Heart of Ice

Chapter Ten

Song: Fifteen- Taylor Swift

I should've paid attention to what Taylor Swift had to say about being fifteen.

My father had entrusted Hunter to begin more intense training with me. He had taught Hunter everything he knew, and since Hunter had sort of become my full-time body guard, it was only fitting that he train me to my dad's standards. It was a double win. He taught me what my father had taught him while also having the ability to keep me safe since we were always around each other. There was just one small, miniscule detail that I doubt my dad had accounted for when he made this arrangement-- me falling in love with Hunter.

I couldn't remember a time when Hunter and I weren't together after I turned fifteen. He stayed with me during the night because of my nightmares, we woke up to train together in the mornings, and then when we were doing our tasks around the house, we were always paired together. If it had been anyone else, I would've been tired of seeing them constantly, but it was never like that with Hunter. He was always the person I had the best time with, even in the worst conditions.

The night before, something had shifted between us. When I came out of the bathroom, Hunter was laying on my bed, arms behind his head as he stared at the ceiling, deep in thought. After I dried my hair and laid down beside him, I glanced over at him, and I noticed how his eyebrows were knitted together. Whatever he had been thinking about was clearly significant. I decided to let him be and rolled over to turn off the light, shutting my eyes as I wavered between conscious and unconscious. Right before I fell asleep, Hunter's arms wrapped around my waist, and he buried his head in the crook of my neck. He had done that before, but for some reason, it was different that night. I knew it had something to do with what he had been thinking about, but I also knew he wouldn't be very open to talking about what was bothering him.

If only I had known back then that it was about me.

I turned to face him, but he kept his head buried in my shoulder. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," He mumbled, glancing up to smile, but it didn't reach his eyes. "Just have a lot on my mind."

"If you wanna talk about it--"

"I know. Thanks," He kissed my forehead. "We better get some sleep. Training starts early tomorrow morning."

I didn't push him any further. If he wanted to tell me, I knew he would when he was ready. So, I laid my head against his chest and fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.

Things were quiet between us when we went to the gym for training the next morning. Hunter walked me through stretches and warm-ups, and then he taught me some new techniques. Once all of that was finished, he spotted me for weighted squats, and then we ran a couple laps around the track. Dad wanted us to practice fighting with each other, so we always made that our last part of training since we always ended up messing around.

As I threw a couple hits at the gloves Hunter had on his hands, he suddenly started gazing into my eyes. His stare grew so intense to the point that my hands dropped to my side, and all I could do was stare back. It was that day that I finally noticed the specks of light brown around his irises, and how his brown eyes were the lightest, prettiest brown eyes I had ever seen. And then, when I least expected it, he swung his leg behind me and slammed against the back of my knee, knocking me to the ground. My breath escaped my lungs as I stared up at him in shock, and he leaned over me, his smirk wide and proud. "You should know better than to let your guard down, angel."

I truthfully didn't know what my next move would end up leading to, but to get back at him, I grabbed the front of his shirt while he was gloating and pulled him down with me. He grabbed my waist and flipped me over him so he would feel the brunt of his fall, and when we stopped rolling, both of us were breathing heavily, speechless as we looked at each other. I was lying on top of Hunter, stray pieces of my hair dangling in his face, and his wide eyes were staring up at me, his hands gripping my hips. I wasn't sure what had given me the confidence boost, but as we started leaning closer to each other, our eyes flickering between each other's gaze and lips, I closed the space between us, pressing my lips against his. At first, neither of us moved, but then his lips slowly moved against mine, and I soon copied his movements, my hands gently cupping his face as his hands gripped my hips tighter.