“Later, man,” Sawyer said, clapping him on the back. “And hey, sorry about the phone. I’ll keep your art obsession between you and me.”
“It’s not an obsession,” he said, but Sawyer was already heading for the back of the warehouse.
Hunter shook his head and walked over to the forklift. While he’d spent a lot of time over the past two weeks watching Britt’s channel, he wouldn’t call himself obsessed. She had hundreds of videos and tons of content. He was learning a lot too. Besides, it was a much better way to pass the time than scrolling through thirty-second videos of birds dancing and people doing stupid stuff.
Slipping on his earphones, he cranked up the latest top twenty hip-hop list and focused on his job. Four hours until quitting time. Over the past two weeks he hadn’t bothered asking Sawyer if he wanted to get something to eat or to play a video game after work. Sawyer’s date with Marissa had been a bust, and now he was seeing a new girl he’d met in the chip and dip aisle at the corner convenience mart.
Without his roommate as a distraction, he could concentrate on Britt’s videos.
After Hunter clocked out, he jumped on his bike, headed back to the apartment, and fixed two grilled cheese sandwiches—extra cheesy. Popping the top on a can of Coke, he sat at the small table in the kitchen and opened his laptop. He wasn’t satisfied only watching her videos on his phone anymore.
Thirty minutes later he’d polished off his dinner, drained the Coke, and finished the sculpting video. He was about to click on another one, but stopped when he saw a new notification. He grinned and immediately clicked on it.
Hi Hunter,
Are you sure you want me to tell you all about anime and manga? I could write a book!
He settled in and read Britt’s detailed explanation about the popular Japanese art and literature form. Since he’d first given into his impulse and dashed off a message to her a little more than a week ago, they had “talked” every day, mostly about art, of course. He was full of questions, especially after she’d told him he just needed to find the right thing, whatever that was. Not that he imagined art would be his thing, or even a hobby. But he did enjoy her videos... and he was starting to enjoy her. She wrote like she talked in her videos—concise, down to earth, easy to understand. Even reading her essay on anime and manga was interesting.
I hope I didn’t give you too much information. I tend to go a little overboard when I’m passionate about something.
Hunter blinked, then smiled.What else is she passionate about?
He shook his head, stunned at the thought, reminding himselfthat he was only interested in her content, not her—even though she was cute, smart, and extremely talented.
I just uploaded my ten-minute art challenge. Why don’t you give it a try? You can send it to me when you’re finished. If you want, that is. You don’t have to. B.
His phone buzzed and he tilted it up to look at the screen. Why was Payne calling him at 11:45 on a Thursday night? “Hey,” he answered. “Everything okay?”
“Yes. I’m working late at the office and time got away from me. I meant to call you earlier today.”
Hunter put the phone on speaker, then stood and went to get another Coke out of the fridge, only to change his mind and grab a clean glass out of the dishwasher. “What’s the special occasion?”
“Father’s sixtieth birthday,” Payne said in his usual matter-of-fact tone. Either his brother didn’t get Hunter’s sarcasm, or he was letting it pass without comment.
Hunter turned on the tap. “That’s next month, right?”
“Yes. The family is throwing him a party.”
Uh-oh.He filled the glass with water and sat back down. When the Pickett family threw a party, they threw aparty.The kind that ended up in the society section of theDallas Morning News—if they even had a society section anymore. He hadn’t read a newspaper in ages.
“You’re invited,” Payne said.
“How kind of you to allow me to come to my father’s own party.” He couldn’t hold back his snide tone.
“You’re reaping what you sowed, Hunter.”
He was painfully aware of that. After his last run-in with thelaw, his parents had cut off all contact, and he didn’t blame them for doing so. “Let me guess, you drew the short straw and were tasked with not only inviting me, but telling me to be on my best behavior.”
“And to warn you if you do anything to upset Mother, embarrass Father, or ruin this party, Kirk and I will neverallowyou to attend another family event. We’re only allowing it this time because Mother insisted Father would want you there.”
That was a surprise, considering their current no-contact status with him. Well, at least one of his family members still cared. Or they were all trying to keep up appearances. Each time he’d crashed and burned, his parents were there to clean up his mess and keep it out of the papers and away from all media. Not for his sake, but their own.Until that last time...“When is it?”
“June thirtieth.”
“Well, look at that, I happen to be free.” He was always free.
“I’ll text you the details when they become available,” Payne said. “Do you have a tuxedo?”
