Arabella had woken up early. She had a bad dream, a demigod dream but she forgot it pretty quickly. All she could remember was how the dream felt. It felt like fear. She had slipped out of the bed, careful not to wake Hunter and she walked to the bathroom, closing the door behind her. Quickly as she could, because she was cold, Arabella pulled off the shirt that she had on and slipped into the hot water of the shower. Her eyes closed and she tried to remember her dream. It had been sometime in the day and Hunter was smiling at her. Then there was a sharp pain, screams and she woke up. Arabella shook herself lightly and she tried to keep her mind focused on the good things, like seeing Kyle and Marina again or the events of the previous night. Arabella's skin still tingled where Hunter's fingers had danced across her body. After her shower, she stepped out and wrapped a towel around herself before walking back into the bedroom area.
Hunter had woken up when he heard the shower turn on. He rubbed his eyes and yawned, feeling tired from last night. Hunter sat up a little and looked around, feeling happy and excited for their trip and seeing Kyle and Marina again. Hunter closed his eyes and almost fell asleep again when he heard the water shut off. He shook his head and looked up, taking a long look at the door. Hunter smiled softly when he saw Arabella walk out, wearing only a towel. "Hello." He said with a grin and a raised eyebrow. "Doesn't someone look incredibly beautiful, right now." He laughed and stood up, walking over behind her. He wrapped his arms around her waist and placed small kisses on her neck. "Good morning, ma plus fille du monde."
"You are such a tease" Arabella said softly and she placed her hands on his, leaning into him slightly. "Bonjour" She added and turned around in his arms to kiss his lips briefly. "I should get dressed before I jump your bones again" She giggled and pulled away from him to walk over to her bag. She took a deep breath and dug through her clothes, a million things on her mind. She cleared her throat and looked over at him for a moment. "Did you sleep okay?" She asked him gently.
"Mmhmm." Hunter said, wrapping his arms around her again. "I slept wonderfully. You, however, had another dream." He said, kissing her head. Her hair smelled wonderful and it felt comfortable to hold her and kiss her here. "And knowing demigods and they're dreams..." He said with a sigh as he held her tighter. He kissed her neck again, tenderly lingering his lips on her skin. "What is it this time?" He asked, trying to comfort her.
"That's just it! I can't remember" Arabella huffed and she closed her eyes, leaning into him. "It's all..hazy now. I remember you being there and I remember pain and I remember being really afriad. But I can't remember the details and it's driving me crazy" She pouted for a second before opening her eyes and looking down at her stuff. "What if something is going to happen to us when we're driving today? What if something happens when we're visiting Kyle and Marina?"
Hunter squeezed her tight and kissed her head. "Then I will keep you safe. I will keep Kyle safe. I will keep Marina safe." He said matter-of-factly. Hunter smiled and ran his hands away from the towel and to her shoulder. He started rubbing her shoulders and neck, placing tender kisses to her cheek every once in a while. "I'm not going to let anything happen to you. Ever." He whispered into her ear.
"I know" Arabella breathed and she turned around in his arms, placing her head on his chest. She took a few deep breaths with her eyes closed, focusing on the feel of Hunter's arms wrapping around her and holding her close to him. She knew that he was going to do everything in his power to protect her and she knew that he probably could. But what if she couldn't protect him? What if she failed when he needed her most? If he got hurt because of her, she was never going to forgive herself. Arabella looked up at him and she gave him a small smile. "You're the best, you know that?"
"Mmhmm." He said with a nod and a laugh. He kissed her and placed his hands on her hips, pulling her closer. He smiled and pressed his lips to hers, not wanting to let her go. They stood there for a few moments, lips and bodies together, slightly swaying to imaginary music. Hunter smiled and kissed her forehead. As the song in his head subsided, he dipped her one last time, placing a small kiss on the hollow of her neck. "I don't know if I could live with myself if I let something happen to someone as beautiful and stunning as you." He said, looking down at the still dipped Arabella.
Arabella looked up at him and she slipped her arms around his neck, pulling herself closer to him. She was still stunned that Hunter had fallen in love with her. It seemed like something out of a dream, not something that was actually her reality. "We're just going to have to make sure that nothing happens to us because I don't know what I would do if I lost you" She said softly and she brushed the back of her hand over his cheek.
Hunter smiled and brought her back up. She kissed his cheek and started to pull away from him, toward her clothes. He caught her wrist and spun her back into him. "Oh no you don't." He said, wrapping his arms around her waist. He laughed quietly and kissed her tightly on the lips as he felt her lean into him, placing a hand on his chest. He smiled against her lips and pulled her closer, pouring more affection into the kiss. "You'll never lose me. Even if you wanted to." He whispered against her lips.
Arabella smiled softly and she kissed his chin lightly before looking up at him. She knew that if anything happened to him or something tore them apart somehow, she would lose her mind. But she also knew that they weren't going to let anything happen to them. Arabella rested her forehead on his chest and she shivered lightly. "Are you going to let me get dressed today or shall I drive in my towel?" She asked, giggling softly.
Hunter smirked and raised an eyebrow at her. "Who said anything about driving?" He said in a low tone before kissing her lightly on the lips. "We don't have to check out until noon." He whispered into her ear before lightly nibbling on her ear lobe. He wrapped his arms around her and started to walking backward to the bed. "We leave then, we get to Kyle and Marina's by dinnertime." He said quietly, placing kisses down her cheek and neck to her shoulder. He finally fell backward onto the bed, dragging her on top of him and smiling against the soft skin on her shoulder.
Arabella giggled and she placed her hands on his sides, leaning into him. The feel of his lips on her skin was one of the best feelings in the world. She wanted to melt into his arms and stay there for the rest of her life. Arabella took a deep breath and she closed her eyes. "You're going to drive me crazy one of these days" She giggled and she rolled over so that she was on the bed and she held her towel up, smirking at Hunter.
Hunter laughed and snatched towel from her, throwing it behind him. He rolled on top of her and pressed his lips to hers, cradling her cheek in his hand. "That's the plan..." He said, nibbling on her lip. Hunter reached down and grabbed her hand, lacing his fingers within hers. He lifted it up and kissed the back of her hand several times before putting their hands on the bed above her head. He finally looked down at her and smiled. "I love you, Ellie."
Arabella looked up at him and a wide smile spread across her face. "I love you too, Hunter" She said softly and shivered lightly at the lack of towel and her damp skin and hair. Arabella had never really seen Hunter like this, take control like this. She certainly wasn't complaining. Arabella brushed her lips along his collar bone and she smirked against his skin. "Where is this coming from?" She giggled happily.
Hunter smiled and shuddered lightly at the feeling of her lips on his skin. "Oh, you know." He whispered, nuzzling his face into her cheek. "Just making sure this is exciting for you." He said, placing tender kisses along her cheek. He kissed her forehead and kissed down her face, her nose, her lips, her chin. He finally found her neck, sucking and nibbling on her soft skin.
"This is very, very exciting for me" Arabella whispered and she tilted her head back. With her toes, she reached up and tugged on his shorts, slowly pulling them down. She loved the feeling of him holding himself over her. It made her feel like he was protecting her in a way. Arabella ran her hands down his back, lightly digging her nails into his skin.
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Arabella was curled up in the car, wearing a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt. Her hair was thrown up into a messy bun and she had her blanket that she always travels with bundled around her. There was a big cup of coffee from Starbucks in the cup holder by her and it was half empty. She yawned and looked over at Hunter with a tired smile. Her skin was still tingling with the memory of Hunter's gentle touch. "How much farther?" She asked him in a low voice and she cleared her throat.
Hunter looked over and smiled. "About 20 or 30 minutes, I think." He said with a nod. He grabbed his cup of tea and took a sip, feeling the warmth run through him. They stopped at a stoplight and Hunter stretched a little, letting out a quiet groan. "Oh, can you call Marina? She'll want to know we're close." He said with a sigh as the light turned green. Arabella handed him the phone and he held it up to his ear. After a moment, Marina's voice came on the line.
"Hello?" She said happily. Hunter smiled and cleared his throat.
"Hey. Marina? It's Hunter. We're about 20 minutes out." Hunter could hear her bouncing excitedly.
"Okay! We'll see you then! Bye!" She said before hanging up the phone. Hunter handed Arabella her phone back and yawned again.
"Goodness." He said with a sigh. "I'm all tired out now." He said with a wink at Arabella.
"You're telling me..I'm exhausted" Arabella said and she slipped her phone into her bag, pushing it back onto the floor. She yawned and stretched before taking a big sip of her coffee. Arabella smiled over at Hunter and let out a happy sigh. She was looking forward to getting to Kyle and Marina's place, eating supper then going to bed. It was going to be a good night. She could feel it. Arabella reached a hand over, resting her hand on the nape of Hunter's neck, massaging that spot lightly. "I look like such a mess" She giggled.
Hunter smiled and rolled his neck a little. "You look beautiful." Hunter said finally pulling up in front of Kyle and Marina's house. He leaned over and kissed her cheek before sliding out of the car. He walked around and opened the door for Arabella and helped her out, kissing her hand lightly. He looked at her and kissed her forehead. He reached up and released her hair, letting it fall in waves around her head. "Make up. You put on make up." He sighed and kissed her cheek. "You look beautiful." He said, kissing her lips and finally taking her hand. They walked up to the door and Hunter rang the bell. Immediately there was the sound of motion from inside. The door opened to reveal Marina, Kyle, and a very large boxer.
"Hi!" Marina said, grabbing the dog by the collar. "Hold Angie, Kyle." Kyle nodded at Hunter in greeting and grabbed the dog. "Hey!" She wrapped her arms around Hunter's neck and hugged him. Hunter laughed and hugged her back.
"Hey, Marina." He said, finally breaking the hug. Marina smiled at him before turning to Arabella. She smiled and hugged Arabella, kissing her cheek in greeting.
Arabella smiled, hugging Marina. "It's good to see you again, Marina" She said and grinned at her before taking a step into the house and hugging Kyle quickly. Immediately after she let go of Kyle, she bent down a little and let the dog, Angie, sniff her hand before petting her. "Oh, Hunter...I miss Jolie" she said and looked up at Hunter with a small pout.
Hunter scoffed and kissed Arabella on the temple. "You can call Danny later and Jo can talk to you." He said with a laugh. He put a hand on the small of her back leading her inside the house. Marina gave him an odd look and Hunter laughed. "Jolie is one of our dogs. Ellie probably has a picture of her and the dogs on her phone."
"Dogs?" Kyle said, closing the door behind them. He took their coats and put them on the rack. "As in multiple?" Hunter nodded.
"Here. Ellie, you have a picture? Or Jo and Ajax?" He asked, running his hand up and down her back.
"Do I have a picture of them" Arabella scoffed and she dug around in her bag, pulling out her phone. She subconsciously moved closer to Hunter, leaning into his hand on her back. "It's like you don't even know me" She said, shaking her head as she searched through her pictures. She finally found a picture of Ajax and Jolie. Ajax was looking up at the camera with a big, goofy dog grin on his face with his tongue hanging out. Jolie was sitting beside, leaning on him with her eyes closed. Arabella passed the phone to Kyle and Marina looked over his shoulder. Marina laughed at the look on Jolie's face and Arabella took the phone back from Kyle. "Jolie has a major crush on Ajax, if you couldn't tell"
Hunter groaned and looked at the picture himself. "Jolie is absolutely terrible to Ajax." He said, shaking his head. Marina looked at him in disbelief. She lead them straight through the house, past a flight of stairs and a closet, to the kitchen. "He'll finally give her something. He gave her some food once. Half a breadstick, I think. He nudged it over to her and then went to drink water. She looks at it, picks it up, walks over, and drops it in his water dish." He said with a chuckle. "She is awful."
"Angie here is a sweetheart." Marina said, putting some hot water on to boil. "Would either of you like tea or coffee?" She asked with a smile. "Sweetie? Tea? Coffee?" She asked, looking at Kyle.
"I'll have some tea." Kyle said as he walked over and slipped his arm around her waist. "I'm still not used to being able to call you Marina Julius. Marina Samantha Julius." He said, kissing her cheek. She smiled and kissed him back a moment.
"Actually, tea sounds nice right now." Hunter said with a nod and a small smile at his best friends. "And Ellie would probably like coffee." He walked into the attached sitting room and gingerly sat himself down in an armchair, roomier than he needed, but it was about right. He looked up at Arabella who smiled deviously, stepping toward him. She finally sat down next to him in the armchair, making the seat very cramped.
Arabella groaned and she looked down at the chair that she had sat in. "I thought that the chair was bigger than this" She said and wiggled around a little bit, pulling herself out of the spot and sitting on the arm with her feet on the chair. "It's you and your damn food" she teased and gave Hunter a small smile. She looked up when Marina walked into the room with Hunter's tea and her coffee. Arabella gingerly took the coffee from her and smiled up at her. "Thanks for the coffee"
Marina waved her off. "Oh, it's not a problem" She said with a smile and she passed Hunter his tea before sitting down on the couch next to Kyle.
"How has everything been? It feels like it's been forever since we've seen you" Arabella said and she took a sip of her coffee, smiling at the warmth and the caffeine.
"Things have been really good." Kyle said, putting his cup of tea down on the table. He put an arm around Marina and they leaned into each other comfortably. "It took a little getting used to, but it's really...really good." He said, looking at his spouse and kissing her lightly on the cheek. Hunter smiled. He loved that his two best friends were now happily married.
"What do you do all day? Do you have a job, Kyle?" Hunter asked as he slid to the other side of the seat. He picked up Arabella's legs and put her feet on the other side of him. He gingerly put his hands on her legs and smiled at Arabella.
"I actually started a gardening and landscaping business." He said with a nod. "The Mrs. and I tag-team the busin-" Marina smacked his leg.
"Don't call me that." She said with a giggle. "It makes me feel old." She turned back to Hunter and Arabella. "When he's out working then I'm doing house stuff. Cooking. Well, learning how to cook. Cleaning. Working downstairs in the forge. Taking care of the dog." She shrugged and took a sip of coffee.
Arabella smiled softly down at Hunter and she placed her hand on the back of his neck. She turned towards Kyle and Marina and she let out a little happy sigh. It was nice to see them so happy together. Especially since it had taken Kyle a little bit of a push to get him to walk down the aisle. It made Arabella happy to actually see a happily married couple. "Make anything interesting down in the forge lately?" She asked Marina curiously and took a big sip of her coffee.
Marina looked at Kyle and then looked at Hunter for a moment. "Uhh...Not really. Just the regular stuff. I'm working on some stuff. Nothing too exciting. I made a sword for a friend of mine, but nothing too exciting." She cleared her throat. "So, what have you guys been up to? Other than driving, obviously."
"I actually have a job waiting for me back in New York." Hunter said with a grin. "Teaching archery." He took a sip of his tea. Marina smiled at him.
"That's great, Hunter!" Marina grinned at him and leaned into Kyle a little more. "What have you been up to, Arabella?"
Arabella shrugged and she finished off her coffe before answering. "Not too much, really. But it's been nice. I was working my ass off at the company I used to run so it's nice to get a break, you know?" She said and she turned her eyes back to Hunter, smiling at him softly. She was happy with her life and she didn't really want to work or anything like that. Money wasn't an issue and if she didn't have to go to work, she didn't want to go. With a happy little sigh, she looked back that Marina and Kyle. "So..how has married life been treating you?" She asked with a little giggle.
"VERY well." Kyle said with a nod. Marina smacked his arm and giggled. Kyle smiled and looked at Marina and kissed her cheek. "It's really really good. After the honeymoon, it was nice to see that she doesn't just like me for my body." Marina giggled and smacked his leg again. Hunter laughed.
