Page 35 of Hunter
“Your dad’s not here,” I point out. “Apologize.”
Kit raises her head. Rick glides his eyes to her, looking pissed.
“Sorry…Kit.”
“That’s not going to cut it,” I tell him, cracking the knuckles on myotherhand and taking a step in his direction.
“Sorry, Kit,” he says quickly, easily cowered, like most bullies. “Jesus. I was just kidding. Learn how to take a joke, okay?”
He slides his tray of shots from the bar and backs away, mouthing “fuck you” to me as he heads over to Team Soul Sisters, twins who attend Tulane and look less-than-thrilled that Rick’s returned to bother them.
“You didn’t have to do that,” mutters Kit.
“Yeah,” I say, putting my hand on her shoulder. “I did.”
She shrugs me away, her cheeks pink. “I can fight my own battles.”
“I’m sure you can. But that one wasn’t fair.”
“Whatever.” She jumps down from her stool. “I’m going to bed.”
“No! Don’t do that. Come on, Kit…”
But she’s already headed for the door, leaving her seat vacant. I look sadly at her now-empty stool, noticing—for the first time—that Isabella Gonzalez has been sitting on Kit’s other side.
“Hi,” she says.
“Hi,” I say back, feeling a swift and certainzing!to find her suddenly near me.
“I’m glad you said something,” she tells me, toying with the cocktail napkin under her wineglass. “If you hadn’t, I would’ve.”
“How long have you been there?” I ask, grabbing my half-finished beer and taking the seat beside her.
“A little while. You didn’t see me sidle up.”
“I guess not.”
“I was listening to you guys talk about the Barbies’ exile when that monumental asshole appeared.”
“I don’t think you need to worry about exile,” I say. “You guys looked pretty strong out there today.”
“Beto’s strong,” she says. “I’m just along for the ride.”
“Nah,” I say, picturing her dancing on the log while the production crew blasted music in the arena. “You kept up, Bella. I watched. I saw.”
“Thanks.” She takes a sip of her wine before looking at me with narrowed eyes. “I’m not sure what to make of you, Hunter.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, you seemed really, really pissed with me at Ken and Tanner’s wedding, and you didn’t seem very pleased to see me yesterday,” she says. “But suddenly, you’re being nice to me. I can’t tell if it’s genuine, or if you’re just trying to get my guard down so I’m an easier target.”
“Yes, I was pissed at you for breaking things off between us. But after you explained things last night, and I understood how differently we see romantic relationships, I realized that it wasn’t personal. I started to feel a lot better.”
“Really?”
“Really.” I tilt my head to the side, giving her a charming grin. “Don’t get me wrong…I definitely think you’re missing out. True love…falling in love…that magical feeling? In my opinion, it’s awesome.”
“It’s not that I don’t have feelings, Hunter,” she tells me. “Ifeellove. I just prefer being practical about my love life.”