The Truth & Other Lies

Dear Hunter: From, Your Newly Discovered Heart

I'm in heaven. Or at least my version of it. Mia's stretched out on top of me, her warm weight grounding me as she threads her fingers into my hair and kisses me slowly. Our legs are tangled together and my arms are holding her tight as my hands slowly map their way up and down her body. We're still fully clothed and there's no urgency to our long, deep kisses, and I don't think I've ever felt so content in my entire life.

This is my happy place. With each passing day I spend with Mia, my heart feels a little fuller.

She pulls her lips away from mine and I pout at the loss of contact. Rolling her eyes, she lets out a breathy laugh and says, "Your phone's ringing."

I vaguely register the sound of buzzing coming from above my head, where my phone is laying on Mia's couch side table. I cup her cheeks and pull her lips to back to where they belong, speaking against her mouth. "Ignore it."

She glances at my phone and then smiles into the next kiss and it's my favorite feeling in the world, like she's radiating her warmth and happiness into me with each press of her lips. "It's Bennett."

It's gonna take more than that to pull me out of this dreamland. I kiss her again, determined to revel in the time we have together for as long as I can. "I'll call him back later."

With one more kiss to my lips, she pulls back and reaches over my head to grab my phone, holding it out towards me. "From what you told me about him, my guess is that he's not going to stop until you answer."

"Fine," I sigh, as I sit up. She shifts off my lap to sit cross legged on the couch beside me and I immediately miss the warmth of her body as I hit the accept button. "What?"

"Just checking in," Bennett says, sounding suspiciously nonchalant.

"Really?" I grouse, finding his timing far too convenient. I have no problem with Bennett knowing where I am and who I'm with in a general sense, but when he uses that information to his own advantage, I'm not going to be happy about it. "You couldn't check in when I wasn't trying to spend some quality time with my girl."

"You're with Mia?" He asks, though he doesn't sound the least bit surprised. "Great. She's coming to the party, right?"

And there it is. The real reason he called.

It's so easy to forget sometimes, how all of this started. We'd only been dating for a few months, but we talked every day, and I'd met her parents, and I felt a deeper connection to her than I had to anyone before.

So, sometimes I forgot. That I hadn't acted singularly when I'd sought Mia out on New Year's Day. How was I supposed to know that kissing a pretty girl as the clock struck midnight would somehow lead to the most meaningful romantic relationship I'd ever had?

But just because I'd been nudged along a little in the beginning didn't mean that my feelings weren't real. Because they were. And they grew stronger every single day, to the point that sometimes I couldn't believe that I was actually this happy.

Which is why I actively avoided Bennett when I had the option. Because he always reminded me that my initials intentions hadn't exactly been noble.

Sighing, I say, "I'll ask if she wants to."

"Make sure she's there, Hunter." He's using his strict voice, the one he thinks will make me do whatever he wants.

"I'll ask." I roll my eyes, ready for this call to be over. "Is that all?"

"Yep."

"Bye, Bennett." I glare at my phone as I end the call a little more aggressively than necessary, setting my phone back on the side table before turning my attention back to Mia.