Hunter swallowed as the door opened. He was expecting Arabella's father to open the door. A man he imagined to look a lot like Atlas, a titan Hunter had a..confrontation with a few years ago. When a teenager opened the door, he stepped back a little. He smiled nervously and shook the kid's hand. "Hi, I'm Hunter. you must be Tyler. I've heard only good things." He said with a chuckle before looking up at her father. His smile fell and he cleared his throat. "Hello, sir. I'm Hunter." He said, extending a slightly shaky hand to the man.
Her father, Matthew, glared down at Hunter for a moment, not really doing anything. Arabella looked at her dad and wacked his arm "Daddy, be nice" she warned and looked at Hunter for a second. Tyler then grabbed her hand and started pulling her back to his room, saying something about his new computer.
Matthew finally shook Hunter's hand, gripping it tightly "I've heard a lot about you" he said in a serious voice.
"Good things, I hope." Hunter said with a nervous chuckle. Hunter shook her father's hand firmly, but immediately regretted the decision, considering it turned into a game of mercy that Hunter quickly gave up on. He glanced briefly to where Arabella and Tyler disappeared, hoping that she would be back soon. It was awkward enough meeting her father. 'Yes, I'm the guy your daughter is trying to get into the pants of.' Hunter had a feeling this wasn't going to be enjoyable.
Matthew raised an eyebrow at him "My daughter seems to care about you a lot. She also has a habit of throwing herself into relationships with bad guys" he finally said "You better treat he right" he added just as Arabella and Tyler came walking back into the room.
"I hope you like Chinese take out, Hunter, cause that's what we're having. I learnt everything I know about cooking from my dad" Arabella said with a slight roll of her eyes. She took Hunter's hand and walked over to the table as Tyler started to put the boxes of food on the table.
Hunter nodded as Arabella dragged him away. He finally turned to the table and smiled. "Sounds delicious." Hunter said, not exactly pleased with how Hunter's first interaction with her father went. Hunter helped set out the plates a little bit and finally sat down next to Arabella. Hunter tried to draw as little attention to himself as humanly possible as the food went around the table.
"Best Chinese food in town" Arabella said with a little nod, like it was a scientific fact. She took a bite of her egg roll and looked at Matthew who had seemed to make it his life mission to glare at Hunter as much as humanly possible.
"I heard that my daughter found you on the streets" Matthew said suddenly in a disgusted tone, like it was the worst thing he could think of "I told her that it was idiotic to trust you"
"He saved my life, Daddy. We've talked about this" Arabella said softly and she let her hand drop to Hunter's thigh.
"That doesn't change the fact that he was homeless and jobless before he started mooching off of you" Matthew said, turning to look at his daughter.
Hunter blushed at Arabella's hand on his leg, but it wasn't enough to stop him from being hurt by her father's words. "We actually met at camp, sir. We kind of went our separate ways, a few years ago. We bumped into each other again, recently." He said quietly, glancing over at Arabella and pulling his leg away from her hand. He gave her a quick look that said, 'Are you trying to get me killed by your father?' He turned back to Matthew. "I'm fully capable of supporting myself, though, Mr. Foster."
Matthew opened his mouth to say something but Tyler quickly cut in. He swallowed the food in his mouth and looked at Hunter with wide eyes behind his thick glasses "You were at camp too?! What kind of monsters did you fight?!" he asked in an amazed voice.
"Oh, all kinds. He was awesome" Arabella said and looked over at Hunter, placing her hand back on his thigh again. She didn't care. Her dad didn't notice. She traced a heart on his thigh with her fingers and smiled at him.
Hunter cleared his throat and squirmed slightly before subtly pushing Arabella's hand off his leg. "Uhh...There was the Chimera and the Nemean lion. I fought that twice, actually. Then there were some giants. Uhh...There was a manticore, too." He said quietly before taking a bite of rice. He looked at Tyler who was looking at him like he had a new hero. He liked Tyler. He didn't really like Arabella's dad. He looked briefly at Matthew who was glaring at him once again. He swallowed and continued eating.
"Woah...that is so cool! I've read about those monsters but Arabella never told me anything about them" Tyler said and he looked at Hunter with wonder.
"Tyler..close your mouth, you're drooling" Arabella said sarcastically and started grazing her foot up and down Hunter's leg.
"If you went to camp, then who is your parent?" Matthew asked Hunter, turning to look at him. He didn't notice what Arabella was doing at all "I hope it's not Apollo. All of his kids seem to be idiots."
