“He didn’t do itjustfor me. He realized they weren’t right for each other.”
Lizzy sighed again. “I’ve also never had a guy get into a bar fight for me.”
I shook my head. “Charlie was pissed. He kicked Hunter out, and threatened to fire me if I brought in anyone like that again.”
Lizzy continued wistfully. “He defended your honor. Against that creep Ralph. That’sso hot.”
I rolled my eyes, but she was right. Itwashot, regardless of the fallout it caused at work. Deep down, sometimes you wanted a guy to throw fists for you.
When I got off work that night and went home, I found Hunter and Brad watching the Indians game on TV. Brad was in the recliner and Hunter was on the couch, with a big bowl of popcorn in his lap.
“Mind sharing?” I asked, sinking into the cushions next to him. I didn’t want any popcorn, but Ididwant an excuse to sit closer to him.
“Don’t hog all of it,” Hunter warned, flashing me a playful glare while my brother’s attention was on the game.
For the next twenty minutes, it was like we were in high school again. Sitting close—but nottooclose!—on the couch, legs brushing together whenever one of us shifted. Reaching into the bowl to grab a handful of popcorn, knowing that the bowl was rubbing against his crotch underneath.
It was fun, but it was alsotorture.
That night, while laying in bed, I decided to text him.
Erica: Hey. This is Erica. Do you still have the same phone number from high school?
Hunter: This is Edna Aldrin, I live at the Shady Oaks Assisted Living Facility. Are you Erica, my granddaughter’s friend?
Erica: Oh my gosh, I’m sorry! I have the wrong number. I don’t know your granddaughter.
I heard Hunter laughing in the bedroom next to mine.
Erica: That’s NOT funny!
Hunter: It’s extremely funny. I can’t believe you bought it.
Hunter: Yeah, I’ve still got the same digits. 614 for life.
Erica: Being around you is torture.
Hunter: I know what you mean. I’m kind of struggling with it myself.
Erica: I’m blaming you.
Hunter: Are you, now?
Erica: If you had told me the truth about Carmen from the start, we could have been fooling around this whole time!
Hunter: I didn’t want to put any pressure on you. And I didn’t know if you still had feelings for me. It’s surprisingly hard to fly across the country and pour your heart out to someone.
Erica: Okay. Fair enough.
Erica: Now I’m blaming Brad. Why did he have to come home early!
Hunter: Because the God of Sexy Times is punishing us for our sins.
Hunter: At least I got a lot of car stuff done today. If Brad wasn’t here, I’m pretty sure I would have been distracted all day.
Erica: Hey, I just thought about it. You lied about those throwback videos, right?
Hunter: I thought up that excuse on the spot, the first night I came to your house. But now that I’m actually following through on them, I think they’re a good idea.