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Later that night, I fully plan on going to bed early. I am already dreading going shopping with Harper tomorrow. Something tells me the day is going to be long. But when I get a text from Harper and Griffin, telling me I need to come to the field, going to bed doesn’t seem as appealing. I will most likely regret it tomorrow when Harper is dragging me from store to store, but I want to hang out.
Hunter is not happy at all about the fact that I’m forcing him to leave the cabin at ten o’clock at night—something about him needing his beauty sleep. It’s laughable, but I keep that opinion to myself. I’m just glad he’s willing to come with me.
Hunter grunts every once in a while as we walk to remind me that he’s unhappy, but I ignore him. Nothing can wipe the smile from my face. I feel invigorated.
“Since you’re making me come all this way, you better ask that boy to homecoming,” Hunter grumbles.
I nearly trip over a twig when he says that.
Oh, right. I almost forgot that I’m supposed to ask Griffin if he will come to homecoming with me. Suddenly, I am nervous, no longer wanting to head to the field.
I fake a yawn, coming to a stop. “You know, maybe we should head back to the cabin. Iampretty beat.”
Hunter laughs, pushing me forward. “Oh, no. You’re not getting out of it that easy, Trouble.”
I groan, covering my face with my hands.
“Why are you so scared?” Hunter asks. “You already know that boy is crazy about you. He’s going to say yes.”
I look at Hunter, shocked. “Seriously?”
He shakes his head. “You are so clueless sometimes.”
“And you’re a pain in the butt.” I cross my arms over my chest, stomping ahead of him. I hear him laughing from behind me.
Part of me wishes I could get away from Hunter for a little while. It would do us both some good to take a break from one another, but that just isn’t going to happen. The only time I get away from him is when I’m sleeping, which hardly seems like time away from him at all. His room is right across the hallway from mine. If I so much as sneeze, he knows it. It’s unnerving to have somebody so close by.
I can hear the party long before we get into the clearing. I have no idea how security hasn’t caught onto this, though maybe they do know. Maybe they just don’t care as long as we don’t do anything stupid.
As I step out into the clearing, I scan for Harper, not seeing her anywhere. I’m sure she’s off somewhere with her boyfriend, which is what I expected. I can’t be too mad about it. I didn’t really come to hang out with her anyway—I came for Griffin.
My heart races with nerves as I realize that I’ve got to ask him to homecoming. I’m pretty sure he’ll say yes, but I’m still anxious. There is always a chance he will turn me down.
I don’t see Griffin until he’s already approaching me. He’s got a huge smile on his face, which is contagious.
“Hey.” He raises an eyebrow, glancing behind me. “I see you brought your bodyguard.”
I snort. “If only you knew.”
Because Hunter literallyismy bodyguard. Griffin just thinks he’s my best friend.
“Want to talk?” Griffin nods his head toward the woods.
“Sure.” I glance behind me, at Hunter. I wave one hand at him, like I’m saying bye. Of course he will follow us, but he’ll at least be sneaky about it. He’ll allude to giving us privacy. But I’ll know—he’ll be there, listening to every single word. Which makes asking Griffin to homecoming that much more embarrassing. Being rejected with a crowd is twice as humiliating. So I hope Hunter is right in saying that Griffin won’t turn me down. I’m not sure my fragile ego can handle public rejection.
Griffin surprises me by grabbing my hand as he pulls me away from the crowd and into the woods. I don’t have a lot of experience with holding hands with a guy. None romantically. I can’t help but notice that my hand fits well in his.
His hands are soft, which is very different than Hunter’s. Hunter has calloused hands. And I hate myself for comparing the two—obviously Hunter has never romantically held my hand. He’s just done it to tug me along somewhere or to keep me close by. But I still can’t help comparing them.
I wonder how my hand feels to Griffin. My hands used to be soft before Hunter started training me. But now they’re starting to get calloused too. Does he think it’s weird I’m not a girly girl?
Griffin guides me until the sounds of the party are barely a low hum. He pulls me toward a large boulder, and I can’t help but think of the time that Preston did something similar. Now I am nervous for an entirely different reason.
I really, really hope Griffin isn’t bringing me out here to kill me. If he is, I’m pretty sure I can never trust another guy as long as I live. I’ll be single forever. I remind myself that Griffin isn’t like Preston. Griffin is a good guy.
“How are you?” Griffin rubs a hand at the back of his neck. “I haven’t talked to you a lot since the whole Anna thing.”
The Anna thing.