"Yeah. I get that." Hunter said, looking over at Arabella. She smacked his arm and giggled too. He grabbed her knee and squeezed her thigh, causing her to squirm and giggle more until she fell into his lap. Hunter smiled and kissed her cheek.
Arabella subconsciously snuggled into Hunter, curling up on his lap. She loved being close to him like that, even if it was because he was tickling her. Arabella smiled at him and rolled her eyes teasingly at him. "Who says that I'm not with you just for your body" she said, pretending to be serious. It didn't last long though because she felt a wet nose against her foot and she looked down to see the happy boxer. Arabella giggled and scratched behind her ears. The dog yawned a contagious yawn and Arabella yawned soon after. "Ugh...I'm so tired" She said took a sip of Hunter's tea.
Hunter smiled and took his tea from her, finishing it quickly. "Let's eat and then we'll go to bed." Hunter said, placing a small kiss on her cheek. He looked up at Marina and Kyle and smiled. "What are we doing for supper?" Marina smiled at the two of them and the cleared her throat.
"Well, Kyle and I were thinking that we could get take out from this Italian place." She said with a nod. "What was it called? That place your dad and your stepmom took us?" Kyle thought for a second then snapped.
"Oh, right. Right. Mama Grisanti's." He said with a nod. "Right. They have fantastic food." He kissed Marina on the temple and then stood up. "I'll go get it and Marina, you show them their room. I'll be back!" He said as he disappeared down the hallway. Hunter stood up, carrying Arabella and kissed her on the lips for a moment before setting her down on the chair again.
"You two talk. I'll go get our bags." He said before disappearing behind Kyle.
Arabella watched Hunter walk away and she let out a happy sigh, leaning back against the chair. She looked over at Marina and smiled lightly at her. "Hey..thanks for letting us stay here. It'll be kind of nice to stay in a home and not a hotel for a night" she said with a giggle and Marina shook her head.
"It's not a problem, Arabella." She said and took a sip of her coffee. She put her cup down and looked back over at Arabella. "It's good to see you two again"
"Yeah, for sure..it's really good to see you too. I know that Hunter misses you" Arabella said with a nod and she pulled her feet up onto the chair, curling up where she was. She was curious about how Kyle and especially Marina would be around her. They had been Hunter's closest friends. Would they be protective at all? Would they have lots of questions for her?
Hunter was taking his time getting the bags. Mostly intentionally, but he knew the bag that Arabella wanted was buried under the rest of her bags. He finally freed it and repacked the trunk. He sat there for a while, letting Marina and Arabella talk. Marina was one of his closest friends and he wanted her approval. Especially since she knew Hunter's intentions with her. After about 5 minutes he grabbed the bags and walked back in.
"Sorry, it took so long." He said, entering the room again, bags in hand. "Where should I throw these?" He asked with a smile. Marina nodded and stood.
"Follow me." She said with a smile. She lead him down the hall again and then up the stairs. She turned and finally opened the door to a room. "Right in here. It's our guestroom." She said, letting Hunter slide past. He set the bags on the bed and turned round to look at Marina. Past her, he saw a colorful looking room with the door opened a little.
"What's in there?" He asked, walking toward the room. He opened it to see a child's room, newly furnished and decorated. "Marina...Are you-" He looked at her with a furrowed brow. She blushed hard and finally nodded.
"It's early though! So we didn't want to tell anyone." She said with a sigh. Hunter looked at her a second before hugging her. He felt her arms tighten around his midsection and he smiled.
"I'm so happy for you and Kyle." He said with a nod. Marina cleared her throat and looked up at him nervously.
"We were going to tell you actually. We uh..We had a question." She said quietly. "We were talking about the name and Kyle wanted to name our kid Orange, but I wasn't going to let that happen. We decided on the perfect name and we wanted to get your approval."
"Of course. What is it?" Hunter asked with a smile.
"We wanted to name him after you. You brought us together and you're one of our closest friends. We couldn't think of a better way of saying thanks." She said with a nod. Hunter was a little shocked, honestly. He finally smiled.
"That's...I would be honored. I mean as long as it turns out to be a guy, of course." He said with a chuckle. She rolled her eyes and lead him back down to the sitting room. It was at this time that Kyle came back with the food.
"Alright! Food's up!" Kyle said, bringing the bags into the kitchen.
Arabella slid off of her seat on the chair and she walked over to Hunter, smiling up at him. Her fingers laced through his and they walked into the kitchen with Marina. "It smells wonderful" She sighed happily and looked down at the bags. "Is there anything that I can do to help?" Arabella asked, letting go of Hunter's hand. Kyle shrugged.
"There isn't too much to do, really. You can get the plates if you want" Kyle said and he opened up a cupboard before placing the bags down. Arabella nodded and she took out four plates, placing them down on the counter gingerly. She looked over at Hunter and gave him a small smile, hoping that whatever he had talked about with Marina when they put the bags away was good things.
"Thank you." Kyle said as he took out the food, putting them into proper serving containers. "Here is...lasagna, spaghetti, salad, and...Where did they go?" He asked quietly. "Oh. Breadsticks." He said, setting all of it on the table. Hunter sat down next to Arabella and kissed her lightly on the cheek. Kyle walked over to the counter and grabbed a small tabletop hearth. Marina lit it and set it on the middle of the table.
"Sacrifice if you guys want." She said with a smile as she sat down. Hunter shrugged and put a little bit of breadstick into the fire and sent a little prayer up to Aphrodite. He waited a moment before looking at Marina. They were having a kid. He threw more breadstick into the fire and sent a prayer up to Artemis, goddess of childbirth. He sighed and smiled as he began to eat.
'We need to get one of these" Arabella said, looking at the hearth then she looked at Hunter. She nodded before taking a breadstick, breaking it in half and tossing the whole thing into the fire, sending a silent prayer up to Aphrodite. "Mom is not going to be happy about the carbs" she giggled and took a couple bites of her salad. Her eyes danced around the room and she looked over to Marina with a smile. "You have a really beautiful house, Marina. I love what you've done with it"
Marina blushed and waved dismissively. "It was Kyle's Stepmom mostly." She said with a nod. "His dad and she live a few houses over." Hunter glanced over at Kyle who was eating calmly. Hunter knew that Kyle liked his stepmom, but she would never be his mom. "Have you gotten used to your new house? Either of you?" She asked, looking from Hunter to Arabella.
"I know I have" Arabella nodded and she took another bite of salad. She swallowed and smiled softly, looking at Hunter. "I thought that it was going to take me a while to get used to it and I thought that I was going to miss living right in the city. You know..going for walks in Central Park, walking down the street to go Starbucks, taking a two minute cab ride to see a Broadway show. But I don't miss it at all. I couldn't care less about all of that stuff"
Hunter smiled and turned Arabella's head gently, kissing her on the lips. He went back to eating. "I thought it was kind of lonely at first, but now...Now I love it. I never want to live anywhere else." He said with a chuckle. He really did love living there and it really helped that Arabella was there with him.
"That's wonderful, you guys." Kyle said with a nod. "I saw how hung up Hunter was on Pip-" Hunter and Marina bother smacked Kyle on the arm. He cleared his throat and then filled his open mouth with food. Hunter couldn't believe that he would bring Philippa up.
Arabella looked at Kyle and the smile on her face faded a little bit. She took a breath and she looked back at her food, taking a small bite of salad. Philippa was always going to be a sore spot for her. Arabella wasn't going to hate her or do anything crazy like that, but she was nevr going to be best friends with the girl. It hurt to be reminded of Hunter's past with her too. Especially after everything that happened. Arabella cleared her throat and chewed on her lip.
Hunter reached over and took Arabella's hand in his. He lifted up and kissed it tenderly. "I love you." He said with a smile, trying to make up for Philippa and his past with her. Marina looked at Hunter and smiled then looked at Kyle. He had sauce on his chin and was eating calmly. She laughed a little, rolling her eyes and shook her head, going back to eating.
Arabella looked up at Hunter and her smiled softly. She leaned towards him a little and placed a gentle kiss on his cheek. "I love you too" she said gently then turned back to her food. Arabella took a deep breath then gasped when she remembered something. "Oh! Before I forget again! I'll be right back" She said and took the car keys out of Hunter's pocket before standing up and walking out to the car. She opened the trunk and dug around for a bag that she had stashed away. Once she found it, she pulled it out and walked back inside and over to the table. "I wanted to get you two something as a thank you for letting us stay here, but I couldn't find anything to buy so..I dug out some of my new designs and well...here" she said, passing the bag to Marina and Kyle. She had made a pair of jeans for Kyle and a cardigan for Marina. It wasn't much but she wanted to give them something.
"You made this?" Marina said, standing up and examining the cardigan. She turned it around and looked at it in slight amazement. "Thank you." She said quietly as she slipped it on. She pulled it tightly around her and looked at it. "It's beautiful. Thank you so much." She said with a smile. Kyle looked at Marina and then looked at his jeans.
"I won't try my jeans on in front of all of you, but thank you, Arabella." He said with a chuckle. Hunter looked over at Arabella and winked at her as she kept eating.
"Can I have my keys back please?" He said with a grin.
"Oh...I don't know if you deserve them" Arabella giggled, holding the keys up. Hunter leaned over with his hands out and before he could even start tickling her, she laughed and handed the keys to him. She sighed and ran her fingers through her hair before turning back to her food and taking a bite of her salad. She chewed and swallowed then looked up at Marina, pretty happy that they liked what she had made for them. Her eyes turned down to the small tabletop hearth. "Did you make this, Marina?"
Marina looked up at Arabella and then down to the tabletop hearth. "Oh. Yeah. We kind of agreed that we needed to keep sacrificing to our parents. I've even sent a prayer to Demeter every once in a while." She said with a nod. "I made it in the forge downstairs. It's always lit, but we let it burn a little bit more during meals." She stood up and picked it up off the table. Waving a hand over it, the flame became smaller. She turned a little crank and then set it down on the counter by the window. "I could probably make one for you guys if you wanted. If you wanted to sacrifice to Aphrodite and Art-" She stopped herself and cleared her throat. "Sorry." She said quietly. Hunter sighed and shook his head.
"No. It's fine." He said with a nod. "I...I don't care anymore." He said, waving dismissively. He took a deep breath and looked up at Marina. "A hearth would be great. We just need to keep it out of reach of the dogs." He said with a chuckle. Marina smiled at him.
"Okay. I'll set up the fire control mechanically." She said with a nod. There was a little bit of silence, the only sounds being eating and drinking, before Kyle broke the silence.
"Have you guys had any problems with monster or things?" He asked with a raised eyebrow.
Arabella looked at Hunter for a moment before looking at Kyle. "Not really..which I'm finding weirder and weirder everytime that I think about it" She said with a thoughtful face. "There was the giant but that was ages ago now and I always have my cell phone on me and we live pretty close to camp" Arabella sighed and she chewed on her lip, looking down at her empty plate for a moment. She knew that it was a little strange for them to have not seen a monster since that time in her office. Arabella was nervous about them seeing a monster at some point. It was part of the reason why she was so excited for Hunter to get this job teaching archery. If he got into the swing of things again and he got used to using his bow and arrow again, then he would be able to protect their family so much more than she would be able to. "I've been having a lot of dreams though and they're not that good, so..we shall see."
Hunter smiled faintly at the memory of the giant. It was odd, but without that giant Arabella and he wouldn't be together right now. His smile quickly fell when he realized that the most danger they had ever been was because of a fellow demigod. "Yeah. We'll need to stay at the ready." He said with a nod. He looked at Marina. "Hey, if you don't mind. I've got some forging that I could use some help with. Would you be willing to-"
"Sure! It'll be like camp again." She said with a laugh. Hunter nodded. "We'll go down tomorrow and you can tell me what you need." She said with a nod. Hunter finished his food and leaned back.
"That was really good." He said with a satisfied smile on his face.
Arabella nodded in agreement and she opened her mouth to say something but she was overwhelmed by a yawn. She stretched her arms and leaned back in her chair, moving towards Hunter a little bit. Her hands rested gingerly on his leg and she drummed her fingers against his thigh. "Have you two had any problems with monsters?" She asked them, a little bit nervous.
"There was a harpy or...two." Kyle said with a nod. "It was nothing too bad. We're not too worried about it, though." He said with a chuckle.
"This place is very mortal and I've done some security on the house." Marina said with a nod. "And when the three living things within the house are a dog like Angie, someone who can control plants, and someone who can control fire..."
"It would take a really dumb monster." Hunter finished with a laugh. Hunter put his hand on top of Arabella's and rubbed her wrist a little. "Do you know if something big is happening back at camp? Nothing like the war and the resurgence, right?"
"Not...really." Marina said with a shrug. "We haven't been back since before the wedding though."
Arabella had put her head on Hunter's shoulder while everyone was talking but she was slowly starting to drift off to sleep. Her eyes were starting to close and her body was starting to feel heavy. Suddenly, she realized that she was falling asleep and she sat up quickly. "Oh man, I should go to bed" She said softly and looked up at Hunter. He nodded and stood up, taking her hand and gingerly pulling him up beside him. "Thanks for everything, guys" She said, smiling down at Kyle and Marina. "See you two in the morning" She yawned and waved, following Hunter towards their room.
"Good night, you guys. And thanks." Hunter said with a smile.
"Good night!" Marina said, already throwing her arms around Kyle's neck. Hunter laughed a little and lead Arabella toward their room.
"It's right here." He said, opening the door to their room. Arabella walked into the room ahead of him and Hunter closed the door behind him. He walked behind Arabella and wrapped his arms around her gently, feeling her groggily lean into him. He kissed her head and buried his face in her hair. "How do you like Marina and Kyle?" He asked quietly. "I didn't think that you had gotten a good sense of what they were like at the wedding."
"Mmm...I like them" Arabella said softly and she nuzzled into him, closing her eyes. She felt like she could fall asleep right there in his arms. "I hope that they like me though..I mean..they're your best friends and I don't want them to hate the person that you're dating" She added and chewed on her lip nervously, holding herself closer to him. His arms around her were warm and it was better than being wrapped up in a blanket.
Hunter smiled. "They like you plenty." He said reassuringly. He ran his hands across her stomach and placed them on her hips, turning her around. He smiled at her and kissed her lightly on the lips. "It's not possible to hate you. Even if it were, then you could just charmspeak them." He teased, kissing her again. He finally picked her up slightly, feeling her fall asleep in his arms. He gingerly set her on the bed and put the covers over her. He quickly changed into a pair of pajama pants and crawled in next to her.
As soon as Hunter was in the bed, Arabella curled up to his side, letting her arm wrap around his middle. She buried her face into his side and she let out a small breath. "I wove you" She muttered into his side and soon enough, she was falling into a deep sleep, praying that she wouldn't have anymore dreams that night. Arabella didn't want to wake up in a bad mood, she just wanted to wake up happy with Hunter and not have any worries.
Chapter 109 - Arabella and Hunter
Arabella was standing in the elevator with Hunter, running her fingers through her hair. When she had woken up from their nap, her hair was full of tangles because her head had been shoved between Hunter's arm, the blanket and the pillow. It was a comfortable and warm way to sleep but it really did a number on her hair. At least, she felt like it did. She yawned and looked over at Hunter, silently cursing the universe and herself for not having protection. They way he leaned against the wall in the elevator and the way his hands were shoved into his pockets was enough to get her heart racing again. "We should find some coffee wherever we happen to go" Arabella said with a small laugh, going back to fixing her hair.
