The Life of a Princess

Chapter 16 - Nailed it

The rest of the class went rather smoothly if you didn't count the several times Mr. Brown caught me in not working. I was still stuck on the conversation I overheard because my brain couldn't wrap itself around it. I was so confused because combining Riley's words with the guys', I should be alarmed, but Hunter seemed like such a gentleman. I couldn't see the danger in him except for maybe a broken heart. Yet, that was granted in every relationship, right?

Science rolled by and even though Hunter was in that class too, we didn't converse at all. A class later and I was on his team in dodgeball. Red balls flew left and right around me while I tried to get Hunter's attention, but it was impossible, and soon enough I was hit square in the face.

"Hunter, we need to talk!" I yelled over the other shouts as I poked his shoulder. I didn't let him answer me before I jogged to the bench on the side and sat down waiting. I didn't know what to expect, really, but after two minutes, Hunter was dead too. He came and sat down next to me, looking out in the room.

"Hey," he said, crossing his arms in his lap. I took a deep breath and copied his position.

"Hi," I replied cautiously. Then came a silence, the air was thick of awkwardness and tension. I had never been in a situation like this and I didn't enjoy it one bit. It shouldn't have been so weird to talk to him; he liked me and I liked him. We kissed, we smiled. What was the problem?

I breathed heavily, "So...?" and looked at his face standing in profile to me. He was very attractive, I had to admit, and I felt so...so lucky to have kissed him – twice, even. He wasn't that stereotype handsome with the short brown hair, small nose and insane cheekbones. He had long curls, a not-very-small, pointy nose and dimples. I had never had anything for dimples – they made you look like a baby in my opinion – but Hunter just looked sexy with them.

"So," he mused while smiling and looking back at me. I chuckled nervously and bit on the insides of my cheeks.

"Um...yeah, so we kissed?" I smiled innocently and looked at him curiously. A bigger grin stretched across his face as he grabbed my sweaty hand.

"Yeah, we did," he said while fiddling with my hand. I looked at his hands and felt an urge to hold them in my own. I liked Hunter, I figured. I liked him very much. He was handsome, nice and a good guy – maybe a little rough in the beginning, but who knows? Maybe he just had a bad day...or days.

"So, what happens now then?" I asked, letting him turn my hand to trace patterns on my palm. He looked at me through his lashes and smiled.

"We kiss more, I suppose," he said giddily, sending my heart in my throat. Hunter closed my hand by wrapping his around it and looked into my eyes. "How about we hang out after school?" he proposed. My cheeks heated as I nodded and the crinkles by his eyes appeared again.

***

"Why do you need nails?"

My question didn't seem to come unexpected as he smiled knowingly. Hunter hadn't told me anything about where we were going, only that, for some strange reason, he needed nails. I was so curious about this thing we were doing, but I was left clueless. What the heck would he need nails for? He was building something, obviously, but what?

"I'll tell you when we get there," he smiled and disappeared behind one of the large shelves in the store. I rolled my eyes and went the other direction while humming a tune to myself. It felt so good to be with Hunter, he was just so easygoing and fun to be around. There was something about his aura that made me happy and giddy, but maybe that was just me liking him a little too much. Because I did: I liked him as more than a friend. Only an idiot wouldn't figure that out. Yet I didn't feel that burning flame when we kissed or any fireworks, only his chapped lips against mine and a bad case of butterflies. No, scratch that. It was more like buffalo stampede in my stomach.