Page 21 of Sunrises & Salvation

HUNTER

W hat the heck was I thinking?

Easy answer: I wasn’t thinking with my head. I was thinking with my touch-starved body and my heart, which doesn’t understand that Adam should be off-limits.

But there was just something in the way he looked at me that made me feel special. Like someone was actually seeing me for me, not for the mask I’ve perfected over the years.

Instead of going to find Danielle, I go to our table. I’ll hang out here and chill out until it’s time to leave. Then, when we get back to my parents’ house, Adam and I are going to be adults and talk. Just talk. With all of our clothes on.

He was so hot without his shirt on, his slim stomach with the light smattering of dark hair that led into his pants. Why did he have to take his shirt off? The memory of seeing him shirtless is forever ingrained in my brain.

No, bad. Bad. Very horrible.

The waiter stops by our table and asks if I need anything. My mouth is dry, and I’m parched, but what I really want is something that will drown out the voices in my head telling me how horrible a friend I am.

“Just a water, please.” He nods and leaves me in my own bubble.

My parents are still playing Mario Kart, and from the loud sounds coming from them, my mom’s definitely winning.

She’s like a superhuman when it comes to that game, or maybe she cheats.

I’m not sure how she would cheat on a game like that, but my mom is a smart woman, so if anyone could figure it out, it would be her.

My phone buzzes from inside my pocket, and I flinch.

Thomas: Hey! Danielle gave me your number and told me it was your birthday. When you get back to campus, we should go out and celebrate it. My treat.

Oh. I didn’t realize that Thomas from the coffee shop and Danielle were friends like that, but maybe she’s trying to set me up with him. How bad is it that she wants me to date someone, but I’m lusting for her boyfriend behind closed doors?

Hunter: Yeah! Sounds great. I’ll be back tomorrow night.

There was no nice way to tell him no, and he was cute. That’s what I need. A cute guy who will help me get over my crush on Adam. A harmless crush on him is fine, but I can’t do anything else about it. No more touching, kissing, or being in confined spaces with just the two of us.

Thomas: Does Monday night work for you? I can pick you up.

God, why, why me? Monday is so soon.

Hunter: Perfect.

Thomas: Can’t wait :)

“Who’s that?” I let out a small shriek, clutching my heart. Adam is standing over me, looking at the phone in my hand like it’s the devil himself.

“No one.” I quickly exit the app and tuck my phone back into my pocket. Adam looks like he wants to question me more about it, but my parents choose that moment to come to the table, and Danielle isn’t far behind them.

“Who’s hungry?” my dad asks.

After our stomachs are full, my mom and Adam lean in close to whisper to each other.

Suspiciously, I question, “What are you two planning?”

“Nothing,” they both say at the same time, and then share a secret smile.

I eye them, hoping one of them will crack and let me in on what they’re up to.

“Are you ready to go home, honey?”

“Sure,” I hedge. After the tab is paid, we walk out of the restaurant, Danielle hanging back with me and my dad while he tells me about new stuff going on at his job. But my focus is on the two people in front of me, talking quietly amongst themselves.

They don’t include us. Not in the car. Not when we get home. Not even when I announce I’m going to shower and get ready for bed. Seriously, what is going on?

When I get out of the shower, they’re all sitting at the kitchen table, a platter of chocolate chip cookies in the center.

“Is this some kind of intervention?” Nobody says anything, and my mom gestures to the open seat at the end of the table, the one my dad normally sits in. “Okay, you’re really starting to freak me out. Who died?”

“No one died, quit being dramatic.” My dad claps me on the shoulder.

My mom hands me a card at the same time Adam slides one over to me. I eye them, nervous to open them. “Mom,” I hesitate. My mom is one of my favorite people and truly knows how hard birthdays are for me. So surely she wouldn’t play a prank on me. Not today.

“Open them!”

“Yeah, open them, Collins.” Adam is smirking, and I want to kiss it right off his lips. No, smack. I want to smack it right off his lips.

I open the card from my mom first; the birthday card tucked inside has a dog in a tutu on the front. It makes me chuckle in amusement. Inside the card is a ticket for…

“Mom. No way. No.” I’m freaking out, my voice cracking and my pulse thrumming. Because inside is a ticket to a concert I’ve been talking about going to for months, but it’s been sold out. “How did you?”