Hunter chuckled as she tried to fix her hair. "You look fine." He said as he snagged her arm and pulled her into his arms, still leaning against the wall. "You look beautiful." He kissed her hair a few times before sighing. "We should get coffee though." He said with a nod. He rubbed her arm and he stood up when the door opened to the ground floor. He walked into the lobby and spotted an array of brochures for Cleveland and the surrounding area. "So, where shall we go? The city is our oyster." He said with a chuckle as he wrapped his arms around her waist and stood behind her.
"Hmmm..." Arabella thought as she leaned into Hunter. Her fingers flipped through the brochures. "Well, we could go shopping. Or we could go for a walk in the park. We could go to the Hard Rock Cafe for supper. We could see if there's any sport-type games playing. I don't even know what game is going on right now. Hockey?" She asked, looking up at him with her eyebrows knitted together.
"Hard Rock Cafe?" Hunter asked with a raised eyebrow. He wasn't sure what that was, but he was up for it. "Okay. That sounds good." He looked at the brochures and kissed her head. "Umm...I think it's football in season. But there isn't a game today." He said with a chuckle. "There's a ship at the harbor and there's a memorial--Oh." He grabbed a brochure for the Cleveland mall. "Let's go here. There's probably all sorts of schtuff for us to do." He said, lightly kissing her cheek.
"Ohh..that looks like fun" Arabella said, taking the brochure from him and flipping through it. She smiled up at him, turning around to kiss his lips lightly before she took his hand and walked out of the hotel with him. Arabella was looking forward to getting there. It looked like there would be lots of places for her to take pictures of them together. As they walked, Arabella tugged out her camera and took a candid photo of Hunter as he walked, giggling.
"Oh, good. Another wonderful picture of me." He said with a chuckle. "Were both of my eyes closed or just one?" He asked before trying to snatch the camera away from her. She pulled it away and giggled at him. He reached for it again, but she ran away. Hunter laughed and ran after her. He finally trapped her against the car, an arm on either side of her. "Give me the camera." He said with a smile. She shook her head and smiled at him. A big sheepish grin. Hunter smiled back. He couldn't help it. She made him smile no matter what. Hearing her voice. Seeing her face. It made him smile. He stepped closer and kissed her on the lips, completely forgetting about the camera.
Arabella giggled against his lips and she wrapped one arm around his neck. She slipped the camera into her pocket and she leaned into the kiss more, pulling Hunter's body closer to hers. She forgot that they were in a parking lot until the family that had seen them in the elevator passed by and the kids all said 'EWWW' and the parents gasped. She pulled away from the kiss, her cheeks pink but she still had a sheepish smile on her face. "Maybe we should get going" she said, trying not to laugh and she slid into the car, adjusting her shirt.
"Those kids are nosy." Hunter said with a laugh as he slipped into the driver's seat. He sighed and pulled out and started to drive toward the mall. Cleveland was a nice town. It wasn't too big, but it had a big city feel. Hunter leaned his head on the window as he drove and cleared his throat. "That was a really nice nap." He said with a smile. He looked at her expression and laughed. "We'll stop at a drug store, okay? Actually, they probably have some in the hotel store. We could have just gotten some." He said with a nod and a pensive look in his face.
Arabella let out a sigh and she turned to look at him. "We better be stopping at a drug store" She huffed. Arabella chewed on her lip for a moment then she slid over, curling up to his side and placing her chin on his shoulder. "It was a good nap, though" Arabella agreed reluctantly and she placed her hands on his arm, holding herself there gently. "I can't believe that out of everything that I didn't want to forget to pack..I forgot that" she said and put her forehead on his shoulder.
"I'm shocked too." Hunter said with a wink. He kissed her head and put an arm around her. They finally arrived at the mall and Hunter parked on the street. He got out and ran around the car, opening Arabella's door. As she stepped out, he took her hand and kissed it before smiling and pulling her into a hug. Without her knowing, he slipped the camera out of her pocket, a skill he learned in all his time in the Hermes cabin. "I think there was a Starbucks down there." Hunter said, holding the camera up his sleeve slightly. He waited for her to turn before turning it on and starting to decipher the instructions.
Arabella looked around, trying to see if she could spot the Starbucks. She yawned, feeling like she really needed the coffee at that point. It usually took her a little while to wake up after falling asleep so coffee helped her along quite a bit. Naps were never a good idea for Arabella because once she fell asleep, her body wanted to stay asleep for at least 8 hours. She spotted the green sign then she turned around to look at Hunter and she saw him trying to figure out her camera. ''You sneak!" She laughed and grabbed at the camera.
Hunter sighed and then smiled at her. "I hate...technology." He said, shaking his head. He took her hand and followed her into the Starbucks. He got in line with Arabella and waited for their turn to order. When they got to the counter, he ordered their drinks and then a big chocolate chip muffin for the two of them to share. He paid and got their drinks before walking back outside. He took a bite of the muffin before taking Arabella's arm in his and handing the muffin to her. "Alright. Lead the way." He said with a smile as he swallowed his bite of muffin.
Arabella nibbled on the muffin and she leaned into Hunter slightly as they walked. She looked around them, taking in all of the sights. There were families walking around, couples holding hands, best friends taking pictures and laughing. It was a warm atmosphere. Arabella passed the muffin back to him and took a long sip of her coffee. "Hmm..well, we need to get a picture. That's for sure. Mind you, I think that picture I got of you earlier is pretty sexy" She giggled and nudged him lightly.
Hunter shrugged and took a bite of the muffin. "What can I say?" He said with a chuckle. He kissed her temple and handed her the muffin. "We could walk around the harbor. It looks like the stadium is there, but the water is just past that." Hunter took a drink of his tea and shuddered as the warmth ran through his body.
"That sounds good" Arabella said happily and she looked up at Hunter with big eyes. She took a deep breath and leaned up to place a kiss on his jaw. It was difficult for her to not kiss him. To stand so close to him and not kiss him seemed like an impossible feat. She took the muffin from him and took a bite off of the top half, chewing slowly. Together, they walked towards the harbor and Arabella passed the muffin back to Hunter, dusting her hand off on her jeans. "You finish it. I'm full" She told him and took a sip of her coffee. "I've never really spent much time in Cleveland before. I mean, I was here for a little while because I had to get a plane for a business meeting from here but I haven't really explored that city before."
"This is officially the furthest away from camp I've ever been." Hunter said with a nod. He tore off the bottom half of the muffin and crumbled it in his hand before tossing it into a group of pigeons nearby. Hunter bit into the top half and washed it down with his drink. Hunter kissed her cheek. "I'm really glad I have you to keep me company." He said with a smile as he nudged her a little.
"I'm pretty glad that I have you too" Arabella said in a soft voice and she leaned into him. She was happy there, in his arms. She felt warm and complete. The world felt simple when she was in his arms. Arabella twisted her fingers through his and she rubbed her thumb over his skin. "I'm really, really happy that you're here, actually. This wouldn't be half as much fun if I was alone"
Hunter smiled and held her hand tightly. As they walked he swung their hands forward and backward, laughing the whole time. Hunter hurried forward when the water came into view. They passed the stadium and the horizon became very picturesque. There was a little bit of mist and it was beautiful. "Well, here's the water." He said with a sigh. "We can take a picture of th-Look." He said pointing down the shore. "There's a navy ship." He said with an excited nod.
Arabella giggled at his excitment and she took another candid picture of him. She slipped the camera into her pocket and she slipped her arms around his waist. With a warm smile, she turned her gaze away from the ship and she looked at Hunter. Just looked at him. Seeing him so excited and so happy was what she wanted her life to be about. All she wanted was to see Hunter smile and to hear his laugh. "Here" She said and passed him her camera. "Just point it at the ship and press the button on the stop of the camera" She explained. Arabella thought it was adorable that he didn't know that much about technology and things like that.
Hunter smiled and gingerly took the camera in his hands. "Uhh...Let's see." He muttered as he looked at the camera. He aimed it at the ship and pressed the button. He held it down until it flashed and took the picture. "Oh..." He said, feeling a little excited about figuring it out. He looked at Arabella and pulled her in view. "Now let's make it an even nicer picture." He said before taking a picture of her standing in front of the ship. He looked around and found a man walking by. "Umm...sir? Could you take a picture of us?" He said, holding out the camera. The man nodded and took the camera. "Alright. What pose should we do?" He asked Arabella with a grin.
Arabella looked up at Hunter with a smile, trying to think of a pose. She slipped her arms around his waist, placing her head on his chest and smiling at the camera. Her grin got wider when she felt Hunter lean down and press his lips to the top of her head. When the man took the picture, She took the camera back from him and thanked him. Once he walked away, she took a step back into Hunter's arms and she looked at the picture. "Now that is a cute picture" She giggled.
Hunter smiled and kissed her temple. "My favorite one so far." He said with a grin. He pulled her closer and placed a small kiss on her neck. "I'm really starting to like Cleveland." He said with a chuckle as he put his chin on her head, looking out at the water. It would always remind him of the beach house. It was a place that made him really happy even though they had a fair amount of bad memories there. "We can spend the night here and then we'll leave for Kyle and Marina's tomorrow." He turned her around in his arms and kissed her on the lips. "And we'll stop by a drug store on our way back to the hotel." He said with a chuckle, pulling her closer.
Arabella smiled and nodded, leaning into Hunter. She took a deep breath, inhaling his smell. It was her favorite smell in the world but she could really describe it. It was warm and clean, almost a woodsy type of smell. It reminded her of nights by the fire at Camp Half Blood or going for a walk in the woods. It was Hunter's unique smell and it was comforting. It made her feel safe. Arabella rested her head on his shoulder, shivering slightly when a wind blew past them. "I still can't believe that out of everything I wanted to pack, I forgot that" She sighed.
Hunter smiled and kissed her forehead. "It seems that you enjoy it way more than I do..." He said with a chuckle. He ran his hands across her back and to her hips. Hunter smiled and put his forehead on hers. "I bet you couldn't even go a week without." He said with a raised eyebrow. He kissed her lightly on the lips, making it a lingering kiss, and turned back to the car. "You said something about the Hard Rock for dinner, right?" He said, taking her hand.
Arabella nodded and she gave his hand and small squeeze as they walked back to the car. She blushed a little when he opened the door for her. "I figured that it would be a good place to get a casual dinner, you know?" She said when Hunter slid into the car and started it. She pulled her feet up onto the seat and placed her chin on her knees. "Are you going to let me pay for dinner tonight?" Arabella asked in a teasing voice and looked over at him with a smirk.
"Nope. Never." He said with a smile back at Arabella. "As long as you are with me, I am paying for everything." He said, putting an arm around her and kissing her cheek. "Except your clothes. That is just...Yikes." He turned right and after a little while they were parking right outside the Hard Rock Cafe. He opened her door for her and kissed her hand as he helped her out of the car. He slipped an arm around her waist as they walked toward the restaurant, opening the door for her again. He walked in and was immediately surprised at how busy it was. "Table for two. The name's Hunter." He said to the hostess before walking back to where Arabella was standing. "Looks like it'll be a wait." He said quietly as he slipped his hands around her waist, kissing her lightly on the lips.
Arabella leaned into him a little, into the kiss before she found a spot on the bench and she sat down, tugging on Hunter's hand so that he sat down beside her. With a little sigh, she leaned into him. She was a little cold because of the chill in the air. "I hope we get to a table soon. I am starving" Arabella said and she pulled Hunter's hand onto her lap. She looked around a little before looking at Hunter and giving him a small smile.
Hunter smiled and put his head back as Arabella ran her fingers up and down his arm. He closed his eyes and tried to relax, but the whole restaurant seemed to be thumping with the bass from some song. He took a deep breath and looked over at her. He was so glad that she was with him. He looked down at the ground and took a deep breath before sliding out of the seat and dropping to one knee.
Arabella looked at him as he bent down on his knee. Her heart raced but she remembered what happened the last time that Hunter had gotten down on one knee. He was probably tying his shoe again or he dropped something. Arabella smiled at him, trying not too look too excited or too nervous or too upset. She couldn't deny the fact that there were butterflies fluttering around in her stomach.
"Ellie," Hunter started, looking up at her. He placed his hand on the ground and felt the bass in the floor. "This entire place is vibrating." He said, shaking his head slightly. He sat down next to her again and leaned into her again. "Thick concrete flooring and the bass is making it shake." He said with a sigh. He could feel her heartbeat and he looked at her with a raised eyebrow. "You okay?" He asked quietly. "Do we need to go somewhere else?" He put his hand lightly on her thigh and gave it a comforting squeeze. "It's up to you."
Arabella looked over at Hunter and she took a deep breath, looking away from him. Her stomach was doing back flips and her heart was still racing. She felt like a bit of an idiot for thinking that Hunter was actually going to propose to her in a Hard Rock Cafe. "Yeah, I uh..I'm fine" She said in a quiet voice and she nodded. Arabella put her hand over his and looked around. "Maybe if the wait is going to be really long, we should just go back to the hotel and get room service" She said softly.
"If that's what you want." Hunter said, kissing her cheek lightly. He stood up and took her hand, leading her out the door. "What is it with you?" He asked as he opened her door for her. He walked around and slipped into the driver's seat. "This keeps happening to you." He said, starting the drive back to the hotel. He kept a look out for a drugstore. "I mean, last time it happened was when we had to stay up for my concussion. I blamed it on the sleep, but...." He thought for a second. "And just now...Oh my gods..." Hunter said, realizing what it was he was doing. Or at least she thought he was doing. "Ellie, I am so sorry. You thought I was....I'm so sorry." He said, feeling bad, but he couldn't help but find the story a little funny.
Arabella curled up on the seat, looking out of the window. Her cheeks were a bright red and she had her arms folded across her chest. She just wanted to keep her eyes open for a drugstore. They could get what they needed to get and then be out of there and back to the hotel room. She wanted to forget about everything that had just happened. "Let's just..not talk about it" She said and cleared her throat.
Hunter smiled and looked over at her. "I really am sorry." He said quietly. He spotted a CVS and parked in front before looking over at her. "I didn't think that you would think that." He put an arm around her and kissed her head. "When I propose, you'll know it." He said with a smile, leaning and trying to catch her glance.
Arabella sighed and she finally looked up at him quickly. Her cheeks were still bright red but at least her heart rate was starting to go back down to a normal speed. Arabella went to turn her eyes away from him again but Hunter kissed her and Arabella leaned into him a little bit. "Can we forget that it happened?" She whispered and pulled away from him to grab her purse and slide out of the car.
"Wait." Hunter said with a smile, kissing her lightly one more time before hurrying around to the other side of the car. He opened the door and kissed her hand like usual before taking her hand and walking toward the drug store. When they walked inside, Hunter felt a little uncomfortable. He walked toward the right aisle hesitantly, holding onto Arabella's hand. "Should I still feel weird buying condoms? I still feel weird buying condoms." He said, stopping her at the end of the aisle, looking into it uncomfortably.
Arabella looked up at Hunter and she smiled a little bit. The fact that Hunter wasn't talking about that moment was making her feel better. Seeing Hunter feeling awkward about buying condoms was making her feel even better. She thought that it was great that he felt weird about it. Arabella kissing him lightly and she shook her head. "It's okay that feel weird. Promise" She said with a nod and took hia hand, giving it a squeeze before she started to lead him down the aisle.