Hunter chuckled as he picked at his food. "I agree with you there. Brian is such a..." He stopped himself and cleared his throat. "Excuse me. I actually didn't have one, sir. I was at camp as a hunter of Artemis. I was basically a camper, but I was...adopted, in a way, into 'hero' status." He said calmly before feeling like he was rambling. He finally moved his leg away from her. It's like she wanted him to be killed. He had tried to just ignore her advances, but nothing seemed to work. He shot Arabella another 'You just don't want to make this easy, do you?' look before taking another bite of food.
Arabella looked at Hunter and gave him a smile. She kind of loved the fact that she was making him squirm. It was kind of cute. She placed her hand on his thigh again, close to his knee. Slowly she slid her hand up higher and higher. She looked back at her food and took a sip of her water.
"What happened to your parents then?" Matthew asked bluntly. He didn't care about being sensitive to the fact that it might be a touchy subject for Hunter and might hurt his feelings.
Hunter cleared his throat and sat up while pushing Arabella's hand away. "They uh...They died. My mom died giving birth to me and my father was attacked by a wolf." He said staring at his food and nodding. Even after all these years, it still felt weird talking about his parents. It didn't hurt as much, but it was still a little touchy. "My mom was actually uh..." He glanced at Tyler who was still looking at Hunter in amazement and wasn't really paying attention to the conversation at the table. "She was raped by her uncle. Making him my dad. She ran away from him and that's when he was attacked and when she was found by the hunters." He swallowed and took a deep breath before picking at his food again.
Arabella looked up at Hunter as he told Matthew the story. She always felt bad for Hunter. It must have been difficult to grow up with that story on his shoulders. Arabella used to really admire him when they were at camp because he was always so strong and Arabella never saw him upset. She would be a mess if she had that kind of past. Arabella placed her hand on his thigh again but this time, it wasn't in a sexual-teasing way. It was in a comforting way.
"Oh, so you're homeless, jobless and an inbred?" Matthew said with a disgusted look on his face again "That's great, Arabella. You sure know how to pick them" he said, his voice dripping with sarcasm.
Hunter's fists clenched and he glared at Matthew. He wasn't wrong, but it still hurt. He took a quick glance at Arabella's hand on his thigh and relaxed his hands. He put on a small and very forced smile. "I have a home, sir. It's the house my mom grew up in." He said with a nod. Hunter looked at Matthew and tried not to dive across the table and hit him.
"Daddy, please..." Arabella said softly and looked at her dad. She couldn't believe that he was saying these things to Hunter, of all people. Hunter was the nicest guy that she had ever known and she didn't care if his parents were related. It didn't bother her.
"Well, isn't that just fantastic" Matthew said and rolled his eyes then leaned towards Hunter a little bit, narrowing his eyes "I know guys like you. You'll stick around for a little bit, take everything Arabella could ever give you then leave her. Break her heart and never show your face again" he hissed "You don't deserve Arabella. You don't deserve her at all"
"Stop it, Dad. That's not fair" Arabella said, turning to look at her dad. Why was he doing this? Why was he saying this? It was like he was a totally different person "Hunter is a really great guy and I trust him"
Hunter could feel his stomach clench. "It's okay, Ellie." He said quietly. He took his napkin off his lap and set it on the table in front of him. "I'd like to say that breaking her heart and never showing my face again is not at all my intention and never did it enter into my mind." Hunter said, doing his best to stay levelheaded. "As far as deserving her goes," he looked at her for a moment before turning back to Matthew. "maybe not. She's pretty amazing." He said with a half-smile.
Arabella looked up at Hunter with a small smile on her face. She blushed lightly when he said that she was amazing, her heart melting. Matthew looked at Hunter and pushed his plate away from him.
"That's exactly what they all say, young man. Every single boy that broke my daughters heart told her that she was amazing and that they loved her and they would never break her heart. But all of them did. At least the others weren't bringing her down" Matthew hissed "You're no better than Brian or Chad or any of the others"
Hunter's eye twitched slightly at Matthew's words. He clenched his fists and wanted nothing more than to hit Arabella's dad. That would make him no better than Chad. He let his fists relax again and he could feel a little bit of blood being drawn out from his nails digging into his palms. He took a deep breath and calmly stood up. "Mr. Foster, I'll have you know that I did nothing, but treat you and your daughter with respect. I assumed that you would do the same. My mistake. Tyler, it was great meeting you. Thank you for dinner. Goodbye, Ellie." He said calmly as a lump formed in his throat. He nodded and walked to the door.
