Hunter adjusted on the bed slightly. He took a deep breath and immediately woke up at the tickling feeling against his upper lip. He sat up and rubbed his nose ferociously. He sneezed once and rubbed his nose again. He finally looked at Arabella, having finally regained control of his facial reflexes. He smiled at her, still feeling the glow from the previous night. "Mmmm....Good morning, beautiful." He said, stretching a little. He adjusted his boxers and shifted down next to her, turning his attention to the TV. He leaned over and placed several happily noisy kisses on her cheek before letting out a sigh and turning his attention forward. "We should really find a place for this." He said after a moment.
"Mmm...later" Arabella said softly, taking a sip of her coffee. She looked up at him and the smile on her face got wider. She leaned towards Hunter, placing a kiss on his jaw "And how did you sleep, handsome?" she murmured, putting down her cup of coffee and stretching out her bare legs. Arabella didn't know how her life with Hunter was going to play out or even what that day held but she was going to be happy either way. She was with Hunter and nothing could possibly hurt her because of that.
"Sleep." He said with a chuckle and a scoff. Arabella playfully smacked his leg and giggled. Hunter put an arm around her and kissed her temple. "Never slept better." He said with a smile. He leaned his head on hers and turned his attention to the TV. At that moment, he had no care in the world. He was with the woman he loved and that title wasn't going to change anytime soon. He looked at her out of the corner of his eye as she chewed on her lip. He smiled at her habit and turned her face toward his. "No need to bite that. I'll keep it busy." He said with a smile before pressing his lips to hers.
Arabella smiled against his lips and she felt her body relax at his touch. Was it even possible to be this happy? Was it allowed for someone to be this happy? Arabella leaned into him slightly and kissed him, putting all of her love into the kiss. It was a perfect morning so far. Her stomach rumbled lightly and she giggled against his lips "What do you want to do for breakfast this morning? I was thinking that I could buy us something to eat?" she said softly with a smile "Brunch, maybe?"
"Brunch sounds lovely." He said, kissing her again. He could feel his heartbeat with every kiss, a rhythm to each embrace. "Speaking of things that are lovely, I could get used to you wearing my shirt. You wear them better than I do." He said with a wink before lightly running a few fingers up and down her bare legs.
"Well, this works out perfectly, because I could get used to you not wearing a shirt" Arabella teased in a soft voice and she shivered as his fingers danced up her legs. It was something that she adored. Arabella leaned over to kiss him again but before she could, she yawned and rolled over so that she could stretch out her arms and her legs and she wouldn't hit Hunter. She relaxed her body and looked up at him with content eyes "I was thinking that I want to go by my old apartment today, to see if there's any mail for me that I didn't get" she said with a nod.
"Okay." He said with a contagious yawn. He laughed quietly and looked at her for a moment before tackling her and peppering her lips with kisses. He finally stopped and looked down at her. She was so beautiful. Hunter wondered for a moment how he had come to fall so far in love with someone so beautiful. He had always imagined falling for someone who was all brains. He had never imagined to find someone as smart and beautiful as Arabella. "You're too good for me, you know." He said with a smile as he kissed her lightly on the lips and kissed his way to her neck.
"No, I'm not" Arabella said softly, blushing lightly and placing her hands on his back. Hunter's compliments always seemed to mean more to her. She could hear that she was pretty from a million guys but as soon as Hunter said it, it meant something. His words were special. Hearing him tell her that she was too good for him was something straight out of the dreams she used to have at camp. Arabella pulled his face up to her and she kissed him tightly "Thanks for everything, by the way" she whispered "Last night with my dad, last night with you, everything else you've done for me...thanks"
Hunter breathed in her smell. He basked in the feeling of her closeness. "My pleasure." He said with a smile. He kissed her lightly on the lips a few times before chuckling to himself. "Our pleasure actually." He said with a grin as he pushed himself off the ground and grabbing Arabella's hand. He pulled her up and immediately put his lips to hers in one tender kiss. "You take a shower. I'll get the second one." He said with a smile against her skin. "We could always save water though." He said with a raised eyebrow.
Arabella laughed and she leaned into him, kissing his chin "I don't know how much showering I would get done if you were there. I would probably just jump your bones" she teased and snaked her arms around his neck "It's just so hard to resist someone as sexy as you" she breathed in a seductive voice, running her fingers down his chest and towards the elastic on his boxer shorts.
