Page 83 of Baby, It's You
“Please don’t,” I whisper and then pull him back into me.
We continue to kiss while our hands explore each other, unable to get enough. I get down from his hold and pull his hand to lead him towards the bathroom.
“Would you like to join me in the shower?” I tease him.
Hunter quickly nods and begins to rip his shirt off over his head, kick his sneakers off, and then pull off his pants. I stand in the middle of the bathroom, watching him. Seeing him undress is foreplay on its own; his tan, muscular body, ready to be kissed, ready to be touched. I pull back the shower curtain and step in; he follows.
The second the water touches his body, he flinches and reaches for the handle. “Are you trying to burn me alive, woman?” he jokes as he turns it cooler.
I shrug. “I like a hot shower.”
He stands right above me now, leaning over me. “I likeyou,” he whispers.
“I love you,” I boldly say back, never breaking his eye contact.
His eyes burn with intensity as he responds. “Fuck, Olive. I love you so much. I can’t believe this moment is real.” He touches my hair and cups the back of my head. Hunter pulls me in and kisses me deeply. In this moment, I finally feel like the final puzzle piece of my life has been found.
I am whole.
Epilogue
Olive
Fifteen months later
It’s a Saturday night, four days before Halloween, and we are having a big party at Whiskey Jane’s. I decided to do a Halloween Mask or Task theme for fun. I’ve kept most of Jane’s traditions around; it’s part of the charm that makes everyone love Whiskey’s.
The bar crowd is decked out in masks and Halloween costumes and there has been a huge turnout for the event. Whiskey’s is packed, and every single person I’m close to is here for the party. Ivy even flew in for the week, saying she couldn’t turn down a good Halloween party. She walks by me dressed as a cat, with a mask covering the top half of her face, her eyes shining through, mysterious. She has on a black spandex bodysuit, and I’ve seen her get hit on about ten times already in the past hour.
Ivy walks backwards, noticing me. “Nice boobs. Where’s Hunter?”
I look down at my ample cleavage, which usually doesn’t exist, and smooth down my costume. I am dressed as Christine fromThe Phantom of the Opera, with a masquerade mask. Thepink gown has a corset that has sucked in and pushed up my chest. Not the best choice for a long night, I’m now realizing in hindsight. I thought it would be a cute couple’s costume, because I made Hunter dress up as the Phantom. Everyone knows he’s better than Raoul.
“He should be here soon; he told me he had to stop by our house and grab something he forgot.” I shrug.
“Ourhouse.” Ivy smiles at me, her eyebrows raised as she flutters her eyelashes dramatically. “How cute.”
“Oh, shut up.” I push her playfully, but I also love the way it sounds: our house. Together. I moved into Hunter’s house a few months after we started seriously dating and we haven't looked back since. He told me I could change anything I wanted, so it felt like my space, too, not just his. I liked it just the way it was, though. I only added a few cool pieces of furniture that I found from local art markets and the framed photo of Jane and I singing Abba. It now rests on the wall right above Hunter’s record player.
“He’s kind of cute,” Ivy whispers into my ear, motioning to Wes playing lead guitar up on the small stage. I hired his band, Rinse and Repeat, to play the party tonight. They have mostly done covers and taken requests from the crowd. Everyone seems to love them. I glare at Wes, who is wearing a TMNT mask—the whole band is dressed as the Ninja Turtles—and turn back to Ivy.
“You can’t even see his face…” I snort.
“Yeah, but I just know he’s hot. Look at that golden hair coming out from under his mask, look at his toned body,drippingwith sweat as he sings. Woooo.” She fans her face with her hand. “I can tell he’s hot. And if for some reason he’s not, I can just make him keep the mask on when I sleep with him tonight.”
“Ivy!” I command. “That’s Hunter’s best friend. You’re not going to take advantage of him.”
“Why!” She pouts at me.
At that exact moment, Wes tells the crowd the band is going to take a five-minute break and lifts his mask to take a sip of his water. I can practically see Ivy’s eyes bulge out of her head. “Your opinion is vetoed,” she tells me and walks off.
I watch as she does a circle of the crowd and then makes her way over to him. She’s like a lioness, stalking her prey.
I roll my eyes and laugh to myself.
A minute later, Sonjia, wearing a cute mask in a shape of a strawberry, comes towards me. When she gets to the bar counter, she gives me a smile.
“It’s nice to see you girls together again,” she says, knowingly.
