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He draws me close against him in the tightest embrace, burying his face in my hair and inhaling deeply. The gesture makes me feel wanted, protected and seen.
“Thank you, precious girl. You’ve just made a little wish of mine come true.”
He sneaks out of my window sometime before dawn, after I’ve fallen into a deep, satisfied slumber.
18
Hunter
“Where’s my Jeep?”
I’m standing in my garage, staring at a brand new Infiniti where my beat-up Jeep 4x4 used to be.
On the phone, Rushmore sounds perplexed that I’m annoyed. “That old Jeep was not safe. It’s been rehomed on a nice big farm where it has more room to run around with other Jeeps. We can go visit it whenever you want, but don’t be sad if it doesn’t remember you. In the meantime, if I can’t drive you or my driver can’t drive you, at least you’ll be surrounded by proper safety features. You’re welcome.”
I shake my head, although the car is fairly sweet looking. “You couldn’t get me a Honda? Something a little cheaper?”
He scoffs. “Hondas are everywhere. You need something as unique as you.”
He’s not wrong. “I don’t think my parents will believe I bought this with my babysitting money. Usually it’s string bikinis and fast food and other forbidden fruit.”
“Well,” he says, letting out a long breath that sends chills across my skin. I can visualize his mouth skimming across my collarbones, kissing me and telling me sweet things. “You wanted to be treated like an adult. So tell them you’re an adult and your adult boyfriend bought you the car.”
The car drives like a dream as I go to pick up Addie for school, but the guilt I have over hiding things from her is more like a nightmare.
My temporary solution for my parents is to just keep it in the garage until they notice it. When they’re home, they park on the street or in the driveway. They never—and I mean never—use the garage. I figure, if I just keep it parked in the garage and only take it out and come home when they’re not here, then I can keep it a secret for a little bit longer.
With Addie, though, I feel like I should tell her, but I’m so afraid of her judgment that I clam up. Maybe I’m not ready for this. Maybe I’m not ready to be treated like an adult.
I get a small reprieve when all Addie wants to talk about at first is how she accidentally “liked” one of Coach Ford’s social media photos in the middle of the night, and then he blocked her.
“Listen,” I tell her. “We are goddesses. We hold our heads high.”
Someday I should really take my own advice.
“You’re right,” Addie exhales. “And by the way, tell your parents thanks for the upgrade. The other car was beat to shit.”
I bite my lip. “Oh. Right. Actually, they’re pretty pissed about this car because, well, I sort of got my way even after they put their foot down.”
“Sounds like quite a story. Care to spill it?” Addie asks.
I guiltily toss out a dismissive laugh. “Oh, you know how it is. Daddies can’t say no to their little girls sometimes.” Yeah, as in sugar daddies. As much as Rushmore does not like that term, that’s exactly what he is.
We chat the rest of the way to school about how the winter musical is coming along, and then I drop the bomb that I won’t be around for our annual Christmas shopping trip the week before the holidays.
“I have a meeting with a talent agency,” I tell her, adding that I might need her to cover for me with my parents, who are not exactly thrilled with the idea of me meeting with agents.
Addie, to my relief, is super supportive, but then she pushes. “Why don’t I just go with you to New York? We’ll go shopping together! Much better shopping up there!”
I try not to visibly wince but don’t entirely succeed.
“Hunter, what’s going on with you?”
I give her my winning smile. “It’s complicated.”
She replies, “You could just be straight with your parents and tell them the truth. Then you wouldn’t have to sneak off and make things complicated.”
Why is she pushing me so hard? I try to explain with enough truth and enough vagueness that she’ll drop it. “Well, they’re going to ask a lot of questions about where I might be staying and what I’m going to do for money.”