Hunter smiled and and closed his eyes as his skin tingled against her touch. "Well then we're in agreement." He said with a smile, running his hands down her back and below the hem of his shirt on Arabella. "Let's hit the shower. Then we'll shower. Then we'll go to brunch. Then we'll go to your apartment." He said with a smirk as he pulled her closer. "Sounds like a full day."
"Sounds like a wonderful day" Arabella said and she kissed him once. A teasing, lingering kiss that lasted for a few moments. She pulled away and gave him a wink before turning around and running up the stairs, giggling. Something that she loved about her relationship with Hunter was the fact that they could have a moment like this or the previous night and still have awkward moments that felt innocent and adorable. Hunter made her stomach flutter and her heart race. It was the best feeling in the world.
Hunter laughed for a moment before hurdling the couch and running after her. He caught up to her at the top of the stairs and wrapped his arms around her waist. He placed small kisses on her neck before setting her down and taking her hand. He pulled her in for another soft kiss on the lips. "I'm not sure if I've said this enough, but I love you." He said quietly, placing a long kiss on the back of her hand.
Arabella looked at him as he kissed her hand and she blushed, turning a bright pink color. She felt like she was in some romantic movie from the 50's when he did something like that. It was romantic and special and just so wonderful. "I love you more" Arabella said with a small smile. Part of her was worried about the future. No one ever got everything they wanted, right? Something wrong always happened. Nothing ended up perfectly. She was so happy and blissful with Hunter, it made her worried that the universe was going to ruin it somehow, destroy what she had. Arabella pushed that thought to the back of her mind and she leaned towards him slightly to kiss his lips lightly and innocently.
Hunter looked at her and all of his ideas about how the day was going to go went right out the window. He looked into her bright blue eyes and smiled. He swept her into his arms and walked into the bedroom where he set her softly down on the bed. He leaned down and kissed her tightly on the lips. He broke away and looked at her. "I love you most." He said quietly before kissing her again.
-------
She sat in the passenger side seat with her bare feet pulled up onto the seat. Arabella was wearing skinny jeans that day because it was a little bit colder out than it had been in a while but she still was wearing sandals, which were now on the floor, under her seat. Arabella let out a yawn and she stretched her arms before turning her head to look at Hunter. She smiled softly and reached an arm over to rub at the nape of his neck lightly "You got me all tired out again, mister" she teased.
Hunter looked over at her and chuckled. "Why do you think I'm driving?" He said with a smile as he looked at the road again. "Oh. Wait. No, I'm driving because I'm the better driver." He said with a nod. He smirked over at her. "You're just tired." He said with a wink. Hunter turned left into the parking of Arabella's old apartment building and parked. "Alright. Here we are." He said, shutting off the car. "Do I need to carry you?" He teased.
"I don't know. You might have to" Arabella said with a wink but she pulled on her shoes. She leaned over to him and kissed him once before sliding out of the car and walking into the apartment. "Hello, Brad!" She said in a sunny voice to the doorman that was working that day. Brad nodded at her with a polite smile.
"Good afternoon, Ms. Foster" Brad said. He was older than Tom, much older. Arabella guessed that he was in his mid-forites, maybe.
"I was just coming by to see if there was any mail for me?" Arabella asked. She had already given her keys back but she was told that if there was any mail for her, it would be held for her. Brad nodded and reached into his pocket to pull out a small envelope with her name written in neat letters. "Thank you, Brad! Have a good day!" she called back to him as she skipped out to the car and slid back into her seat. Without saying anything to Hunter, she ripped open the envelope excitedly. "You are cordially invited to celebrate the wedding of Vera Lorry and Rory Mitchell" she read then looked over at Hunter with a shocked look on her face, not really sure what to say. She was a little speechless.
The words that Arabella read didn't sink in until he was already backing out. When they finally did, he slammed on the brakes in surprise. "Wait." He said, throwing his car into park. "Let me see." He slid over and turned his head to look at the ornately decorated wedding invitation. "You...cordially...to celebrate...Vera Lorry and Rory Mitchell." Hunter muttered. He blinked a few times. "Must be a different Rory and Vera." He said, shaking his head. "They can't be getting married. You or I weren't there to tease them into a relationship." He said with a chuckle as he scooted back over. He pushed the car into reverse again and backed out. A moment later they were on the road again.