"What did I tell you, Arabella. He's already walking out on you. If he can't handle dinner then how can you expect him to stick around for anything else in your life" Matthew said, clearly kind of proud of himself. He watched as Hunter looked back at him then turned and walked out of the apartment. Arabella turned and looked at her Dad, stunned from what just happened.
"You are unbelievable" Arabella breathed, too shocked to speak in a much louder tone "Sorry Tyler..I'll email you later" she fiinished before grabbing her purse and running after Hunter "Hunter! Wait!"
Hunter walked out and was tempted to just keep walking, but he stopped in front of the elevator. He pressed the button and leaned up against the wall. He cleared his throat and watched as Arabella ran up to him. He could feel a few tears welling up in his eyes. "Didn't you hear, Ellie? I don't deserve you." He said, still hurt by her father's words. He looked at his hands which had small cuts across his palms where he had dug his nails. He clapped them together and shrugged, looking at her and trying not to cry. He felt like he had failed the first test of being with her. "What are you doing here, Ellie? I'm no better than your other exes. Your...many exes." He said, not intending to hurt her.
Arabella looked up at him with sad eyes and she flinched lightly when he said her 'many exes'. It felt like he had been hurt by the knowledge that she had been with a lot more guys than she liked to admit. She took a little breath and placed her hands on his neck gently "I am so sorry Hunter. I don't know why he was so horrible to you" she said softly and looked up at him "You're the best man that I have ever met and if anything, I don't deserve you"
Hunter smiled and put his hands over hers. "Ellie, I'm sorry." He said, lightly rubbing her hands. "I shouldn't have walked out. I wanted your dad to like me and now...Now, he hates me. He's probably upset with you." He said before pulling her hands away and letting them go. "I'm sorry, Ellie." He said with a sigh.
"I don't care if he's upset with me. He can be upset with me all he wants. I'm pretty angry with him right now too" Arabella said and looked down when he pulled her hands away. She looked up at him with a slightly hurt look on his face. Was he pushing her away? Why? "It doesn't matter if my dad doesn't like you. That's not what's important" she said softly.
Hunter looked at her. She was so gentle and kind. How was her father like that, but she so wonderful. He grabbed her hand and stepped onto the elevator. He casually placed his hands on her neck and slowly let them slide down to her hips. "I love you, Ellie." He said before pushing her up against the back of the elevator and pressing his lips to hers.
"I love you, Hunter" Arabella whispered and pulled him closer to her, wrapping her arms around his neck. She smiled against his lips, his words echoing in her head. I love you, Ellie. I love you, Ellie. I love you, Ellie. she could listen to that forever and it would never get old. It made her feel warm and safe. It was the best feeling in the world. Arabella kissed him then let her lips travel along his cheek to his jaw then down to his neck. She didn't care if anyone saw them. All she cared about was the man in front of her.
Hunter kissed her intensely until there was a soft ding behind him. There were a series of gasps and Hunter turned around with a red face to see an old couple standing there. "Excuse us. We're uh..." Hunter tried to come up with a good excuse, but nothing came to him. "We were just making out actually. We'll get out of the way." He said with a chuckle before grabbing Arabella's hand and hurrying out of the building. They got to his car and got in. Hunter started the car and drove. He just drove. He wanted to be away from her father. He wanted to be away from the freshly brought up bad memories that his house held. He just needed to drive.
Arabella leaned back in her seat, trying to catch her breath. It wasn't easy to run and laugh at the same time. Driving with Hunter was peaceful. It felt so easy to just sit with him. She trusted him and she trusted that he was going to make sure that everything was okay. It felt good to just drive with him and not know where they were going. It made her feel so alive. Eventually, she kicked off her high heels and took the hairband out of her hair, running her fingers through it to get rid of the braid. Her heart was still hammering but it wasn't from them running out of the apartment. It was from Hunter pushing her against the wall, Hunter's lips on hers, Hunter's hands on ehr waist. She looked over at Hunter and smiled lightly.
