Page 11

eight

Mark

S tanding in Hunter’s doorway, I’m beginning to think this is a bad idea.

It took a while to even gain the courage to do it.

I asked the driver to make a stop for pizza—grabbed two just in case his roommate wants some—then headed over here.

I’m still struggling. This is weird, right? It looks weird.

Noah insisted it’s sweet, but I’m not sure Hunter will feel the same.

He doesn’t want me here and that’s okay.

I’ll make it clear I’m just here to bring him food.

Looking back at my ride who I asked to wait for me, I knock again, though the pizzas are burning my hand and it’s hard to knock.

I try one last time, flinching when the door opens.

Hunter appears in the doorway looking both painfully gorgeous and devastatingly exhausted.

Bruises are smudged under his eyes and his brown hair looks like it fell victim to his fingers combing through it.

“Mark? What are you doing here?” Yeah, this was a bad idea.

Noah was wrong. Why did I listen to him! ? “Mark?” Shit. Say something!

“Um, hi . . . I uh, wow. Um . . . I thought . . . well, I thought I could bring you food since you were dealing with a lot, and then you won’t have to cook.

I don’t plan on staying. I know you don’t want me to stay, I just .

. .” The words tumble out of my mouth. I point at my ride.

“I uh, just wanted to drop these off so you don’t have to worry about dinner.

I uh . . . I’m realizing now that this is creepy.

You explicitly don’t want me here. I’m sorry.

Here.” I shove the pizza at him. “Pizza’s yours.

I hope you have a better day. Please call me if you want.

Probably not, though, right? You probably think I’m weird. This is weird. Wow. Have a good night.”

Turning down the steps, I nearly eat it tripping over my shoe. An arm wraps around my waist preventing me from a humiliating death, and I blink down at the steps as Hunter rights me. “Mark.” I turn around slowly, blood rushing to my face. “Get in the house.”

“Uh, what?”

Hunter smiles, and fuck me it’s brilliant. “Tell your driver to go home. I’ll take you home later after we’re done eating.”

“You have a car?”

He points to the driveway, and in my nervous breakdown during the walk up to the house I’d completely missed it. “It’s a friend’s. He’ll let me borrow it. I’ll take you back to campus.”

“I don’t want to push. I really just wanted to bring you food. You sound tired.”

It’s now I see how heavy the exhaustion in his eyes looks. It’s like a heavy cloud clinging to him, like an invisible demon sucking his energy. “This is nice, thank you. I just want to warn you, though. It’s not pretty in there right now.”

“I don’t have to go inside, really. The backpack is just from when I thought we were going to have a date.

I haven’t been back to the dorm since you called.

” All my gaming equipment and my notebook for planning is in there.

I’m not about to let that out of my sight or even leave it in a stranger’s car while I walk to Hunter’s door. “I just wanted to bring you food.”

Hunter opens the door, waiting for me. “Tell the driver you’re staying.” He waits. “Don’t fall down the steps.”

A smile spreads on my face. Walking down the steps, I look back and see Hunter’s waiting for me, then I pay my driver, telling him he can go. He looks a little annoyed, so I throw in a bigger tip.

Turning up the stone path, I see Hunter pressing his back to the door, holding it open for me with the pizzas in his hands.

I make it up the steps without tripping and follow him in the front door, then take off my shoes and follow him through the living room.

There’s broken glass across the floor. “Are you alright?”

“My roommate, Jamie, had a meltdown earlier. I’ll clean it up in a minute. My friend Xavi went for a walk, that’s why his car’s here, but he texted me that he met up with some friends. He’s going to be gone for a while. Jamie’s asleep now, so your timing is actually perfect.”

“Can I ask what happened?”

Hunter sets the boxes down on the kitchen table, grabbing plates. “I’m fuckin’ starving. What do you want?”

“One of each.” Hunter plates me two slices and hands it to me, then grabs two for himself. Moving the boxes to the counter, he drops into one of the chairs across from me like a lead weight.

“It’s not really my place to tell his business, but he’s going through some really hard shit right now. We all are, but him more so. A lot of health problems on top of some mental issues. He found something out earlier and it set him off.”

“He didn’t hurt you, right?” I don’t like this at all.