Arabella hoenstly didn't know what to say. She only knew one Vera and one Rory. Arabella looked into the envelope again and took out a little slip of paper that she didn't see at first. "Arabella, I heard that you and Hunter are together now! Rory found out from Brian, who seemed to be kind of bitter about it. I'm glad that you're not with him anymore. I don't really know how to contact Hunter, since no one seems to know where he lives. So I thought that I would invite him at the same time I invited you. We want him to be here. Also, I saw that you had done a few wedding dresses for Vogue last year. I've been having trouble finding a dress and I would really like your help" Arabella read off of the note "Signed, Vera. There's also a phone number and a note telling me to tell you to call it" she said, looking over at Hunter.
Hunter had kind of forgotten that he was off the grid for such a long time. His place of residence was Camp Half-Blood. "I need to call it?" He asked with a raised eyebrow. He took the phone number from Arabella and glanced at it. "Huh." He said as he slipped it into his pocket. "I'll call it when we get back to the house. So, Vera wants you to do her wedding dress." He said with a chuckle. "We should make sure it's not a trick to just fireball us or something."
"It could be a trick" Arabella said, looking down at the invite again. "Oh..I can't wait to see them and say 'I told you so'. I knew that this was going to happen" she said and put the invite into her purse. She used to tease Vera and Rory all the time at camp, trying to set them up. They were perfect for each other and everyone saw it except for them. It was starting to sink in at this point and the excitement was making her giddy. A wide smile crept onto her face and she looked at Hunter. "I get to do a wedding dress!!" she said happily. Wedding dresses were always difficult but so much fun to do.
Hunter smiled and kept driving. He couldn't believe that Rory an Vera were getting married. Vera had almost set Hunter on fire on more than one occasion. Rory was more open to discussion and Hunter had actually become pretty good friends with him by the end of each others time at camp. "I'm sure it's going to look amazing, Ellie." He said with a wink. Arabella started to go into detail about the dress and oddly enough, Hunter zoned most of it out. In a few moments they were turning onto the street where the house was.
Arabella sighed and looked out of the window. Her mind was racing with all kinds if ideas and things for the dress. It was exciting and she was looking forward to making the dress. Not only that, but she was looking forward to seeing Vera and Rory again. She had interesting relationships with both of them and she often got on their nerves but she cared about them a lot. Arabella always admired Vera's bright red hair, it was so unique and special. But then her heart dropped into her stomach and she remembered her dream from the other night. They had been at a wedding and the bride had bright red hair. It couldn't have been Vera's wedding, could it? Arabella took a breath and stretched when Hunter stopped the car, trying not to look to nervous about anything.
"What's wrong?" Hunter asked with a small smile. He knew enough of Arabella's habits to be able to tell when she was nervous about something. Even when she was making an active effort to hide it. Hunter got out of the car and opened the door for Arabella. Just for fun, he picked her up over his shoulder and closed the door with his foot. At her request, he slid her down so that he was carrying her like a princess. She put her arms around her neck and smiled at him before answering his question.
Arabella smiled softly up at him, kind of nervous about telling him. She didn't want him to worry too. But she also knew that if Hunter kenw what she was thinking, he might be able to help her. He might be able to calm her down. With a sigh, Arabella shrugged lightly. "Remember the dream I had the other day? The demigod dream?" she asked and Hunter nodded. "I remembered that I saw the bride in my dream. I never saw her face or anything but I could see her hair. It was the same color as Vera's. What if it was Vera and Rory's wedding? What if something happens when we're there?"
Hunter sighed. "Well," He said, pulling her a little bit closer. "That's the risk of being a demigod, right? There's a chance that while we're standing here that a hellhound will jump out and attack us." He said quickly. "I want you to know, though, that I will be with you the entire time. I won't let anything happen to you or anyone else, okay?" He finally started walking toward the door with her in his arms. "And besides, can you imagine how much of a bridezilla Vera is going to be? She might just kill it with her bare hands out of revenge for interrupting her wedding." He said with a chuckle. He hoped that his words had calmed Arabella down a little bit. When he finally reached the door, he looked at his current situation. Am I about to carry a girl across the threshold of a new home? He thought to himself before blushing and setting her down. "That's far enough." He said quietly, rubbing the back of his neck in embarrassment.
Arabella looked up at him with a confused look on her face. She didn't understand why he was acting so embarrassed. But then she realized why he had put her down and she blushed deeply. Arabella tugged at the hem of her shirt before walking into the house and tow iards the kitchen to get herself another cup of coffee. She cleared her throat and looked back at Hunter, trying to focus on what he had said to her about her dream "Vera is going to be fierce" she said with a soft giggle "Thanks, Hunter. You always know the right things to say" she added with a smile.
