White Lies

The Wolfe in the Woods

He hears a snicker come out of Blanche, while she burrows her face on his chest. Hunter loves the feel of her warm body on top of him, against him, the shiver of delight, and her effervescent glow after sex.

"What's so funny?" he asks, lifting her head up so they can gaze into each other's eyes. He kisses the playfulness on her lips.

"I'm just thinking it's a good thing our new sofa is made out of fabric."

Hunter quirks an eyebrow. "You've been thinking about our sofa this entire time? Have I lost my touch?"

Blanche traces the V of his shirt neckline. "No. Not at all. Every time we have sex on a leather sofa, you tend to rip my panties off." With the moonlight streaking into the room, he can see a bit of blush colour her cheeks. She giggles at her statement. And hunter knows he's done for.

What does he do with this sensation? With this feeling? He wants her, all of her. Not just in some physical way, although he will never get enough of that. He likes that Bee shows strength, courage, and growth. He admires the way she handled Leona, even her own mother, and the consequences of the life that she's had with ex-boyfriend. And to think he almost let her go...

"We better get back out there. I don't want to leave Trisha by herself." She squirms on his lap.

He refuses to move. "We don't have to."

"Hunter, it's your Birthday, your party. Your friends came to celebrate you." The way that she talks to him, keeps him in check, makes him think that she will be one hell of a mother, able to handle the little nugget growing inside her. If someone has told him a year ago that he will find himself living with a woman as refined as Blanche, and that he's about to become a father, he would have thought that person was high. Life can be a bag of surprises.

There's a knock on the door, which startles Bee.

"Yeah," Hunter shouts. Although he knows that Bee is right, they need to get move on, he stays seated, holding Bee down to keep her from getting up.

Marianne's concerned voice filters through the door. "Hunt, are you guys okay in there? Dinner's ready. And Red just got here."

Red. Now, that's another complication. Red told Hunter earlier that she'll be bringing Wolfe to the party. He hasn't dealt with that situation yet. Though now it doesn't feel like it should matter. The past is the past. Yes, he'll continue to care for Red, and yes, he'll keep questioning Wolfe's true dedication to his fiancée. A little too many mistakes have happened for him to completely be off his guard.

But then, there's Blanche. It doesn't take a genius to know that she has some dislike on Red, judging by her assumption of catching him with Leona--which Bee thought was Red-- and by the way Bee stiffens against him when Marianne mentioned the other woman's name.

Where does he stand in all of this? Should he just let everything fall where they may? What if it all topples down and he is asked to make a decision? Will Blanche ask him to choose?

"I guess that's our cue to get up." Bee presses a kiss on his lips before she shimmies away from him. A warmth trickles down her legs. Hunter watches her pull the hem of her dress down, ironing the fabric with her hands.

Hunter sorts himself up, while Bee makes her way to the door. She gives him one last glance before she steps out. One thing for sure, this Birthday will be one to remember for years, Hunter thinks to himself as he pockets the delicate torn lace he picks up from the sofa.

****
Time to face the music, Blanche reminds herself as she takes stares at herself in the bathroom mirror. Around her chin and right cheek is a touch of redness from Hunter's beard. It will be a challenge for her not to squirm while she sits at the dinner table with Hunter's friends and family sans underwear.