Page 106 of In The Dark
“Okay, but when Janey kicks your ass for missing the bobbing for apples game, I’m going to say I told you so.”
“And you’ll get pleasure out of doing it, I know. Your ability to give me shit is one of the many reasons why I love you, angel.”
I laugh and stand on my toes, draping my arms around his neck. His skin is warm from spending the last hour outside. I watched him out of the living room window while he put thefinishing touches on the Halloween display and set up the cooler of candy at the end of our long driveway for the neighborhood kids so the chocolate doesn’t melt in the Florida heat.
“I love you too,” I say, squealing when he scoops me off the ground and tosses me over his shoulder. “What are you doing to me, you nut?”
“Showering you with love and affection.” Hunter pulls something from his pocket and hands it my way. “Can you put this on for me, baby?”
“A blindfold? Didn’t we use this last night?”
“Yes, but this is for a very different reason.”
“So, you’re not bending me over the kitchen table and fucking me with the curtains open? Darn.”
“Nope. If you would be so kind to slip that on, that would be great.”
“Does this have anything to do with the detour we’re making?” I slide the blindfold over my eyes and relax at the silky smooth fabric.
“It does. Twenty minutes, then you can take it off.”
“Twenty minutes? Where are you taking me? The moon?”
He laughs, our fingers sliding together. “Some place better, I think.”
“You’re talking a big game there, Wilder.”
“You trust me, right?”
I can’t help but smile at the question he knows the answer to.
One year with him, and I trust him with everything I have. Every day is the best day of my life, and I keep wondering how things get better thanthis. I already have so much. I don’t see a world out there where I ask for more.
Leo moved out of Hunter’s place six months ago, and I moved in. He still has a room in the house he stays in from time to time, never too far away. Our friends are friends, a family that does barbeques and dinners and holidays together. Thereare movie nights and swimming in the pool. Babysitting Bailey, Janey’s daughter, and taking her shopping with Skyler.
I’m still teaching and Hunter, after claiming he was done with scaring people at theme parks forever, took a job as Assistant Director of Fright Nights. He’s busier now than when he was working in the haunted house, having a hand of the set design process every step of the way and using his expertise to offer input on what guests want the most when they step through the gates of the park, ready to be terrified. It’s so fun to see him so passionate about something, and he still makes time for the occasional murder-for-hire job too.
“Of course I trust you,” I say, being guided into his car. His arm reaches across my body, buckling my seatbelt, and I laugh. “I just don’t do well with surprises.”
It might stem from my encounter with Connor, the memory that’s been hard to shake. I still have the occasional nightmare that wakes me up, afraid I’m back in his room with his body over mine. Therapy helps, and so does having Hunter next to me. He’s quick to reassure me I’m okay, never arguing when I keep him awake for an hour or two until I settle down, finally relaxing when we fall back asleep, his face buried in my hair.
“I know you don’t, which is why this will be quick. I promise.”
“As long as I get to see you in your workout Barbie outfit after, I’ll be happy.”
“My ass looks great in legwarmers, angel. Prepare to have your world rocked.”
I laugh, the car jolting forward as we take off in the direction of wherever we might be heading. “Leo told me he might be bringing someone special to Thanksgiving this year. Has he mentioned anything to you?”
“No, the bastard. Is it that girl in Skyler’s show? He thinks she’s cute.”
“Nope. It’s the girl who worked in the haunted house next to yours last year. I guess they’ve been talking on social media here and there, and when she mentioned she’s not visiting her parents for Thanksgiving because they’ll be out of the country, Leo invited her to our place.”
“How the hell do you know all of this? I’m his best friend,” Hunter says. “I don’t like being left out of secrets.”
“Because you don’t do face masks and watch romcoms with us. You’re too busy being a manly old man with your cleaver and ax and whatever hell other weapons you use on people to mutilate them.”
“Aw. It makes me happy to know you listen to me when I talk, angel.” Hunter rests a hand on my knee, giving my leg a squeeze. “Permission to join the next skin care and movie night?”
