Page 48 of Sunrises & Salvation

HUNTER

“ I ’m tired,” Kian whines to Trent, both of them standing across the bookstore, but Kian doesn’t have an inside voice. I consider the man a friend, and a close one at that, but he’s loud.

“I know, Ki, but just think of how much fun you’re going to have today.” Why does Trent sound like he’s trying to placate a child, and why does Kian’s face break into a smile while he stares at Trent?

“ We’re going to have so much fun,” he announces, and I’m glad he has high hopes for this, because I do not.

I woke up this morning with a tight chest, and my breathing was ragged.

It felt like I had run a marathon, but all I had been doing was lying in bed.

I took my pill with breakfast, the same as I do every morning.

But for some reason, it is not working like it should.

My chest is still tight, and my hands are clammy.

I feel a headache blooming in the back of my head; the pain is just a pinprick for now, but if I don’t take anything for it, it’ll become unmanageable.

Today is the first day of the town festival, vendors covering every space on the street, and a specific block has been barricaded for carnival rides. It’s a four-day event, and if this is how the first day goes, I do not have high hopes like Kian does for the rest of the week.

I walk away from them, needing the space to get my thoughts under control before I start spiraling. I have my backup pills, but those are a last resort.

I’m pacing in the safe space room, my mind drifting from the minimalist art prints on the wall that I ordered to make this a calming environment.

It is not very calming at this point, while my mind races with all the things that could go wrong.

I know that I’m overreacting, it’s obvious from the way the train derails from ‘ what if we run out of refreshments’ to ‘ what if the ceiling caves in and I inadvertently kill people who were just trying to look at romance books?’ See, not rational, and no matter how many positive thoughts I think, there’s no escaping it.

There’s a knock on the door and I stop pacing, glancing at it and waiting to see what the person on the other side needs. If it’s a customer trying to explore, I’ll have to go somewhere else to suffer with my internal ramblings.

“Collins?” Adam’s voice comes through the door slightly muffled. “Trent told me you were in here. Can I come in?”

“Yeah,” I say, my voice cracking, and I clear my throat so he can hear me. “Yeah, come on in.” I try to sound cheerful, but it falls flat to my own ears.

The door creaks open, and I’m rewarded with the sight of Adam looking delectable.

He’s wearing shorts that cut off at mid-thigh, showing off his quads and his leg tattoo.

I have to swallow the saliva pooling in my mouth, wanting to eat him whole, and have room for seconds.

The shirt he has on is adorable, and mine matches it, as well as Trent’s and Kian’s, since they’re all helping me out here today.

Adam customized the shirts with the bookstore logo and a pond in the background.

They are perfect. And I refuse to admit that I got sappy when he handed it to me.

He comes into the room and shuts the door behind him.

“You okay?” he asks, concern lacing his tone.

I nod my head, then immediately shake it as he comes closer to me.

There’s no point in lying to him, not when he knows me better than anyone.

“Come here.” He opens his arms, and I step into them, letting his warmth and steadfastness settle me when my mind doesn’t want to cooperate.

“It’s okay, you’re okay,” Adam says, tracing his fingers up and down the ridges of my spine.

On each pass at the base of my neck, he takes a minute to press extra hard to massage that spot.

We stand like that, him not forcing me to talk and tell him what’s going on.

He just lets me exist with no rush when it feels like my words won’t come out.

I nuzzle further into his neck, inhaling his cologne and pressing gentle kisses to whatever skin I can find.

Commotion starts up outside the door, Kian’s voice echoing while he greets someone walking in the front door. We should get out there, this is my store; I should be the one welcoming people. But the thought of doing it now sends a bad shiver down my spine.

“Hey, let’s stay in here. Just for a little while longer, Kian can manage the front.

” It’s amazing to see how far he and Kian have come since Kian came back to town.

Adam hated him at first for what he did to Trent, but now they have a mutual understanding.

As long as Trent’s happy, they’re both happy.

And as long as I’m happy, Adam won’t become a raging asshole.

