AllFreeNovel
Share Us
He’s looking down at me with the cocky grin that’s so often spread across his full, plush lips. His blue eyes glimmer in amusement, set deep in his face that’s all sharp angles and straight lines. His thick, blonde hair is messy and tangled like an unkempt bush in an overgrown garden, and he’s got a black Philadelphia Flyers cap pulled down on top of it.
I have to arc my neck back to see all those features, because he’s stupidly, obnoxiously tall. Who the hell needs to be that tall? It’s impractical—just another way to inconvenience the people around him.
And the shirt he’s wearing is definitely a size or two too small, judging by the way his muscles strain against it. Show off.
“Hello, Hunter. I’d say it’s nice to see you here, but my New Year’s resolution was to be more honest.”
He chuckles—and if my New Year’s resolution actually were to be more honest, I’d really hate for anyone to ask me what the sound of his deep, gravelly voice chuckling does to certain parts of my body.
“You’ve gotta let go of this grudge some time, Pheebs. I know it hurt to lose that race in seventh grade, but it’s time to put it behind you.”
My nostrils flare.
The race he’s talking about wasn’t one on the ice, but for seventh grade class president.
The only reason he even ran was because he didn’t want me to win; and the only reason he won was because just about every girl in the school, other than me, had a crush on him.
His campaign was a complete joke, built on promises of no homework on Fridays and full-sized candy bars in the school lunchroom.
It’s a sad commentary on the average seventh grader’s ability to participate in democracy that he actually—you know what, I shouldn’t even be thinking about this.
“You would know about losing races,” I shoot back.
That’s how we met each other after all.
I know that losing that race on the ice when we met for the first time, shortly after my family moved to our hometown, gave his under-developed boy brain the biggest inferiority complex in the galaxy, which is why he was an utter jerk to me from that moment forward.
A funny sort of glint flashes in his baby blue eyes, and for a moment it seems like the cocky smile on his lips looks more genuine than taunting. He almost looks nostalgic.
Before he can reply, Casey walks up to us. “Oh, hey, Hunter.”
Hunter nods at her. “Hey, Casey. What’s up?”
Hunter was always cool with Casey. In fact, Hunter was always cool with just about everyone.
Except for me.
Casey and Hunter exchange pleasantries—though how she or anyone else can stomachpleasantrieswith Hunter Landry, I’ll never know—while I turn to pick up two cases of Red Velvet Oreos. One to demolish tonight, another to consume at a more reasonable pace throughout the rest of the week.
“Ready?” I ask Casey, making a point not to look at Hunter.
She nods, and, thankfully, we’re walking away from Hunter Landry.
“Bye Casey,” Hunter says. “Catch you later at the rink, Pheebs!” he shouts that last part, and I glance back to see him obnoxiously waving his hand in the air at me.
The way he waves it back and forth makes his giant bicep pop, and how high he’s lifting his arm makes the hem of his shirt ride up, exposing the v-shape carved deep into his lower ab muscles.
I pull my gaze away from the tantalizing sight.
Did I say tantalizing? I meant disgusting.
I pull my gaze away from the disgusting sight and pay for my snacks with Casey. The first Red Velvet Oreo package is ripped open before we even make it out the door. I pop the first one in my mouth as we step outside, and my eyes roll as I savor the taste I’ve missed so much.
That’s what I think about as Casey and I walk back home—notHunter Landry.
4
HUNTER
