Last Friday Night (ManxMan) ✔️

Chapter 28

Hunter was exhausted and sweaty. Muscles ached and pained in ways he'd never felt before, but he loved it. River looked similarly mussed. Half of his hair was plastered against flushed skin. His eyes looked just as tired, but he was smiling into his pillow, watching Hunter lazily. Hunter could get used to these quiet moments. Especially if River continued to look at him like that.

He could have stayed there forever, staring at River staring at him. But his urge to pee was strong. Hunter raced off to the bathroom and when he returned, he noticed how dark the room was. It was so late. Hunter dreaded waking up the next morning to take Melodie to school.

Moonlight streamed through the blinds, creating patterns on the wooden floor. The light reflected off of a smile and Hunter noticed a photo he never saw before. Hunter moved closer, crouching down to get a better look.

On the dresser next to the bed was a photo of a woman. She looked tired and exhausted in that hospital bed but happy to be holding the child in her arms. Hunter saw warm dark skin, large doe eyes, and a smile that lights up the room. This was Melodie's mother.

Hunter heard rustling and looked to find River peering over the bed, staring at the picture.

"What's her name?" Hunter asked, a soft question cutting through the silence.

"Nia," River replied distractedly. Then his brows furrowed, eyes focusing on the man crouching on the floor. "I never told you that?"

"You haven't told me anything about her."

River looked at the picture frame for another long moment before scooching back. When he started patting the covers as a 'come here' signal, Hunter stood up and climbed back onto the bed.

"I'd just started working for Bobby, the guy who used to own my bar, when she started showing up," River explained. "Nia was a recent college graduate stepping into the corporate sphere. I thought she was gorgeous and she liked my flirting so we started hooking up. And that turned into dating. I think we both liked the freedom. We weren't exclusive and didn't expect each other to coddle us or whatever normal couples do. We just existed together."

"Then she got pregnant."

River glanced over at the photo again, Nia's smile and the young baby being reflected in his eyes.

"We had to make a choice. Her mom was a bit of a religious nut so if I wanted to stay in the baby's life, there was only one option."

"We-" River cut himself off, laughing at the memory. "We got married in three months and five months after that, we had Melodie."

"That must have been hard," Hunter muttered, clenching at the wrinkled sheets. "Creating a marriage and taking care of a baby all at once."

"It was hard," River agreed with a cold smile. "But Nia had it harder. She had to take time off to have Melodie. When she got back to work, people treated her differently."

River paused, his Adam's apple bobbing with a swallow. His face grew tight and his eyes hard. That's when Hunter realized that he wasn't unaffected. He'd loved that woman, whether he would admit it or not.

"I think-" River trailed off, dragging a hand down his face. " . . . I think that's why she left."

"Because her coworkers were mean?"

"Because they'd made her out to be a mom," he clarified.

Hunter still didn't understand. She was a mom, how could that title push her away? River noticed Hunter's confused expression and sighed.