Page 32 of Sunrises & Salvation

HUNTER

I n between keeping Adam and Thomas separated and making sure not to make heart eyes at Adam, I’m exhausted. The bone-deep ache in my body thrumming with every step.

My parents asked if we’re still up to go to the lake tomorrow, and thinking about sitting on a rocking boat for hours does not sound as amazing as it did when my parents first suggested it.

The only thing keeping me going right now is the promise of street food as we walk down the sidewalk toward the fair. Adam is walking on my right side, closest to traffic, and Thomas is on the other side. I’m the filling of an awkward Oreo sandwich.

Danielle is walking with my mom, while my dad trails behind them holding my mom’s tote bag.

Adam bumps into my shoulder, therefore bumping me into Thomas. When I cut my eyes at Adam, his smile is teasing. “Sorry, there was a car coming.” I roll my eyes at him and keep walking, ignoring the questioning look burning the side of my head from Thomas.

I need to talk to him. When I get back to campus, and our exams are over, I’ll do just that.

“What do you want to do first?” Adam asks me when we get to the entrance of the fair. I watch the rides zip through the air, the manufactured breeze coming off them a nice reprieve from the sun currently beating down on us.

Adam slips the worker a few bills to pay for our entrance, and I can hear my parents complaining. I don’t know why though. If Adam has the money, why not let him spend it? By the way he talks, he has more than he knows what to do with anyway.

“I don’t ride rides,” I say on a shrug, and he stares at me, his mouth agape.

“Then why did we come?”

“For the food, duh.”

I make my way through the crowds, dodging kids hyped up on sugar and parents who look like they could use a break. The smell of fried food lingers in the air, and I follow it to my destination.

My mouth waters while I take in all my options; there’s more this year than last year.

Freeze-dried candy, taco truck, hot dog stand, funnel cake. Good grief, I’m already regretting all the food I’m going to devour in the short time we’re here.

I reach for Adam’s hand on instinct, and then promptly drop it, letting it rest back by my side. The four other people with us form a small circle while they talk about what they want to try first. Adam just keeps staring at me with his mismatched eyes.

“Hunter! They have the specialty funnel cakes you love!” My mom points at the stand closest to us, and the line is at least fifteen people deep. But I do love their funnel cakes… Is it worth the wait?

“I’ll wait with Hunter while you guys scope out what else they have,” Adam asks the question, but makes it sound more like a statement, leaving no room for argument.

Thomas looks at us, suspicion in his eyes, but he does as Adam says, and he and Danielle galivant off while my parents stare at us.

I flush with embarrassment from the look in their eyes, but they don’t say anything.

They go the opposite way of Danielle and Thomas, leaving me and Adam standing awkwardly beside the line of people.

He gestures for me to go first, so I do, stepping in line with everyone else waiting to get the deep-fried goodness.

“They have the best options. They’re all special, made fresh to order,” I say, staring at the pre-made display of choices.

“Which one is your favorite?” Adam’s breath coasts across my ear, the deep rumble vibrating up my spine and settling into the base of my neck.

“Uhm—” I mumble, trying to focus on something that isn’t Adam.

He doesn’t push me to answer, though, letting me sit in my thoughts while we step forward with the rest of the line.

The music coming through the speakers from the food stand is a new pop song, the beat catchy, and I find myself bobbing my head.

When I catch Adam’s eye, and we share a small smile, I know that there isn’t anywhere else I would rather be.

He lets me pick the funnel cake and find a place to sit while he waits. They call our order number, and Adam grabs it, glancing at me with a smirk on his face and then looking down at the chocolate-and-marshmallow-covered fried food.

“S’mores?” he asks, and I nod my head enthusiastically, knowing the gooey marshmallow is going to match perfectly with the crispy cake and melty chocolate. I fold my hands in a gimme motion, needing the goods. This is the best—and only—reason to come to the fair.

“One day, I’m going to learn how to cook, and I’m going to make these every day,” I tell him as he offers me the bite pinched between his fingers.

I lean forward, swallowing the bite whole and licking the sticky sweetness off his fingers, just for good measure.

His eyes heat, and I bite my bottom lip, gnawing on the tender flesh uneasily.

“I can’t wait until you learn how to cook, I’ll be expecting a homemade meal every day.

” He’s talking about our future, and he doesn’t sound scared or paranoid that it isn’t going to work.

He sounds sure that he’ll be with me when I learn how to cook.

It’s so much more than that. Does he realize what I’m thinking?

He’s going to think I’m crazy if I voice these thoughts, but when he places his hand on my thigh under the rickety wooden table, my thoughts clear. I’m making a mountain out of a molehill.

One step at a time.

The rest of the night flies by, with Adam buying me food to try from every vendor and losing at the games. It’s a fun time full of laughs and happiness.

Not once did the nasty thoughts ever escape from their locked cage in the back of my mind. For once, I was able to exist and be happy in the moment without worrying about the aftermath.

I push my way out of the backseat. The plastic bags filled with junk have been taking up too much space back here for too long.

Pins and needles throb when my foot meets the pavement, and it buckles underneath me.

Sitting in one place for the whole drive back to campus from my parents’ was a horrible idea.

Even my butt hurts from lack of movement.

Adam catches me before I fall, and my face flushes hot. “Easy there, Collins,” he whispers seductively, tracing his finger down my forearm. It’s the worst kind of foreplay, the need burning inside me, for him.

It sounds horrible, but my boyfriend has been cockblocking me this whole weekend, and the guilt flowing through my veins is weighing me down.

Just this week. I only have to make it through this week, and I can have a sit-down conversation with him and explain that things are not working. It’s not his fault, he’s perfect. He’s just not perfect for me.

After the fair, we all crashed as soon as we walked into my parents’ house. Saturday, instead of going to the lake with my parents, we all hung out at the house.

Adam wanted to show my mom up at Mario Kart again, and when he lost, he demanded to play against everyone else to prove that he could play.

But watching him and my mom laugh together while moving their bodies outrageously with the remotes secured in their hands was hilarious.

And at the same time, it hurt my heart. To watch him interact with my mom and help my dad plan how to build a fence.

Apparently, I didn’t even need to suggest it, because it was something my mom had been asking for.

I offhandedly made the comment asking if they were getting a dog, and if that was the reason for it now. They’re shared, sly smiles made me giddy. My parents getting a dog would be awesome. I’d be talking Adam into bringing me home more often.

But this is what Adam has been missing, what he’s been secretly craving—that feeling of having a family. He doesn’t need to worry, though, because he has me now. And by default, that means he has my parents as well.

“Come to my room later?” Adam says quietly. Danielle and Thomas are too busy discussing their study plans for this week to see us conspiring over here.

“Yeah.”

His smile is bright. I have to fight the urge to lean forward and kiss him, repercussions be damned.