Hunter swallowed and took a deep breath as they walked into the aisle. He could not have been more embarrassed when Chiron saw them last time. He knew that it was highly unlikely that event would occur again, but he was still nervous. "Can we uh...Can we just hurry up? There aren't this many options, right?" He said as they finally arrived at the condom section. "I don't even know what this means..." He said quietly, picking up a box and looking at it. "Why would someone need orange flavoring?"
"Because some people don't like strawberry? Which is just crazy because everyone knows that strawberry is so much better than orange" Arabella said with a small giggle and she looked up at him with a smile. She looked up at Hunter and held back a laugh when she saw the look on his face. Her arm slipped through his and she stretched up to place a kiss on his jaw. "Chiron isn't going to show up here, so relax" she said softly.
"I know." Hunter said with a small smile. "Doesn't mean I feel comfortable with this." He put the box back and waited impatiently for Arabella to decide. He fidgeted from foot to foot before giving up. He grabbed 3 random boxes and shoved them into Arabella's arms before leading her up to the register. "Come on. Let's--Wait." He left her there and hurried over to the food aisle. He grabbed a bag of pretzels and a 2-liter of Mountain Dew. He returned. "Maybe this will hide them or something." He said, blushing hard.
Arabella bit back another laugh and she smiled up at Hunter. "Oh, Hunter..I love you" She said and kissed his red cheek. She placed all of their items at the register then grabbed a copy of the newest Cosmo magazine and a couple of chocolate bars. The girl at the register started to ring their stuff though, placing it into bags. Arabella passed her the cash and raised an eyebrow when she saw that the girl was looking at Hunter with a dreamy look on her face. She was leaning towards him so that her shirt was falling forward slightly. She wasn't even looking at Arabella when she passed her the change. Arabella huffed, grabbed the change and the bags and she slipped her arm through Hunter's, tugging him out of the store.
Hunter walked back and finally reentered his mind. When everything was put up on the register, he zoned out, hoping not to notice anyone's reaction. Suddenly, Arabella was pulling him out of the store angrily. He followed along and stopped her in the parking lot. He took her hand. "What's going on? What's the hurry?" He said, taking her hands in his. "Did I do something?" He said, glancing back into the store. He shrugged and looked back at Arabella.
"No. You didn't do anything" Arabella huffed and she looked up at Hunter, her expression softening a little bit. She took a deep breath and put on a small smile. "That girl in there was probably about to jump over the counter and try to do unmentionable things to you" Arabella said with a nod. "I can't believe you didn't notice. Gods, you could practically smell it off of her. She was like a cat in heat" She added in a slightly exasperated tone and she adjusted the bag in her hand.
Hunter flinched a little at the mere idea. He looked at Arabella and took the bag from her. "I..." He blinked and looked back at the store. "I didn't notice, I guess." He said with a shrug as he took her hand and walked to her side of the car. He opened her door for her and got in on his side. He set the bag between them and started it. "Seriously?" He said, looking over at her. "That's weird. I usually pick up on stuff like that." He said with a sigh.
"No, you don't" Arabella said with a giggle and she raised an eyebrow at him. "There have been quite a few times now that we've been out doing something and there was a girl checking you out like a piece of meat." She told him and leaned across the seat to him. She pressed her lips against his cheek then sat back in her seat. "I guess I shouldn't complain too much, I mean..I am the one that gets to spend the night with you after all" She giggled and reached into the bag, taking out a chocolate bar and opening it up.
Hunter snorted in laughter. "Yep. You're the lucky one." He said with a roll of his eyes. "I seriously don't notice anything?" He asked, looking over at Arabella. She scoffed and shook her head. Hunter sighed. "Maybe it's because no one can stack up to you." He said, putting an arm around her, kissing her temple. He felt her lean into him and he smiled softly. She held out the end of her chocolate bar and Hunter bit off a piece happily, loving the taste of chocolate. He tilted her head back and shared a brief chocolate kiss before laughing and swallowing the rest.
Arabella smiled softly and she curled up to him. She took another bite of the chocolate bar and passed the last bite to him so that she could adjust herself into her favorite position. Arabella place her chin on his shoulder and she closed her eyes, planting little kisses along his jaw. "Mmm...we should really get back to the hotel" she whispered against his skin, lowering her kisses to his neck.
Hunter blushed a little. "I don't even know if I got the right thing...." He said, a little embarrassed by his actions in the drug store. They stopped at a stoplight and Hunter turned, kissing Arabella on the lips. "We should probably check before we get to the room. Hopefully none of those flavored ones got in." He said, finally parking in the hotel parking lot.
Arabella shrugged and she folded her legs, yoga-style. She pulled the bag onto her lap and pulled out the snacks, magazine and soda. Finally, she pulled out the boxes and read the first one. Arabella started laughing and she passed the box over to Hunter. "You picked out a strawberry one" She said with a nod and grinned at him before looking at the other boxes.
Hunter face palmed. "I don't even know what to do with it." He said, putting the box back in the bag. He was baffled by how something like a strawberry condom would ever have a use. Hunter shook his head and got out of the car, opening her door like usual. He took her hand and they leisurely walked into the hotel. Everything was calm until they reached the room.
"Lucky for you, I do know what to do with it" Arabella said and she pushed the door closed behind them, making sure to lock it. She walked toward Hunter and she wrapped her arms around his neck, kissing him deeply. Her hands slid down his arms and she squeezed his biceps once before nudging him towards the bed. Arabella pushed him so that he was sitting down and she moved onto his lap with her legs on either side of him. "This is so much better than a nap" She whispered.
Hunter blushed and kissed her back. Hunter gingerly put his hands on her hips. "What about room service?" He whispered with a yawn as he kissed down her face, lingering on her chin and trailing kisses down the front of her neck. He lightly nuzzled her neck and trailed kisses along her collar bone before meeting her shirt. He slid his hands slowly down her sides, lightly nibbling on the skin by her neck, until hitting her butt. He squeezed tightly and then ran his hands up her back under her shirt.
"If you're tired then we should order a couple energy drinks or something from room service" Arabella whispered with a giggle and she pulled herself closer to him, closing her eyes. She placed her hands on his arms, lightly digging her nails into his skin as he placed kisses and nibbles on her neck. Arabella leaned into him, taking deep breaths and she brought his face up to meet hers so that she could kiss his lips passionately.
Hunter's heart raced and he felt her lean into him. Hunter sighed and laid backward, running his hands down her legs. "I was thinking more about dinner." He said, pulling away from her. He held her face lightly in his hands. "You know? The third meal of the day?" He said, before kissing her lightly on the lips. He put his hands on her back and looked at her calmly. He blushed a little, but he was worried. They've been doing this a lot and he was worried that it would get old for them. He loved her more than anything, but he knew that Arabella had been doing this a lot longer than he had. What if this gets boring for her? He wrapped an arm around her and pulled her next to him before sitting up again. He reached over and grabbed the menu from the nightstand. "So, what do you want?" He asked, looking through it.
Arabella leaned into him and she kissed his ear, nibbling on the lob slightly. When he asked her what she wanted, she smirked and kissed his jaw. "Mmm?" She murmured against his skin then turned her head to look at what he was holding. "Oh. Dinner" She said and shrugged and she slipped out of his arm so that she could lay down on the bed and stretch out a little bit. "Doesn't matter to me" She told him and she took a deep breath. No man that she had ever been with had done that before, turn down sex for food. Arabella looked up at him and she chewed on her lip. Was there something wrong? Did she do something wrong? Was she moving too fast?
Hunter sighed and laid back on his side, putting a hand on her stomach. "Come on. Don't you want anything?" She simply shrugged and put a hand on his. He put the menu back and kissed her on the cheek. "I love you, you know that?" He said with a sigh. He kissed her arm and looked at her. "Don't you ever get bored doing this? I mean, just the same thing day in and day out. Will this ever get old for you?" He asked quietly. He laid back and put his head on her stomach.
Arabella turned her eyes down to look at him and her eyebrows knitted together. Is that what the problem was? He was getting bored? She took a deep breath and she looked up at the ceiling. After a few moments, she shook her head. "No, I don't think it will. Does it get old for you? Do you get bored?" She asked in a slightly worried voice. She closed her eyes and gingerly ran her fingers through his hair.
Hunter shook his head. "No. Absolutely not." He said quickly. "I don't think I could." He looked at her and smiled. "I just...I don't know. Maybe I'm worried that you'll realize that I'm not as exciting as I was back at camp. I'm not out fighting monsters anymore. I'm not riding pegasi anymore. I'm just...going on runs. And wrangling puppies." He said with a shrug. "I just don't want the buzz to be gone." He said, his voice trailing off.
Arabella looked at him and she let out a little sigh. She wiggled out from under him so that she could sit up and look him in the eye. 'Hunter..I didn't like you when we went to camp because you were going on quests and fighting monsters and riding pegasi. I liked you in camp because you were funny and strong and unbelievably kind. Not too mention incredibly attractive" She told him with a wink and she placed her hands on his cheeks. "And none of that had changed. You're still the same guy that you always were" Arabella chewed on her lip and took a deep breath. "Do you miss all of that? All of the danger and excitement that came with being a hunter?"
Hunter looked up at her and put a hand on her arm. "Maybe? I mean, I love everything about you. I love the life we have together and I'm excited for the life we're going to have, but I just...I don't know." He closed his eyes and shrugged. "I just don't want it become commonplace. I don't want this to ever have a sense of mundanity." He kissed her hand and ran his hand up and down her arm. "I just...I don't want you to get bored." He said, closing his eyes.
Arabella looked down at him and she chewed on her lip. "Hunter...I'm fine, really" She said softly and she leaned down to kiss his nose lightly. "Our life isn't going to become commonplace. I won't let it. Besides, look at how close we live to camp. There is no way that will never be a monster for you to kill. I don't want you to get bored and I'm going to do everything in my power to keep you from getting bored" She told him softly. A small, devious smile spread across her lips and she sat on top of him, straddling him. Arabella leaned down and she started kissing his neck, nibbling on his skin lightly. She raked her nails down his arms and she pulled herself closer to him.
Hunter opened his eyes and smiled softly. He ran his hands down her back and kissed her shoulder. "I don't think I can get bored when I'm with someone as beautiful as you." Hunter said, running his fingers through her hair, cradling her face in his hand. He pressed his lips tightly to hers, letting his tongue run across her lips. "You don't have to do anything. Just know that I love you and will always love you." He said, looking into her eyes and kissing her again. He put his hands on her hips and pulled her closer, then sliding his hands down to her butt. "Ma belle fille jolie...." He murmured affectionately against her lips.
Arabella shivered when she heard him speaking french and she rolled over, so that she was lying on the bed and she pulled Hunter ontop of her. Her leg hooked around his waist and she kissed him deeply. This was never going to be boring for her. This was always going to be exciting and new and fun. Arabella looked up at him and trailed her kisses along his jaw.
"Ce n'est en aucune façon ennuyeuse." He said, knowing that it would send her further over the edge. Hunter sat up and pulled off his shirt, tossing it behind him. He ran his hands up her stomach placing tender kisses along the skin being revealed by her shirt being lifted up. Hunter kissed around her belly button and looked up at her, a smile on his face.
"Oh gods, Hunter. You are...wow" Arabella breathed and she pulled him down to her, kissing his lips passionately. Her heart was racing and her hands were shaking lightly but that didn't stop her from holding him close to her and propping up her legs so that Hunter was laying between her legs. She placed her hands on his arms and raked her fingernails down his skin lightly, leaving red marks.
Hunter shuddered and ran his hands down her smooth stomach finally reaching the waist of her jeans. He placed small kisses on her stomach along her ribcage as he unbuckled her belt and finally unbuttoning the waist. He was determined to make this different. He was going to be more in control during their relationship. She didn't want to be in control all the time, did she? "Mmmm...You're pretty." He said with a grin as he rolled onto his back and pulled her on top of him. He looked up at her and smiled. He ran his hand through her hair and kissed her tightly on the lips.
Arabella giggled against his lips and she leaned into him a little bit. She felt his arms tighten around her and she felt safe, protected. Being with Hunter gave her a feeling that she couldn't describe. He made her feel so much more than happiness. Arabella could melt into his arms and stay like that forever. She didn't need to leave. None of this was going to get boring for her or something she felt like she had to do, but she didn't want to do it. Arabella pulled away from the kissed ever so slightly so that she could look at him and she took a deep breath. "You're handsome" She told him with a smile and she kissed his nose.
Hunter smiled and winked at her in the most charming way he could. He ran his hands up and down her sides, lifting her shirt higher and higher before pulling it off altogether. He pulled her in and kissed her tightly on the lips, his tongue lightly grazing her lips. He ran his leg long her leg, finally managing to snag her jeans in his toes and start to pull them off. "Ta beauté me donne envie de caresser votre peau soigneusement avec la mienne." He whispered into her ear, lightly flicking her ear lobe with his lips. He kissed down her neck and to her shoulder, slipping the strap of her bra down, not letting it impede his lips' journey along her shoulder and down her arm.
Arabella shivered and pressed herself into his kisses more. She stayed like that for a moment, savouring the feeling of his lips against her skin and his fingers brushing her bra strap down. Eventually though, she couldn't take it anymore and she rolled off of him, tugging him to rest over her. His hands found spots on the bed, on either side of her and he held himself up, hovering over her slightly. Arabella slid her hands up and down his arms and looked up at him with big eyes. She was vulnerable and exposed and head over heels in love with the man above her. It was a scary and exhilarating feelings. Arabella let out a happy breath and a small smile spread across her lips. "I love you, Hunter. I love you more and more each day"
Hunter smiled and kissed her lightly on the nose. "I love you too. More than anyone could possibly comprehend." He said, kissing her tightly on the lips. He sat up a little and finally pulled her jeans all the way off, tossing them to the ground. He took his spot on top of her, kissing her face, peppering her with affection. He felt her hands snake into the waistband of his jeans and he smiled when he felt the button release. This felt incredible. He was looking down at the the girl of his dreams and not only that, but she loved him. "I love you so much." He said again as he grazed his fingers along her jawline. He was no doubt in love, feeling lighter than air.
Hunter chuckled as she tried to fix her hair. "You look fine." He said as he snagged her arm and pulled her into his arms, still leaning against the wall. "You look beautiful." He kissed her hair a few times before sighing. "We should get coffee though." He said with a nod. He rubbed her arm and he stood up when the door opened to the ground floor. He walked into the lobby and spotted an array of brochures for Cleveland and the surrounding area. "So, where shall we go? The city is our oyster." He said with a chuckle as he wrapped his arms around her waist and stood behind her.
"Hmmm..." Arabella thought as she leaned into Hunter. Her fingers flipped through the brochures. "Well, we could go shopping. Or we could go for a walk in the park. We could go to the Hard Rock Cafe for supper. We could see if there's any sport-type games playing. I don't even know what game is going on right now. Hockey?" She asked, looking up at him with her eyebrows knitted together.
"Hard Rock Cafe?" Hunter asked with a raised eyebrow. He wasn't sure what that was, but he was up for it. "Okay. That sounds good." He looked at the brochures and kissed her head. "Umm...I think it's football in season. But there isn't a game today." He said with a chuckle. "There's a ship at the harbor and there's a memorial--Oh." He grabbed a brochure for the Cleveland mall. "Let's go here. There's probably all sorts of schtuff for us to do." He said, lightly kissing her cheek.
"Ohh..that looks like fun" Arabella said, taking the brochure from him and flipping through it. She smiled up at him, turning around to kiss his lips lightly before she took his hand and walked out of the hotel with him. Arabella was looking forward to getting there. It looked like there would be lots of places for her to take pictures of them together. As they walked, Arabella tugged out her camera and took a candid photo of Hunter as he walked, giggling.