“We got them before they sold out, there are three tickets in there. We thought we would go with you, but I gave one to Danielle and one to Adam. I figured you would have more fun with your friends than your parents.” Tears burn the back of my eyes, and I stand out of my seat, the wood scraping against the floor.

“Thankyouthankyouthankyou.” My words are mushed together; I can’t form a full sentence or properly thank them.

“Well dang, how am I supposed to compete with that?” Adam mumbles, but I still hear it, and my face flushes red. I don’t want him to think that whatever he got me isn’t good enough just because my parents got me something amazing.

Sitting down, I clear my throat and take a deep breath, calming myself down.

I slip my finger under the tab on the envelope and rip it open.

There’s a homemade card inside. A scenic picture filled with deep blues and bright greens.

It kind of looks like the pond… I look at Adam, and he’s staring at me with intensity in his eyes.

If he drew this, he’s definitely sending me a message that I need to ignore.

When I unfold the card, another folded-up piece of paper falls out. I gently thumb it open, the thick paper brushing against my fingertips.

My mouth drops open when I see the contents.

“I can’t accept this,” I sputter, staring at Adam because I know this was his doing.

“You can and you will. We can stop there tomorrow before we go back to campus.” Internally, I’m cheering and so freaking excited while simultaneously panicking because it’s too much. Way too much.

“Did you see how many zeros are on this gift certificate?” I wave it around in the air, further trying to prove my point.

“Is there not enough?” Adam asks, and I glare at him.

“There are too many! I can’t buy one thousand dollars’ worth of books.” I totally could, but that would be excessive, even for me.

“I could have put more.”

“That’s not the point,” I emphasize.

“Honey, just accept the gift and say thank you,” my mom admonishes, and I gape at her. My mother is on his side? What kind of sorcery did Adam use on her? It would have to be something because she is always on my side. Always.

“Thank you, Adam, and Danielle.” I smile at her and she winks. I don’t understand how she can be so calm right now.

Oh right, she doesn’t know that me and her boyfriend kissed earlier in the woods or that he had me pushed against a bathroom stall and we were grinding our cocks together right before we sat down with my parents to eat.

“You’re welcome, Collins.” He blows me a kiss when my mom starts to tell Danielle about a new book she read and how Danielle should read it as soon as possible.

My pulse skyrockets, so I grab a cookie and go to the living room to sit on the couch, hoping some distance will be good to help me calm down and have a clear head before I have to talk to him tonight.

We’ll talk, share the bed tonight, and then when we get back to campus tomorrow, we’ll go back to being acquaintances.

Acquaintances who know how the other one’s mouth tastes, but still. That’s all we can ever be. I won’t do that to Danielle; I owe her a smidge of loyalty.

The people in the kitchen migrate to the living room.

Adam and Danielle join me on the couch, Adam sitting with his leg pressed right up against mine, and Danielle on the other side of me.

My parents share the loveseat catty-corner to the couch and scroll through the streaming services while my dad and Adam talk about the latest crime documentary my dad watched.

Adam looks intrigued by what my dad is saying, and I feel a prickle of heat start in the base of my spine watching him interact with my parents.

Stop it. I have a date planned with Thomas on Monday. I have to survive tonight and tomorrow, and then I’m free.

My parents rent an action movie, full of loud noises and bright flashes. Something easy to keep us entertained.

Except it’s not keeping me entertained, because all of my focus is on the guy beside me, who is sitting way too close. I can smell his cologne, and it’s making me dizzy.

Seriously, why does he have to smell so good?

Danielle is yawning beside me, barely keeping her eyes open.

“You can go to bed, you don’t have to stay up to watch this,” I whisper to her while a shootout happens on screen.

“Good grief, Dance Dance Revolution really takes it out of you, huh?” she says. She looks at me gratefully while she stands up, leaning over to crack her back and press her lips to my head.

“Night, Hunt. I hope your birthday was amazing.”

It was, and I want to tell her how amazing it was. I got my first kiss on my birthday. A kiss that I will cherish, and no matter how much I want to scrub it from my mind, I will never be able to. Because this birthday has changed how I feel about celebrating, whether Adam is here with me or not.