Hunter tried to force his red cheeks away, but they still lingered. He walked into the kitchen and put a hand on her side before kissing her lightly on the forehead. "No problem." He said with a smile. "I guess, we should book our flights or something, right? I don't even begin to know how to do that, so I'll let you do it." He said, pulling her closer. He was worried a little. They had gone to one wedding already. They'll be going to another one soon. He knew what he wanted, but what Arabella wanted was still a mystery to him. He needed to figure that out. "Hey, what if we drove?" He asked, brushing the hair out of her face and cradling her cheek. "We would be driving for hours and hours all the way across the country. We would be living on mediocre food and listening to music that will get old after a day or two. We'll be sleeping in the car"
Arabella looked up at him and she smiled softly, slipping her arms around his neck. She leaned towards him, kissing him lightly "I think that it sounds perfect" she said softly and smiled against his lips. The idea of driving from New York to California sounded amazing to her. Road trips were always fun but a road trip with Hunter would be amazing. Arabella let her hands drop to his sides. "I'm going to have to make a few mix CDs then. Ou! I get to go shopping too!" she said excitedly and pulled herself closer to him.
Hunter smiled. "Yeah, I need a suit, too, so you'll have to buy me one." He said with a chuckle. He sighed and pulled her close. "We should watch a movie tonight." He said with a smile. She looked up at him and nodded. "Perfect. I'll make some sort of food. You decide what movie." He kissed her forehead quickly. "And...Break!" He said with a chuckle, walking into the kitchen. He looked in the cabinets and pulled out some candy coating, pretzels, M&Ms, cheerios, and peanuts. He melted the candy coating and poured it over the mixed up other ingredients. He stirred it up, making sure each piece was thoroughly coated. He spread it out on a piece of wax paper, so that it could dry and walked over to Arabella where she had surrounded herself with movies. "45 minutes and we'll be good." He said before sitting down next to her.
"It'll take me about 45 minutes to pick a movie" Arabella said with a sigh, looking at all of the DVDs that she had spread around. Arabella started to love movies after she left Camp Half Blood. Most of her time was spent alone if she wasn't working and movies had become an amazing escape for her. She had managed to collect well over 200 movies. "I'm thinking we should watch some classic John Hughes" Arabella finally decided and pulled out the Breakfast Club, Sixteen Candles and Pretty in Pink. "Have you ever had the pleasure of watching one of these" Arabella asked Hunter with a giggle as she slipped The Breakfast Club into the DVD player and pressing play.
Hunter sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "That's a pretty dumb question." He said with a nod. "I have no idea what happened the first 4 years of my life, 14 years after that I was at camp, and then I was homeless until...2 months ago. So, in all that time I've seen Breakfast at Tiffany's which was the first movie I watched with you." He said. "That was the same night that we kissed for the first time." He said, blushing a little.
Arabella looked back at Hunter and she smiled a little, remembering that night perfectly. Her lips seemed to tingle with the memory. What they had at this point had happened all of fast. It was a whirlwind but Arabella had no doubt that it was real. Her and Hunter had something special. She could feel it. Arabella had been wishing for Hunter for so long that once something actually did happen, it was a long time coming. She moved back to sit beside him again and she leaned into him, placing a kiss on his jaw. "One of the best nights, ever" she said softly, placing a hand on his chest.
"Absolutely." He said, putting an arm around her. He kissed her temple and wrapped a blanket around their legs. He ran his fingers through her hair and looked at her. The way she felt so small against his body. The way she lightly tapped her fingers on his chest. They were all little habits of hers. They were all things that he loved. He kissed her temple again before hearing a buzzer from the kitchen. "Oh. It's ready." He said, standing up and rushing to the kitchen. He broke up the crunch on the wax paper and put it in a tupperware container, before hurrying back. He handed Arabella the bowl and cuddled up next to her again. "What did I miss?" He asked, taking her hand.
"Not too much" Arabella said with a shrug and she turned away from the TV to look at the bowl that Hunter had handed to her. Her jaw dropped and she looked up at him with and amazed look on her face. "You are seriously the best thing that has ever happened to me" she said before taking a bite of the mix and stetching out her legs. "Mmm..this is perfect, Hunter" she told him and looked up at him again with a fond smile. "I don't know what I would do without you"
"Oh, please." He said with a scoff. "You'd be fine." He took a bite of the mix and turned his attention to the TV. "Except for the high cholesterol and blood pressure from all the takeout." He teased. She scoffed and smacked his leg. Hunter laughed and put his leg on top of hers. She responded by putting her leg on top of his. After a flurry of leg movement and laughing, their legs were a tangle among the blanket. He wiggled the blanket out of the mess and spread it over them as the movie played. He took another bite of the mix before putting an arm around her and his head on hers.
