Page 53 of When I Fall In Love

Hunter.

The echoes of his touch still sound through my body. I’m languid and relaxed and somewhat tender everywhere he’s been. And he has been everywhere, multiple times.

The lake might be a soft watercolor from here, but I shudder as I recall my close call earlier. Ripples now rush over its surface, and I bite my lip. The wind has picked up since my dive into the water. It was so stupid to go out in this weather. I should’ve known better. At a minimum I should’ve checked some app before attempting to standup paddleboard for the first time. I grew up here but I forgot how confusing fall could be.

Feet sound on the landing and I stifle a yawn, so glad to be warm and cozy in the best bed on the planet. Hunter strolls into the bedroom and once he’s close, he gets an eyeful of me, naked, stretching like a cat.

He smiles as he homes in, a bag in his hand, a mug of something steaming in the other, and a book clutched under his arm.

“Nice. Room service.” I don’t bother to cover up.

“I made you hot chocolate.” He puts the mug and book on the nightstand, drops the bag to the floor and leans in to cup my cheek and kiss me tenderly.

With a soft moan, I tilt and lift my head to kiss him deeper and his fingers steal down from my face to fondle a breast. His hand is cold and my nipple pebbles in quick response, sending a rush of need to my sex.

“I could get used to this,” I warn him as I circle his neck with my hand to keep him close.

“I wish you would,” he murmurs back as he sits on the edge of the bed.

“Why do you have clothes on?” I pout against his lips, wanting only to touch his bare skin.

He chuckles as his hand splays over my ribcage, traveling south to rest on my hip. “It’s freezing outside and I went to fetch a few things and lock up next door.”

“I’ll be staying the night then?”

Hunter searches my eyes and I stare right back, melting in the vulnerability he doesn’t hide. “If you want to. That’s what I want.” He drags in a short breath. “As long as you’re comfortable. I fetched your book from the deck and some clothes… but I rather like you just the way you are right now.”

Naked with him fully dressed. Not exactly equal footing. Not exactly fair. He gets to see and touch… and I don’t. “Well then. Seems I’m all set.” I slip my fingers underneath his sweater and drag my nails along his side and up his muscled back. He pulls me into his lap and I straddle him.

He hums into my mouth as we kiss, soft and tender, then ever more desperate. Before long he’s stripped and I’m back on my back, gazing into his eyes, letting him take me places I haven’t been for years.

When he rolls off me and a new sheen of mingled sweat covers our bodies, he exhales and nudges me close. I rest my head on his shoulder. “I’m hungry.”

He smiles. “Me too.”

“And my hot chocolate is cold.”

“As long as you’re warm.” He presses a kiss to my forehead. “Vietnamese or Chinese takeaway?”

“They’ll deliver here? So far out of town?”

“I hope so.” He shifts and leans up on an elbow, letting my head drop to the pillow. “It’s time you see what the buzzing metropolis of Ashleigh Lake has to offer.”

I snort. “The town is cuter and quainter than I recall.”

“And you’ve hardly scratched the surface. You should stay a bit longer.”

The words are out and they hang heavy. Hunter closes his eyes and I turn away to stare at the ceiling.

From the beginning I had a hard limit on my stay in Ashleigh Lake. While I was wrapping things up at work, I made a personal to-do list of things I need to do that I’ve been putting off for years. I see this break as the dividing line between my past and my future.

When I’m back in San Francisco I’ll change my surname back to Anderson. I’ll scout for a new apartment that doesn’t seem like a coffin for the very-much-alive. If I can’t change my job, maybe changing my apartment will make life more bearable. If I’m reading between the lines correctly, Jana wouldn’t mind if I walked back into the office tomorrow morning at eight and not on Tuesday as planned. I bet she’ll be working the whole weekend.

Going back before my leave is up would show my commitment to the firm and to becoming partner. All in all it would be the right call, except since being back in Ashleigh Lake another bullet point has sneaked onto my to-do list: find a job that’s less mercenary, more human—one that results in a more fulfilling career and overall happiness as I get to help other people instead of greedy corporates.

The quiet stretches and eventually I lick my lips. “I can’t. It’s not that simple.”

“Yeah. I get it.” He’s up, striding to the closet and opening one of the mirrored doors. I can only stare at him, at his tall, lean frame, his summer tan that still shows, those shoulders and arms that carried me with such ease. He steps into long flannel pajama pants and plucks a white T-shirt from a neat stack. When he turns back to me, a teasing smile plays on his face. It looks all natural, but it doesn’t reach his eyes. “No point in wasting time.”

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