"Oh, good. Another wonderful picture of me." He said with a chuckle. "Were both of my eyes closed or just one?" He asked before trying to snatch the camera away from her. She pulled it away and giggled at him. He reached for it again, but she ran away. Hunter laughed and ran after her. He finally trapped her against the car, an arm on either side of her. "Give me the camera." He said with a smile. She shook her head and smiled at him. A big sheepish grin. Hunter smiled back. He couldn't help it. She made him smile no matter what. Hearing her voice. Seeing her face. It made him smile. He stepped closer and kissed her on the lips, completely forgetting about the camera.
Arabella giggled against his lips and she wrapped one arm around his neck. She slipped the camera into her pocket and she leaned into the kiss more, pulling Hunter's body closer to hers. She forgot that they were in a parking lot until the family that had seen them in the elevator passed by and the kids all said 'EWWW' and the parents gasped. She pulled away from the kiss, her cheeks pink but she still had a sheepish smile on her face. "Maybe we should get going" she said, trying not to laugh and she slid into the car, adjusting her shirt.
"Those kids are nosy." Hunter said with a laugh as he slipped into the driver's seat. He sighed and pulled out and started to drive toward the mall. Cleveland was a nice town. It wasn't too big, but it had a big city feel. Hunter leaned his head on the window as he drove and cleared his throat. "That was a really nice nap." He said with a smile. He looked at her expression and laughed. "We'll stop at a drug store, okay? Actually, they probably have some in the hotel store. We could have just gotten some." He said with a nod and a pensive look in his face.
Arabella let out a sigh and she turned to look at him. "We better be stopping at a drug store" She huffed. Arabella chewed on her lip for a moment then she slid over, curling up to his side and placing her chin on his shoulder. "It was a good nap, though" Arabella agreed reluctantly and she placed her hands on his arm, holding herself there gently. "I can't believe that out of everything that I didn't want to forget to pack..I forgot that" she said and put her forehead on his shoulder.
"I'm shocked too." Hunter said with a wink. He kissed her head and put an arm around her. They finally arrived at the mall and Hunter parked on the street. He got out and ran around the car, opening Arabella's door. As she stepped out, he took her hand and kissed it before smiling and pulling her into a hug. Without her knowing, he slipped the camera out of her pocket, a skill he learned in all his time in the Hermes cabin. "I think there was a Starbucks down there." Hunter said, holding the camera up his sleeve slightly. He waited for her to turn before turning it on and starting to decipher the instructions.
Arabella looked around, trying to see if she could spot the Starbucks. She yawned, feeling like she really needed the coffee at that point. It usually took her a little while to wake up after falling asleep so coffee helped her along quite a bit. Naps were never a good idea for Arabella because once she fell asleep, her body wanted to stay asleep for at least 8 hours. She spotted the green sign then she turned around to look at Hunter and she saw him trying to figure out her camera. ''You sneak!" She laughed and grabbed at the camera.
Hunter sighed and then smiled at her. "I hate...technology." He said, shaking his head. He took her hand and followed her into the Starbucks. He got in line with Arabella and waited for their turn to order. When they got to the counter, he ordered their drinks and then a big chocolate chip muffin for the two of them to share. He paid and got their drinks before walking back outside. He took a bite of the muffin before taking Arabella's arm in his and handing the muffin to her. "Alright. Lead the way." He said with a smile as he swallowed his bite of muffin.
Arabella nibbled on the muffin and she leaned into Hunter slightly as they walked. She looked around them, taking in all of the sights. There were families walking around, couples holding hands, best friends taking pictures and laughing. It was a warm atmosphere. Arabella passed the muffin back to him and took a long sip of her coffee. "Hmm..well, we need to get a picture. That's for sure. Mind you, I think that picture I got of you earlier is pretty sexy" She giggled and nudged him lightly.
Hunter shrugged and took a bite of the muffin. "What can I say?" He said with a chuckle. He kissed her temple and handed her the muffin. "We could walk around the harbor. It looks like the stadium is there, but the water is just past that." Hunter took a drink of his tea and shuddered as the warmth ran through his body.
"That sounds good" Arabella said happily and she looked up at Hunter with big eyes. She took a deep breath and leaned up to place a kiss on his jaw. It was difficult for her to not kiss him. To stand so close to him and not kiss him seemed like an impossible feat. She took the muffin from him and took a bite off of the top half, chewing slowly. Together, they walked towards the harbor and Arabella passed the muffin back to Hunter, dusting her hand off on her jeans. "You finish it. I'm full" She told him and took a sip of her coffee. "I've never really spent much time in Cleveland before. I mean, I was here for a little while because I had to get a plane for a business meeting from here but I haven't really explored that city before."
"This is officially the furthest away from camp I've ever been." Hunter said with a nod. He tore off the bottom half of the muffin and crumbled it in his hand before tossing it into a group of pigeons nearby. Hunter bit into the top half and washed it down with his drink. Hunter kissed her cheek. "I'm really glad I have you to keep me company." He said with a smile as he nudged her a little.
"I'm pretty glad that I have you too" Arabella said in a soft voice and she leaned into him. She was happy there, in his arms. She felt warm and complete. The world felt simple when she was in his arms. Arabella twisted her fingers through his and she rubbed her thumb over his skin. "I'm really, really happy that you're here, actually. This wouldn't be half as much fun if I was alone"
Hunter smiled and held her hand tightly. As they walked he swung their hands forward and backward, laughing the whole time. Hunter hurried forward when the water came into view. They passed the stadium and the horizon became very picturesque. There was a little bit of mist and it was beautiful. "Well, here's the water." He said with a sigh. "We can take a picture of th-Look." He said pointing down the shore. "There's a navy ship." He said with an excited nod.
Arabella giggled at his excitment and she took another candid picture of him. She slipped the camera into her pocket and she slipped her arms around his waist. With a warm smile, she turned her gaze away from the ship and she looked at Hunter. Just looked at him. Seeing him so excited and so happy was what she wanted her life to be about. All she wanted was to see Hunter smile and to hear his laugh. "Here" She said and passed him her camera. "Just point it at the ship and press the button on the stop of the camera" She explained. Arabella thought it was adorable that he didn't know that much about technology and things like that.
Hunter smiled and gingerly took the camera in his hands. "Uhh...Let's see." He muttered as he looked at the camera. He aimed it at the ship and pressed the button. He held it down until it flashed and took the picture. "Oh..." He said, feeling a little excited about figuring it out. He looked at Arabella and pulled her in view. "Now let's make it an even nicer picture." He said before taking a picture of her standing in front of the ship. He looked around and found a man walking by. "Umm...sir? Could you take a picture of us?" He said, holding out the camera. The man nodded and took the camera. "Alright. What pose should we do?" He asked Arabella with a grin.
Arabella looked up at Hunter with a smile, trying to think of a pose. She slipped her arms around his waist, placing her head on his chest and smiling at the camera. Her grin got wider when she felt Hunter lean down and press his lips to the top of her head. When the man took the picture, She took the camera back from him and thanked him. Once he walked away, she took a step back into Hunter's arms and she looked at the picture. "Now that is a cute picture" She giggled.
Hunter smiled and kissed her temple. "My favorite one so far." He said with a grin. He pulled her closer and placed a small kiss on her neck. "I'm really starting to like Cleveland." He said with a chuckle as he put his chin on her head, looking out at the water. It would always remind him of the beach house. It was a place that made him really happy even though they had a fair amount of bad memories there. "We can spend the night here and then we'll leave for Kyle and Marina's tomorrow." He turned her around in his arms and kissed her on the lips. "And we'll stop by a drug store on our way back to the hotel." He said with a chuckle, pulling her closer.
Arabella smiled and nodded, leaning into Hunter. She took a deep breath, inhaling his smell. It was her favorite smell in the world but she could really describe it. It was warm and clean, almost a woodsy type of smell. It reminded her of nights by the fire at Camp Half Blood or going for a walk in the woods. It was Hunter's unique smell and it was comforting. It made her feel safe. Arabella rested her head on his shoulder, shivering slightly when a wind blew past them. "I still can't believe that out of everything I wanted to pack, I forgot that" She sighed.
Hunter smiled and kissed her forehead. "It seems that you enjoy it way more than I do..." He said with a chuckle. He ran his hands across her back and to her hips. Hunter smiled and put his forehead on hers. "I bet you couldn't even go a week without." He said with a raised eyebrow. He kissed her lightly on the lips, making it a lingering kiss, and turned back to the car. "You said something about the Hard Rock for dinner, right?" He said, taking her hand.
Arabella nodded and she gave his hand and small squeeze as they walked back to the car. She blushed a little when he opened the door for her. "I figured that it would be a good place to get a casual dinner, you know?" She said when Hunter slid into the car and started it. She pulled her feet up onto the seat and placed her chin on her knees. "Are you going to let me pay for dinner tonight?" Arabella asked in a teasing voice and looked over at him with a smirk.
"Nope. Never." He said with a smile back at Arabella. "As long as you are with me, I am paying for everything." He said, putting an arm around her and kissing her cheek. "Except your clothes. That is just...Yikes." He turned right and after a little while they were parking right outside the Hard Rock Cafe. He opened her door for her and kissed her hand as he helped her out of the car. He slipped an arm around her waist as they walked toward the restaurant, opening the door for her again. He walked in and was immediately surprised at how busy it was. "Table for two. The name's Hunter." He said to the hostess before walking back to where Arabella was standing. "Looks like it'll be a wait." He said quietly as he slipped his hands around her waist, kissing her lightly on the lips.
Arabella leaned into him a little, into the kiss before she found a spot on the bench and she sat down, tugging on Hunter's hand so that he sat down beside her. With a little sigh, she leaned into him. She was a little cold because of the chill in the air. "I hope we get to a table soon. I am starving" Arabella said and she pulled Hunter's hand onto her lap. She looked around a little before looking at Hunter and giving him a small smile.
Hunter smiled and put his head back as Arabella ran her fingers up and down his arm. He closed his eyes and tried to relax, but the whole restaurant seemed to be thumping with the bass from some song. He took a deep breath and looked over at her. He was so glad that she was with him. He looked down at the ground and took a deep breath before sliding out of the seat and dropping to one knee.
Arabella looked at him as he bent down on his knee. Her heart raced but she remembered what happened the last time that Hunter had gotten down on one knee. He was probably tying his shoe again or he dropped something. Arabella smiled at him, trying not too look too excited or too nervous or too upset. She couldn't deny the fact that there were butterflies fluttering around in her stomach.
"Ellie," Hunter started, looking up at her. He placed his hand on the ground and felt the bass in the floor. "This entire place is vibrating." He said, shaking his head slightly. He sat down next to her again and leaned into her again. "Thick concrete flooring and the bass is making it shake." He said with a sigh. He could feel her heartbeat and he looked at her with a raised eyebrow. "You okay?" He asked quietly. "Do we need to go somewhere else?" He put his hand lightly on her thigh and gave it a comforting squeeze. "It's up to you."
Arabella looked over at Hunter and she took a deep breath, looking away from him. Her stomach was doing back flips and her heart was still racing. She felt like a bit of an idiot for thinking that Hunter was actually going to propose to her in a Hard Rock Cafe. "Yeah, I uh..I'm fine" She said in a quiet voice and she nodded. Arabella put her hand over his and looked around. "Maybe if the wait is going to be really long, we should just go back to the hotel and get room service" She said softly.
"If that's what you want." Hunter said, kissing her cheek lightly. He stood up and took her hand, leading her out the door. "What is it with you?" He asked as he opened her door for her. He walked around and slipped into the driver's seat. "This keeps happening to you." He said, starting the drive back to the hotel. He kept a look out for a drugstore. "I mean, last time it happened was when we had to stay up for my concussion. I blamed it on the sleep, but...." He thought for a second. "And just now...Oh my gods..." Hunter said, realizing what it was he was doing. Or at least she thought he was doing. "Ellie, I am so sorry. You thought I was....I'm so sorry." He said, feeling bad, but he couldn't help but find the story a little funny.
Arabella curled up on the seat, looking out of the window. Her cheeks were a bright red and she had her arms folded across her chest. She just wanted to keep her eyes open for a drugstore. They could get what they needed to get and then be out of there and back to the hotel room. She wanted to forget about everything that had just happened. "Let's just..not talk about it" She said and cleared her throat.
Hunter smiled and looked over at her. "I really am sorry." He said quietly. He spotted a CVS and parked in front before looking over at her. "I didn't think that you would think that." He put an arm around her and kissed her head. "When I propose, you'll know it." He said with a smile, leaning and trying to catch her glance.
Arabella sighed and she finally looked up at him quickly. Her cheeks were still bright red but at least her heart rate was starting to go back down to a normal speed. Arabella went to turn her eyes away from him again but Hunter kissed her and Arabella leaned into him a little bit. "Can we forget that it happened?" She whispered and pulled away from him to grab her purse and slide out of the car.
"Wait." Hunter said with a smile, kissing her lightly one more time before hurrying around to the other side of the car. He opened the door and kissed her hand like usual before taking her hand and walking toward the drug store. When they walked inside, Hunter felt a little uncomfortable. He walked toward the right aisle hesitantly, holding onto Arabella's hand. "Should I still feel weird buying condoms? I still feel weird buying condoms." He said, stopping her at the end of the aisle, looking into it uncomfortably.
Arabella looked up at Hunter and she smiled a little bit. The fact that Hunter wasn't talking about that moment was making her feel better. Seeing Hunter feeling awkward about buying condoms was making her feel even better. She thought that it was great that he felt weird about it. Arabella kissing him lightly and she shook her head. "It's okay that feel weird. Promise" She said with a nod and took hia hand, giving it a squeeze before she started to lead him down the aisle.
Hunter swallowed and took a deep breath as they walked into the aisle. He could not have been more embarrassed when Chiron saw them last time. He knew that it was highly unlikely that event would occur again, but he was still nervous. "Can we uh...Can we just hurry up? There aren't this many options, right?" He said as they finally arrived at the condom section. "I don't even know what this means..." He said quietly, picking up a box and looking at it. "Why would someone need orange flavoring?"
"Because some people don't like strawberry? Which is just crazy because everyone knows that strawberry is so much better than orange" Arabella said with a small giggle and she looked up at him with a smile. She looked up at Hunter and held back a laugh when she saw the look on his face. Her arm slipped through his and she stretched up to place a kiss on his jaw. "Chiron isn't going to show up here, so relax" she said softly.
"I know." Hunter said with a small smile. "Doesn't mean I feel comfortable with this." He put the box back and waited impatiently for Arabella to decide. He fidgeted from foot to foot before giving up. He grabbed 3 random boxes and shoved them into Arabella's arms before leading her up to the register. "Come on. Let's--Wait." He left her there and hurried over to the food aisle. He grabbed a bag of pretzels and a 2-liter of Mountain Dew. He returned. "Maybe this will hide them or something." He said, blushing hard.
Arabella bit back another laugh and she smiled up at Hunter. "Oh, Hunter..I love you" She said and kissed his red cheek. She placed all of their items at the register then grabbed a copy of the newest Cosmo magazine and a couple of chocolate bars. The girl at the register started to ring their stuff though, placing it into bags. Arabella passed her the cash and raised an eyebrow when she saw that the girl was looking at Hunter with a dreamy look on her face. She was leaning towards him so that her shirt was falling forward slightly. She wasn't even looking at Arabella when she passed her the change. Arabella huffed, grabbed the change and the bags and she slipped her arm through Hunter's, tugging him out of the store.
