Page 34 of Twisted Minds

I’d spend as long as I could with him. “Where are we going?”

“Somewhere special.”

twelve

Mark

“Ican’t get over watching you play; I’ve never seen anything like it.” Watching Hunter play tonight was eye opening. This man is so calm, so sweet, and seeing him out there . . . Fuck. The brutal power and agility. Damn, Hunter is a beast. I’ve never been into sports like this, but the power and precision he displayed on the ice tonight turned me on.

“Thanks.” Sitting in the passenger seat, my attention remains on his hand splayed on my thigh. I’m a little pent-up after all that, and I hope he doesn’t slide his hand up further. Sweats are my go-to attire but shit, I should have worn jeans tonight. I didn’t expect that watching him play would do it for me like this.

I focus on the fingers wrapped around my leg, his fingertips curled around it, almost gripping it, and touching my inner thigh. It’s possessive and dominant and fuck, I like it. I wouldn’t say I’m necessarily a dominant person, but it’s always the role I seem to slip into with my partners—as few as there have been. He gives my thigh a squeeze and my stomach somersaults. “Youlook really hot in my hoodie.” I glance at him and watch the cocky grin splay across his face.

“You think?” Hunter nods, squeezing my thigh again. My face heats, but it’s nothing compared to how I felt watching him on the ice with his gear. There was something so cocky, so confident about him while he played.

I also appreciate his teammates. Even though it’s not exactly terrible, coming from a small town where being out isn’t something that’s celebrated there’s always been this “otherness” about me that makes me feel like I’m being watched.

But Hunter is an out athlete, and none of his teammates treated him any differently. They celebrated and cheered, hugged, and slapped each other on the back with each successful play. Watching them all together tonight, I could tell how much they admire him, and seeing that hit me somewhere deep. It made me feel proud. Watching Hunter with his teammates felt special to me. “Where are we going?”

“I want to take you somewhere. It’s a surprise. We’re almost there.” Trees pass us by, growing denser as we drive up a mountain. The winding road is nearly pitch black, and every horror movie I’ve seen flashes in my mind as we pull down a dirt road that opens into a clearing. Okay, definitely getting serial-killer vibes. “Relax. I’m not going to kill you.”

“Exactly what someone would say if they were going to kill me.”

Hunter laughs, and I miss his hand when it slips from my thigh. He gets out of the car and goes to the trunk, grabbing a blanket. I look ahead at the darkness. “What about bears?”

“We’re still in town. It’s just hard to see, but this is a park. We’re still close enough to people that animals like that are wary. That’s not to say it isn’t possible—just not likely. You can’t see it, but there are homes all around us.” He walks ahead to the clearing. I follow, a little hesitant. I know we’re high up, butnothing prepares me for the sight when we reach the middle of the park and I can see the lights below us. Um, nope. “Oh, shit.” My stomach dips. Thank god it’s dark right now so I can’t see exactly how high up we are.

It’s eerie and beautiful, but I have enough of it and walk back a little, away from the edge. Hunter grabs my hand; the warm grip centers me. I’m losing it a little. I fucking hate heights, but there’s something centering about having him here with me. It feels good. It feels way different than it ever has with anyone else.

Squeezing my eyes shut, I stumble back into Hunter. He catches me, laughing. “Careful.”

“Sorry. It’s just so high up.” I’m just happy I can’t see below us right now.

“Here, sit.” He lays out the blanket and I sit down. It’s quiet, but not uncomfortable. We’re far enough away from the city lights that as I look up, all I see is a smattering of stars.

Hunter lies back on the blanket and I follow. Shoulder to shoulder we look up at the sky. It’s so peaceful. Not too cold at all yet. “My mom and I used to come up here when I was little.”

“You’re from here?”

“The next town over. It’s a small town, and she actually went to college here. We used to have picnics and stuff. It seemed super lame then, but I’d give anything to do that one more time.”

“What happened?” I ask.

“She died when I was sixteen. She had cancer. Thankfully, and unfortunately, it happened really fast. I barely had time to even process what was going on before she was gone.”

My stomach dips. “Is that why you moved in with your friend?”

Hunter’s quiet for a moment, and I nearly jolt when his hand slides into mine. I can barely see out here. “My father kicked me out a week after her funeral. I think he did that so everyonewouldn’t realize what a dick he is. He only tolerated me and my preferences because he loved her, but once she was gone, so was that tolerance. It didn’t matter that I was an honor-roll student. It didn’t matter that I was one of the top athletes on track, with a full ride with scouts watching me. None of that mattered. I liked a guy and that was unacceptable. I came home one day from school and my shit was on the lawn and the locks to the house had all been changed. Lia took me in . . . she was really good friends with my mom.”

“Is that why you don’t mind helping her out with her son?”

Hunter sighs. “I know he seems like an asshole but that’s not who he is. I can’t even begin to imagine what he’s going through.”

“I’m sorry about your mom.” I can’t imagine losing my mother. My father is strict and tough on me, but I can’t imagine him disowning me because I like men. He doesn’t give a shit about that. He just gives a shit about me wasting my time onstupid games.

“I know it all sounds bad on paper, but I had fifteen years with her being healthy. That’s more than most people get. She packed so much love into my life. I never needed him and I’m not really even sad that he’s out of my life. He was never there in the ways that mattered. I’ll introduce you to Lia soon, though, she’s the surrogate mom everyone needs.”

“Do you um, have a picture?” I wasn’t sure if I should ask, but I want to see her—see the woman who brought someone as amazing as Hunter into this world—and it seems like he wants to talk more about her.

---