In Between Seasons (The Fall) (22 page)

“I don’t want to—you’re d
ad scares
me enough without a fake beard,
”
I replied
.

“What was it like for you?”

I took a deep breath,
“I don’t remember what it was before living in the mountain—but last year
and
all years before were like the Charlie Brown Christmas tree
without any meaning
.”

“That bad?”

“My m
om use
d
to have me cook a killer dinner for all of us
,
but
other than that there wasn’t r
eally anything special about it,
”
I explained
.

Hunter stopped
and
turned to face me,
“Wait
,
so
you got to slave in the kitchen all day
and
got nothing for it?”

“Not
nothing—I
got to eat it
too,” I
half smile
d
,
“a
nd a new pair of j
eans like everyone else.
”

“Sometimes I wonder if yo
u’re parents are worse than my d
ad,” Hunter’s forehead furrowed
and
his eyes searched mine,
“I’m still having trouble understanding how you’re so strong.”

“Thanks.”

“
You know what I mean…you’re
a good person still
after being subjected to
that
strict molding
,
”
Hunter replied,
cocking his head at me and tucking a hair behind my ear.

“An
d so are you,
” I responded
,
“U
nder much
harsher conditions than myself.
”

“That’s a matter
of opinion,
”
Hunter replied, and I knew there was no point in fighting with him about it. We were both too stubborn to give in.

“So big party?
New Year
’
s?”

Hunter raised an eyebrow
,
but
turned
and
continued walking with me,
“Ye
s, we do one big party
New Year’s
day to celebrate Christmas
and
the
new year
—
count down
and
everything.”

“So when do we get to chose our stylish new outfits?”
I asked
.

“The guys wear the same thing every year; it’s just you women that choose a new outfit. I’m really not sure how it works to be honest with you—Mara
will have to help you with that,
”
Hunter replied
with a wink as he slipped his hand back into mine.
One more year couldn’t be that bad, could it?

Hunter was determined to give me the best Christmas, New Year’s, birthday ever, and in his determination he had locked me away in his bedroom with Mara. The worst part was the Mara seemed to know what was going on and was taking great pleasure in my anxiety. In truth it was nice to be with Mara without everyone else around. It was a risk, as I often felt too comfortable with her, and then I had to watch what I said carefully. I could tell from the glint in her eyes that she thought that right now would be the perfect time to ask me about why I had bolted from the common room and acted so strange about the Christmas tree.
Stupid tree.

“Do you r
eally hate Christmas?” Mara asked
,
leaning on her arm as we lay on Hunter’s bed.

“Not at all, I might after seeing Hu
nter’s dad again though,” I answered as I plopped
my head down on the bed.

“Why did you get so upset then?”

“It’s my birthday soon is all—it just hit me strange. Everyone probably thought I was nuts when
I ran out of the room like that,” I commented,
covering my face with my hands.

“When’s your birthday?”
Mara asked
.

“Today.
”

“
What? Why didn’t you tell me?” she gasped and grabbed my arm and shook me.

“You di
dn’t ask sooner why I was upset,
”
I retorted.

“We really haven’t had any privacy lately; otherwise you know I would
have asked. I’m nosey like that,
”
Mara replied,
her eyes squinting happily at me.

“I
’m starting to see that,
” I observed
as I turned
to face her.

“So what’s such a big deal that Hunter has me l
ocked up here with you?” I
pried
,
my eyes wide.

“I have no clue.”

“You’re a good liar. You’ve e
ven fooled Hunter once or twice,” I commented
with my eyebrows raised.

“What do you mean?”
Mara asked
.

“I guess I’m not the only run
away here.”

Mara’s face didn’t change as she answered, “I
guess not.”

“So you have no clue?
”

“I might have some clue. I figured it would have to be something pretty good for him to ask me to come up here
and
entertain you. I don’t think anyone besides you
and
those other girls hav
e ever been up here.”

