CRUSH (17 page)

“Will I get to meet him Saturday?” I asked.

“He’s going to try to be there, but I can’t
make any promises. It depends on his schedule.”

“What does he do?”

“He’s a computer systems analyst. He flies
around the country helping companies set up their data to run more efficiently.
Then he teaches their employees how to run the new technology. He goes where
he’s needed so he’s gone a lot.”

“That must get lonely for you.”

He shrugged. “I manage okay.”

“Why’d you guys decide to move here then? It’s
kind of out of the way and not close to any big airports. Doesn’t that make it
harder for him?”

He laughed. “I’m not sure. He wanted to try it
out. He likes new things every now and then. He flies his own Cessna as well,
so he can get to the major airports easy enough, wherever he’s located.”

“He must be making pretty good money then.”

“He is.”

“I don’t know if I could handle being alone
that much.” I paused, unsure about what I wanted to ask. “Is that how you got
involved in drugs and partying?”

“No. I got started while I was looking for
girls to hook up with.” He cast an appreciative gaze over my form. “But I don’t
need a party for that anymore.”

“I’m not the girl you’re looking for if you
want a casual hook up, Hunter. That’s never been something I was interested
in.”

“That’s not what I want from you,” he replied,
his hand tightening around mine again.

“What do you want? I’ve never really been able
to figure that out.” I bit my lip while I waited for his response.

“I want for us to sit back and let things flow
naturally. No expectations, no rush, let’s see what happens on its own.”

I sighed and stared out the window as we came
up on the hill—the lights of the city cast below us in a sweeping view.

“What’s wrong?” he asked.

“Nothing.” I smiled. “I’m here with you. Life
is perfect.”

“While I’d love to believe that, Cami, we both
know life is far from perfect right now. I need to know what Clay said to you
tonight. I don’t trust him.” He turned the car off and shifted in his seat so
he could look at me better.

“He would never hurt me, Hunter, he’s just
confused right now. I’ve always understood him better than anyone else, even
his parents. He thinks differently and has a different way of doing things. He
marches to his own drummer because it’s what he understands and makes sense to
his analytical mind. Like now, for instance—his whole style change and
all these new clothes and stuff—where’d he get the money? Now he’s
talking about getting a newer car, like a Mustang or something, and he wants me
to start dating him. He’s been so . . 
.
odd. I gave up on trying to figure him out a
long time ago and instead concentrated on being his friend.”

Hunter stared at me, appearing to ponder things
for a moment. “What did he say?” He wasn’t going to let me get around this.

“He told me you weren’t the first guy who was
after me—Jordan Henley wanted me too. He said thankfully fate intervened
to stop it, but now you were here to do the same thing. He told me I belong to
him, and he’s waiting for me to wake up and see that. And when you’ve finished
having your way with me, he’ll be there to pick up the pieces. Then I will
understand how much he loves me.”

Hunter’s face was a mask of cool control. He
didn’t even flinch. After what had happened at dinner, I’d expected him to
become angry again. Instead he stared into the night scene ahead of us.

He slid a hand down his face. “He’s wrong about
me, just so you know. I’ve never had any desire to use and abuse you in any
way. I honestly care about you, and I’ve really enjoyed getting to know you.”
He paused. “It doesn’t surprise me that other guys are interested in you. In
fact, I already knew it. I’d heard the rumors about Jordan from another source,
and I know there are several guys at school who like what they see when it
comes to you.”

I narrowed my eyes. “I have to say I find that
really hard to believe.”

“Well, start believing. The truth of the matter
is
,
no one asks you out because they don’t like Clay.
Forgive the reference, but you’re a nerd by association. People don’t want to
socialize with you because you’re always with him, and he makes them
uncomfortable. I’m not saying any of this to be condescending. It’s just the
way things are.”

“If I’m so nerdy, then why’d you want to go out
with me?”

“I don’t care what other people think.”

“Neither do I. That’s why I’ve always liked
Clay. It’s also why I’m dating you . . . someone with a less
than stellar reputation.”

He smiled. “That’s what I love about you, Cami.
You’re not afraid to lay things out there plainly, no matter how brutal.”

I hadn’t meant it to sound brutal. His choice
of words had me reeling. That’s what he
loves
about me? Surely it must’ve been a slip.

“The way I see it, we have two ways we can play
this. We can break up, so it helps to ease the tension between you and Clay.
Hopefully this will allow him to straighten things out in his head because he
won’t see me as a threat anymore. Or we can stay together, and you’ll have to
promise me you won’t interact with him in any way. I’m not saying this to be
mean, but he needs a clear message that there never was, nor ever will be, anything
between you. You’re so kindhearted though, I don’t know if you can pull it off.
What do you think?”

“I think you’re overreacting. I don’t think
Clay would ever do anything to harm me. We’re too close—at least we
were.”

“I don’t want to risk it either way. The
decision is yours, though. I’ll do my best to trust your judgment.”

“Don’t break up with me. If you do, he gets
exactly what he wants. It’ll give him false hope.” I sighed, hating how
technical and forced everything seemed. “I want what you want . . .
to play this by ear and see how it goes. He’s got to get used to that sometime
in his life.”

He leaned across the seat and lightly kissed my
lips. “I agree. I’m sorry tonight was so upsetting.”

“Don’t apologize. It’s not your fault.”

He opened his door and climbed out, coming
around to help me from the car. We walked to the front, and he leaned against
it, wrapping me against him in his arms.

“This is a gorgeous view,” I said.

“Yes, it is,” he replied, bending to kiss the
side of my cheek over my shoulder.

