Arabella was sleeping on her side, the blanket pulled up to her eyes. Ever so slowly, she started to wake up a little bit and she could tell that it was late in the day. There was no way that it was still morning. Arabella moaned softly and she rolled over so that she was on her stomach and she turned her head to the side. She didn't want to wake up. She wanted to just stay in bed for the rest of the day. Arabella pulled the blanket up so that it was covering her completely and she scooted into a little ball so that her butt was in the air.
Hunter walked into the bedroom with a tray of food. It was his way of paying her back for staying up with him all day. They had gone to bed around 5 and gone to sleep around 8. Hunter woke up at 10 the next morning, it was now around 3 in the afternoon. He stood in the doorway and looked at her. "Ellie, if you don't wake up, I'll assume you've gone into a coma and I'll have to eat all this bacon by myself." He said, walking toward her and setting the tray on the bed before playfully patting her butt.
"Mmmm...bacon." Arabella moaned softly and she rolled over again, falling back onto her side. With her eyes still closed, she snaked a hand out of the blanket and patted around until she found the tray. Her fingers clasped over a piece of bacon and she pulled it back under the covers, nibbling on it. Arabella yawned deeply and she stretched out her legs. "What time is it?" She muttered in a sleepy voice. She had always been a bit of an interesting sleeper. Arabella easily lost sleep because she had things on her mind, usually. But once she fell asleep, she could usually sleep for a very, very long time.
"3." He said, scooting the tray away from her. "In the afternoon." He said, taking hold of her covers. He waited a moment before pulling them off, revealing Arabella eating bacon like an animal. "Now, that's attractive." Hunter said sarcastically as he slipped his arm under her and lifted her up out of bed. "Good morning, miele." He said, kissing her cheek.
Arabella nuzzled her face into his neck, keeping her eyes closed. It was a wonderful way to wake up, really. She smiled softly against his skin and she placed her hands on his leg. "Mmm..morning" She moaned softly and she snuggled in close to him. The air felt cold to Arabella without the blanket and it was nice to curl up beside Hunter. She could feel the warmth coming off of him and it was comforting. "How are you feeling?" She asked in a small voice.
"Head's all clear. Ribs feel great. Arm still broken." He said with a smile before kissing her lightly on the cheek. His ribs only hurt when he exerted himself, but his concussion was more or less gone, thankfully. He carried her to the other side of the bed and sat down on the bed next to the food. "Alright. Let's eat and then we'll figure out what to do with the rest of our day." He checked his watch. "All 9 hours of it."
Arabella started eating, her stomach was growling and the food that Hunter made was incredible. She nodded lightly and looked over at him. "What did you want to do today?" She asked him, wondering what they would be able to do with his broken arm. It's not like they could go swimming or anything like that. Arabella ate a bit more of the food and she groaned happily. "This is amazing, by the way" She told him before eating a bit more.
"Thanks, baby." He said, kissing her cheek again. "Hmm...You want to watch movies? Or...Invite Tyler over? Or...archery lesson? Just because my arm is broken doesn't mean my mind is." He said with a chuckle. "We still need to finish planning our road trip for Rory and Vera's wedding." He said with a nod. "Oh! That reminds me..." Hunter stood up and searched around for pairs of his pants, looking in the pockets. At the bottom of his hamper, he found a piece of paper. "Ah ha!" He said with a grin. He walked over to Arabella and handed her Rory's number. "I need you to call this." He said with a nod.
Arabella looked down at the note in confusion for a moment. She had totally forgotten that Hunter was supposed to call Rory. She was curious to find out what it was all about. Sure, they had to call to RSVP, but why would Rory want Hunter to call him personally like that? Arabella shrugged the thought away and she ate a little bit more. She wipped her hands on her shorts and picked up her phone, dialing the number. It started ringing and Arabella bounced her legs lightly in excitement. It had been so long since she had spoken to Rory or Vera.
"Hello?" It was Rory who answered and it took almost everything Arabella had not to start squealing.
"Hi, Rory!" Arabella said happily. "We are so going to be at the wedding, by the way. I am so happy for you!! But really, it's not that big of a surprise to me. I always knew that you were going to marry Vera. Who called it? That's right, I did" She said, all in one breath. Arabella was so happy to speak to an old friend and it was pretty great to know that he was getting married to the most perfect woman in the world for him.