Hunter walked back and finally reentered his mind. When everything was put up on the register, he zoned out, hoping not to notice anyone's reaction. Suddenly, Arabella was pulling him out of the store angrily. He followed along and stopped her in the parking lot. He took her hand. "What's going on? What's the hurry?" He said, taking her hands in his. "Did I do something?" He said, glancing back into the store. He shrugged and looked back at Arabella.
"No. You didn't do anything" Arabella huffed and she looked up at Hunter, her expression softening a little bit. She took a deep breath and put on a small smile. "That girl in there was probably about to jump over the counter and try to do unmentionable things to you" Arabella said with a nod. "I can't believe you didn't notice. Gods, you could practically smell it off of her. She was like a cat in heat" She added in a slightly exasperated tone and she adjusted the bag in her hand.
Hunter flinched a little at the mere idea. He looked at Arabella and took the bag from her. "I..." He blinked and looked back at the store. "I didn't notice, I guess." He said with a shrug as he took her hand and walked to her side of the car. He opened her door for her and got in on his side. He set the bag between them and started it. "Seriously?" He said, looking over at her. "That's weird. I usually pick up on stuff like that." He said with a sigh.
"No, you don't" Arabella said with a giggle and she raised an eyebrow at him. "There have been quite a few times now that we've been out doing something and there was a girl checking you out like a piece of meat." She told him and leaned across the seat to him. She pressed her lips against his cheek then sat back in her seat. "I guess I shouldn't complain too much, I mean..I am the one that gets to spend the night with you after all" She giggled and reached into the bag, taking out a chocolate bar and opening it up.
Hunter snorted in laughter. "Yep. You're the lucky one." He said with a roll of his eyes. "I seriously don't notice anything?" He asked, looking over at Arabella. She scoffed and shook her head. Hunter sighed. "Maybe it's because no one can stack up to you." He said, putting an arm around her, kissing her temple. He felt her lean into him and he smiled softly. She held out the end of her chocolate bar and Hunter bit off a piece happily, loving the taste of chocolate. He tilted her head back and shared a brief chocolate kiss before laughing and swallowing the rest.
Arabella smiled softly and she curled up to him. She took another bite of the chocolate bar and passed the last bite to him so that she could adjust herself into her favorite position. Arabella place her chin on his shoulder and she closed her eyes, planting little kisses along his jaw. "Mmm...we should really get back to the hotel" she whispered against his skin, lowering her kisses to his neck.
Hunter blushed a little. "I don't even know if I got the right thing...." He said, a little embarrassed by his actions in the drug store. They stopped at a stoplight and Hunter turned, kissing Arabella on the lips. "We should probably check before we get to the room. Hopefully none of those flavored ones got in." He said, finally parking in the hotel parking lot.
Arabella shrugged and she folded her legs, yoga-style. She pulled the bag onto her lap and pulled out the snacks, magazine and soda. Finally, she pulled out the boxes and read the first one. Arabella started laughing and she passed the box over to Hunter. "You picked out a strawberry one" She said with a nod and grinned at him before looking at the other boxes.
Hunter face palmed. "I don't even know what to do with it." He said, putting the box back in the bag. He was baffled by how something like a strawberry condom would ever have a use. Hunter shook his head and got out of the car, opening her door like usual. He took her hand and they leisurely walked into the hotel. Everything was calm until they reached the room.
"Lucky for you, I do know what to do with it" Arabella said and she pushed the door closed behind them, making sure to lock it. She walked toward Hunter and she wrapped her arms around his neck, kissing him deeply. Her hands slid down his arms and she squeezed his biceps once before nudging him towards the bed. Arabella pushed him so that he was sitting down and she moved onto his lap with her legs on either side of him. "This is so much better than a nap" She whispered.
Hunter blushed and kissed her back. Hunter gingerly put his hands on her hips. "What about room service?" He whispered with a yawn as he kissed down her face, lingering on her chin and trailing kisses down the front of her neck. He lightly nuzzled her neck and trailed kisses along her collar bone before meeting her shirt. He slid his hands slowly down her sides, lightly nibbling on the skin by her neck, until hitting her butt. He squeezed tightly and then ran his hands up her back under her shirt.
"If you're tired then we should order a couple energy drinks or something from room service" Arabella whispered with a giggle and she pulled herself closer to him, closing her eyes. She placed her hands on his arms, lightly digging her nails into his skin as he placed kisses and nibbles on her neck. Arabella leaned into him, taking deep breaths and she brought his face up to meet hers so that she could kiss his lips passionately.
Hunter's heart raced and he felt her lean into him. Hunter sighed and laid backward, running his hands down her legs. "I was thinking more about dinner." He said, pulling away from her. He held her face lightly in his hands. "You know? The third meal of the day?" He said, before kissing her lightly on the lips. He put his hands on her back and looked at her calmly. He blushed a little, but he was worried. They've been doing this a lot and he was worried that it would get old for them. He loved her more than anything, but he knew that Arabella had been doing this a lot longer than he had. What if this gets boring for her? He wrapped an arm around her and pulled her next to him before sitting up again. He reached over and grabbed the menu from the nightstand. "So, what do you want?" He asked, looking through it.
Arabella leaned into him and she kissed his ear, nibbling on the lob slightly. When he asked her what she wanted, she smirked and kissed his jaw. "Mmm?" She murmured against his skin then turned her head to look at what he was holding. "Oh. Dinner" She said and shrugged and she slipped out of his arm so that she could lay down on the bed and stretch out a little bit. "Doesn't matter to me" She told him and she took a deep breath. No man that she had ever been with had done that before, turn down sex for food. Arabella looked up at him and she chewed on her lip. Was there something wrong? Did she do something wrong? Was she moving too fast?
Hunter sighed and laid back on his side, putting a hand on her stomach. "Come on. Don't you want anything?" She simply shrugged and put a hand on his. He put the menu back and kissed her on the cheek. "I love you, you know that?" He said with a sigh. He kissed her arm and looked at her. "Don't you ever get bored doing this? I mean, just the same thing day in and day out. Will this ever get old for you?" He asked quietly. He laid back and put his head on her stomach.
Arabella turned her eyes down to look at him and her eyebrows knitted together. Is that what the problem was? He was getting bored? She took a deep breath and she looked up at the ceiling. After a few moments, she shook her head. "No, I don't think it will. Does it get old for you? Do you get bored?" She asked in a slightly worried voice. She closed her eyes and gingerly ran her fingers through his hair.
Hunter shook his head. "No. Absolutely not." He said quickly. "I don't think I could." He looked at her and smiled. "I just...I don't know. Maybe I'm worried that you'll realize that I'm not as exciting as I was back at camp. I'm not out fighting monsters anymore. I'm not riding pegasi anymore. I'm just...going on runs. And wrangling puppies." He said with a shrug. "I just don't want the buzz to be gone." He said, his voice trailing off.
Arabella looked at him and she let out a little sigh. She wiggled out from under him so that she could sit up and look him in the eye. 'Hunter..I didn't like you when we went to camp because you were going on quests and fighting monsters and riding pegasi. I liked you in camp because you were funny and strong and unbelievably kind. Not too mention incredibly attractive" She told him with a wink and she placed her hands on his cheeks. "And none of that had changed. You're still the same guy that you always were" Arabella chewed on her lip and took a deep breath. "Do you miss all of that? All of the danger and excitement that came with being a hunter?"
Hunter looked up at her and put a hand on her arm. "Maybe? I mean, I love everything about you. I love the life we have together and I'm excited for the life we're going to have, but I just...I don't know." He closed his eyes and shrugged. "I just don't want it become commonplace. I don't want this to ever have a sense of mundanity." He kissed her hand and ran his hand up and down her arm. "I just...I don't want you to get bored." He said, closing his eyes.
Arabella looked down at him and she chewed on her lip. "Hunter...I'm fine, really" She said softly and she leaned down to kiss his nose lightly. "Our life isn't going to become commonplace. I won't let it. Besides, look at how close we live to camp. There is no way that will never be a monster for you to kill. I don't want you to get bored and I'm going to do everything in my power to keep you from getting bored" She told him softly. A small, devious smile spread across her lips and she sat on top of him, straddling him. Arabella leaned down and she started kissing his neck, nibbling on his skin lightly. She raked her nails down his arms and she pulled herself closer to him.
Hunter opened his eyes and smiled softly. He ran his hands down her back and kissed her shoulder. "I don't think I can get bored when I'm with someone as beautiful as you." Hunter said, running his fingers through her hair, cradling her face in his hand. He pressed his lips tightly to hers, letting his tongue run across her lips. "You don't have to do anything. Just know that I love you and will always love you." He said, looking into her eyes and kissing her again. He put his hands on her hips and pulled her closer, then sliding his hands down to her butt. "Ma belle fille jolie...." He murmured affectionately against her lips.
Arabella shivered when she heard him speaking french and she rolled over, so that she was lying on the bed and she pulled Hunter ontop of her. Her leg hooked around his waist and she kissed him deeply. This was never going to be boring for her. This was always going to be exciting and new and fun. Arabella looked up at him and trailed her kisses along his jaw.
"Ce n'est en aucune façon ennuyeuse." He said, knowing that it would send her further over the edge. Hunter sat up and pulled off his shirt, tossing it behind him. He ran his hands up her stomach placing tender kisses along the skin being revealed by her shirt being lifted up. Hunter kissed around her belly button and looked up at her, a smile on his face.
"Oh gods, Hunter. You are...wow" Arabella breathed and she pulled him down to her, kissing his lips passionately. Her heart was racing and her hands were shaking lightly but that didn't stop her from holding him close to her and propping up her legs so that Hunter was laying between her legs. She placed her hands on his arms and raked her fingernails down his skin lightly, leaving red marks.
Hunter shuddered and ran his hands down her smooth stomach finally reaching the waist of her jeans. He placed small kisses on her stomach along her ribcage as he unbuckled her belt and finally unbuttoning the waist. He was determined to make this different. He was going to be more in control during their relationship. She didn't want to be in control all the time, did she? "Mmmm...You're pretty." He said with a grin as he rolled onto his back and pulled her on top of him. He looked up at her and smiled. He ran his hand through her hair and kissed her tightly on the lips.
Arabella giggled against his lips and she leaned into him a little bit. She felt his arms tighten around her and she felt safe, protected. Being with Hunter gave her a feeling that she couldn't describe. He made her feel so much more than happiness. Arabella could melt into his arms and stay like that forever. She didn't need to leave. None of this was going to get boring for her or something she felt like she had to do, but she didn't want to do it. Arabella pulled away from the kissed ever so slightly so that she could look at him and she took a deep breath. "You're handsome" She told him with a smile and she kissed his nose.
Hunter smiled and winked at her in the most charming way he could. He ran his hands up and down her sides, lifting her shirt higher and higher before pulling it off altogether. He pulled her in and kissed her tightly on the lips, his tongue lightly grazing her lips. He ran his leg long her leg, finally managing to snag her jeans in his toes and start to pull them off. "Ta beauté me donne envie de caresser votre peau soigneusement avec la mienne." He whispered into her ear, lightly flicking her ear lobe with his lips. He kissed down her neck and to her shoulder, slipping the strap of her bra down, not letting it impede his lips' journey along her shoulder and down her arm.
Arabella shivered and pressed herself into his kisses more. She stayed like that for a moment, savouring the feeling of his lips against her skin and his fingers brushing her bra strap down. Eventually though, she couldn't take it anymore and she rolled off of him, tugging him to rest over her. His hands found spots on the bed, on either side of her and he held himself up, hovering over her slightly. Arabella slid her hands up and down his arms and looked up at him with big eyes. She was vulnerable and exposed and head over heels in love with the man above her. It was a scary and exhilarating feelings. Arabella let out a happy breath and a small smile spread across her lips. "I love you, Hunter. I love you more and more each day"
Hunter smiled and kissed her lightly on the nose. "I love you too. More than anyone could possibly comprehend." He said, kissing her tightly on the lips. He sat up a little and finally pulled her jeans all the way off, tossing them to the ground. He took his spot on top of her, kissing her face, peppering her with affection. He felt her hands snake into the waistband of his jeans and he smiled when he felt the button release. This felt incredible. He was looking down at the the girl of his dreams and not only that, but she loved him. "I love you so much." He said again as he grazed his fingers along her jawline. He was no doubt in love, feeling lighter than air.
Chapter 108 - Arabella and Hunter
Hunter stood there, waiting to pose for the picture. He was anticipating her jumping into his arms and kissing him like she did usually, but that didn't happen. She turned to him and took his hand before standing on her tiptoes and kissing his cheek. Hunter turned red and smiled large at the pose. The man took the picture and Hunter wrapped an arm around Arabella as she took the camera and thanked the man. He looked at the camera and found the picture to be lovingly genuine. "This one is perfect. You are adorable." He said with a laugh as he kissed her temple.
"I'm adorable? Look at that big smile on your face. You look like a kid in a candy store" Arabella giggled, pointing at the picture. She was wearing jeans and a warm sweater, her hair was tied up into a bun that was getting messier and messier in the wind but she didn't really care. Arabella pushed back a couple of golden strands and she turned to look out at the falls, taking a deep breath. They were stunning. It was hard to really explain just how beautiful they were. Arabella took the camera from him and she took the camera and she took a couple more pictures of the falls. "I kind of don't want to leave" She said with a giggle and looked across to the Canadian side, wondering if the people over there would be able to see her waving at them if she waved.
Hunter smiled softly and wrapped an arm around her waist. "Well, we can come again on the way back? Does that work?" He asked. He reached into her purse and grabbed her phone, deftly sliding his finger across the screen and opening the map. "It's about 3 hours to Cleveland. So we'll stop for lunch there and then it'll be about 6 hours before we get to Kyle and Marina's." Hunter said as he gave her phone back. "We'll get there by supper, but we should call and tell them when we're getting there." He looked over at Arabella and sighed. He turned toward the falls. They were beautiful. He found himself not particularly wanting to leave either. "We can stay a little longer. We could stay here another night, if you want?" He said quietly. "We're in no hurry."
Arabella smiled over at him and she took his hand, pulling herself closer to him. She placed her chin on his shoulder and she let out a small sigh. After everything that had happened the night before and everything they talked about, she felt closer to Hunter. She felt like their relationship had gotten stronger, in a way. Arabella also knew that she wanted to do everything in her power to make Hunter feel less guilty. "I think that we should get to Cleveland. We don't have to leave right away, I just think that it would be a good idea to get moving today, you know?"
Hunter shrugged. "Let's walk around the falls." He said with a smile as he took her hand. They walked slowly around the falls, stealing a kiss every once in a while. Hunter found a bench, close to the falls, and he sat down with her leaning on him. He smiled and kissed her head as he wrapped his arm around her. "Huh." He said with a sigh. Arabella looked up at him and raised an eyebrow. "I didn't think that two of the most beautiful things on the planet could be this close to each other." He said with a smirk before kissing her lightly on the lips.
Arabella's cheeks turned a bright pink and she smiled. "You're making me blush again" She said softly and leaned closer to him, into the kiss more. She pulled away a little bit, but only so that she could look at him and run her fingers down his cheeks. "I didn't think that I would ever be lucky enough to be with someone as amazing as you" She said softly with a smile.
"I didn't think that I would ever be lucky enough to be with someone, period." He said with a smile. He looked at her red cheeks and laughed. "You're so cute when you're blushing." He said before kissing her cheeks. He peppered her cheeks with kisses and laughed when he felt her squirm in his arms. She giggled and he could feel her cheeks warm against his lips. He finally held her face in his hands, running his thumbs across her cheeks, looking into her eyes. "You're cute all the time, actually." He said with a smile as he kissed her again.
