Page 36 of 2204 Hunter Lane
I marched over to Hunter’s table and knocked hard on the wood, drawing both their attentions to me but I was only concerned about one.
“You left me up there.” I pointed to the top of Avalanche slope.
He slowly wiped the gloss off his bottom lip and planted one swift kiss on the blonde’s forehead. “Give me a second, darlin’, will ya?”
She had an eager fuck-me-eye expression written on her face as she wiggled her fingers into a wave and met her friends at the bar.
I rolled my eyes, pulling out the chair across from him. “Why did you leave me up there? I thought you were teaching me how to snowboard?”
He let out a pathetic fucking laugh and I was fuming.
“I wouldn’t have come if I’d known you were just going to abandon me!” My cheeks heated as I glanced around, lowering my tone to the best of my abilities. “There are kids in here Hunter, Jesus. There’s a time and a place for hooking up.”
He settled back into the seat and crossed his arms, looking so disinterested he could’ve fallen asleep.
“I never asked you to come, sweetheart. In fact, what’d I say? Read your damn book or some shit? Oh, and –” His fingers laced together as he leaned against the edge of the table. “Left side of the bar’s for families, right side’s for adults. As far as I’m concerned, I’m on the right side of the bar and I don’t give a damn ‘bout no kids watchin’.”
And there it was. The douchebag, heartless, soulless Hunter Lane I’d met so many times in the past. I was trying to be nice. God, I was trying all day to change my opinion about him but no. He was never going to teach me how to snowboard. He was never going to give me the time of day. How could I be so stupid, thinking maybe he knew that I was aware of his loss and maybe he’d open up to me. I was so wrong, I was so undeniably wrong.
Tears burned in my waterline and I couldn’t understand why. Maybe it was the defeat I felt for trying so hard,yet again, for someone who didn’t deserve it. Maybe for the past three weeks I’d been doing so well without his presence hovering over me and now I was consumed by it.
As much resentment as I felt for the way my mother treated me, she was still my mom at the end of the day. Heaven forbid something happened, I would want to confide in someone, someone who understood, someone who cared. The fact that Hunter quite literally would rather saw his own arm off than be vulnerable was something I could never understand and at this point, I was sick of trying to.
I stood up in defeat, unwinding the scarf Hunter bought me and placed it on the table.
“Despite everything,” I began, my lip quivering in regret, “I really tried to spend some time with you.”
“I didn’t want your time, Bambi.” His voice was so levelled and unmoved, I could’ve punched him in the face and he wouldn’t so much as flinch.
I glanced over at the blonde girl in the white fur coat and inhaled a breath. “Is she from here?”
“Why do you care?”
“Damnit Hunter, just answer the question.”
His lips pressed into a thin line as he slowly shook his head. “L.A.”
I knew it. I knew she wasn’t from here. I fucking knew it. And yet, he was all over her, all over abig citygirl. Everything he supposedly hated in me, he liked in other people.
“So what am I then?” I scolded, staring into those crystal eyes filled with anger and scorn. “Your personal punching bag?”
His face twisted in disgust. “What the hell are you on about?”
“Her.” I nudged my head towards the blonde. “She’s from Los Angeles. You hate me because I’m from New York but she’s from Los Angeles. How does that work?”
His jaw clenched as he worked a hand over his stubble. “I like them better when they aren’t yappin’ in my damn ears.”
I took a step back, forcing myself to turn around. But I couldn’t do it, the words came out of my throat before I could catch them.
“You know what, Hunter? Losing your mom isn’t an excuse for treating everyone around you like a waste of time. Fucking check yourself.”
And I fled. I fled so freaking fast and I couldn’t look back. I couldn’t face the admission I’d just said to the man who lost his mother. And whatever part of me that felt bad for him, whatever part contained an ounce of pity, was numb and paralyzed.
Even if it was just for one minute, Hunter deserved to feel the way he made me feel since the moment I met him.
Unwanted.
Chapter Sixteen