"Hello to you too, Arabella" Rory said with a small chuckle. Arabella and Rory had always gotten along but they had an interesting relationship, to put it lightly. She was always trying to set him up with Vera and she often got on his nerves. But he put up with her and she cared about him, quite a bit.
"Oh! Hunter is here. He wanted me to call for you for him, like he asked. He has a broken arm so he couldn't really dial the number himself" Arabella said with a shrug.
"Why does he have a bro-" Rory asked but Arabella cut him off.
"Oh..we don't need to get into that. Anyway, I'm going to put you on speaker phone so that you can talk to Hunter" Arabella said and she pulled the phone away from her ear, pressing the speaker phone button.
"Do I talk?" Hunter asked quietly.
"Hunter?" Rory said, slightly distorted through the speaker.
"Hey, Rory!" He shouted, much louder than he needed to.
"Just talk normally. He can hear you." Arabella whispered. Hunter blushed and cleared his throat.
"Oh, uh...sorry. I don't know how to use a phone." Hunter said with a sigh. "Rory, congratulations. I totally saw it coming." He said, putting an arm around Arabella's waist and kissing her cheek. "So, why did you need me to call you?" He asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Oh, well, thanks, I guess, but I wanted to ask you something." Rory said through the phone. "I never thanked you for saving Vera and mine's life during the war and uh...I was curious if you wanted to be my best man. I mean, if you want to." Hunter stared blankly at the phone. He had almost completely forgotten about the war.
"Uhh...sure. Of course." He said with a nod. "It'd be an honor." He said with a chuckle.
"Oh...you guys!" Arabella squealed, grinning from ear to ear. She stretched up a little bit and kissed Hunter's jaw then gasped and looked back at the phone. "Wait..what are the colors?"
"Uhm..colors?" Rory asked her and Arabella could tell that he probably had a confused look on his face.
"The colors for your wedding, silly" Arabella said and Rory cleared his throat.
"Oh, I uh..I don't know yet" Rory admitted and Arabella looked at the phone with a look of shock on her face.
"How am I supposed to help Hunter find a suit if we don't know what colors you're using?" Arabella said and she could practically hear Rory roll his eyes.
"Something never change, do they Arabella?" Rory asked with a little chuckle. "We'll have to catch up when I see you, Hunter. It's been too long"
"No joke. I thought it was a different Rory and Vera when we got the invitation." He said with a laugh. "Speaking of, Vera....Is she there?" He glanced at Arabella who shifted excitedly on the bed. "Can we talk to her?"
"Yeah, I think she's upstairs. Let me see if she can talk." He said before putting the phone away from his ear. Hunter glanced at Arabella and put the phone down on the bed before tackling her and kissing her.
"We've got time. Vera isn't going to want to talk to us. Well, not you, Ms. Meddling Meddler." He said, brushing his lips across her cheek.
Arabella giggled and she put her arms around his neck. "Are you kidding? She loves me. Besides, we all know that Veory would never have happened if it wasn't for my meddling" Arabella teased with a small roll of her eyes. She kissed him tightly, pressing herself closer to him. "It's going to sound really bad if they come back and we're like this" Arabella whispered, placing noisy kisses along his jaw.
"Oh..I do not need to hear this" Vera's voice came out of the phone, sounding a little bit disgusted. Arabella squeaked and she pulled away from Hunter slightly, picking up the phone.
"Hi, Vera!" Arabella said in an excited voice. She wasn't even slightly embarrassed that Vera had heard her kissing Hunter. It didn't bother her at all. "I've been working on your dress and it's going to look amazing. I need you to email me your measurments, though. So I can make it to fit you"
"Oh, uhm..wow. Sure. I didn't think that you would actually want to make a dress for me" Vera said, clearing her throat. ''Thanks, Arabella"
"Oh, it's nothing" Arabella said with a wave of her hand.
"So, uhm, Hunter..how are you doing?" Vera asked.
