thanks.”
Travis drops into an empty chair across from us, tugging the brunette into his lap like she’s his accessory. Hunter sits rigid at my side, his body angled away from Travis. He keeps his eyes on the fire, though every so often his gaze darts toward his ex.
I notice it then—the way his thumb picks at his fingernails, scraping until chips of pink polish flake into his lap. The longer Travis talks, the more frantic the movement becomes, his cuticles raw from nerves.
Hunter tops off his glass with more champagne and downs it in one go, his throat bobbing. I think it’s his third, or maybe fourth? I’ve lost count. His cheeks are flushed, though I can’t tell if it’s from the alcohol or the warmth of the fire.
Distantly, Travis laughs at his own story, but I’m not listening to him. All my focus is on Hunter and the jitter of his bouncing leg, the restless tap of his shoe against the patio tile.
I shift closer, brushing my knuckles against his knee in a small, grounding gesture. He doesn’t look at me, but his thigh presses back against mine, hard and deliberate. His fingers keep worrying at themselves, though slower now.
Travis leans forward, eyes narrowing in on Hunter like he’s just remembered he exists. “So, Hunt, what’s new with you? Still playing with plants all day, or did you finally grow up and get a real job?”
The fire pops loudly in the silence that follows. Hunter’s jaw ticks, but no words come out.
“Hunter’s research is actually really impressive,” I say, surprising myself with how steady my voice sounds. “He got a grant from the DNR.”
That gets Travis’s attention. He swivels toward me, sharp and assessing, his eyes locking with mine for the first time all evening. “My apologies,” he says tightly. “I don’t think we’ve been introduced. You are…?”
“Mason,” I answer firmly.
His eyebrow lifts. “And you’re Hunter’s… friend?”
I bite the inside of my cheek. “Yeah, somethinglike that.”
Travis’s gaze flickers between us. “Uh-huh,” he says, grinning around the rim of his glass as he takes a sip.
Before the tension can thicken any further, Landon claps his hands loudly. “Alright. Who’s ready for s’mores?”
Hunter blinks at the distraction, his jaw loosening slightly. Landon strides over to the pile of supplies their parents had thoughtfully brought for the bonfire—graham crackers, chocolate bars, and marshmallows stacked neatly in a wicker basket.
Hunter reaches for the basket, but his face falls almost immediately. He pulls out a bag of marshmallows, glancing at me with a mix of disappointment and frustration. “They… didn’t get vegetarian marshmallows,” he mutters under his breath, voice tight.
I frown. “Wait, marshmallows have meat in them?”
“Gelatin,” he explains.
“Oh.”
Travis snorts beside us, skewering a marshmallow on a metal roasting stick. “Still vegetarian, Hunt? Makes everything so difficult,” he grumbles. “But I guess you always were high-maintenance, huh?”
Hunter stares at the ground, teeth clenched. He doesn’t say anything. I glance at Landon, expecting him to step in and defend his brother, but he’s busy making out with Kara, utterly oblivious.
I roll back my shoulders, sitting up straight. “Dude, what’s your problem? Why are you being such an asshole?”
Travis’s lips morph into a snarl. “Relax, man. I’m joking.”
