Page 29 of Sunrises & Salvation
Hunter forcesme to apologize to Danielle, and we are off, back to his house. He and Danielle are walking in front of me, talking about whatever two people with nothing in common talk about. Maybe they do have something in common—talking shit about me. By the sneaked glances over Danielle’s shoulder and then Hunter following suit, it’s pretty obvious they’re talking about me.
That’s fine by me, because nothing can kill the high I’m floating on right now. I can still smell Hunter’s scent embedded in my nose and feel the press of his lips against mine. My only regret is that I didn’t get to trace his scar with my tongue. That will be the next thing on my agenda when I get him all alone.
Back at the house, they beg off to go work on something in Hunter’s room, leaving me in the kitchen with his mom.
I’m awkwardly twiddling my hands in front of me, no matter how much I want to fake confidence. His mom has those eyes that tell me she can see right through me and my bullshit.
19
HUNTER
Ugh!
I mentally scream while Danielle and I sit in my bedroom. She’s catching up on some reading for her class while I try to plan out my next release for my bookmarks. But my mind won’t focus, no matter how hard I stare at my screen and refuse any distractions, there’s one major one.
I let him kiss me. I let Adam, Danielle’s boyfriend, kiss me. I should have told him no when he gave me the chance, multiple chances at that. I’m selfish and a horrible friend. The press of his lips against mine was sudden and startling, but it felt amazing, as much as I hate to admit it. My first ever kiss was taken by a man I should not have even been in that scenario with. On my birthday; the one day I hate the most will always be connected to my first kiss.
I risk a glance at Danielle, with her head down and her messy red hair framing her face. She must feel my eyes on her because she looks up and smiles.
“How’s it coming?”
“As good as it can, I guess.” I need to tell her; I need to get this information out in the open so she can hate me now, andthat would just be the cherry on top of this already messed up day.
“Cool. I’m starving though, do you want a snack? I still have all that stuff we bought from the store we didn’t eat yesterday.” She sets her book down and goes to the plastic bags she put on my nightstand.
“I’m okay.” If I eat anything now, I’m going to throw up.
“Your loss.” She shrugs her shoulders and pulls out a pack of Sour Skittles and comes to sit on the edge of the bed beside my desk.
“You should do book boxes, too,” she suggests, peering over my shoulder at the blank screen in front of me.
“I don’t know if I have enough time to do all that…” I trail off, dragging over an outline that I sketched of flowers and resting it along the bottom to at least make it look like I’m trying to be productive.
“Well, I can help you when I’m not busy with school. Think about it. You could make bookmarks that match the vibes of the books.” It’s not a horrible idea, but I can’t do that now because she gave me the idea, and I’m going to repay her by saying I let her boyfriend kiss me in the woods while she was waiting for us at the pond.
“Maybe. I’ll have to see what all goes into it.” Letting the sentence die, I go back to formatting the pictures I want to create, but an idea is forming in my head. Matching bookmarks to books is a genius idea, and it could bring attention to authors who aren’t normally picked.
She goes back to reading, filling the silence with her smacking on the sour candy. It’s relaxing in a way, because it feels like nothing has changed.
I don’thaveto tell her, right? It’s not my fault that Adam kissed me; it’s all his. He’s the one who owes Danielle loyalty. But as her friend, I also owe her loyalty.
God, this is all a disaster. A cataclysmic storm, leaving nothing but devastation in its wake.
My mom yellsat us forty minutes later, telling us to start getting ready so we can leave on time to make it to our reservation.
The Spot is a local rarity. The food is delicious, and it’s cheap. But what makes it fun is the inside. It’s an eighteen-and-up arcade, filled to the brim with a variety of pinball machines, old-school shootout games, and TVs with different gaming systems.
We tried to go last year for my birthday, but it was completely booked for the night. So it was smart thinking on my mom’s part to book a reservation. She and Dad used to always go because it reminded them of when they first started dating. Their first few dates were at an old-school arcade, and they always looked forward to the day they could experience it with me.
If only I had given them more of a heads up that other people were coming.
It’s fine, it’s going to be fun. Adam and Danielle are going to do whatever couples do, and so will my parents. And I’ll be playing Mario Kart on the TV by myself. Really, what more could I ask for on my birthday?
Danielle leaves me in my room to go get ready in the bathroom. I obsess over my outfit, and I’m not sure why. I have no one to impress, even if there are going to be people that I know. Nobody is going to take a second look at me. No one ever does.
Walking out of my room, I tug down the edge of my black polo. I could have tucked it into my dark jeans, but I thought that would make me look like a suburban dad instead of a nineteen-year-old celebrating their birthday. The black Converse on my feet are the only things that don’t make me feel like a phony.
“You guys ready?” I come around the corner of the hallway and see my mom and Adam sitting at the kitchen table with albums spread out in front of them. My childhood photo albums. “What are you doing?” My voice is higher than it needs to be, embarrassment flooding my veins.
