Page 57 of Sunrises & Salvation

HUNTER

E very previously empty space in my mom’s kitchen is covered with baking dishes with a layer of tinfoil over the top.

Somehow, she roped me into baking for a fundraiser the school is doing.

So while I’ve been in the hot kitchen working my ass off mixing brownie batter and cookie dough until my arms cramp, Adam has been outside with my dad working on a new bookshelf for the store.

From my spot in front of the sink where I’ve been working, I’ve been catching the occasional glimpses of his skin with a fine sheen of sweat over it.

The muscles in his forearm flex while he uses the power saw to cut a piece of mahogany to his desired length.

“If you drool in the cookie dough, you’ll have to start over,” my mom pipes up.

I jump a little, startled by her sudden appearance out of the corner of my eye.

My cheeks flame red, and I avert my attention back to the mixing bowl in front of me, folding in the brown butter with the dry mixture.

“And after you wasted all that time browning the butter, it would be a hassle to do it again.”

“For one, it’s not a waste,” I tell her, defending my use of brown butter in cookie dough.

There’s an internet sensation chef who did it, bragging about how much better cookies tasted with the additional step.

I’ve started watching his videos, taking in the experiences he has with the foods he creates.

It’s definitely because of his take on different meals across the world and not how conveniently attractive he is, with his shoulder-length locs and dark skin.

Adam likes watching him, too, so it’s not just me.

And so what if when he wears expensive clothes, he pushes the sleeves up higher on his forearms so we can watch his muscles flex.

“Does Adam know you have a crush on Chef AJ?” my mom teases, and Adam chooses that moment to walk in.

“Are you watching his videos without me again? We agreed only together, I can’t have you getting any ideas about a rich chef who will whisk you away and feed you exotic foods to your heart’s desire.

” He comes up behind me and kisses the back of my neck, then props his head on my shoulder and watches me as I mix the dough until it has the desired consistency.

“Of course not, love, I would never.” It comes out sarcastic, but it’s true.

And if Adam had an issue with me watching Chef AJ, I would stop out of respect for our relationship.

But he hasn’t complained once. If anything, when he comes to the bookstore after he gets off, he always asks me if Chef AJ has posted a new video for us to watch.

I hear the back door shut in the distance as my mom goes to check on my dad. Adam steps closer to me, pressing his front against my back. The hard outline of his cock presses against my ass, and I push back just a little bit onto him.

“Do you remember that night here at your parents’ house all those years ago?” My mouth is dry, and feeling his arousal against me is sending my brain haywire. I shake my head no.

“I’ll walk you back through it,” he whispers, nibbling on the soft skin of my neck.

“We were on the fold-out couch. I unbuttoned your pants and slipped my hand inside, just like this.” The battle inside my head is more, I want more, and we cannot do this in my parents’ house.

But when he pushes his hand into my pants, just like he promised, my mind loses all semblance of reason.

“I asked you to tell me how you like it. It was my first time, and I didn’t want to mess it up.” His voice is rough in my ear.

“How do you remember?” I gasp when his warm hand meets my hard dick, all of the blood pumping causing my balls to ache, begging for release.

“Because I remember everything about you, Collins. From the first moment and until the day I die. Probably even after that.” His words make me groan, need coursing through me and begging for an outlet.

“You sat on the bed, reading a romance book that first night. I had seen you with it in the library, and sitting outside around campus. I have a copy of it on my shelf at my house.” I haven’t seen his house, I realize.

Since I’ve been back in town, I’ve never once stepped into the place he calls home.

We always meet at the bookstore, and from there we go to my house.

He must read my thoughts, because the next words out of his mouth are “I’m planning something for you, so you haven’t had a chance to see it yet. But when you do, I hope you’ll love it.”

“I love you,” I tell him, feeling it deep in my bones, because no matter what’s waiting for me at his house, nothing will be better than having him with me.

I don’t care if we live in a small apartment or a mansion for the rest of our lives.

As long as I have him, I’ll be the richest man in the world.

“I love you, Hunter.” His lips make their way across my neck, and I turn my head to capture them in a kiss.

We’re panting into each other’s mouths when he pulls away. His eyes are glassy, the mismatched blues staring intently into me.

“I have something to show you. Come on.” He turns, grabbing my hand and pulling me behind him.

The pictures on the walls have changed in the past eight years.

Replaced are the ones from when I was younger; my parents have those decorating my old bedroom.

Now there are recent photos. Adam and I standing in the lobby of the bookstore, smiling at each other instead of the camera.

All four of us from our last family dinner.

A photo of me and Kian that Adam sneakily took and sent to my mom when she asked how I was doing with Trent’s ex in town.

That’s the weird thing, though, I don’t think of Kian as my ex-boyfriend’s boyfriend.

He’s my friend, and one of the closest I’ve had.

He’s been the biggest help at the bookstore.

Without him always sharing pictures from it on his social media, I doubt it would have gotten as much traction as it has, and I owe that to him.

I stare at the back of Adam’s head, the ends of his hair starting to curl slightly with the length.

He pushes the door open, and the hot summer air chokes me for a minute.

The hottest season is upon us, and I’m secretly counting down the days to fall.

Adam’s birthday is next week, though, and he doesn’t know it, but I have a surprise for him.

Just thinking about it has me giddy and trying to hide my smile in my palm.

My parents are sitting in their reclining chairs on the deck that overlooks the backyard.

Adam’s woodworking equipment is carefully tucked in the corner and unplugged, just in case, so no accidents happen.

He doesn’t lead us over to where my parents are sitting, instead, he leads me to the farthest corner of the fence.

The one that has the hinge on the inside that allows it to open so we can get out to the woods behind the house if we need to.

The woods where Adam and I first kissed.

My lips tingle with the memory. Instead of going to the door, he takes me right up until I hear a small whining sound.

I strain my ears, trying to figure out what that noise is, and Adam looks over his shoulder at me, holding his finger over his lips in a quiet gesture.

When he stops and bends over, I do the same. And I have to hold in my gasp. On a patch of grass in the shade is a momma cat and her three kittens. They’re suckling away with their eyes closed as the momma stares at us with wide, unblinking eyes.

“Kittens,” I whisper, trying to hold back the need to bend over and scoop them all up.

“Your dad just found them yesterday,” Adam says lowly, still looking at them. “He didn’t want to move them just in case it scared the mom and she abandoned them.”

“We can’t leave them out here, it’s way too hot.” He makes a noise of affirmation.

“I called a vet, they said we could bring them in, but we can’t separate them until the kittens are weaned.” One of the babies whines loudly, rolling over on its back and stretching out.

“Can we keep them?” It’s stupid, because we shouldn’t keep four cats when we’ve never taken care of one, but I don’t want to even think about splitting them up, or leaving them outside to fight against the elements.

“We can keep them if you want,” Adam says, leaning over and kissing my temple. “I’ll call Trent to help us; he and Kian aren’t leaving until tomorrow to go to his photoshoot.” I nod, staring at the momma. Her eyes are bright green, and she blinks slowly, barely keeping her focus on me.

“Are you sure?” I ask hesitantly, because this is a long-term commitment.

“Look at me, Collins.” He grabs my chin in his hands and turns his face toward me. “If this is what you want, I’ll do it for you. These cats will have the best life they could ever imagine.”

I break my gaze away from his and stare longingly at the cats.

“Okay.”