"You are so in a drought. When's the last time you had sex?"
"I am not having this conversation with you," I quip, gathering our trash from chocolate bars and little snack cakes.
Heading toward the kitchen, I toss them all away and flip around just as she rounds the corner, effectively trapping me. Her smile spreads when she sees my flightiness. White teeth gleam in the shadows where the light above the stove doesn't reach.
"Harloe Maree Rose. How long has it been since you've had your insides flipped?"
"Gross!" I whisper-hiss.
"Your little red flag played with?"
"Jenna!"
She walks closer, her entire body shrouding in light, and takes me by my shoulders. Her tipsy eyes meet mine, shining from her level of drunkenness. "Let Hunter pet the kitty, Lo."
"God, you're disgusting," I groan, shoving her off me.
I'm never giving Jenna anything to drink again. No matter what she says, I'll refuse. Plus, I'm here more than her, I'll empty her stash before she can touch a drop. Her little mouth will get someone in trouble one day.
A knock on the door arrives, causing both of us to release a groan with gratitude. Chinese! I'm inherently glad that the Chinese place in town delivers, and even more so around ten-thirty at night.
About a fourth of a way through the bottle, both of our stomachs growled. Thankfully, we weren't drunk and could order in. It took a little bit of maneuvering for her to see her phone clearly enough to call.
My mouth salivates for a taste of the spring roll and chicken stir fry I ordered. It’s been a while since we’ve had anything that doesn’t have pizza sauce on it, and I can blame that on Hunter. He has Maverick addicted to the stuff, and I know it’s not healthy, but I can’t stand not saying no when it’s as harmless as ordering pizza a few times a week.
Backtracking toward the door, I pin Jenna to her spot with narrowed eyes. I dig into my wallet for some cash. "You're lucky I'm hungry, and the food’s here, or I’d punch you in the tit."
She smiles, eyes glimmering with amusement. "Shut your face and get my food, wench."
Grinning, I laugh quietly to myself and get to the door just as the delivery man knocks once more. Flinging it open, I smile brightly and flick my eyes up.
Flick them right up into the eyes that are most definitely not our delivery man, and most definitely the ones of Hunter Prince.
And I note this all at the moment Jenna decides to say, "Hunter Prince will tear that pussy up, and the only thing you'll do is scream. Scream, baby, scream."
I am officially dead.
I can't even look him in the face. Not since he turned right around on Saturday night and left without telling me what he came for. Not since a text arrived on my phone yesterday morning, letting me know his parents pulled some strings and got Maverick into the daycare for me early. Not even when he showed up last night to read Maverick a story and put him to bed.
Nope. Not even then.
We're walking through campus, on our way to Mr. Erikson's class, and I can feel Hunter beside me like it's a visceral part of me that I can't cut out. Not like I'd want to, but damn, a girl is a little humiliated after that. So humiliated, in fact, that I couldn't even eat my Chinese!
When Hunter showed up this morning to pick us up, we didn't dare meet each other's eyes. At least, on my end, I didn't. On his, I don't even know. All I know is, from the way Jenna was talking last night ... I haven't been able to forget it.
Like a horny switch has flipped inside me or something I'm noticing everything. The way he casually holds his legs shoulder-width apart, like he needs room for his dick to lay comfortably. His strong, thick thighs encased in nice-fitting jeans. The way his shirts hug his chest, letting me see how very well-built he's become since sophomore year.
All of these things I noticed before, but after Jenna and her picking last night, I'm taking more of a notice to them than before.
It sucks.
Hunter Prince has always been handsome to me, even when he was a twelve-year-old boy with pimples on his face. Even when he grew up faster than the others our age and turned into this scrawny model, seemingly passing the awkward phase altogether.
It's always been him. No matter what. And the things that Jenna was saying last night ... they hit home. All because I haven't been with anyone else besides Hunter.
The stupid thing is, I don't want to be with anyone else besides him. We didn't just meet, fuck, and then go our separate ways. There's history, a past that's molded us into what we are today.
A past that Jenna thinks I should forget.
How am I supposed to do that? The product of our past is a tiny little boy who's currently pointing and jabbering at someone for hitting a tree they just walked under. He's chastising them a mile a minute, most of which is inaudible.
"You tell 'em, little man." The sound of his voice ... I shiver just thinking about how deep and guttural it can get. How it becomes raspy and filled with intense arousal when he's nearly to the point in breaking.
I catch Maverick smiling and puffing up his chest, and the action causes me to snort. "You're just like your daddy, baby boy," I murmur, instantly forgetting the tenseness between Hunter and me.
His sharp inhale reminds me, and I bite down on my bottom lip to keep from making that mistake again.
It's not that I can't talk in front of him; I'm just so freaking embarrassed. Hunter heard things last night that were not meant for his ears. He and I can't have a relationship, so the talking Jenna and I were doing last night was like dangling a carrot in front of a horse.
Sooner or later, they're bound to snap and bite you with their blunt teeth.
We get to the daycare and thankfully drop Maverick off without any delay. When we leave, neither one of us is watching where we're going. Instead, we're looking back into the daycare, watching as our little boy waves goodbye from the window.
Tears choke me, but I refuse to release them. I don't want Maverick to know there's anything wrong. And while there isn't currently, when it comes to him, there is with me.
I have to sit beside his dad in our business ethics class and pretend that Jenna wasn't talking about Hunter railroading my pussy when he came knocking.
In silence, we make our way to the Meece Building. It's not uncomfortable, but there is a feeling of needing to get something off my chest. Almost to the point I nearly break a few times before we're through the doors, and ignoring the people staring at us as we take our seats.
And that's when the silence ends. Unfortunately.
"We gonna talk about last night?"
I slap a hand to my forehead, shaking it profusely even while he laughs. "Nothing to talk about."
"Oh, really?" he retorts, and shit-on-a-stick, he's using his playful voice.
I scissor my fingers and peek at him through the opening. "Nothing at all."
Leaning toward me, he takes his lower lip between his teeth. The ache left there from last night blooms in remembrance. His eyes flick downward, a tiny smirk falling over his lips.
"Sure about that?" He snaps his eyes back up to mine, his irises shining just a tad darker than before.
I nod.
He scoots his chair just a bit closer to mine. I swallow hard, nearly coming when I get a whiff of his cologne, Spearmint gum, and coffee. A smell that will be my favorite when mixed together until the day I perish on this earth.