Arabella giggled and she put her hands on his arms, holding onto his biceps. "You're pretty sexy all the time" she said, giving him a wink. Arabella curled up to his side, leaning against him. She turned to look out at the falls and she let out a happy sigh. "Last night was amazing, Hunter.." she said softly and took a deep breath, turning to look at him. "Thanks for everything. I don't think I could thank you enough for everything you've done for me"
"Likewise." Hunter said He leaned back in the bench and sighed. He really didn't want to talk about what they had talked about last night. He felt better about it, but he still feel bad. Every time he looked at her wrist, he wanted to do something to make like it had never happened. He sighed and put his head against her head. "I'm sorry." He said under his breath.
Arabella shook her head and she took his hands. "You don't have anything to be sorry about" She told him with a smile. Arabella kissed him tightly, then pulled away and cleared her throat. "Come on, no heavy stuff. Let's get go get a coffee" She said and nodded. Arabella didn't want him to feel bad and she didn't want him to start saying sorry to her. She hated seeing him upset like that.
Hunter sighed and took her hand. "You're right." He said with a chuckle. "You're always right." He said kissing her cheek. He stood up and started walking with her around the falls again. He walked to a nearby Starbucks and got in line. "Let's get back on the road after we have our coffee. Is that okay?" He asked with a sigh. He reached the line and ordered the usual. He paid and got their drinks before sitting in the warm coffeeshop, Arabella sitting across from him.
Arabella took a sip of her latte and she let out a happy sigh. It was perfect, like it usually was. She smiled across the table at Hunter. "We need to come up with games that we can play while we're driving. For a little bit of entertainment" She said with a giggle. Driving had been fun. Arabella couldn't pick a better person to be stuck in a car with for hours on end. They didn't need to be talking all the time, it was just nice to be with him. "Do you want me to drive, by the way?" She asked before she took a sip from her latte, getting foam on her upper lip.
Hunter smiled over at her, shaking his attention out of his brain. He looked and saw her foam mustache. He blinked a few times and held back a laugh. "Umm...Yeah. You can if you want." Hunter said with a shrug. He leaned across the table and kissed her upper lip, savoring the sensation and the taste of coffee. He let his tongue slide across her lip before sitting back again. "As far as games go, it's all up to you. This is my first long-distance trip not on the back of pegasi." He said with a smile as he took another sip of his tea.
Arabella giggled when he kissed her lip but she didn't really know why. She never even noticed that she had foam on her lip. Arabella took a sip of her coffee and she nodded. "I'm sure that I'll be able to think of something" she said and grinned across the table at him. "I can't wait to see Kyle and Marina. It feels like it's been so long since we went to their wedding"
"Marina sent me a postcard from their honeymoon." He said with a nod. "Well, she sent us a postcard. They went to Rome." Hunter nodded and took another sip of tea. "She said they were doing quite well. It still felt weird for her to be actually married. Especially to Kyle." Hunter said, laughing a little bit. He was a surprised to hear that they were getting married, but overall he was happy for them. They were two of his closest friends and he was happy to see them happy.
"Why do you say that?" Arabella asked, looking at him with a questioning look on her face. She didn't really know Kyle or Marina very well but at their wedding, they seemed pretty happy. Arabella hoped that they were happy together and that they weren't going to fall apart or anything. She always found it depressing when people stopped loving each other.
"Oh, don't get me wrong. They absolutely love each other. They were meant for each other, but Marina didn't expect Kyle to step up like he did." Hunter said with a nod. "She was starting to question if he was the right man for her and when he finally popped the question she was more than happy." Hunter took a sip of his tea and thought for a moment. "I mean...I helped, but all I did was light a fire under him." Hunter shrugged and finished his tea.
"Some people just need a little kick to get going" Arabella said with a nod and she took the last sip of her coffee. She put her cup down and twisted a piece of hair around her finger, thinking about it all. "What you did for Kyle was great. You're a good friend, Hunter" she said with a nod and she stretched out her arms.
Hunter smiled and laughed a little. "They were with me. They were my friends." He said with a nod. "Marina was my best friend. I told her everything. Kyle was one of the best friends I could ever have." Hunter shrugged. He had known Kyle and Marina for a long time and he couldn't be happier to know that they were together. He stood up and grabbed Arabella's cup. He threw both of them away and put his arm out for her to take. "Shall we go?" Hunter asked with a smile on his face.
Arabella smiled up at him and she slipped her arm through his. Together they walked to their car. All of their bags had been packed and Arabella had stocked out on food. She bought snacks and drinks and put them in the cooler on the floor. "You know..if you just got a cell phone, you would be able to text Marina and you could still tell her everything" Arabella said and she slipped into the car, in the driver's seat. She pulled her seat belt on and looked over at Hunter. "You could tell her all of the juicy details of our relationship. I'm sure she's love that" Arabella teased in a sarcastic voice.
"I don't need a phone." Hunter said, waving his hand. He kissed her on the cheek before sliding into the passenger seat of the car. "I have yours and besides, cellphones are like beacons for monsters. Marina and Kyle don't have cell phones. I think they have a landline." He said with a nod. He leaned his head on the window as they drove. He actually preferred driving, because that meant he had something to do. Right now the only thing he could do was tolerate Arabella's music. "Can we stop at a hospital and have them take my cast off?" Hunter asked randomly. "I mean, I don't really need it anymore and I can cut it off myself, but I know you would freak out if I did that." The first time Hunter cut a cast off, he accidentally sliced into his arm and had to head straight to the infirmary where they put a cast back on after healing his wound. He had gotten much better at it though.
"Yeah, I don't really feel like having a heart attack today" Arabella said with a nod and she looked at him briefly, raising an eyebrow. She remembered hearing about him cutting his cast off and cutting into his arm. It had been a while ago but she was spending time with a couple of girls from the Apollo cabin and they were talking about it. They all thought it was kind of funny but Arabella got the creeps. "I'm pretty sure that if we went back to camp, they would have a plaque up on the wall in the infirmary in honour of you. Most visits to the infirmary or something like that"
"I think I had my own bed." Hunter said with a laugh. "I'd always wake up there to my private physician, Dana. She would always give me a hard time about how much I hurt myself." He smiled a little at the memory. He got hurt a LOT. He fell out of trees. Hurt himself on the rock wall. Fell out of trees. Got hurt sparring. Oh, and fell out of trees. "It's a little bit different when you can nibble some ambrosia, drink some nectar and then be good to go. I was in the infirmary probably half the time I was at camp." He laughed again and looked over at Arabella.
Arabella giggled a little bit and she nodded. "I never spent much time in the infirmary, mostly because I didn't climb trees or anything like that" She teased. Arabella didn't hurt herself much. The only times that she did hurt herself, she hurt herself badly. Usually it was because of Chad. She had been thankful for ambrosia and nectar then. "I was always really impressed with you when we were at camp. You were doing things like climbing trees and the rock wall better than most of the demigods. Same with that bow of yours and your knife"
"I was impressed with that charmspeak of yours." Hunter said with a nod. He looked over at her and smiled. "You had the whole camp in the palm of your hand." He leaned over and kissed her cheek. "What impressed me was that you didn't use it to control the camp. Lesser people would have given in." He put his forehead on her shoulder and sighed. "Maybe that's why you're so amazing..." He said, putting his chin on her shoulder and smiling.
Arabella resisted the urge to turn and kiss him deeply, like she wanted. She figured that it was a bad idea to do that while driving. Instead, she turned her head and gave him a quick kiss before turning back to the road. They were on open highway now and it was nice, more relaxing than being in a city or something like that. "You're too kind to me, Hunter" She sighed happily. "Having total control of the camp would have been wrong. Even if I could have charmspeaked you into breaking your oath with me" Arabella said with a little laugh.
"Artemis was actually worried that me being at camp might be dangerous." He said with a chuckle. "'There are those silver-tongued daughters of Aphrodite!'" He quoted in a very Artemis-esque voice. He rolled his eyes and smiled at her. "You could have charmspeaked me into kissing you before I took the oath, you know?" He said with a smile as he kissed her cheek. He put a hand gently on her thigh, but moved it up and put his hand lightly on her stomach. He patted it a few times and kissed her cheek again.
"Yeah, well...where would the fun be in that?" Arabella said, her cheeks were pink though. She didn't even think about that. She giggled a little when he patted her stomach before chewing on her lip a little. "Silver-tounged..." Arabella scoffed quietly. Artemis was Arabella's least favorite god, by far. There was no question, really. "I'd rather go shopping with Hades then spend an afternoon with Artemis" She said simply and looked around as they pulled into a town, looking for a hospital sign.
"I can't imagine she's too pleased with me, anyway." Hunter said with a smile. He leaned back against his door and put his feet on the seat. "I still can't believe everything that I've experienced. I mean, growing up in it, it started to become mundane, but now that I'm away...It seems so...fantastical." He said with a dreamy look on his face. As much as he gave up and sacrificed for the gods, he still did enjoy being an adopted half-blood for all those years. He will never forget any of it. "Artemis needs to leave me alone, now. I'm not a...Well, you know." He said with a chuckle as he put his head against the window.
"Oh..I know" Arabella said and she looked at him, wiggling her eyebrows. With a giggle, she turned back to the road and she put a hand on his leg. "Everything at camp seems pretty fantastical to me too. It feels like it's been so long since I've been there. I miss being around a big group of people who knew the truth about the gods. As soon as I moved out of camp, whenever I formed relationships with people, it felt kind of fake because I was hiding a huge part of myself"
"'How'd you learn how to use a knife like that?' Well, umm...self-taught. 'How'd you get that scar?' Umm...car accident." He said, reenacting conversations he had while he was homeless. "I know what you mean. The mist just doesn't even try and cover up all of my scars. Hellhound. Harpy. Nemean Lion. Atlas. Prometheus. Chimera. Chimera." He said, pointing to scars. "I had to get creative, so people didn't think I just sat in the middle of the street, waiting for cars to come and hit me." He sighed and looked at her. :We should go back sometime." He nodded and smiled softly. "We can walk in and you can kiss me and I can show you all my favorite spots and you can brag to your siblings..." He said with a chuckle.
"Ouu..they are going to be SO jealous" Arabella said with a grin and she turned down a street that had a sign for a hospital up ahead. She was looking forward to Hunter getting the cast off. It was a pain to have to work around it. Besides, it was never fun to roll over when she was sleeping and get his cast digging into her back. Arabella reached over and took his hand, running her fingers over a small scar. "I love your scars" She told him.
Hunter smiled and kissed her hand. "Good, because it was a LOT of trouble to get them." He said with a smile as he sat normally again, looking out the windshield. "I love not having a big hunk of plaster on my arm." He said, waving his cast around. He probably had a crazy tan and it probably smelled really bad, but he was more than excited to get his cast off. When they parked at the hospital, he hopped out of the car and ran around to her door, opening it for her.
Arabella smiled up at him, her stomach fluttering just like it did everytime he did something like that. She slid out of the car, trying to be graceful as she did it. With a small yawn and a stretch, Arabella took a couple of steps away from the car so that Hunter could close the door. She locked it quickly and stuffed her keys into her pocket before taking his hand and walking towards the hospital doors with him. "I can't wait for you to not have a hunk of plaster on your arm, either." She said with a giggle as they walked inside the doors.
Hunter smiled and caught a nurse. "Hi, ma'am. I have this cast and I'd really like it removed. I broke my arm--really small fracture--and it's pretty much all healed. Is there anyway that you or someone else can cut me out of this thing?" He asked with a smile on his face. The nurse looked at the cast a moment before looking up at Hunter.
"Your doctor gave you a cast this big for a really small fracture?" She asked with a raised eyebrow. Hunter smiled and cleared his throat before nodding. "Alright, umm...step into that room right there. We'll get you out of here in no time."
"Thank you, ma'am." Hunter said as he took Arabella's hand and lead her into the room.
Arabella followed Hunter, looking around at everything, a little nervous. Hospitals always made her nervous and they probably always would make her nervous. They were too clean and there were too many people that we sad or scared or nervous. She could feel it when she stepped into the doors. Arabella held onto his one hand with both of her hands and moved closer to him. When they walked inside the room, Arabella gingerly sat down on the chair in the corner and looked up at Hunter. After a few minutes, the door opened and a man walked in with a clipboard.
"Hello, Mr. Reed and uh.." He said, raising his eyes to look at Arabella.
"Oh, uhm..Foster" Arabella said and she sat back into her chair, turning her eyes back to Hunter.
"Ms. Foster." He said as he wrote while glaring at Hunter. He set down the clipboard and looked at the cast. "Nice drawings." The man said as he opened a cabinet. He pulled out a saw and plugged it into the wall. "Alright. This won't hurt, but some people have found it uncomfortable, so if it does just look at her." He said gesturing to Arabella.
"Yes, sir." Hunter said as he looked at Arabella. He just wanted to look at her. He smiled and looked at her. He wasn't sure how long he looked, but was surprised when he heard.
"Done." the man said, putting the saw away. He wiped Hunter's arm off and handed the pieces of the cast to Arabella. "Well, thanks. Have a good day." He said as he walked and left.
Arabella looked at the cast pieces for a moment before putting them down and turning her eyes back up to Hunter. She smiled softly at him and she wiped her hands on her jeans before standing up. "Well...at least he managed to take off the cast without almost slicing your arm off" She said in a teasing voice and she moved closer to him, kissing him tenderly. "Is your arm okay? Everything's going good so far?"
Hunter put a hand on her hip and stretched out his other hand. He clenched and unclenched his fist. "No pain." He said as he bent his wrist. It was a little uncomfortable, but nothing hurt. He smiled and put his hands on her hips, pulling her closer. He kissed her on the lips. "Thank you." He said as he kissed across her cheek and down her neck. "You know..." He said as he brushed her neck with his lips. "They closed the door to the exam room." He said with a smile as he moved his hands up her sides.
Arabella giggled and she placed her hands on his thighs, shivering at the feel of his lips on her skin. It was an electrifying touch and it wasn't one that Arabella was going to forget anytime soon. It felt like it set her whole body on fire but gave her goosebumps at the same time. She closed her eyes and she leaned into him more. "Let's just hope that they don't have to use this room anytime soon" Arabella whispered and her hands squeezed his thighs.
Hunter stood up and kissed her. "I've been waiting to do this again." He moved his hands down to her butt and lifted her up, kissing her tightly. He felt her wrap her legs around his waist and he wrapped an arm around her waist, his lips never leaving hers. Hunter loved being able to carry her. It made him feel strong and she felt so small close to his body. He heard the door open and he quickly set her on the bed, taking a step away as a doctor walked in, followed closely by a small child and his mother. "We were just leaving." He said as he grabbed his cast and hurried out the door, Arabella's hand in his.
Arabella laughed as they rushed out of the hospital and towards their car. She opened the door and she slid in, pulling Hunter in behind her. Her arms found their favorite spot around his neck and she pulled him down to her. Her lips danced across his jaw and brushed against his lips before she kissed him tightly. Arabella didn't want this moment to end. She never wanted to stop having moments like this with Hunter. It was a rush to run out of the hospital and into their car like that. Arabella took the cast from his hand and put it aside before pulling Hunter closer to him.
Hunter smiled against her lips and hummed as he kissed her. "In a hospital parking lot...." He said with a laugh as he moved his hand up and down her side. He stopped for a moment before pulling away and sitting up. He pulled her closer and started the car. "In Cleveland. We'll pick this up in Cleveland." He said, taking deep breaths.