"I'm fantastic." Hunter said as he sat up. He dragged Arabella onto his lap and put his arms around her waist. "Mostly." He teased Arabella, glancing at his cast. He smiled and kissed her neck. "So, how are you, Vera? Is the wedding all planned and stuff?" He said, trailing his lips down her shoulder.
"I'm...good." She said, a little distracted sounding. "It's all mostly planned except for the dress and there's some flower issues, but- Can you guys not do that while we talk? It bothers me." She asked with a sigh. Hunter laughed and turned Arabella's face.
"I'm going to go downstairs and do something else. You guys talk wedding." He said before kissing Arabella on the lips. "Mmm...I'll be back." He said with a smile. He laughed when he heard Vera groan on the other side of the phone. "Bye, Vera." He said with a chuckle before grabbing the tray and heading downstairs, closing the door behind him.
--------------------
When Hunter walked back into the room, Arabella was just hanging up the phone, a big smile on her face. She flopped back on the bed and stretched out her limbs for a moment before relaxing and curling up on her side. "So, Best Man. What did you want to do for the rest of the day?" She asked him and covered her mouth as she yawned.
"How can you be tired?" Hunter said as he walked over and curled up identically next to her. "You sleep for 19 hours and you're tired. I had a concussion, I slept for 14 and I feel fine." He said with a smile as he put an arm on her side. He sighed and looked into her dark blue eyes. "You don't want to leave bed at all, do you?" He asked with a smile.
Arabella looked up at him with a teasing smile on her lips. She shook her head and laughed a little bit. "Bed is so cozy and warm and comfortable. Besides, I need my beauty sleep, Hunter." She said and she placed her hand on his chest lightly. "I could stay in this bed with you forever" Arabella said softly, looking at her hand on his chest. Her eyes turned to look up at him and she gave him a small smile.
Hunter smiled softly and kissed her forehead. "Mmm...Deal." He said, putting his head down and closing his eyes. "I'll just call everyone else and tell them to leave us alone. Oh, and we'll need a fridge up here. We need our energy if we're going to not do anything all day." He teased with a grin. He slid his hand up and down her side and looked into her eyes.
Arabella laughed and she nodded. "We're going to need a hot plate too. Maybe a toaster" she suggested and she pulled herself closer to him, nuzzling into him gently. She took a deep breath then cleared her throat slightly. "So, are you excited to be the best man?" Arabella asked him in a happy voice. She was excited that Hunter was going to be the best man. It was going to be fun. "I wonder how many people we knew from camp are going to be there"
"I guess, I'm excited. I honestly have no idea what I'm doing, though." He said quietly. "The first wedding I ever went to was Kyle and Marina's." He said with a shrug. He was actually a little nervous. He wasn't sure what the duties of a best man were, but he hoped that he was ready to do it. "I don't have to like...make a speech or something, do I?" He asked quietly.
"Typically, the best man does make a speech" Arabella said and looked up at him. She heard his quiet voice and she saw that he was nervous when she looked into his eyes. Arabella smiled, wanting to comfort him in some sort of way. She kissed him lightly "You'll be fine. You'll probably be more than fine. You'll be amazing. Everything you do is amazing" She told him with a matter-of-fact nod.
Hunter sighed. "Ugh...What did I sign up for?" He said with a chuckle. He looked at her and took a deep breath. "I'm going to need your help though. I don't know how to write a speech. I've never given a speech ever." He said with a chuckle. He leaned forward and kissed her lightly on the lips. "You're smart. You can help me." He said, kissing her again.
"You will be fine. Just..speak from the heart and don't go on and on and on. That's always the worst" Arabella said and she rubbed her cheeks lightly, which were still pink from his compliment about her being smart. Arabella yawned and she tugged on the bottom of her shorts lightly, straightening them out. "We can work on your best man speech during the drive there. We'll have plenty of time alone to talk about it" She said and kissed him.
Hunter smiled and kissed her back."Speaking of the trip," He breathed against her lips. "We should figure out where we're going." He said, sitting up a little. "I don't remember where we left off, was it Cleveland?" He said, handing Arabella her phone. He was excited for the trip, honestly. As happy as he was for Vera and Rory, he was more excited for the trip to their wedding.
