“No, maybe like ten to fifteen minutes.”
“She’ll survive,” Adam says, reaching across me to poke Danielle in the ribcage. She glares at him, the tension in the car skyrocketing. Well, this is going to get awkward fast if they can’t get along.
Danielle looks up front at my parents, who are too focused on talking about their plans for next weekend to notice anything askew in the backseat.
She slaps his hand away, and the force causes his palm to land on my upper thigh.
I gulp, feeling the electricity from him coursing into me. He doesn’t move his hand. Why is he not moving his hand?
He squeezes my thigh; the tight grip has me sweating in my seat. My dick throbs in my jeans, and I’m glad that I chose these pants instead of the soft dress pants that were hanging in my closet.
I can’t look at him. If I look at him, I’ll do something stupid like let him kiss me.Again.His girlfriend and my friend sitting beside us be damned.
20
ADAM
Ileave my hand on Hunter’s thigh, waiting for him to push it away, look at me, do something. But he doesn’t. He’s frozen in place, like a pond in the middle of winter. I can see the pulse thrumming rapidly in his neck, fluttering like a hummingbird. I want to lean over and bite it, to feel his life essence in my mouth.
Danielle coughs, breaking the spell, and Hunter straightens, resting his back against the seat and plucking my hand off his like I’m a flea-infested rat.
The music playing on the radio is something I usually wouldn’t listen to, but seeing Mrs. Collins, sorry,Cheryl, nodding her head along to the beat makes me mimic her movements. I like her, she’s cool. And not at all what I expected. When she offered to show me the pictures of Hunter as a child, I couldn’t say no, and she helped make sure he would enjoy the present I got him.
It’s not much, but it’s better than nothing. I put mine and Danielle’s names on it, I don’t want her to look like a bad person just because she’s currently mad at me. Honestly, there’snothing new about that, though. We fight, we make up, we fight again. But we’re stuck together, at least for the time being.
The paper is currently folded up very pristinely in Cheryl’s purse, being protected inside the book she’s currently carrying around with her. She’s so much like her son, but Hunter looks exactly like his dad. Same tanned skin and dark eyes, but his personality is all her.
When we pull into a parking lot packed to the brim with cars, I feel a thrum of panic flutter through me. It’s fine. I’m fine. I’m in control. No matter how crowded this place might be, I’m incontrol.
I get out of the car and hold the door open for Hunter. He looks at me and then follows Danielle out of her side. Well, okay then.
I shut the door, gently, no matter how much my irritation wants to break through. I’m breaking the habit of relying on irritation and anger, at least when it comes to Hunter.
Getting in the restaurant is more of a hassle than I would have liked, but seeing the smile on Hunter’s face is adorable, and it causes a flutter to build in my gut. The obsession I have with this guy doesn’t make any sense, but I’ll be damned before I give him up.
Cheryl takes care of talking to the hostess while we stand off to the side. Hunter and Danielle are whispering to each other while Hunter’s dad stands there with his arms crossed in front of him. I’m intimidated by him, to say the least. Not because I think he could hurt me physically, but he could hurt any chances I have of being with Hunter.
“Cool place,” I say loud enough for him to hear me. His head tilts to the side.
“Yeah, Cheryl likes coming here and playing Mario Kart. She’s a little competitive.”
“Should I be scared? I’ve never played before.”
“You should have kept that information to yourself. She’s vicious, and she feeds on losers like you.”
“Ouch,” I remark, but the smile on his face shows no malice. This could be how people joke with each other, I’m just not very good at it.
“You’ll do fine. I’ll show you the ropes and then feed you to the shark.”
Thirty minutes later, I’m no better at playing Mario Kart than I was when we started. The myriad of bright colors hurts my eyes, and the complicated patterns make it hard for my mind to follow.
Hunter’s dad, Daniel, can spend as much time teaching me as he wants, but by the way Cheryl is staring at me with a devious glint in her eyes, I know it’s not looking good for me.
“Why don’t you play her first?” I suggest, standing up and directing my attention to Cheryl. “You can take my spot, I need a breather anyway.” And maybe some blue light glasses to help with the headache pulsing in the back of my head.
I walk around, dodging groups of people and waiters walking around with platters full of food. I don’t see Hunter anywhere, or Danielle for that matter.
Whatever, I need something to drink anyway. I find our table and sit, pulling my phone out to scroll while I wait for someone to stop and check on me.