Arabella giggled and she relaxed into Hunter. Sitting with him like this was comfortable and easy. She took a couple bites of the mix, watching the movie. "I can't wait to start driving with you. Road trips are the best thing in the entire world" she said and smiled up at him for a moment before turning back to the movie. "When you grow up, your heart dies" She quoted under her breath when the line came up in the movie. Arabella had seen this movie so many times, she could probably quote the whole thing. She didn't even realize that she had said it out loud.
Hunter smiled and looked at her as she quoted the movie under her breath. He ran his thumb across the back of her hand. He smiled as she kept on quoting and finally, he reached over, grabbing the remote. After looking for the right button, he paused it and looked at her. "What's the next line?" He asked with a smile. "I want you to recite the rest of the movie. Go ahead." He said, handing her the remote again.
Arabella looked up at Hunter with a smirk and she took the remote. Quickly, she recited the next few lines of the movie then hit play. She had been perfectly right. Arabella grinned up at Hunter then laughed and rolled her eyes "Oh gods, I am so pathetic" she said and adjusted herself so that she was lying down with her head in Hunter's lap. "Hunter? Do you ever worry that things are going too perfectly between us? I mean..no one ever gets everything they want, right?" she said softly
Hunter sighed and looked down at her as he ran his fingers through her hair. "Is there such a thing as too perfect?" He asked quietly. "I think that things between us are going perfectly." He turned her face toward his and looked into her eyes. "With everything that it took for us to get here, I think we're making up for lost time." He said with a small smile. Something struck him. "Are you...Are you not happy about how things are going? Are you looking for something wrong?" He asked a little worried about the answer.
Arabella shook her head and took a little breath. Her stomach knotted up a little bit, just from the seriousness of the question and the topic that she had brought up. It wasn't exactly light and funy. Arabella held onto his hand and she let her breath out in a little sigh. Playing with his fingers lightly, she shrugged. "It's just...everytime something good has happened to me, everytime I was really happy...something messed it up. Something went wrong. I guess I'm afraid that something is going to go wrong with us. Like there's some force in the universe that's going to see how happy I am and they're going to be all 'girl, please' and ruin it" she confessed.
Hunter squeezed her hand. "Things are different. Danny is in charge of your company. Chad and Brian and all those other douchebag exes are never going to bother you again. You're not living in that apartment anymore." He explained quietly. He sighed and looked at her again. "You're with me, now." He said with a nod. He felt...a little sad. The idea of something going wrong worried him. If something went wrong and this relationship no longer existed...Hunter didn't know what he would do. He looked away from her and closed his eyes. He felt a little hurt. She had grouped him in with all of her other boyfriends. Hunter was hoping that she would recognize how different Hunter was than all of the other guys she's dated. He took a deep breath. "I'm trying to focus on all of the good things. Not on all of the things that could go wrong. Not on the past track record." He said quietly. He suddenly felt tired. Not exhausted tired, just tired. "I'm actually going to go to bed." He said with a sigh. He stood up from the ground. "Good night, Ellie." He said with a wave before climbing the stairs and walking into the bedroom. He changed into a pair of pajama pants and got into bed, not bothering to use the blankets.
Arabella watched him walk away and she sighed, pulling her knees up to her chest. Was it her? Was she the reason that relationships never worked for her and people always left? Arabella turned off the movie and she looked out of the window. She sat in the silence for a little while, trying not to think too much. With a small sigh, Arabella pushed herself up and cleaned up the living room, hoping that it would take her mind off of the last conversation that she had with Hunter. She knew that this wouldn't ruin their relationship or cause a huge fight but she still didn't like that Hunter had gone off to bed like that. Arabella walked up the stairs and peeked into the bedroom. It looked like Hunter was asleep so she tip toed to the closet, grabbed her pajama shorts and a tank top then walked back out. She slipped into the bathroom and quickly changed her clothes. As she washed all of the make up off of her face, she thought over the conversation again, trying to figure out what went wrong exactly. Once her face was clean, her hair was brushed and she had put her lotion on, Arabella snuck back into the bedroom and lightly sat down on the bed, looking down at Hunter "Are you still awake?" she whispered.