I twisted so I could face him, and his lips
found mine, kissing me deeply—only to be interrupted by a splat against
our faces. We both looked up, blinking as several more raindrops fell.

“Looks like we’re about to get wet,” I said,
stating the obvious.

He laughed. “I don’t care.” He grabbed me by
the waist and turned, slipping me up so I was lying on the hood of the car,
pinned there with his body. He ran his hands through my hair, spreading it. “So
beautiful,” he whispered. He crushed his mouth to mine, devouring it. I felt
the thrill of his touch shoot through my entire being, and I met him eagerly,
wanting him to continue his delicious assault on my senses as I explored him as
well.

The skies opened up, delivering on their
warning by pelting us with a cold rain—rain that did nothing to
extinguish the intense heat burning between us. If anything, it only heightened
the feelings coursing through me. Our clothing quickly became soaked, sticking
to us, and the heat of our bodies was much more noticeable as we moved against
each other.

Hunter suddenly broke away and started
laughing. “We need to go. We’re getting drenched. I don’t need you catching
your death in the rain now. What is it with you and water?”

I smiled, tracing the moist plains of his face.
“I have no idea. Just lucky, I guess.”

“Then we need to get you some better luck.” He
lifted me off the car and carried me over the puddles to the passenger seat,
quickly depositing me before running around and climbing in the other side. He
shook his hair out like a dog, and I squealed, lifting my hands to ward off the
spraying drops.

“What? It’s not like you can get any wetter!”
He laughed and leaned over plastering a damp kiss on my lips before he started
the car and headed for home.

I couldn’t stop grinning.

Hunter-

“Be careful. You’ve got to handle it just
right. Wrap your hands around it like this and slip your finger right here.” I
gave a satisfied grunt as she did so, and I wound my arms around her tighter.
“You’re a natural, I can tell already. Feels good, doesn’t it?”

“I guess. It’s heavier than I thought it would
be, but it’s not too bad.” She shifted, like she was trying to get a little
more comfortable.

“That’s good, right there,” I whispered in her
ear. “Now aim and carefully squeeze the trigger.”

She closed her eyes and fired, the shot going
wide.

“No, no, no!” I said with a laugh. “You can’t
close your eyes when you’re shooting. It isn’t a game of chance—see your
target, visualize hitting it. Try again.”

I was rewarded with a very exaggerated eye
roll.

“Visualize the target—whatever!”

“What if some poor guy ran in front of you at
the last minute? You’d shoot him because your eyes were closed. That would be a
bad, bad thing, Goody.”

 
“I
don’t really think there’s any danger since you’ve dragged me out into the
middle of nowhere. Who’s around to run in front of me?”

“Me, and I don’t particularly relish the idea
of getting shot.”

“Not even by me?” She grinned. “I’d be gentle,
I promise.”

I let my eyes drift over her and sighed,
shaking my head. “I don’t think anything you do to me is gentle.”

She laughed, bumping her hip against me before
she lifted the gun again and pointed at the soda can several yards in front of
us.

“Relax your stance. You’re
too . . . Charlie’s Angels . . . or something.”

She snorted. “Quit making me laugh or I’ll
never hit it.”

“But I like making you laugh.” I slipped my
hands down her waist onto her hips, grabbing them firmly. “Center yourself
here, but relax everywhere else, and use your gun sight to focus on the
target.”

She took a deep breath and held it, squeezing
the trigger. The bullet hit the dirt right in front of the can, causing it to
fall over.

“It moved! Did you see that?” She cheered, all
smiles as she jumped around, and I reached to still her, pointing the gun away
from both of us.

“This is still a loaded weapon, honey. Let’s
try not to kill ourselves with it, shall we?” I couldn’t help my smile. She was
hilarious. “Do you want to try again?”

She nodded and quickly resumed her earlier
stance. Her face was a mask of concentration, and I watched her zero in on her
target. She pulled the trigger, and the can jumped as she hit it.

“There you go!” I said, quickly taking the
weapon before her next victory dance got one of us shot. “That was much better.”

“You do it now,” she urged. “I want to see how
good you are.”

I shrugged. “I’m not too bad, I guess. I just
like shooting.”

“Show me.”

I lifted the gun—my eye zeroing in on the
target instantly—and fired the rest of the clip into the can in rapid succession,
hitting it every time, even as it bounced around.

Cami’s mouth hung open in disbelief. “You’re a
liar. You’re amazing! What are you—some gun-toting drug dealer, and you
haven’t told me?”

I laughed loudly, enjoying showing off for her.
“Yes, that’s exactly what I am. You’ve figured me out.” I put the safety on and
popped the empty clip out. “I just really like shooting, and I happen to think
one can never be too prepared when it comes to safety. You want to try a rifle
now?” I hoped she was having a good time. She wanted to know what I liked to
do, so I figured this would be a fun thing. I loved being able to share
something real about myself with her, although her comment hit uncomfortably
closer to the truth than I’d like.

“Sure, I’ll try it.”

I smiled—glad she seemed willing to
participate. It was a sneaky way to teach her a little self-defense too without
her knowing. I went over to the trunk of my car, put the handgun inside, and
pulled out the thirty-aught-six and a box of cartridges.

“Now these bullets are a little heavier, so
there’s going to be some recoil with this one,” I warned as I prepared and
loaded the gun.

“What does that mean?” she asked confused.

“It means it will kick back into your shoulder
a bit when you fire. I’ll demonstrate for you first, so you can see what I
mean.” As soon as the gun was ready, I pointed to the far cans we had set up on
a fence railing some distance away when we’d arrived. “Okay, I’m going to shoot
at those out there this time.” I took a moment to sight the target, firing,
watching as the can bounced up wildly.