Hunter kept driving. He stopped at a gas station for fuel. Once he was done pumping, he looked and saw Arabella coming out of the station with a bag of stuff. He rolled his eyes and smiled. "You got me something, right?" He said jokingly as he got back into the car. They drove a few hours. Hunter didn't notice it, but he was on his way to the beach house. It felt like such a long time since they had spent some time there. Sure enough, the house was coming into view. He parked in the parking lot and looked at Arabella. Without talking he got out and walked to the other side of the car. He opened her door and helped her out. He took her hand and kissed it briefly.
She was totally swept off of her feet. Hunter was too good to be true, really. Arabella looked up at him with wide eyes and she kissed him lightly on the lips before looking at the beach house. It had been one of the best weekends of her life and even though it had some low moments, it was amazing because she had spent so much time with Hunter. She had discovered that she had feelings for Hunter at the beach house. It was their spot. Arabella looked at the beach in the distance and the way the moon was reflecting on the water and she grinned from ear to ear. Without bothering to get her bag or her purse or her shoes, Arabella ran down towards the water with her arms spread wide and her hair blowing out behind her. She ran into the water until she was about knee deep and she looked up at Hunter "Come on!" she called and giggled, kicking water up into the air.
Hunter stood at the edge of the water and shook his finger at Arabella. "Ms. Foster, you're going to ruin your dress." He said with a chuckle. He started toward the water and halfway in he stopped and looked at her. "You could just take it off. I wouldn't mind." He said with a chuckle as a big splash washed over him. Hunter froze and looked at Arabella. "You're so mean." He peeled off his shirt and took off after her.
Arabella burst out in giggles when Hunter ran towards her and she started running through the water. Her dress was getting soaked but she didn't care. She could get a new one. Arabella looked back at Hunter then turned around and splashed him once more before he finally caught up with her and wrapped his arms around her. With his fingers, he tickled her sides. "Hunter!" She squeaked through her giggles. She squirmed around in his arms and laughed. His tickling stopped and she rested her head on his shoulder, taking deep breaths. Arabella was incredibly aware of how close her body was to his. Her skin tingled where he was touching her "That was just not nice" she teased with a smile
Hunter held Arabella close. He loved her. That wasn't going to change. He finally looked at her. She was soaking wet. He clothes were sticking to her. Her hair wasn't wet. Hunter grabbed her and then dunked her under the water with a grin. She came up, gasping for air. Before she could say anything, Hunter pulled her in for another soft kiss. It made Hunter feel like he was floating on air. "I love you, Ellie." He added again before running his hands down her sides to the hem of her dress. He smoothed it out and blushed at the feeling of her soft skin upon his hands.
Sputtering, Arabella looked at him as he smoothed out her dress. His hands on her skin made her heart skip a couple beats and start hammering at hyper-speed. She almost wondered if Hunter could feel it. She wondered if he could feel the way her body heated up when he touched her but at the same time, goosebumps formed on every inch of skin. She wondered if he could see the way her cheeks flushed. Arabella was going to say something witty to him as a come back. She was going to tease him. But she couldn't stop herself. Arabella ran her fingers down his wet chest and too his sides and she pressed herself close to him, placing kisses on his collar bone.
Hunter smiled at the sensation. He had never really felt so physically attached to her and he wanted more. He ran his hands lightly up and down her side before breaking the kiss and looking at her. He brushed them down her cheek to her shoulder. He buried his face in the place where her neck and shoulder meets. He bit lightly and then finally moved his hands down to her butt. He let them rest there and continued to kiss her before offering a small pat along with a laugh against her skin.
Arabella gasped softly when he bit her skin and she pushed herself closer to him, loving the feeling. When his hands rested on her butt, she smiled softly. When she felt him pat her butt, she giggled. This was all so wonderful. It felt so light hearted and easy but at the same time, it felt so deep and there was so much emotion behind it all. the moon on the ocean was beautiful and being in Hunter's arms made everything so much better. Arabella put her hands on his back and she slowly ran her fingers down his skin, grazing it with her nails lightly. She hooked her thumbs in the belt loops on his jeans and she tugged on them lightly, pulling him closer to her. Was this really going to happen this time?
Hunter squeezed her butt gently before letting go and breaking the embrace. He smiled softly and swept her into his arms. He carried her up the beach and gently set her down in the sand. He was ready this time. He could feel it. This was the night. He knelt down at her feet and crawled over her before planting a long kiss right on her chest below her neck. He brushed his lips up until he was to her mouth again. He pressed his lips to hers and swept an arm under her. He rolled onto his back with her on top of him and kissed her again. "I love you." Hunter couldn't say it enough.
