Page 11 of Heartless Summer
Nausea explodes in the pit of my belly as the blood running through my veins turns to ice.
7
SKYE
Once I’ve showered and changed into a tank top and panties, I grab my phone and curl up in bed. Even though I try to distract myself by scrolling through social media, people are posting tons of photos from the bonfire, and it only serves as a painful reminder of what I stumbled across.
Hunter has called at least a dozen times, but I refuse to pick up. He’s the last person I want to talk to. Instead, I open the app on my cell and try to lose myself in a good story. When that doesn’t do the trick, I decide to go to bed. As I set my phone on the nightstand, a tap on the window breaks the silence of the room. I bite back a yelp as I stare at the face that looms on the other side of the glass.
Hunter.
His expression darkens when I don’t immediately jump from the bed, and he raps his knuckles even louder. With a wince, I glance at the bedroom door and hope that Dad and Brandi didn’t hear the noise. He’s been sneaking into my room since freshman year, and they’ve never been the wiser. Now that I’m graduating from high school, I’d like to keep it that way.
I fold my arms across my chest and shake my head.
Hopefully, he’ll get the point and take off.
Instead, he lifts his hand, threatening to do it again. With no other choice, I climb from the bed and pad carefully across the room before sliding the window upward and scowling.
“What do you want?” I grumble.
“To talk. Now let me in.”
“I’m tired and want to go to sleep. We can talk in the morning.”
“No fucking way. We’re going to hash this out right now. If you think I’m going to waste one precious second of the time we have left together with you being pissed off at me, you’re crazy.”
My brows rise. “What’s there to talk about? It seems like you’re getting an early start on screwing around behind my back.” That’s not something I ever thought would come out of my mouth. Releasing those words hurts my heart. It’s tempting to lift my hand and rub at the flesh that covers the area.
Eyes widening, he stills. “How can you say that to me?” There’s a pause as his voice drops, sounding like it’s been scraped from the bottom of the ocean. “After everything we’ve been through, do you really think I’d fuck around on you?”
A flicker of doubt fills me as I suck the corner of my lower lip into my mouth before chewing on it. Not once have I ever considered the possibility that Hunter would cheat. And I wouldn’t think it now if I hadn’t caught the two of them together.
“I saw you,” I say in a small voice.
“Let me in so I can explain.” When I don’t budge from the spot, he growls, “Come on, Skye. You know me better than that.”
I always thought so, but now I’m not so sure. And I hate that. I hate that our time together is slowly slipping away and something that has me questioning our entire relationship has popped up between us.
An internal struggle is waged before I finally mutter, “Fine.” Then, after he’s given me his so-called explanation, he can get the hell out.
I remove the screen so he can climb through the window from the tree branch he’s crouched on. Hunter has done this so many times that I’ve lost count. He’s probably slept in my bed more in the last couple of years than his own.
He’s wearing the same T-shirt and boardshorts from earlier today. His dark hair is windswept as the smoky scent of the bonfire clings to him. My heart constricts and I have to fight the urge to step into his arms.
“I’m not sure what you saw, but nothing happened with Hannah.”
I arch a brow and tighten my arms beneath my breasts. The movement makes them swell and his attention drops to my chest. The moment his hot gaze lands on my tank top, my nipples tighten. It feels more like a physical caress than anything else. All he has to do is look at me and my body instinctively reacts.
Even when I’m angry.
“Fuck, baby,” he groans, taking a step toward me.
“Hunter,” I snap, throwing up a hand to ward him off. I know exactly what will happen if he touches me, and that’s crumble like a cheap house of cards. “You said you would explain, so do it.”
“All right,” he grumbles, jaw clenching. “When I took off to get our drinks, I noticed Hannah talking with Clay. I didn’t like the way he had his hand wrapped around her arm, so I stepped in and asked if there was a problem. After he opened his yap and spouted some bullshit, I threatened to give him a beat down. He did the right thing and walked away. Hannah, unfortunately, mistook the situation and kissed me. Once the shock wore off,I pushed her away and told her that I love my girlfriend.” He throws his arms wide. “End of story.”
Even though I try holding onto my anger, it melts away. “You really told her that you love me?”