"I think. Something like that" Arabella said and she opened her phone to the map. She nodded and she looked over at Hunter. "Since you haven't been on a road trip before..where do you want to go next?" Arabella asked him, holding out the phone. She didn't care where they went, really. She just wanted to be with him. Arabella was already planning out all of the mix CDs that she was going to make and everything that he was going to pack.
"Mmm...Louisville." He said, going to point on the map, but stopping himself, realizing it was a phone. "That's where Kyle is from. I think Kyle and Marina are living in Louisville, currently. Near Louisville. Clarksville, I think. Something like that." He said with a nod. "We have to visit them and see how the married life is going." He said with a chuckle. "And then....Chicago. Will is from Chicago. He says it's the greatest city on planet Earth." He said before sitting on his hands to stop himself from pointing at the map.
"Well, if it's the greatest city on the planet then we'll have to go. But I don't know if I'll agree with Will. I'd say New York is pretty amazing" Arabella said and she looked at him, sitting on his hand and she let out a little laugh. Arabella thought that it was kind of funny how he could do about a million things better than her but he couldn't work out her phone. She looked back at the map. "We should go to St Louis after that. I'd really like to see that city" She said with a nod.
"The arch is there, right?" He asked with a small yawn. "Okay. From there, we'll go to...Kansas City? That looks like the next largest city. Maybe we'll drive through some farms or something." He said with a chuckle. "Oh. Wait. We should see Mt. Rushmore." He said, going to point at the map again with the hand he had freed with his yawn, but stopping and sitting on it again. He sighed when she laughed at him again. "Don't patronize me, woman." He said with a laugh before kissing her on the cheek. "Where next?"
"Mmm...wherever the open road takes us" Arabella teased and she leaned into him, kissing along his jaw lightly. She giggled and looked down at her phone. "Okay, so..from Kansas..we can go to Omaha then Mt. Rushmore" She said, more to herself then anything as she marked them off on her map. She took a breath and looked down again, wondering where they could go next. "After that I say we go to Colorado Springs" She said with a nod.
"Do some skiing." He said with a nod. "So after that, we're halfway there." He said with a nod. He glanced over and smiled at her. He was excited for this trip. "Salt Lake City next. It's the next biggest city. The Olympics were there a few years ago. I'm sure there's something to see there." He watched as she marked it. "And then--And then I'll let you say 'Let's go to Vegas'." He said with a chuckle.
"Let's go to Vegas!" Arabella said with an excited giggle. She let out a sigh and leaned back slightly. "I adore Vegas. So much life and excitment and stip clubs" Arabella laughed at the look on Hunter's face. "Oh, come on. That's what one dollar bills were made for" She teased then checked off all of the new places on her map. "And then from there, we'll go up to San Francisco"
"Perfect." He said, pulling his hands out from under them and clapping them together in the hope of getting the feeling back. He snatched the back of her shirt and pulled her back as he laid back on the bed. Running a few fingers through her hair, he kissed her lightly on the temple. Hunter looked over at her and laughed a little. "Are you as excited as I am about this trip?" He said with a smile.
"You have no idea just how excited I am" Arabella said with a smile and she yawned before curling up to him. "It's going to be amazing" She said softly and nuzzled into him, pulling the blanket up a bit when she shivered. "I have to get some shopping done for it soon, though. I don't want to forget anything important. I also have to remember to pick up a bunch of blank CDs. Maybe we can get some shopping done tomorrow"
"Sounds perfect." He said with a nod. "When do we leave?" He rolled a little and grabbed his calender off of his nightstand. "Huh." He said, furrowing his brow. "It's Halloween in 2 days." He said with a sigh. He never got to do anything for Halloween. It was typically, archery drills or 'time to beat your own record on the rock wall'. "I kind of want to go Trick-or-Treating." He said in barely a whisper, not realizing he had said it out loud.
Arabella gasped, sitting up quickly and taking the calendar from him. She had totally forgotten about Halloween. It was her favorite holiday. Arabella looked down at Hunter and she chewed on her lip. "I forgot all about it! WE don't even have a costume or anything! The house is decorated yet, either" She said, like it was a huge problem. Arabella let out a sigh then looked at him. "We are so going Trick-or-Treating"
"It's a good thing we're going shopping, then." He said, pulling her up against him. He wrapped an arm around her waist and kissed the back of her neck. "We'll get Tyler to help decorate and he can come Trick-or-Treating with us, if he'd like." He said with a nod. He put his chin on her shoulder. "Who should we go as?" He asked quietly. "I've never gone Trick-or-Treating before."
