To the Moon and Back

Thirteen Hours

"I'm sorry I forgot to tell you when I was there. But hey, there's a link I can send you to live stream the whole grad." I laughed as Hunter and I facetimed. 

"Send me the link," he smiled. "I wish I could give you a definite answer but we've been busy with summer festivals coming up and so on." I nodded, affirming to him he did not need to apologize for his job.

We chatted for a while longer until I caught a glimpse at the time. I had a course exam first thing the next morning.

A week flew by and before I new it, Steph and I stood in line to get our gowns and name cards for graduation. "This is it," I whispered as my name was called in the auditorium.

"Jenna Brighton, Hounors in Kinesiology." I shook several delegates hands, received my degree and walked across the stage. Stephanie was next, and in the blink of an eye, we were being congratulated and given directions as to where to get refreshments.

"We are so proud," my dad hugged me, he then handed me his cell, "someone wants to congratulate you."

"Hello?" I ask, figuring it was either my sister or grandma.

All I heard was "turn around" in a familiar accent. I spun around to see Hunter dressed in dark wash jeans and a button down grey top. Speechless, I hugged him, almost in tears. "Surprise," he whispered in my ear as he hugged me.

"Thank you for coming all this way," I held his hand and squeezed it, "there is someone I would like for you to meet. Wait right there.." I walked over to the refreshments table. "Hey Stephanie, can you come with me for a sec." she followed me and I told her, "Stay calm but I have a surprise visitor."

"Do you mean...?" I nodded and she grabbed my hand as I guided her over to where my parents and Hunter were. 

"Hey, this is Stephanie. And Stephanie, this is Hunter." They shook hands and smiled we took a few photos and went our separate ways. Hunter walked me over to his rental and we talked the whole way back to my parents house, "How long are you in town for? And how did you manage to get away from work?"

Hunter laughed, "Well, I emailed your parents first and asked them if they could help keep it a secret. I rented this at the airport and the moment you told me the date - I bought a ticket." We pulled up to my parents house, and Hunter turned off the ignition, "Before we go inside I have something for you." He handed me a black bag, his blue eyes sparkled.

"You shouldn't have," I smiled and began opening the bag. First, a little blue box. My jaw dropped as my eyes met Hunters. I opened the box to reveal a beautiful Tiffany necklace, "it's gorgeous." I said barely above a whisper. 

"There's more," he placed his hand on my shoulder. I opened the next part, a white envelope. I opened it and it revealed a personalized, laminated pass to Boots and Hearts.

"Hunter Hayes!" I laughed and hugged him, "you're too sweet! This is all so thoughtful." I kissed him softly.

"You deserve it. I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but I am only here til midnight." We gout of the car and Hunter grabbed his travel guitar and a backpack from the back of the car. 

"Well, then we are going to make the most of it. Let's go inside and put your bags down. I'm going to take you on an adventure." He smiled, and followed me inside. I went to my room and grabbed a beach bag, a blanket and pulled two beers from the basement fridge.

"Where are we going," Hunter asked, buckling his seatbelt as I started the ignition of my Escape.

"It's a surprise." I decided we would go to the lakeshore first. We pulled up to the park and I had Hunter's fingers interlaced with mine as we strolled along the lakeside trail. "From here, your can see the Toronto city skyline," I said pointing east up the lake, "and over there, that's Hamilton harbour." I showed him pointing in the opposite direction. We continued walking, skipping rocks along the lake and watching the swans as the sun began to set. I lead Hunter onto the pier toward the infamous city lighthouse. 

"This is  cool," he smiled, admiring the lighthouse and I laid out the blanket and popped the two beers open. He grabbed a beer and a seat next to me, "cheers Jenna."

"Cheers." We clinked the necks of our bottles and watched the sun set. Soon, the air got chilly and we packed up the bag and made our way back to the car. I opened the trunk and folded down the back seats. I shook out the blanket and laid it inside. Hunter caught wind of what I was doing, he had a twinkle in his eye as we stepped closer, he hands rested on my hips and I kissed him. Softly first, slowly nibbling on his lip, just enough to rile him up. I climbed into the back of the car, and Hunter followed. We closed the hatch and kissed faster and harder. My hands found Hunters belt buckle, fiddling with it to get it undone. Once I got his jeans down a bit, I sat over top of his legs, and freed his member from his black boxers. With him in my hand, moving up and down, I looked at his eyes. He wanted it, so I brought my mouth over him, using my tongue to add pressure, moving up and down. His legs were tense, his one hand guided my head up and down. I looked up and saw his face, completely at my mercy, biting his lip to contain himself. I pulled a condom out of the pocket of my jeans and put it on him. 

I wiggled out of my jeans, his fingers navigated around my underwear, feeling up all the right places, "You're so incredibly hot," he muttered, pulling me closer and guiding me on top of him. His hands guided my hips and I leaned forward to kiss his neck. I started riding him faster and used one hand to feel myself to climax. The feeling was euphoric, and as I finished, so did he. 

I got off from ontop and laid beside him. He turned on his side to face me, "That was, hands down the sexiest adventure I've ever been on." He kissed my nose, "I love you."

"I love you too." We laid there in each others perfectly vulnerable presence for a few more minutes before getting dressed. "Did you want to go to a cafe? Most of them are still open." The time ready nine thirty.

Hunter nodded and we drove uptown to the Starbucks near my house. We ordered and sat across from each other, barely speaking but knowing just what the other was thinking. "I can't wait to see you at Boots... it's only five weeks away." Hunter held my hand and smiled.

"Knowing that this is real, and we are both committing to making this work, it's getting me through the hard part of being apart." We continued talking about us and what the media is saying in Nashville. Hunter was sincere and sweet about keeping us private while still being genuine with his fans. We finished our coffee and made our way back to my parents. "Feel like taking a dip?" I asked as we opened the backyard gate, revealing a clean pool illuminated by nightlights. I took off my shirt and jeans and Hunter did the same and we jumped into the cool water hand in hand.

We swam around for what felt like forever until an alarm started ringing. "I'm sorry Jenna. That's mine." I nodded and we exited the pool. I pulled towels off of the clothes line and passed one to Hunter. 

"I miss you already," I told him as he shook out his clothes. "and I cannot thank you enough for the sweet surprises."

He kissed my lips, "You deserve it. You worked hard and I want to show you how much I care." We shared on last kiss beside the rental car before Hunter drove off to catch his flight back to Nashville. I stood on the boulevard of my parents house and watched the tail lights until my eyes began to blur with tears. I took a deep breath and wiped my eyes before going inside to bed.