“God, no.” Hunter snorts. “Jamie wouldn’t hurt any of us. It’s him we have to worry about. That’s another story, though. He punched that mirror out there, then freaked out because we had to take him to get stitches. Thankfully the paramedics stitched him up here instead. Stubborn bastard.”

This guy sounds insane. “I’m sorry.”

“It is what it is. I just didn’t want you around for all that. I don’t know what he’s going to be like when he gets up either. They basically had to tranq him. Everything just calmed down and I took a shower.”

“I’m sorry you have to go through this.”

“I know it may not seem like it, but I don’t mind. His family has done more than enough for me. He’s like a brother to me.” Silence falls around us and I can’t help feeling a little awkward, like I’ve done something wrong. “You’re very talkative.”

I smile around a bite. “I feel like I overstepped. I didn’t expect you to let me in.”

“I think this is very sweet and I needed it after the day I’ve had. I also get to see you, so a win is a win.” Heat creeps along my neck. “I was really looking forward to today.”

“You were?”

“Of course. I like you, Mark. I was worried you thought I stood you up.”

“Noah said I should surprise you. I was worried you’d think it was weird.”

“Your friend with no benefit?”

“My friend with friend-only benefits.” Hunter goes back to his pizza. “I mean it, there’s nothing between us.”

“I believe you.”

“Just like that?”

Hunter shrugs. “I don’t have any reason not to, right?” My gut twists. I’m not hungry anymore but force the rest of the pizza into my stomach. “Can you stay for a bit?”

“Yeah. I have no plans.”

“Great. Do you want to go outside? You can tell me about the game you’re making. I’m too beat to play a game, though, I’m sorry.”

While I want to do just that, it is getting cooler outside, and I hadn’t expected to stay here. “I don’t have a sweater.” I really need to buy a new one. Noah is not giving that one back. Not in one piece anyway.

“One sec.” Hunter gets up and leaves the room. I feel so out of place and weird despite Hunter easing my worries. My mind drifts to the broken glass on the floor. Is that what he has to live with every day? Friend or not, I can’t imagine it.

Hunter appears back in the kitchen with a navy-blue hoodie in hand, with the Hornets logo on the front and hockey sticks crossed behind it. “It’s mine from last year. It shrunk a bit so you can have it.” Taking the hoodie, I look at it with a smile.

“Russo.” I say mostly to myself.

“My last name. What’s yours?”

“It’s Perrson.” I pull on the sweater, biting my tongue to prevent the moan that bubbles up my throat.

Fuck, it smells good. So musky and sweet.

“You can keep it. It looks good on you.” Hunter walks to the sliding glass doors wearing socks, his gray sweats, and a different navy-blue hoodie with this year’s logo.

Every year they hold a contest before the season for students to design the new sports logos.

Hunter sits on the bench seat while I take another chair across from him. He frowns. “What?”

“You’re just so far away.” He pouts.

“I’m right here.”

Hunter moves a little, making a bit of space for me on the love seat. He pats the spot next to him and I move, sitting beside him and turning to face him. “Tell me about your game,” he says.

Just like that? Okay, damn. Invisible hands take hold of my lungs, squeezing hard the way they do every time I talk about it. My father thinks it’s silly, and I have no one else to bounce ideas off anymore. Everyone around me thinks it’s a waste of time.

“Mark?”

“Oh, sorry. I’m just not used to talking about it.

” Hunter reaches out, cupping my calf and squeezing it before gently pulling my feet across his lap.

He squeezes and massages, waiting for me to gain some courage, and all the while his eyes are on me, watching and waiting.

“I’ve always thought it would be really cool to be able to build your own world.

Something universal. So, at the beginning of the game, you choose what world you’d like to play in—or build your own world, kind of like any other game where you build your own character.

I love sci-fi, right? I want to play a sci-fi game.

With aliens, right? So, I build that world, then I get to play in that world.

If I like fantasy, I build a fantasy world.

It’s an action RPG about survival, but the worlds will change.

Maybe a dystopian world with a zombie outbreak, maybe something set on the moon, or in a jungle with wild animals.

The goal would be many different options for game play.

It’s a huge project. I’m just now trying to figure out if it would even be possible. It’ll be like a bunch of games in one.”

“Like a choose your own adventure.”

“Yes! Exactly. Instead, it’s like choose your own genre.”

“Wow, that’s really cool actually.”