"Yeah." He said after a moment. He rolled onto his back and took a deep breath before lacing his fingers together and putting them behind his head. He looked over at her as she nodded solemnly and got into bed. They both stayed silent for a few minutes. It seemed like a long time, yet Hunter couldn't sleep. He felt like he wanted to sleep, but his body wasn't letting him. He finally glanced over at Arabella. He took a deep breath and cleared his throat slightly. "I'm different." He said quietly. She rolled and looked at him. "I'm different. From all of your other boyfriends." As he spoke, he didn't look at her. He just stared up at the ceiling. He didn't want to see her face. Seeing her face would be his reward for getting this off his chest.
Arabella looked over at him when he spoke. This is what was wrong? Did he have an issue with her old boyfriends? Arabella turned over so that she was laying on her stomach with her arms tucked under her. She tilted her head so that she could look at him and she bit her lip, out of nerves. What was wrong? What did she say wrong, this time? "Hunter..if..if this is about my past, I'm really sorry" she said softly, trying to figure out what was on his mind.
Hunter kept staring at the ceiling, but shook his head. "I don't care about your past." He said with a sigh. "You deal with my past, the least I can do is deal with yours. Every tool boyfriend and every mistake. I don't care." He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "The question is though: Do you care? I'm proud of my past. There are things that I regret, of course, but I've come to terms with that. I don't linger on it." He said, keeping his eyes closed. "You said that every time you were happy, something has gone wrong. It's like you're keeping a tally." He said with a shrug. "I'm just saying that you shouldn't bring that with you. Everyone has their battle scars. In our case, physically and emotionally, but my point is that when you have baggage that you don't want anymore don't keep carrying it." He resisted the urge to look at her. "You need to let it go. Assume that things are going to continue going well. You're not with Brian or Chad anymore. You're with me. I'm not in it for sex. I'm not in it because you're pretty. I'm in it because I love you more than anything on the planet." He said with a sigh.
Arabella turned her eyes down, her cheeks turning slightly pink. Her stomach was still twisted in knots and she just wanted it to go away. She almost wished that she had never said anything at all. Arabella wasn't sure how to respond to Hunter. She felt pretty bad about doing everything that he had said. There was no point in trying to deny it, really. Arabella carried her baggage around with her because she didn't know how to let go of it. She was fantastic at pretending that she wasn't carrying it with her but she was terrible at actually letting go of it. "I know. I know you're different" Arabella said in a small voice and looked up at him. She saw that his eyes were closed and she pulled herself closer to him, resting her chin by his shoulder. With a gentle hand, she turned his head to look at her "Look at me, please" she whispered.
"No." He said, shaking his head. "Not yet." He kept his eyes closed as he felt her warm breath on his face. "Ellie, I'm not expecting you to change your life, right now. I know that letting go of everything was hard when you had Chad constantly bothering you, but Ellie? He's never going to bother you again." He said with a nod. He took a deep breath and resisted again to open his eyes. "All I want to do is make you happy, and when you're in constant fear that something is going to go wrong, that means I'm failing. I'm not making you happy." He said, clearing his throat. "If you can't just let it go--Leave your checkered past behind--then let me help carry the weight. I'm here for you, no matter what. You're my best friend, Ellie. Let me help you."
"You already help me, Hunter" Arabella told him softly and she slipped an arm across his middle. "You make me so happy and you help me more than I could even begin to explain. Logically, I know that nothing is going to happen to us. I know that you're not going to hurt me and that you're going to be here for me. But I've been hurt so much, Hunter and I started expecting people to hurt me. It's difficult to just...let that go" Arabella told him and she took a shaky breath, wishing that he would look at her. She closed her eyes and chewed on her lip, just wanting everything to be okay with them. "I'm sorry" she breathed.
"Don't be sorry." He said quietly. He moved his hand and put it on top of hers. "I'm never going to hurt you. Ever. Never ever never ever never ever ever never ever." He said, shaking his head. "I promise you that I'm never going to hurt you." He turned his head to face her, but kept his eyes closed. "To hurt something as beautiful as you should be punishable by death." He said, running his nails lightly down her fingers. "I want to show you that you can trust people again. Trust me. Trust Danny. Trust Tom. Trust Will or Penny. They will never hurt you." He said, putting his forehead against hers. He slowly opened his eyes and smiled at her. "If they do, then I'll kill them, so it's no big deal."