“I’d almost forgotte
n abo
ut the other girls,” I took a deep breath,
“
Ughh
…”

“So have you guys talked about the kiss?”
Mara continued to pry, biting her lip in anticipation.

I shook my head,
“I don’
t know what it meant anymore tha
n when it happened.”

Mara smirked,
“I think you do know
,
and
you just don’t want to admit it.”

“What do you mean?”

Mara sat up, thought for a moment and then seemed to decide to keep her thoughts to herself,
“So the dresses this year are so nice. Allan went over the top this year—I can’t wait to make our boy
’
s mouths drop.”

It irritated me when she changed the subject like that, but in this case I was relieved to think about something other than analyzing Hunter’s actions.

“I can’t wait to see Hunter in something besi
d
es a black t-shirt,” I sat up and ran my hands through my hair,
“I don’t know what to do with my hair.”

“I was waiting for you to ask,” Mara winked at me.

“Uh-
oh,” I said as she stood
and
grabbed the bag she h
ad dropped on love seat,
“What’
s that?”

“A curling iron—we can enhance those gorgeous waves of yours. Maybe we can make Hunter confess his undying love for you today. The perfect birthday slash Christmas gift
,
right?”

There it was again. She couldn’t just drop it, but then again neither could I.

“You forget this is Hunter we’
re talking about,”
I replied
as I pulled
my knees to my chest.

“
So you admit you’d love that
?”
Mara pushed
.

I tilted my head at her
and
she sighed.

“Alright, well do you want to see the dress I
picked?” She asked
,
pulling a floor length dress out of the bag.

“I love the colors,
” I commented
as I looked
at the ombre-print black
and
red dress.
It was drastic and brought out the pink in her cheeks. I felt a pang of jealousy that she had natural coloring when I had to load on blush to glow.

“I was nervous about it being
strapless
,
but
I really love this little rose on the waist
and
the color
,
so I
just
couldn’t pass it up,” s
he explained,
holding it up to her body.

“You’re going to look amazing,” I stood
and
took a deep breath,
“I assume you want to see the one I chose?”

“Yes, seeing you were so private about it!”

“Okay, I’ll go get it,”
I came back into the room with the dress and the heels I had picked out to go with it. Mara looked up and a wide smile came to her face.

“Hello legs!” Mara remarked
,
taking in the short satin crimson dress with a pleated bodice
and
ruched skirt.

“I kind of went straples
s too—well one shoulder,” I
s
howed
her the shoulder strap
made of mesh
topped with a rose of the same
material,
“Do you think it’s too short?”

“If the idea is to make Hunter’s
eyes pop out of his head
it’s
definitely
going to work,
”
Mara teased.

I bit my lip,
“Your dress is so conservative compared to mine.”

“Believe me
I haven’t worn a dress like this to every
party
. You
will
have plenty more of these parties
to wear a
conservative
dress to,
” She reassured, but her expression sobered when
she looked at me,
“You have that
doomsday look on your face again.”

“Not at all,” I forced
a smile, “I’m just nervous about whatever Hunter is doing in the common room that I can’t see.”

“They’re just setting
everything
up
. It’s a party remember?”
s
he joked
.

“Don’t women usually set up for pa
rties?” I chastised as my brow knit in disbelief
.

“We cook the food, which we did yesterday. They know how to turn an oven on to heat
the food
back up
and
put it on the
table. It’s just ho
rs d’oeuvres anyways,
” Mara responded
with a wink.

“I’m not convinced that they all know how to turn on an oven—I’m not sure half the women here know how to do that.”

“Okay, well Rob does
and
s
o does Hunter
,
so I think they’
ll be alright. I’m not letting you go down there until its time
,
so stop trying to manipulate me.”

“It’s my birthday can’t you
just let me take a peak?” I asked
,
and
the look on Mara’s face was my answer.

“Now let’s start getting ready,
Mhmm
?”
s
he instructed
.

“Anxious much?” Mara commented
,
watching me pace in front of the door.

“So when is it time to go down?”
I asked
.

