Tangled Up Like Night and Day

Chapter 6: Mr. Perfectly Fine

Author's Note: Sorry for the hot minute between updates, it's getting to the end of the semester and end of college as a whole for me so I've been all over the place! Hope to have the next chapter done soon!

When I woke up the next morning, I was a little disoriented to be in Hunter's bed. His side of the bed was empty, and I sighed, finding myself already missing his warmth. I cringed at the thought. Why was I so codependent on him? I could hear some rustling in the kitchen, assuming he was up making food. I couldn't help but feel a sense of dread. What could I say to him? How do you even start a conversation after sleeping with your best friend?

Taking a deep breath, I finally climbed out of bed, quickly dressing. I made sure all trace of myself was gone from his room, though I was almost sad to do so, before quietly stepping out. Hunter was dancing around the kitchen, humming to himself. I rolled my eyes, but still smiled. At least he woke up happy.

"Hey," I began awkwardly, sitting down on a stool by the counter. "Can we talk? About last night?"

He seemed a little bit startled by my appearance, but quickly broke into a grin. "Hey! Good morning. Of course we can talk!" He flipped the bacon he was cooking over in the pan before turning his full attention to me. "You know, I think you were right, that it was good to get it out of our systems. Then we can move on and go back to normal, and back out into the dating world."

My heart sank, but I tried to appear neutral. I knew this was the deal when I tried to convince him of it, so why did I feel so disappointed? "Right, yeah. You took the words right out my mouth. What's there left to talk about?" My voice cracked, but I tried to play it off as a laugh.

"Great!" He smiled, handing me a plate of food. "What do you have planned today?"

"Oh, uh, nothing, honestly? What about you?" I stammered, unsure.

"I have another date with Chloe. We're seeing a movie tonight, nothing huge," he shrugged, taking a bite.

I bit the inside of my cheek, trying to hide my frustration. Did last night really mean so little to him that he was ready to move straight to the next, more permanent girl? It felt like it meant something, to both of us. I was his best friend. Why did my 25+ year friendship feel threatened by this girl? "You must really like her. You've been on a few dates now, excluding one I interrupted."

"Gen, that wasn't you interrupting. Besides, she understood," he sighed. "I mean, she definitely seems sweet. Just kinda seeing where it's going, you know?"

Normally when Hunter was dating someone, I tried to be supportive and even enthusiastic, but I just couldn't bring myself to. My head was swimming in confusion, flashes of the passionate night before conflicting with the words he was saying. Instead, I tried not to have any reaction. After being friends so long, I was sure he'd notice me being fake and call me out, but he didn't seem to notice. "Yeah, that's fair. Don't count your chickens before they hatch, I guess."

The rest of the breakfast passed in silence, neither of us really looking at each other. It made my heart hurt. I didn't necessarily regret the night before, but I didn't like feeling weird around him. I never had before, and the thought of it being like this from now on sounded awful. But at the same time, I couldn't shake the night before. If I hadn't been attracted to him before, I sure as hell was now and I wanted more. What had I done?

We eventually separated for the day, with me playing a game in my room while he worked on music until he left for his date. I found myself watching the clock from the moment he stepped, wondering how long would be gone. More importantly, was he going to bring her home? Why did I care? After awhile, I moved back out into the living room, trying to distract myself with some show or movie, but I still struggled to pull my eyes away from my phone.