Page 9 of Yours Forever

4

Erica

Dad was eager to get the Mustang up and running again.

“The timing belt fit like a glove,” he told me and mom at dinner that night. It was just the three of us, since Brad was out with friends and Hunter was on his date with Priscilla The Hideously Ugly.

(I had no idea if she was ugly, but it was better for my mental health to imagine her that way.)

“I don’t know what a timing belt is,” Mom said amicably, “but I’m glad you two are making progress.”

“That kid is whip-smart,” Dad went on. “He has a real knack for engineering. I can’t believe he’s not going to college.”

“He’s just taking a gap year to figure things out,” Mom said. “After the couple of months he’s had, I don’t blame him.”

Dad chewed his meatloaf unhappily. “In my experience, a year off usually turns intotwoyears off, then three, and then before he knows it he’ll be twenty-five and still working as a mechanic at the auto shop. It’s a waste of his potential.”

“Hunter has a YouTube channel!” I chimed in. “That’s what he wants to focus on after graduating.”

Both of my parents’ heads swung toward me. “That’s just a hobby, not a career,” Dad said.

“He’s really good at it,” I insisted. “He’s smart, and charismatic, and he knows how to explain stuff well.”

My mom tilted her head while looking at me. “You’ve watched his videos? I thought you hated cars.”

Crap.I didn’t want anyone to know I was subscribed to his channel. Out of an abundance of caution, I had created a fake Google account to follow him, so Hunter wouldn’t see me listed as a subscriber. Yet here I was, blurting it out at the dinner table.

“I’ve watched a few videos because I want to learn a little bit,” I said. “Plus, the more views Hunter has on his videos, the better. I usually let them run in the background while I’m doing my hair.”

Mom gave me one of herI know better than thatlooks, but dad resumed eating his dinner. “I just think it’s a waste to skip college.”

I didn’t see much of Hunter for the next week, since he was working extra hours at the auto shop. Then on Friday, my volleyball team traveled to Cleveland for a statewide tournament. We had games all day Friday, spent the night in a hotel, and had games all day Saturday before driving back late that night.

I woke up Sunday morning absolutely exhausted from two days of non-stop games. Lizzy and I were going to the movies that afternoon, and I intended to be as lazy as possible until then. After binging episodes ofRiverdaleall morning, I changed into my bikini and migrated my lazy butt out to the pool.

The house had been quiet all morning, so I assumed I was home alone, but as soon I stepped onto the back patio I saw that my assumption was wrong. Hunter was laying in one of the pool chairs, tanning in the sun. He was wearing a pair of sunglasses and a baggy blue swimsuit, andnothingelse. His hands were behind his head, giving me an oil-painting-like view of his gorgeous body. I ran my eyes over his tan skin: flexed biceps, washboard abs, and those delicious V-lines along his hips…

I thought he was asleep, until his head tilted sideways to look at me through his dark sunglasses. “Sleeping Beauty is awake.”

“I… what?” I blurted out.

He raised his sunglasses and grinned. “You’ve been holed away in your room all morning, I assumed you were sleeping. What are you up to?”

“Oh, uh, nothing.” Too embarrassed to hang outside with him, I quickly thought of an excuse. “Just wanted to see if you need anything out here. A drink or snack or something.”

“I’m good,” he replied, returning his sunglasses into place.

“Okay then. If you need anything, let me know.” I turned to retreat back inside, but Hunter’s voice stopped me in my tracks.

“You came out herejustto offer me a drink?”

I slowly turned around. “Yeah, why?”

The plastic pool chair squeaked as he sat up and planted a muscular arm on the side. “You’re wearing a bikini.”

“Oh.” I had been too stunned by the sight of Hunter’s tan, ripped body to realize how obvious my lie had been. And now I remembered that I was wearing myskimpiestbikini. I was practically nude in front of him. I wasn’t used to guys seeing me like this.

Is he checking me out right now? I can’t tell thanks to the sunglasses.I imagined his gaze moving up and down my body like a caress, raising goosebumps along my skin.

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