Page 38 of Baked

Luke was no less hostile, but he didn’t look all that surprised at Hunter’s declaration either. Rolling his eyes, he turned toward the huge arch that separated the front room and the kitchen.

“I’ll need a drink if you’re gonna try to psychoanalyze my ass,” he grumbled. Disappearing into the kitchen, Hunter heard the faint whoosh of the fridge door opening before his friend shouted back to him. “You want a beer?”

Hunter grunted out an affirmative and waited, his eyes scanning the room. They didn’t land on much, mostly because the room looked bare. Other than a huge television, the couches, and the weird trunk table, there wasn’t much to see. And what was there clearly had its own lonely place. Luke had taken minimalism to an extreme. It definitely wasn’t a home you’d expect a rough-and-ready man like his friend to live.

It made Hunter wonder if he really knew his friend at all. And that didn’t sit well.

When Luke returned this time, condensation-soaked beer bottles in hand, he took a seat, slumping down into the second couch, which was off to the side.

Hunter gave him a moment to get comfortable. He accepted the bottle of beer and waited, taking a whole swig before he got impatient and decided to prompt Luke.

“So, you’ve got your drink, think you can talk to me now?”

“Jesus, man, what’s with you today?” Luke replied. “You’re even more growly than usual.”

Hunter hadn’t even growled yet, which meant his friend was stalling. Too bad for him, Hunter had all day. Luke could try and stall all he wanted, but it didn’t change the fact Hunter wasn’t leaving until he got some answers. This had gone on long enough.

Keeping his eyes on him, he watched Luke take a long drag of beer. It was followed by an exaggerated sigh.

“You’re not exactly Mr., Chatty, dude. If you don’t have to open up about shit, why the hell should I?”

That was his tactic? “Fine. What do you wanna know?” Hunter set his beer on the table and leaned back. He knew he’d regret this. But if this was the only way to get him to talk, then so be it.

“Okay.” Luke mirrored his actions, leaning back into the couch, a look of challenge shining in his brown eyes. “Fine. Let’s start with Madison. It’s been what, ten years since you got divorced? And in that time, not once have I heard you talk about it. Or even explain to me what happened between you two. And don’t even get me started on the fact you haven’t so much as looked at another woman since, and I have no idea why. I mean, Jesus, man, you’ve practically been living your life as a monk for the last decade.”

Fucking Madison. Why did it always come back to her?

“You know what happened.” Hunter’s voice lowered as he pushed out the words through gritted teeth.

“I do.” His friend confirmed. “But I sure as shit didn’t hear it from you.”

“What does it matter who you heard it from?”

“It matters, man. Especially when you’re barging in here and demanding answers.”Goddamn it.“So, I’ll make you a deal. I’ll spill my guts ... when you do.”

Hunter broke the stare down to run a hand over his head. He wasn’t in a gut-spilling type of mood. Not that he imagined that he would be in the near future either.

Fuck it. I might as well practice. I’m gonna have to tell Rachel at some point anyway.

“Fine. I got nothing to hide. It’s obviously no secret that Madison fucked me up. You know that she cheated on me and that’s what broke us up, but what you probably don’t know is that it wasn’t just once or even twice. It was going on for years. The entirety of our relationship to be exact. And when she ran outta men in Woodvalley, she crossed over to Goldacre.”

“Shit.”

“Yeah. Shit is about right. Once would have been enough, but years of that bullshit? Every fucking word that came out of her mouth was a lie. Don’t pretend that shit wouldn’t mess with your head too. I mean, answer me this ... after a woman who claimed to love me did me like that, why the hell would I put myself out there again? What kind of fucking masochist would that make me?”

“You’re doing it now,” Luke pointed out.

“That’s different.”

“How so?”

“Rachel’s different. She’s not Madison.” He was putting it mildly.

“No shit. But you took a chance on her, right? Even though you knew she could hurt you ... like Madison did.”

“I-I ...” Hunter stopped himself.

He suddenly needed another drag of beer. Picking up the bottle, he took another sip under Luke’s watchful eye. Once he’d washed down the bile, he clinked it back on the table.

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