Page 82 of Fighting Fate

I tuck a piece of hair behind my ear. “Oh. Yeah, don’t worry about that.”

“So it wasn’t your first kiss?” He frowns.

“No, it was,” I say. “I just am glad it was you. So don’t be worried about me regretting it or something. I just thought you could tell it was my first kiss because I was bad or something.”

“No.” He shakes his head. “It was a good kiss. The best kiss I’ve ever had.”

My heart flutters. I force myself not to smile, though I’m pretty sure it’s obvious.

“So, no regrets,” he says.

I shake my head. “Absolutely none.”

Except maybe I regret what happened after. Him telling me it was a mistake. And me running was definitely a mistake because I almost got kidnapped and ended up with a concussion.

“Are we still friends?” Hunter asks.

I frown. “Yeah. Of course.”

Friends.

I hate that word.

Can Hunter not see that I want so much more than friendship from him?

He visibly relaxes. I can see he was worried.

He must know how I feel. That’s why he’s so relieved.

My heart breaks as I realize that this is all I will ever have from Hunter. He’s my bodyguard. He keeps me alive. He trains me. And we’resort offriends, but there will never be anything more.

The one kiss we shared will live forever in my memories. I only regret that it’ll never happen again.

I should’ve known. A guy like Hunter could never like somebody like me.

Hunter reaches his hand over and grabs onto mine again. I look down at our hands, wondering what Hunter is thinking. He has to know that this means so much more to me than it does to him, right?

“So, what happens now?” I ask.

Hunter lets out a long breath. “Now, we go back to our cabin. I’m going to figure out what those guys wanted. We’re going to train harder, at least once you’ve recovered. And I’m going to keep you alive.”

“I like being alive.”

He chuckles. “Don’t worry, Trouble. I’ll always be here to protect you.”

But who is going to protect my heart from Hunter?

Sunday, October 18

The plan.

On Sunday afternoon, I get a text from Griffin. I’m surprised when I see his name pop up on my screen.

Hunter grunts, clearly unhappy to see Griffin text me.

I ignore him and unlock my phone.

GRIFFIN:Can we meet to talk? WITHOUT your boyfriend…

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