“You’re going to do great today.” Adam kisses the crown of my head, a few strands falling across my forehead with his exhalation.

I’ve been growing it out, and it’s been a change since I’m used to the shorter length.

But I love the feeling of Adam’s hands running through it when he kisses me.

“Are you putting the special editions out that you made?” I nod my head, scraping my teeth lightly against his pulse point.

Hearing his affirming words mixed with the anxiety subsiding has another feeling burning inside me.

“Everyone is going to love them, I guarantee you’ll sell out today.”

“And if I don’t?”

“I’ll buy them all,” he says matter-of-factly, and I pull away enough to slap at his chest.

“You will not!”

“You’re right, I won’t. Because customers are going to come in and see how much time and effort you put into the books, and they’ll be fighting to get their hands on a copy.” Appreciation floods my gut, and I reach up on my tiptoes to press a kiss to the stubble on his chin.

“Thank you.”

“Don’t thank me,” Adam says, dropping his head to brush his lips against mine in a gentle kiss. He keeps it PG, keeping our lips pressed against each other, soaking in the moment between us.

“I’m so lucky you chose me,” I say, pressing kisses across his face and letting the sting from his stubble burn my lips until they’re swollen.

“I’m the lucky one, Hunter. I always have been.” He cups the back of my head, capturing my mouth with his, swallowing my gasp and forcing his tongue into my mouth. Our tongues tangle together and fight for dominance as my dick thickens in my shorts, pressing up against the hard zipper.

“Let’s get away next week,” he says, pulling back while I chase his mouth, craving it against mine. I haven’t had my fill of him yet, and I never will. I will never get enough of him. Even having him now, crowding my body against his so he won’t move away, it’s not enough.

“Where?”

“There’s a lake about two hours from here. It has hiking trails, canoes, and a quiet cabin in secluded woods with no neighbors.” It sounds nice, and like the perfect way to relax after the stress I’m experiencing.

“Is that supposed to be sexy? It sounds like you’re planning the perfect place to murder me.

” His laugh is loud and boisterous, eyes creasing as he tilts his head back.

His Adam’s apple bobs in my face, and I lean up to bite it.

Gently, of course, and then I soothe the bite with my tongue.

His eyes darken when he looks at me, his mismatched eyes glazing over.

“I guess I won’t take you then…” He trails off, and I narrow my eyes.

“Well, you aren’t taking anyone else,” I snap. He smiles and kisses me.

“Of course I’m not. You’re the only person I want to be with. The only person I want to spend my time with.” I shouldn’t preen under his attention, but I’m no better than a peacock.

“So is that a yes?” he says, and I smile widely and answer, with much more confidence than I feel.

“Yes.”

We straighten our clothes, and my eyes are glued to Adam’s crotch while he readjusts his dick. My mouth waters with the need to taste him. But I should not be doing that in a building full of people. I draw the line at exhibitionism.

We walk out of the room, our hands clasped together, while I shove the door prop under the edge to keep it open in case anyone wants to look around.

Kian and Trent are both talking to customers, while others explore the bookshelves, picking up various romance titles.

A few people are in the LGBTQIA+ section, thumbing through open books while they show their friends.

A sense of pride washes over me, the feeling of accomplishment knowing that I made my dream become a reality, no matter how hard the work was to get here.

“Hi! Are you Hunter Collins?” One guy comes up to me, younger than I am if the college sweatshirt is anything to go by.

“Yes, I am,” I say, extending my hand to be polite. He grabs it in both of his, pumping it up and down vigorously.

“I’m such a big fan of your artwork! I have the rendition of Starry Night that you did, the one with all the book quotes? I’m sure you know which one, you were the one who made it.” His nervous rambling is cute.

“I do know the one, I’m so glad to hear that you enjoy my art.” I’m horrible at taking compliments, so I hope my smile conveys the right message.

“Enjoy? I’m obsessed. I’m actually in college right now, studying art.

” He tells me all about himself. The classes he’s taking and how I’ve been a huge inspiration to him.