"Tyler would love to come with us. We're going to have the best Halloween ever" Arabella said with a giggled and she turned her head to look at him. She placed her lips against his forehead lightly then sighed. "Mmm..I'm not too sure. We should go as a couple costume but not something too cheesy and over done" She said with a nod. "Maybe we'll see something at the store and it will be perfect"
"Sounds perfect. Nothing too embarrassing." He said, shaking his head. "And I want to be fully-clothed, so no...Tarzan or whoever it is with the loincloth." He said with a chuckle. Hunter put an arm around her and kissed her. His first Halloween was shaping up to be a good one. "The rule doesn't apply to you though." He said with a smile against her lips. "Feel free to dress up in nothing but a loincloth." He said with a laugh as he kissed her again.
Arabella laughed "Oh, I see how it is. I get to dress like a slut and you get to wear something normal. Wonderful" She said with a roll of her eyes. Halloween had been her favorite holiday for as long as Arabella could remember. She loved it all. The costumes, the magic, the excitment. It was fun and she adored it. Arabella had a few Halloweens that she didn't remember all that well, except for the skimpy costumes and lots of shots. She had gotten over that pretty quick, though. "Well, maybe if you're lucky, I'll wear the loincloth when we get home from Trick-or-Treating" She whispered, leaning up to kiss his ear.
"Promises. Promises." He said with a chuckle as he trailed small kisses down her neck and to her shoulder where he slipped the sleeve of her tanktop to the side a little, letting his lips have more room. "Who knows? You put on plenty of sexy outfits for me. Maybe I'll put on the loincloth at the end of the night." He said, pulling away from her a little. "Would you be okay with that?" He asked with a smile before going back to kissing her shoulder.
Arabella shivered as he kissed her shoulder, goose bumps appearing on every inch of skin. Her eyes closed and she leaned into him slightly. "That would be so perfect" She said softly and she bit her lip. Her hands found his thigh and she rested them their, lightly squeezing the muscle. "You in a loincloth sounds amazing" Arabella whispered and she smiled at the mental image she got. "Maybe I should make you wear when we go Trick-or-Treating"
"No. Not allowed." He said with a smile as he pulled her down on top of him. He reflexively put his hands on her sides, but wincing a little due to the movement in his left arm. He wasn't sure what made it hurt, but something that he had just done made it ache a little. "I'm okay." He said, sensing her hesitation. He extended his arm off to the side a little as he put his hand on her back, pulling her down toward him.
Arabella looked up at him with big eyes. "Are you sure that you're okay, Hunter?" she whispered. Part of her wanted him to tell her that he wasn't so that she knew that he was telling the truth and he wouldn't hurt him anymore. The other part wanted him to say that he wasn't so that she could continue doing what he was doing because she did not want to leave his arms. She buried her face into his neck, kissing and nibbling the skin there.
"It hurts, but I'll just be sure not to do whatever I did again." He whispered as he pressed his lips to her shoulder again. "My ribs are fine though. Just don't...sit on them or stand on them or anything." He said with a chuckle, walking his fingers down her spine until he found the hem of her shirt. He slid his hand underneath and ran his hand up and down her spine. She sat up a little and shivered, allowing Hunter to kiss her lips again.
Arabella closed her eyes, melting into Hunter. Her whole body felt alive. Like she could pin point every single nerve. Arabella wanted to stay with Hunter forever. Feeling his hands on her body. It was like he was touching her soul, her heart. She leaned into the kiss, putting more into it. She squeezed his thigh a little bit tighter and her heart started to race. "Je t'aime" Arabella breathed, moving her lips to his ear.
Hunter looked up at her and smiled. "Je t'aime aussi, magnifique." He said quietly, pressing his lips to hers again. They had stuff to do tomorrow. They had stuff to do the next day. There was always going to be something to do, but right now, all Hunter wanted to do was be with her. "De plus en plus à chaque instant qui passe." He added in almost a whisper.