“You haven’t see
n
Hunter for three hours
and
you’re already h
aving a panic attack?” Mara retorted
as she blew
a piece of her straightened hair out of her face.

“It
’s a good thing you did this up-do hair style
. Otherwise I’d be yanking my hair out at this point. I
just don’t like surprises—they’
re never good.”

Mara stood
and
took my
hands in hers,
“I promise you this
is a good surprise.”

“Fine…
can we just go down now?”I begged
,
clenching my jaw.

“Actually,” Mara began
,
and
I went straight to the door,
“Slow down
killer;
you fell down these stairs without heels on.”

“Fine,
” I said
as I slowed
and
took
each
step
with care.
I knew she was right, and I didn’t want to spoil the surprise with me ending up on my face again.

Mara laughed,
“You’re going to love this.”

“So you do know?” I
accused
,
turning
and
facing her as we reached the front door.

“You said it—I’m a good liar,” she smirked as she reached
past me
and
opened
the door.
I wanted to smack her and hug her all at the same time. My insides were doing a complete dance as I turned and looked in the door.

“Holy,” was the only thing I could manage as I stared at the transformed common room.
It
was dimly lit b
y sapphire blue lights
and
white paper lanterns hung
from the ceiling for ambiance. The room practically glowed and although t
he room was crowded
I found Hunter quickly. H
e was standing on a stage
that was
set up in front of t
he flat screen TV, which was pulsing with soft blue lights. The gentle strobe only added to the dreamlike trance I felt I had entered. After a moment I managed to speak, “
What’s he doing?”

“You don’t have to whisper Kate,
” Mara replied
as I grabbed her arm.

Hunter’s eyes met mine
,
and
he strummed the guitar once
,
a smile spreading across his face.
I just about melted into a pool of water on the floor.

“God,
”
I stammered
.

“You w
ant your tongue back?” Mara teased
, and all I could do was shake my head.

Hunter
was wearing a black suit with a skinny navy tie
and
white dress shirt. It only served to enhance his broad shoulders
and
small waist.

“Is it that obvious?” I asked
over my shoulder
,
not taking my eyes off of him as he began to sing my favorite song
. The sea of people began to move to the music, but I was still standing in the same spot, gripping Mara’s arm white.

Mara stepped in front of me
and
started swaying her hips,
“Only to me—now dance.”

My body had
finally stirred, and I
started to naturally swing
my hips to the beat of the music,
“
I can’t believe he was hiding that voice from me. I had n
o clue he could play the guitar,
or that there were instruments here!”

“They get bored too
. I guess that’s how they sometimes pass the time—the band room is r
ight next to the gym downstairs,
”
Mara explained with a quick wink as she twirled in front of me.

“I’ve nev
er even been downstairs,” I replied half-hearted. I didn’t really care as my eyes locked on
Hunter
. He
was shaking his head
at me with a wide smile on his face, and in that moment everything disappeared. The fear that was creeping into me each night since my injury was gone. It was just Hunter and I, and our friends Mara and Rob. It all felt normal at that moment.

Hunter sang
the words to the song
p
ointing at me with one eyebrow raised. His eyes teased me as much as the
words
,
and I couldn’t help but smile.

“This is amazing.”
I murmured
.

“Don’t tell me, tell him
,
”
Mara instructed,
stepping aside as the song ended
,
and
Hunter handed his guitar to Rob who was playing bass.

“Happy Birthday, darling,” Hunter pulled
me into a hug.

I pulled ba
ck smacking him on his shoulder,
“You just killed it.”

“
Awe
,”
his hands fell
to my hips,
“I’ll just have to serenade you some more.”

“Mhmm…” I played with the lapel of his suit,
“You might have to make up for it that way.”

“You look amazing,
” Hunter commented
as his eyes glided
down my body
and
back up to my eyes.

“I could say the same for you,” I replied with a
blush.

He rubbed his permanent five o’clock shadow
,
“Shabby chic.”

I
reached up
,
loosened his tie
and
unbuttoned his shirt a few spaces.

