Chapter Thirty-One

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EDITED

Chapter Thirty-One - Opening Up

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"Aniya, since Carter won his game, do you want to come bake some brownies with us?" Karen asked me and I raised my eyebrows in surprise.

Hunter also looked surprised; his mouth was slightly parted as he looked between his mother and I. I was glad he finally got that cheese off of his chin because it was starting to annoy me.

"I'm gonna go get Car. I'll be right back." He said and walked off before I got a chance to reply to his mom.

The idiot left me alone with his mother.

Believe me, I was going to say no, but she had this look in her eye and I didn't want to reject her. Her husband already did with her best friend and that was a low blow. Cheating on a woman could leave her feeling unwanted, insecure, and like she wasn't enough to fulfill a man's needs. The worst part about this whole situation was that she was madly in love with Hunter's father and he broke his wife's—soon to be ex-wife—heart. I could not imagine how I would feel if someone was cheating on me. I would be devastated. 

"Sure." I smiled small, nodding my head.

~

Sitting on Hunter's bed, I glared at him while he couldn't stop laughing. I didn't see anything funny, yet all he could do was laugh and clutch his sides for dear life. I watched him with my arms crossed over my chest and my back rested against the headboard of his bed.

"What's so funny about that?" I raised my eyebrows.

"You didn't want to be left alone with my mom. And you made it seem like it would be so bad, but she actually likes you. She invited you over our house to bake brownies." His laughter fit stopped and he crawled on his hands and knees to sit beside me, his back now rested against the headboard. "I didn't invite you—she did."

Suddenly, it was almost as if everything stopped when his arm touched mine—ever so lightly. The thin fabric of our shirts was not enough to keep the warmth from radiating off of them. My eyes were alert, widening with each second his arm still touched mine. My heart started beating faster and my breath hitched in my throat. I had to take a large gulp to keep myself from choking. What was going on with my body? And why did I like the closeness of his body on mine? Where was all of this suddenly coming from and why now? Why did my heart nearly explode with happiness? 

My words were lodged in my throat. I feared that if I said anything that it would be incredibly stupid and I did not want to embarrass myself. That was why I did not say anything; I nodded my head and scooted away from him a little bit, putting space between us so that our arms were no longer in contact. It was minimal space, but it still kept us from touching. 

"Seriously though, are you okay with her inviting you over here?" His voice was low and quiet.

"I mean, I'm okay with it." I shrugged my shoulders. "I was just surprised."

"Yeah, I'd be surprised too."

A moment of silence passed by. I wanted nothing more than for the brownies to be done baking, so I could go home and coward away from this fluttery feeling on the left side of my chest. 

"Hey, can I tell you something I've never told anyone before?"

His eyes found mine and I averted mine quickly, not wanting to stare into his for too long. This was all too much. 

"Yeah." My voice was quiet and I nodded my head.

"I'm afraid I'm gonna turn out like my dad. People think I'm such a goody two shoes. Like, I know I'm not a bad guy or anything. I just don't wanna do the wrong thing and upset someone someday and end up like my dad. If this whole thing works with Eliza, what if I end up cheating on her when something goes bad?"

The thought of Eliza made my stomach churn. For a second, I forgot all about her because he hadn't talked about her the whole time I was at his house—until now. We were no longer in our own little world.

"Hunter," I softly said, placing a hand on his shoulder.

He eyed my hand on his shoulder and I apologized immediately and discarded my hand, before continuing what I was going to say. "Don't even think like that. You're a good guy. Everything with Eliza will go right and you guys will be happy. You won't cheat on her because you're you. You won't let yourself get to that point, you're positive and you always try to see the good in people. Trust me, you're not going to do anything stupid."

"You think so?" He grinned, displaying his dazzling smile.

"I know so." I sweetly smiled.

"You're a good friend."

He took me by surprise when he wrapped his arms around me. He nuzzled his face in the crook of my neck. My skin was warm and his nose pressed against the back of my neck made it even warmer. I was frozen in my spot with wide eyes and I wondered if he could feel the rapid thumping of my heart beating against my chest. There was no doubt about it; he had to feel it. He pulled me tighter against his body when he realized that I had not reciprocated the hug yet.

"Thanks Hunter, you're a good friend too." I gulped nervously.

Hesitantly, I wrapped my arms around Hunter's neck. He sighed and he would not let go. I awkwardly patted his back.

"You can let go now." I joked.

It seemed like I always joked when I was afraid of being serious. I did not trust myself; I always returned to my sarcastic ways. It seemed safer that way. 

"Right." He slowly said, pulling away from the hug.

"Aniya, Hunter, Carter, the brownies are ready!" Karen shouted from downstairs. I could imagine her with one hand on her hip and a rag draped over her shoulders, leaning against the railing of the bottom staircase.

Thank you, Karen, for giving me a reason to leave Hunter's room! It was starting to get awkward.

"Last one downstairs is a rotten egg." I punched Hunter in the shoulder and ran downstairs.

•••

So I learned from the last chapter that most of you guises favorite chips were Doritos and Takis. ^_^

Man I'm not really feeling his chapter, but I did get the feels just a lil bit while writing it.

I hoped y'all enjoyed it though.

FAN. VOTE. COMMENT.

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