Arabella looked up into his eyes and she let out a soft sigh, a small smile appearing on her lips. She took a few breaths, happy that he was looking at her again. Arabella nodded softly and she snuggled up to his side. "I trust you, Hunter. And I love you" she whispered. Hearing his voice and feeling his arms around her made her feel so much more sure of their relationship and the decisions that she had made. Arabella trusted Hunter and she knew that he would never hurt her. She loved him and that wasn't going to change. The only thing she could do was hope that this would never change.
Hunter wrapped his arms around her. She pulled in closer and Hunter kissed her forehead. "I love you too, Ellie." He whispered back before putting his head down on the pillow just to look at her. "You are pretty, by the way. Really pretty." He smiled at her and kissed her on the nose. "And even though I'm not in it for the sex..." He said with a chuckle. Hunter could feel his eyelids getting heavy as he looked at her with his arms around her. "Good night, Ellie." He said, letting his eyes finally close into a light sleep.
Hunter sighed and looked down at her as he ran his fingers through her hair. "Is there such a thing as too perfect?" He asked quietly. "I think that things between us are going perfectly." He turned her face toward his and looked into her eyes. "With everything that it took for us to get here, I think we're making up for lost time." He said with a small smile. Something struck him. "Are you...Are you not happy about how things are going? Are you looking for something wrong?" He asked a little worried about the answer.
Arabella shook her head and took a little breath. Her stomach knotted up a little bit, just from the seriousness of the question and the topic that she had brought up. It wasn't exactly light and funy. Arabella held onto his hand and she let her breath out in a little sigh. Playing with his fingers lightly, she shrugged. "It's just...everytime something good has happened to me, everytime I was really happy...something messed it up. Something went wrong. I guess I'm afraid that something is going to go wrong with us. Like there's some force in the universe that's going to see how happy I am and they're going to be all 'girl, please' and ruin it" she confessed.
Hunter squeezed her hand. "Things are different. Danny is in charge of your company. Chad and Brian and all those other douchebag exes are never going to bother you again. You're not living in that apartment anymore." He explained quietly. He sighed and looked at her again. "You're with me, now." He said with a nod. He felt...a little sad. The idea of something going wrong worried him. If something went wrong and this relationship no longer existed...Hunter didn't know what he would do. He looked away from her and closed his eyes. He felt a little hurt. She had grouped him in with all of her other boyfriends. Hunter was hoping that she would recognize how different Hunter was than all of the other guys she's dated. He took a deep breath. "I'm trying to focus on all of the good things. Not on all of the things that could go wrong. Not on the past track record." He said quietly. He suddenly felt tired. Not exhausted tired, just tired. "I'm actually going to go to bed." He said with a sigh. He stood up from the ground. "Good night, Ellie." He said with a wave before climbing the stairs and walking into the bedroom. He changed into a pair of pajama pants and got into bed, not bothering to use the blankets.
Arabella watched him walk away and she sighed, pulling her knees up to her chest. Was it her? Was she the reason that relationships never worked for her and people always left? Arabella turned off the movie and she looked out of the window. She sat in the silence for a little while, trying not to think too much. With a small sigh, Arabella pushed herself up and cleaned up the living room, hoping that it would take her mind off of the last conversation that she had with Hunter. She knew that this wouldn't ruin their relationship or cause a huge fight but she still didn't like that Hunter had gone off to bed like that. Arabella walked up the stairs and peeked into the bedroom. It looked like Hunter was asleep so she tip toed to the closet, grabbed her pajama shorts and a tank top then walked back out. She slipped into the bathroom and quickly changed her clothes. As she washed all of the make up off of her face, she thought over the conversation again, trying to figure out what went wrong exactly. Once her face was clean, her hair was brushed and she had put her lotion on, Arabella snuck back into the bedroom and lightly sat down on the bed, looking down at Hunter "Are you still awake?" she whispered.
"Yeah." He said after a moment. He rolled onto his back and took a deep breath before lacing his fingers together and putting them behind his head. He looked over at her as she nodded solemnly and got into bed. They both stayed silent for a few minutes. It seemed like a long time, yet Hunter couldn't sleep. He felt like he wanted to sleep, but his body wasn't letting him. He finally glanced over at Arabella. He took a deep breath and cleared his throat slightly. "I'm different." He said quietly. She rolled and looked at him. "I'm different. From all of your other boyfriends." As he spoke, he didn't look at her. He just stared up at the ceiling. He didn't want to see her face. Seeing her face would be his reward for getting this off his chest.
