I heard Hunter step back into my dorm a couple of minutes later, and I called out to him. “Just a minute! I’m looking for some sort of vase for the flowers.”
“Fuck the flowers and get out here,” he called back. “This pizza smells amazing. I—”
He stopped in his tracks and went silent when he saw me emerge from the bathroom.
“What’s wrong?” I asked, innocently widening my eyes as I tipped my head to one side.
He cleared his throat. “Nothing,” he said, throwing the pizza down on a nearby chair along with my phone. “I’m just not that hungry anymore.”
“That’s all right. We can eat later.” I smiled invitingly and stepped closer.
“What happened to the music?” he asked, crooking a brow as he finally noticed the silence in the room.
I shrugged and affected a nonchalant tone. “I don’t know. It stopped all of a sudden while I was in there,” I said, gesturing toward the bathroom. “Maybe your battery died?”
He went and picked up the decoy phone, frowning as he turned it over in his hand. “Huh. That’s weird. It was on full battery just an hour ago.”
“I’ve heard Spotify can really drain phones,” I said in a sympathetic tone. “If you want, you can log in on mine instead?”
Hunter put the phone down and looked back at me, eyes dark and lips slightly parted. For a second I thought he knew everything, and he was about to choke me until I gave his real phone back. Instead he stepped closer and tucked a strand of hair behind my ear, making me shiver.
“It’s fine. We both know I didn’t really come here to eat pizza and listen to music,” he said, leaning down so his mouth was only inches from mine.
Suddenly I was shaking where I stood, utterly terrified of where this was leading to. I knew it was all part of the plan, and I thought I could handle a few simple kisses, but now that it was actually about to happen, an alarm bell was ringing in my mind, begging me to stop.
No one had ever kissed me or touched me before. Not unless you counted…. no, I wasn’t going to think about that. I couldn’t.
Hunter suddenly pulled back, face clouding over. “Wait… I’m sorry,” he said softly. “I shouldn’t have said that.”
My forehead wrinkled. “Why not?”
He sat down on the end of my bed and sighed as he ran a hand through his hair. “Because it’s not true,” he replied. “You were right.”
“Right about what?”
“What you said on Monday. I’ve treated you like shit ever since you arrived here, and it’s all because you make me feel…” He trailed off, shaking his head.
I sat down next to him, brows lifting. “Feel what?”
“Like I’m spinning out of control,” he muttered. “You’re so fucking beautiful, Laney. So smart. So perfect. I’ve never met anyone like you before, and it drives me fucking crazy.”
My eyes went wide as saucers. “Oh,” I whispered. I wasn’t expecting that.
Hunter looked over at me and let out a deep sigh. “I’m sorry, Laney. So sorry.” He pinched the bridge of his nose and leaned forward. “When you came up to me the other day, and you were brave enough to be honest with me about how you felt around me, I realized I needed to step up and do the same. Stop being such a fucking coward and admit the truth. Not just to you, but to myself. And the truth is, I’ve been a real piece of shit.”
I raised my brows. “Yeah, I guess you have.”
“I’ve tormented you. Set you up. Done fucking horrible things.”
“I know. I was there,” I said. “I just never understood why. That’s part of the reason I went up to you and asked to hang out with you. I wanted you to tell me why.”
He let out another deep sigh. “I guess you remind me of a time in my life when things were bad,” he said softly.
My brows pinched together. “Why?” I asked. “Do I look like someone who hurt you?”
He averted his eyes from mine again. “Something like that, yeah. I can’t really explain. Not now. But I want you to know I’m sorry. I know it was wrong to treat you so badly, and I want to start making it up to you,” he said. “So that’s the real reason I agreed to come here tonight. That’s why I brought you those corny fucking flowers and chocolates. I know it’s practically nothing, but I figured it’s a start. One I don’t really deserve, but hey… you were nice enough to give me a chance.”
I swallowed thickly. “I guess I was, yeah.”