“Oh, save
that for later,
” Hunter teased,
biting his lip.

“Now you
’
r
e
shabby chic,
” I commented
as I rolled
my eyes.

“I know my ego—
it’s just so big,
”
I shook my head with a smile, and he looked like he wanted to kiss me,
“So what do you want me to play next
,
birthday girl?”

“How did you know that was my favorite song?”

“I checked the playlist on the itouch. You
play that song a lot,” he ran his hand through one of my curls, “a
nd it just happens to work very well with my voice.”

“You should know what my next favorite song is then.
”

“Same band, works for me,
”
he replied as he unbuttoned
the suit jacket
and
turned
back to the stage.

When I looked up
Mara
was
passing Hunter as she left the stage.

“You look like
you have an evil plan,
”
Mara observed
,
tilting her head.

“L
et’s make our men drool,
” I replied
,
my hands on my hips
,
and
my eyes locked on Hunters as he pulled the guitar strap over his shoulder.

“Best Christmas party ever,
” Mara
commented
as Hunter began to sing
,
and
I began to sway my hips.

Hunter smirked tossing the microphone stand from one hand to the other
and
t
apping his foot to the beat.
I felt
Mara
slip
past me
and watched as she swayed
her hips
all the way up to the stage where she went to dance
next to Rob. She raised her eyebrows at me
,
but
I still wasn’t as bold as she was. Hunter pulled the microphone from the stand
,
slinging the guitar behind his back
and
jumped off stage in time with the beat. He sauntered up to me singing
,
and
I grabbed his tie pulli
ng him into me.

“Cl
ever,” I whispered
into his ear
. H
e continued to sing
,
his eyes speaking for him as I danced closely to him
as I ran
my hands over his shoulders.
The song ended
and
the room exploded with clapping.

“Let’s slow this down a bit,
”
Rob suggested
into the microphone
as he nodded
at Hunter
and
me.

“
I’ll be right back,
” Hunter told me
as the music began to play
and
Rob started to sing.
Hunter
put the microphone back on the stand
and
leaned his guitar against the wall before coming back to me
and
pulling me into his arms.

“Are you enjoying yourself?”
h
e asked
as his breath caressed
the bare skin of my shoulders.

“I’m having the time of my life
,
but
what
wi
ll your father think?” I asked as I leaned
my head on his shoulder.

“What will he think? I
can
already see it on
his face.”

I pulled back
and
looked into his face
,
but
his eyes were bright
and
left me breathless as they contraste
d against the sapphire lighting,
“What’s he thinking?”

“
That m
y cock has complete
ly overridden my brain,” he brushed
a curl away
from my face,
“b
ut he’s wrong. I
t’s my heart that has
taken over.”

“You have one of
those?” I teased,
trying to remind myself how to breathe
,
but
it didn’t seem to be working.
I couldn’t believe that Mara could be right. I couldn’t let myself give into that.

“Come on—I have
something for you,” Hunter’
s hand slipped
down from my waist into my hand
,
and
he led
me into the empty hallway.

“I thought this was my present
,
” I
replied
as he pulled a small velvet box out of his pant pocket.

I leaned up against the wall as he opened the box to reveal a silver heart necklace encrusted with blue diamonds
and
a single key,
“Not quite.”

There was no way I could keep breathing now,
“You’re kidding me.”

“Not at all,” h
e replied
as he slipped
it out of the box
and
reached
around my neck. The heart dropped onto my skin
and
he rested his hands on my neck.
Everything had slowed, and the music in the other room was just a dull buzz compared to the sound of his breath and mine. He sighed as he
pre
ssed
his forehead against mine before continuing,
“There’s something I’ve been meaning to tell you.”

I swallowed
as
my heart
beat suddenly
began to overwhelm
my brain
,
“Yes?”

“Hunter,” Allan stomped
into the hallway,
“I need to speak with you for a moment.”

Hunter closed
his eyes as he clenched his jaw, “Right this second?
”