Page 34 of Hunter
“Tony was pretty devastated, as you can imagine. It was nearly a year later before we got together. It took me all of two weeks to realize I loved him. He was the complete opposite of Phoenix and his brother. Right up until he turned nineteen.”
“What happened then?” He leans his head onto his fist against the back of the couch, listening to my story like a straight-to-movie love film.
“He went to work for Javier, his brother. I’m not entirely sure what that entailed but the happy-go-lucky boy who I was in love with, changed into just another possessive, moody, and angry individual. When I was attacked at work, he got even more angry. He felt his own pain, his own loss, his own rage, and forgot about the person whom it affected the most. He just couldn’t be there for me. And then he hurt me, perhaps more so than the man who assaulted me.”
I gulp back the last remnants of wine from the bottom of my glass in the hopes it will help me sleep tonight after I’ve stirred up everything.
“And there’s been no one else?”
I simply shake my head while he draws circles on the back of my hand with his thumb. He opens his mouth to say something, but I cut him off; I don’t want to talk about me anymore.
“Your turn, Boss,” I blurt out, turning my melancholy into a challenging smile. He laughs nervously but then turns so his whole body is facing me head-on.
“Well, in my story, I’m afraid I’m the bad guy,” he sighs with his smile losing all mirth from it.
“That sounds intriguing, go on,” I encourage him.
“When I was on the verge of exiting my teens, I had the biggest, most gut-wrenching crush on Addy, my brother’s girlfriend,” he says with a wince, probably because my expression has given me away. Falling for your twin’s girlfriend must have been awful. “I kept away from them as much as I could, which means I was pretty much absent for the last year of his life. Not only that, but I’m ashamed to say, I was also angry at him for having crashed his car. I blamed him for not taking care of her, for letting her die when he was behind the wheel.”
“Oh,” I sympathize, now taking hold of his hand. “That must have been hard, Daniel.”
“Yeah, when I eventually came back to see him after she died, I saw how destroyed he was. The guilt I felt when I looked into his haunted eyes was immense. I felt sick with it. I knew right away that I was wrong. I should have been there for him, but I worked that out much too late.”
“Daniel, you couldn’t have known what he was going to do,” I tell him with sincerity, “just like Phoenix couldn’t have known I would be attacked. You’re not responsible for his choices, Daniel.”
For a moment or two, we say nothing, just watch the other with a smile that lets them know it’s ok, I don’t judge you or hold you accountable for anything. The silence is no longer uncomfortable; just being with one another is good enough in itself.
Eventually, Daniel places his glass back onto the table, so I quickly follow suit, having a sixth sense that he’s got something to say, something important.
“Thank you,” he says quietly.
“No worries,” I reply, even though I have to admit, I had expected something else, something more noteworthy. “I used to make that meal all the time for Dad and Phoenix. I could probably cook it in my sleep.”
“No, I mean yes, the food was great, but that’s not why I’m saying thank you,” he says, and my responding frown makes him laugh. “Lou, you’re the first girl who’s made me nervous in a long time.”
“Nervous?” I repeat with a shake of my head over his weird statement.
“Yeah, nervous,” he says, taking my hand inside of his. “Nervous like I actually care what you think of me, like I want you to like me.”
“I do like you, Daniel,” I reassure him.
“I mean…”
He trails off before reaching out to cup my rapidly warming cheeks inside of his manly hands, looking me in the eye so there is no mistaking what he truly means.
“I like you, Daniel,” I repeat in barely more than a whisper.
And then, for the first time in years, the first time since my heart was ripped in half, a man who I am starting to have feelings for, kisses me. It’s warm, it’s soft, it’s chaste, it’s not nearly enough. He makes to move away, but I pull him back, letting him know that he can kiss me how he wants because…because I want it too.
Once over the shock of me taking charge, his hand that was just cupping my cheeks, reaches around to the back of my neck, pulling me close, so close, to his intoxicating scent and his heat. He takes our kiss deeper, sinking his tongue into my mouth, expertly using it to bring a pulse to my core below. It ignites a rush of butterflies in my chest, which also has me feeling a little nervous; there is no mistaking Daniel is a man. This is not kissing between two childhood sweethearts who had to learn the art together, this is a kiss from someone who knows what he's doing. And he sure does it well. When we pull apart, I worry about what he thinks of my inexperience. He opens his mouth to say something, and I find myself bracing for it.
“Too much tongue?” he asks with the cheekiest smile I have ever seen him pull; it’s sin-drenched with a side order of knowing his charm will have anyone forgiving him for any transgression. His words, however, are so unexpected, especially after having been so worried, I burst into laughter.
“You’re the first grown up I’ve kissed, and you ask me that?”
“Grown up? I think only the IRS has accused me of being one of those,” he laughs back at me. “Like I said, you’re the first girl I’ve actually cared about impressing. So, now’s the time to say something because I kind of wanna kiss you again.”
I pretend to think on it, theatrically placing a finger to my chin and looking off into the distance, but only manage it for about five seconds before shaking my head and leaning in for more. We kiss again, this time with him leaning further toward me so I can run my fingers through his gorgeously soft hair. It feels as if I’m learning all over again, experiencing the excitement of this being our first kiss, and never wanting it to stop.