I nod and acknowledge his words, content to let him do all the talking.

Adam left me with a squeeze to my hand, a silent promise that he would be back.

The guy shows me some of the art he’s created and the different book covers he’s come up with on his own.

He’s very creative, finding patterns and details that mesh well together while operating on their own.

“Sorry, I tend to ramble when I get excited.” His face pinkens, and I shake my head quickly.

“No, that’s okay. I promise. I’m the same way.” I chuckle and look around. He seems to be by himself, or maybe his friends left him behind while he talked to me.

“Oh, my name’s Tyler, by the way.”

“Tyler, it’s so good to meet you. Are you just in town for the week or?”

“I live a few towns over, but I’ve been to your bookstore once or twice.

I just never had the courage to talk to you.

” His face splotches and I feel bad for him, but not in a pity way but in a way that I want to take care of him.

He reminds me of myself when I was younger, before I learned the hard way that sometimes life doesn’t work out the way you want it to.

“I’m going out of town next week, but when I come back, why don’t you come by? I’d love to look at your book covers and see if we can get something worked out.” His eyes brighten, and I know that he’ll be here.

“Yeah, yeah.” He clears his throat. “I would really like that.” I get his number, and he practically skips out of the bookstore, swinging his novelty New Beginnings Bookstore burlap bag.

I shake my head, wondering how I got here.

Adam is back in my life, and we’re slowly working on our relationship.

I own a bookstore. I have friends and family who love me.

I feel like the richest man in the world, taking in the people mingling and watching as Adam tries his best to talk to the group of people who are standing by my special editions.

He might be grumpy sometimes, more often than not, but he’s charismatic.

He has the type of energy that people flock to, and no matter how often he tries to feign indifference, he really does care.

And he really cares about me. He’s going outside of his comfort zone and talking about romance books.

Now, if it were true crime, he would be in his element.

A flutter of deep feelings passes through me. Love. That’s what I’m feeling now, the same emotion he evoked in me in college, it’s right here again. Burning bright and bold and refusing to be smothered.

I love Adam, I always have. We might not have had the best go at this, but knowing that even after all these years, he’s still the man I fell in love with is a balm to my soul. Nourishing and replenishing, feeding me the energy I’ve been missing for the past eight years without him.

I’m staring at him, and when his eyes lift to meet mine, a bright smile overtakes his face.

I walk toward him, the magnetic pull between us too strong for me to fight against. And I don’t want to fight against it.

There’s no point. When I agreed to be friends, I was trying to protect myself.

But there’s no need, not from Adam. He’ll always be here to catch me when I fall or make a mistake.

I trust him. With my heart, body, and soul.

He’s the one for me, my other half in every sense.

That’s why during the years we’d been apart, I’d never felt settled, I’ve always been chasing something bigger than me. And all it took was coming back and running into him again to show me that I don’t need to chase some pipe dream, I can have everything I want. Right here, with him.

Adam breaks away from the group, meeting me halfway. I don’t know what the look on my face is, but his lips downturn in concern. I don’t stop until I run right into him, our chests bumping against each other, and Adam grasps onto my upper arms to keep me steady.

“Hunter—” I cut him off, kissing him in front of everyone. The world falls away with his lips on mine, letting him anchor me in only the way he can.

Clapping starts around us, and I’m dragged away by the sound. Kian and Trent are clapping loudly, standing behind the cash register. When Kian sees us, his words echo across the store. “It’s about freaking time.” I flush and hide my head in the crook of Adam’s neck.

“What was that?” Adam asks when the attention dies down, and everyone continues on with their shopping. Even Kian and Trent go back to what they were doing before they interrupted my storybook moment.

“I just had an epiphany while I was watching you.” His eyebrows quirk as he stares at me.

“Care to share?” I inhale shakily, dragging my tongue to feel my kiss-swollen lips.

I don’t say the three words that want to escape, instead, I kiss his mouth again, reveling in the taste of him and knowing that I can do this whenever I want because he’s mine.