Her heart was hammering and Arabella was nervous. She knew that she shouldn't be nervous. There were too many guys before Hunter so it wasn't like this was something new to her. This was something that she had been doing since she was 14. But being with Hunter and loving him as deeply and as much as she did was making her nervous. She had never felt so open and vulnerable. Arabella also remembered that it was Hunter's first time. She wanted to make sure that it was special for him. "I love you too" she whispered and smiled. Arabella kissed him briefly before running her tongue across his lips lightly. She kissed him once more and trailed her kisses along his jaw, down his neck and onto his chest.
Hunter squirmed slightly. He closed his eyes as her lips traversed his neck. Hunter smiled softly before bringing her face back up to his. He cradled her head in his hand and peppered her lips with kisses as he let his other hand just lightly caress her leg. He pulled back and looked at Arabella. He slipped a finger inside the hem of her dress and let his hand rest there. "Is this okay, Ellie?" He asked, nervously. It felt odd doing this. Not bad, just odd. Different. New, which is exactly what it is.
Arabella ran a hand up to the side of his neck, she smiled at him and she nodded. Being with him on the beach, under the moon and the stars..it felt so perfect. It felt like so much more than all of those other times. It felt right and perfect and wonderful "Yeah, it's perfect" Arabella whispered softly and she leaned into him, pressing her lips against his again.
Hunter took a deep breath as he traced his hand down her back. He kissed her jawline and squeezed her butt and traced his hand down to her leg. He lightly tickled for a brief moment before sliding both hands up her dress. He took a deep breath and slowly slid her dress up. She sat up and took the rest of her dress off. "Beautiful." Hunter gasped and felt his stomach clench before he noticed something hanging around her neck. Something familiar. "Ellie, is that my pendant?" He asked, reaching up and holding it in his hand. Why did she have it?
Arabella smiled softly down at him when he said that she was beautiful. She tossed her dress to the side, not really caring about what happened to it. She had more important things on her mind. Arabella was about to lean down to kiss him again but then his hand was at her neck, holding the pendant in his hands. She looked down at it and nodded, blushing. Arabella had worn it hidden in her clothes because she didn't want Hunter to take it back. But she had forgotten all about it "Yeah, I uh..I found it in an alley a little while ago" she told him and she went to slip it off her neck "Here, you can have it back if you want"
Hunter looked at the pendant around her neck. He had worn it for most of his life. It was the only thing he had that was his for a long time. "No." He said quietly. He grabbed her hands away from her neck. "Keep it. I don't need it anymore." He said with a small smile as he placed small kisses on her hands. "It looks better on you anyway." He said with a chuckle against her fingers.
Arabella giggled softly and she turned his hands over in hers. She was so relieved at he didn't want it back, to be honest. She loved it. Arabella looked down at his hands and saw the small cuts where he had dug his nails into his skin. She let out a soft sigh and she kissed them lightly before leaning down and kissing his chest. She had never felt so alive and wonderful and full of love. It was making her giddy. She was thrilled and excited and nervous all at the same time. Arabella let go of her hands and she ran her fingers down his side until then hit the top of his pants. She looked up at him then slowly started unbuttoning them. Arabella bit her lip, happy that they had never been able to do this until now. This was worth the wait.
Hunter blushed harder than he ever had before. He couldn't imagine that he could ever live a life without doing this at least once. He reached up and put a hand lightly on the back of her neck before pulling her down to him. He kissed her gently and lightly moved his hands down her back before discovering her bra. He blushed again and sighed before fumbling an attempt at unhooking it. He froze for a second before burying his face between her neck and shoulder so he could maybe get a look at it. To no avail he continued to try and unhook it. "I am inept." He said under his breath as he fumbled another attempt.
His fingers on her back sent shock waves through her entire body. She couldn't help but giggle thought when he tried again and again but he couldn't figure out the hooks on a bra. "The man fights the Chimera and the Nemean lion but he can't unhook a bra" she teased lightly and she ran her hands up his sides. She thought that it was pretty great that Hunter was amazing at pretty much everything he ever did but he couldn't do this one little thing. she sat up, straddling him and reached behind her. In about two seconds, she had it unhooked and she was tossing to the side. Arabella smiled down at Hunter who was looking at her with a slightly stunned look and she leaned down, pressing her lips against his in a passionate kiss. She leaned into him more, pressing her body against his.