That Night

Chapter 3: The Response and the Second Letter

"So what you're saying is that you remember some guy, professing his undying love for you, giving you your only and best kiss of your life and then walking away because he doesn't want to ruin your 'friendship'. That's annoying. I'm not into this self-sacrificing bullshit. Ruin the friendship!" Riley stands from her lying position on Jane's bed and walks to the bathroom. Before she closes the door she turns around, pumps her fist in the air and adds, "Get the girl! Fuck the friendship!"

I chuckle and Jane flops down on the bed next to me. I ask, "Hey can I use Hunter's bathroom? I gotta go real bad."

"Sure I think he went out so should be free."

I skip out of Jane's room high tailing it down the hall towards Hunter's bathroom. The door is slightly ajar and just as I'm about to swing the door open Hunter fills the doorway in nothing but a towel which is slung low around his hips. He sees me just as I see him and he raises his hand above his head and grabs the top of the door frame.

I will not look. I will not look. However, my resolve is weak and my eyes are drawn to a single drop of water which drips from his hair onto his broad defined shoulders. The drop sparkles and flows down his chest, eventually finding the deep ridges of his abs. Finally is disappears under his towel and I find myself wondering what would happen if I could trace it further. If I could see it travel all the way down to his toes.

Suddenly, I am jerked out of my trance by a loud cough and I realize I have been staring at Hunter's crotch way too long. Talk about embarrassing. My face immediately heats up and I force myself to look him in the eye. He has a knowing smirk painted on his face, but really what else would I expect from Hunter? Immediately my embarrassment turns to annoyance because while Hunter is painstakingly attractive, he doesn't have to advertise the fact that he knows.

"Did you need something?" Hunter asks with a smile and a small chuckle.

"Just needed to pee," I manage to mutter. Without any intention of moving Hunter answers, "Go ahead," as if he expects me to duck under his arms to get to the toilet. Fine, if that's how he wants to do this. I try to squeeze my body between him and the doorframe, but it is a tight fit and Hunter has to turn sideways, so I can get free.

There's a moment where we are facing chest to chest with a sliver of air in between our bodies. I can imagine the collision. The explosion of heat our bodies would create if a single cell of our skin touches. Our eyes meet and Hunter is no longer smiling. His breath becomes heavy and his eyes flicker down to my lips.

"Anna! What's taking so long, hurry up!" The interruption of Jane's voice is like a hand shoving me through the doorway and I slam the door shut. I press my back against the closed door wondering what just happened. Hunter is my best friend's brother. I shouldn't think about him like this.

If I'm really being honest with myself, I've always had this little tiny, miniscule thing for Hunter. In my defense this crush started before he became popular. Before he grew five inches. Before he stopped wearing his adorable thick rimmed glasses. Sometimes I still got to see him in those glasses.

When it's late at night and Riley and Jane are sleeping in her room, sometimes I sneak downstairs to raid Jane's perpetually filled stock of ice cream. With my head in the fridge I grab one pint of chocolate fudge brownie and one pint of cookie dough. I grab two bowls and muscle two scoops of each out into each bowl. I never wait so I dig in and sure enough I hear heavy footsteps descend the stairs.

Hunter appears in pajamas and his adorable glasses, a knowing smile plastered on his face. We eat ice cream and talk about anything and every, until we have both licked our bowls clean. The shining white porcelain of the empty bowls signals the end of our night. These are the instances where I really started to fall for Hunter.