Arabella looked over at him when he spoke. This is what was wrong? Did he have an issue with her old boyfriends? Arabella turned over so that she was laying on her stomach with her arms tucked under her. She tilted her head so that she could look at him and she bit her lip, out of nerves. What was wrong? What did she say wrong, this time? "Hunter..if..if this is about my past, I'm really sorry" she said softly, trying to figure out what was on his mind.
Hunter kept staring at the ceiling, but shook his head. "I don't care about your past." He said with a sigh. "You deal with my past, the least I can do is deal with yours. Every tool boyfriend and every mistake. I don't care." He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "The question is though: Do you care? I'm proud of my past. There are things that I regret, of course, but I've come to terms with that. I don't linger on it." He said, keeping his eyes closed. "You said that every time you were happy, something has gone wrong. It's like you're keeping a tally." He said with a shrug. "I'm just saying that you shouldn't bring that with you. Everyone has their battle scars. In our case, physically and emotionally, but my point is that when you have baggage that you don't want anymore don't keep carrying it." He resisted the urge to look at her. "You need to let it go. Assume that things are going to continue going well. You're not with Brian or Chad anymore. You're with me. I'm not in it for sex. I'm not in it because you're pretty. I'm in it because I love you more than anything on the planet." He said with a sigh.
Arabella turned her eyes down, her cheeks turning slightly pink. Her stomach was still twisted in knots and she just wanted it to go away. She almost wished that she had never said anything at all. Arabella wasn't sure how to respond to Hunter. She felt pretty bad about doing everything that he had said. There was no point in trying to deny it, really. Arabella carried her baggage around with her because she didn't know how to let go of it. She was fantastic at pretending that she wasn't carrying it with her but she was terrible at actually letting go of it. "I know. I know you're different" Arabella said in a small voice and looked up at him. She saw that his eyes were closed and she pulled herself closer to him, resting her chin by his shoulder. With a gentle hand, she turned his head to look at her "Look at me, please" she whispered.
"No." He said, shaking his head. "Not yet." He kept his eyes closed as he felt her warm breath on his face. "Ellie, I'm not expecting you to change your life, right now. I know that letting go of everything was hard when you had Chad constantly bothering you, but Ellie? He's never going to bother you again." He said with a nod. He took a deep breath and resisted again to open his eyes. "All I want to do is make you happy, and when you're in constant fear that something is going to go wrong, that means I'm failing. I'm not making you happy." He said, clearing his throat. "If you can't just let it go--Leave your checkered past behind--then let me help carry the weight. I'm here for you, no matter what. You're my best friend, Ellie. Let me help you."
"You already help me, Hunter" Arabella told him softly and she slipped an arm across his middle. "You make me so happy and you help me more than I could even begin to explain. Logically, I know that nothing is going to happen to us. I know that you're not going to hurt me and that you're going to be here for me. But I've been hurt so much, Hunter and I started expecting people to hurt me. It's difficult to just...let that go" Arabella told him and she took a shaky breath, wishing that he would look at her. She closed her eyes and chewed on her lip, just wanting everything to be okay with them. "I'm sorry" she breathed.
"Don't be sorry." He said quietly. He moved his hand and put it on top of hers. "I'm never going to hurt you. Ever. Never ever never ever never ever ever never ever." He said, shaking his head. "I promise you that I'm never going to hurt you." He turned his head to face her, but kept his eyes closed. "To hurt something as beautiful as you should be punishable by death." He said, running his nails lightly down her fingers. "I want to show you that you can trust people again. Trust me. Trust Danny. Trust Tom. Trust Will or Penny. They will never hurt you." He said, putting his forehead against hers. He slowly opened his eyes and smiled at her. "If they do, then I'll kill them, so it's no big deal."
Arabella looked up into his eyes and she let out a soft sigh, a small smile appearing on her lips. She took a few breaths, happy that he was looking at her again. Arabella nodded softly and she snuggled up to his side. "I trust you, Hunter. And I love you" she whispered. Hearing his voice and feeling his arms around her made her feel so much more sure of their relationship and the decisions that she had made. Arabella trusted Hunter and she knew that he would never hurt her. She loved him and that wasn't going to change. The only thing she could do was hope that this would never change.
Hunter wrapped his arms around her. She pulled in closer and Hunter kissed her forehead. "I love you too, Ellie." He whispered back before putting his head down on the pillow just to look at her. "You are pretty, by the way. Really pretty." He smiled at her and kissed her on the nose. "And even though I'm not in it for the sex..." He said with a chuckle. Hunter could feel his eyelids getting heavy as he looked at her with his arms around her. "Good night, Ellie." He said, letting his eyes finally close into a light sleep.