Arabella leaned back against her seat, her heart slowly going back to it's normal pace. She closed her eyes for a moment and she nodded. "Cleveland" She agreed in a breathless voice. Arabella turned her eyes back to Hunter and she smiled lightly. She watched him as he pulled the car out of the parking lot and down the street, heading out of the town. Arabella looked back out the window and she took a deep breath. "How far to Cleveland?" She asked with a giggle.
"Too far." He said with a nod. He looked over and kissed her lightly on the lips and looked back at the road. They stopped at a busy intersection and Hunter looked over. He pulled her close and kissed her tightly on the lips. He leaned into her and kissed across her cheek. "Cleveland is way too far." He said as he moved his lips to her neck. He heard a loud honk behind him and he cursed under his breath before sitting up again and hitting the gas. As Hunter drove, Arabella placed kisses along his jaw occasionally. He loved the feeling of her lips against his skin. The warmth of her closeness. The steadiness of her breathing. He smiled and kissed her forehead lightly before turning back to the road again.
Arabella giggled against his skin and she placed her hands on his arm, holding onto his bicep as she brushed her lips across his neck. She didn't care that there were people giving them weird looks as they passed by them or kids making grossed out faces from the backs of their parents cars. Arabella was happy against Hunter like that. "Mmm..I've never wanted to get to Cleveland so badly before" She whispered against his skin and she trailed her kisses down his shoulder.
Hunter took a deep breath and kissed her on the forehead. "Me either. I think we're almost there, thankfully." He said quietly. He drove and tried to keep his calm as well as he could, but Arabella leaving tender kisses on his neck and lips was making it difficult. He smiled softly and leaned his head back against the seat. When they finally reached Cleveland, Hunter stopped in a gas station and started to fill up. He ran inside and asked where the nearest hotel was. After the clerk told him he paid for his gas and hurried back to his car where Arabella was waiting 'patiently'. Hunter took a deep breath and drove to the hotel. He parked and kissed Arabella tightly on the lips. He pushed her back and laid over her, kissing her tenderly across the cheek to her neck and shoulders, running his hand along her stomach and sides.
Arabella shivered at his touch and her hands grazed down her back. It was taking everything she had not to wrap her legs around him right then and there. With a racing heart and shallow breaths, Arabella pulled away from Hunter a little. "Hotel room" She breathed and wiggled out from under him and out of the car. Once he was out of the car and had the doors locked, Arabella rushed into the hotel room and she slapped her credit card down on the counter. "I need a room. Now." She said in an urgent voice. Soon enough, she had her room key in her hand and her credit card back in her wallet. Her arms snaked around Hunter's neck and she pulled him into the elevator with her.
Hunter smiled and kissed her tightly on the lips. He reached for the buttons and finally found the panel. "What room are we in?" He whispered. She showed him the key and he kissed her again. "Well, we'll get there when we get there." He said with a brief chuckle as he ran his hand across all the buttons. He lifted her up and leaned on the back of the elevator, his back against the wall. He wrapped his arms around her with her legs around his waist. They went through a couple floors, making sure that no one saw them or wanted to get on. On the third floor, the doors opened and a family of four gasped as they looked into the elevator. Hunter quickly dropped Arabella and looked. "We're uh...We're going up. And we pressed all the buttons." He said with red cheeks and an apologetic wave.
Arabella giggled, hiding her face in his shoulder as the doors closed, leaving the family looking at them with shocked looks on their faces. Once the doors were closed again, Arabella stretched up, placing kisses along Hunter's jaw. She placed her hands on his arms and she leaned into him, into the kiss. It felt like it was a long time when the bell finally dinged and stopped on their floor. Arabella pulled away from the kiss with a little gasp and she walked out of the elevator, bringing Hunter with her. She took out the room key and she tried to swipe it but her hands were shaking because Hunter's hands were on her hips and his lips were dancing along her nape of her neck. "You're distracting me" She breathed with a smile.
Hunter laughed quietly and ran his hand down her arm. He put his hand over hers and swiped the card for the door. He turned the handle and pushed her inside. She turned around in his arms and put her hands on his chest. He closed the door with his foot as he kissed her tightly on the lips, running his hands up and down her sides. "I guess we'll get our bags later." He whispered against her lips. He trailed his lips across her cheek and down her neck to her shoulder. He slipped her sweater over her head and threw it against the wall before running his hands up her shirt, lightly tickling the small of her back. He slipped off her shirt and wrapped his arms around her, kissing her neck. "I love how my arms fit around you." He said with a smile. He kissed her on the lips. "You're so thin!" He said with a laugh before pressing his lips tightly to hers.
"After all of that food you make me, that's a little surprising" Arabella teased with a giggle. She nuzzled into him, slipping her hands up his shirt. Being so close to Hunter made her feel better than anything else on the planet. He made her feel loved, protected, beautiful and safe. He lit a fire in her spirit and made her heart race and her whole body feel warm. Arabella tugged his shirt off and she tossed it to the side before walking over to the bed and flopping down on it. With a devious smirk, she took his hands and pulled him ontop pf her, kissing him passionately.
Hunter kissed her tightly and rolled next to her. He kissed her and laced his fingers into hers. "It really doesn't matter." He said, kissing her again. "I'd love you no matter how you looked. You'd still be beautiful." He said with a soft smile as he ran his hand through her hair. He looked her in the eye and kissed her on the forehead. He looked at her for another moment before sighing. "We don't have any protection." He said calmly, trying to hide his laughter a little. He put his hand on her side, pulling her closer. "I could use a nap though, if you want."
Arabella looked up at him for a moment then let out a sigh. "You are such a tease" She muttered and she placed her forehead on his shoulder. Of course. This would happen to her. Arabella took a breath, trying to calm down her racing heart. Slowly, she rolled so that she was laying on her back and she took deep breaths, her chest rising and falling with each breath. "Yeah..nap sounds good. Then I won't be too tempted to jump your bones" She said in a quiet voice and she looked over at him with a small smile.
"I'm adorable? Look at that big smile on your face. You look like a kid in a candy store" Arabella giggled, pointing at the picture. She was wearing jeans and a warm sweater, her hair was tied up into a bun that was getting messier and messier in the wind but she didn't really care. Arabella pushed back a couple of golden strands and she turned to look out at the falls, taking a deep breath. They were stunning. It was hard to really explain just how beautiful they were. Arabella took the camera from him and she took the camera and she took a couple more pictures of the falls. "I kind of don't want to leave" She said with a giggle and looked across to the Canadian side, wondering if the people over there would be able to see her waving at them if she waved.
Hunter smiled softly and wrapped an arm around her waist. "Well, we can come again on the way back? Does that work?" He asked. He reached into her purse and grabbed her phone, deftly sliding his finger across the screen and opening the map. "It's about 3 hours to Cleveland. So we'll stop for lunch there and then it'll be about 6 hours before we get to Kyle and Marina's." Hunter said as he gave her phone back. "We'll get there by supper, but we should call and tell them when we're getting there." He looked over at Arabella and sighed. He turned toward the falls. They were beautiful. He found himself not particularly wanting to leave either. "We can stay a little longer. We could stay here another night, if you want?" He said quietly. "We're in no hurry."
Arabella smiled over at him and she took his hand, pulling herself closer to him. She placed her chin on his shoulder and she let out a small sigh. After everything that had happened the night before and everything they talked about, she felt closer to Hunter. She felt like their relationship had gotten stronger, in a way. Arabella also knew that she wanted to do everything in her power to make Hunter feel less guilty. "I think that we should get to Cleveland. We don't have to leave right away, I just think that it would be a good idea to get moving today, you know?"
Hunter shrugged. "Let's walk around the falls." He said with a smile as he took her hand. They walked slowly around the falls, stealing a kiss every once in a while. Hunter found a bench, close to the falls, and he sat down with her leaning on him. He smiled and kissed her head as he wrapped his arm around her. "Huh." He said with a sigh. Arabella looked up at him and raised an eyebrow. "I didn't think that two of the most beautiful things on the planet could be this close to each other." He said with a smirk before kissing her lightly on the lips.
Arabella's cheeks turned a bright pink and she smiled. "You're making me blush again" She said softly and leaned closer to him, into the kiss more. She pulled away a little bit, but only so that she could look at him and run her fingers down his cheeks. "I didn't think that I would ever be lucky enough to be with someone as amazing as you" She said softly with a smile.
"I didn't think that I would ever be lucky enough to be with someone, period." He said with a smile. He looked at her red cheeks and laughed. "You're so cute when you're blushing." He said before kissing her cheeks. He peppered her cheeks with kisses and laughed when he felt her squirm in his arms. She giggled and he could feel her cheeks warm against his lips. He finally held her face in his hands, running his thumbs across her cheeks, looking into her eyes. "You're cute all the time, actually." He said with a smile as he kissed her again.
Arabella giggled and she put her hands on his arms, holding onto his biceps. "You're pretty sexy all the time" she said, giving him a wink. Arabella curled up to his side, leaning against him. She turned to look out at the falls and she let out a happy sigh. "Last night was amazing, Hunter.." she said softly and took a deep breath, turning to look at him. "Thanks for everything. I don't think I could thank you enough for everything you've done for me"
"Likewise." Hunter said He leaned back in the bench and sighed. He really didn't want to talk about what they had talked about last night. He felt better about it, but he still feel bad. Every time he looked at her wrist, he wanted to do something to make like it had never happened. He sighed and put his head against her head. "I'm sorry." He said under his breath.
Arabella shook her head and she took his hands. "You don't have anything to be sorry about" She told him with a smile. Arabella kissed him tightly, then pulled away and cleared her throat. "Come on, no heavy stuff. Let's get go get a coffee" She said and nodded. Arabella didn't want him to feel bad and she didn't want him to start saying sorry to her. She hated seeing him upset like that.
Hunter sighed and took her hand. "You're right." He said with a chuckle. "You're always right." He said kissing her cheek. He stood up and started walking with her around the falls again. He walked to a nearby Starbucks and got in line. "Let's get back on the road after we have our coffee. Is that okay?" He asked with a sigh. He reached the line and ordered the usual. He paid and got their drinks before sitting in the warm coffeeshop, Arabella sitting across from him.
Arabella took a sip of her latte and she let out a happy sigh. It was perfect, like it usually was. She smiled across the table at Hunter. "We need to come up with games that we can play while we're driving. For a little bit of entertainment" She said with a giggle. Driving had been fun. Arabella couldn't pick a better person to be stuck in a car with for hours on end. They didn't need to be talking all the time, it was just nice to be with him. "Do you want me to drive, by the way?" She asked before she took a sip from her latte, getting foam on her upper lip.
Hunter smiled over at her, shaking his attention out of his brain. He looked and saw her foam mustache. He blinked a few times and held back a laugh. "Umm...Yeah. You can if you want." Hunter said with a shrug. He leaned across the table and kissed her upper lip, savoring the sensation and the taste of coffee. He let his tongue slide across her lip before sitting back again. "As far as games go, it's all up to you. This is my first long-distance trip not on the back of pegasi." He said with a smile as he took another sip of his tea.
Arabella giggled when he kissed her lip but she didn't really know why. She never even noticed that she had foam on her lip. Arabella took a sip of her coffee and she nodded. "I'm sure that I'll be able to think of something" she said and grinned across the table at him. "I can't wait to see Kyle and Marina. It feels like it's been so long since we went to their wedding"
"Marina sent me a postcard from their honeymoon." He said with a nod. "Well, she sent us a postcard. They went to Rome." Hunter nodded and took another sip of tea. "She said they were doing quite well. It still felt weird for her to be actually married. Especially to Kyle." Hunter said, laughing a little bit. He was a surprised to hear that they were getting married, but overall he was happy for them. They were two of his closest friends and he was happy to see them happy.
"Why do you say that?" Arabella asked, looking at him with a questioning look on her face. She didn't really know Kyle or Marina very well but at their wedding, they seemed pretty happy. Arabella hoped that they were happy together and that they weren't going to fall apart or anything. She always found it depressing when people stopped loving each other.
"Oh, don't get me wrong. They absolutely love each other. They were meant for each other, but Marina didn't expect Kyle to step up like he did." Hunter said with a nod. "She was starting to question if he was the right man for her and when he finally popped the question she was more than happy." Hunter took a sip of his tea and thought for a moment. "I mean...I helped, but all I did was light a fire under him." Hunter shrugged and finished his tea.
"Some people just need a little kick to get going" Arabella said with a nod and she took the last sip of her coffee. She put her cup down and twisted a piece of hair around her finger, thinking about it all. "What you did for Kyle was great. You're a good friend, Hunter" she said with a nod and she stretched out her arms.
Hunter smiled and laughed a little. "They were with me. They were my friends." He said with a nod. "Marina was my best friend. I told her everything. Kyle was one of the best friends I could ever have." Hunter shrugged. He had known Kyle and Marina for a long time and he couldn't be happier to know that they were together. He stood up and grabbed Arabella's cup. He threw both of them away and put his arm out for her to take. "Shall we go?" Hunter asked with a smile on his face.
Arabella smiled up at him and she slipped her arm through his. Together they walked to their car. All of their bags had been packed and Arabella had stocked out on food. She bought snacks and drinks and put them in the cooler on the floor. "You know..if you just got a cell phone, you would be able to text Marina and you could still tell her everything" Arabella said and she slipped into the car, in the driver's seat. She pulled her seat belt on and looked over at Hunter. "You could tell her all of the juicy details of our relationship. I'm sure she's love that" Arabella teased in a sarcastic voice.
"I don't need a phone." Hunter said, waving his hand. He kissed her on the cheek before sliding into the passenger seat of the car. "I have yours and besides, cellphones are like beacons for monsters. Marina and Kyle don't have cell phones. I think they have a landline." He said with a nod. He leaned his head on the window as they drove. He actually preferred driving, because that meant he had something to do. Right now the only thing he could do was tolerate Arabella's music. "Can we stop at a hospital and have them take my cast off?" Hunter asked randomly. "I mean, I don't really need it anymore and I can cut it off myself, but I know you would freak out if I did that." The first time Hunter cut a cast off, he accidentally sliced into his arm and had to head straight to the infirmary where they put a cast back on after healing his wound. He had gotten much better at it though.
"Yeah, I don't really feel like having a heart attack today" Arabella said with a nod and she looked at him briefly, raising an eyebrow. She remembered hearing about him cutting his cast off and cutting into his arm. It had been a while ago but she was spending time with a couple of girls from the Apollo cabin and they were talking about it. They all thought it was kind of funny but Arabella got the creeps. "I'm pretty sure that if we went back to camp, they would have a plaque up on the wall in the infirmary in honour of you. Most visits to the infirmary or something like that"
"I think I had my own bed." Hunter said with a laugh. "I'd always wake up there to my private physician, Dana. She would always give me a hard time about how much I hurt myself." He smiled a little at the memory. He got hurt a LOT. He fell out of trees. Hurt himself on the rock wall. Fell out of trees. Got hurt sparring. Oh, and fell out of trees. "It's a little bit different when you can nibble some ambrosia, drink some nectar and then be good to go. I was in the infirmary probably half the time I was at camp." He laughed again and looked over at Arabella.
Arabella giggled a little bit and she nodded. "I never spent much time in the infirmary, mostly because I didn't climb trees or anything like that" She teased. Arabella didn't hurt herself much. The only times that she did hurt herself, she hurt herself badly. Usually it was because of Chad. She had been thankful for ambrosia and nectar then. "I was always really impressed with you when we were at camp. You were doing things like climbing trees and the rock wall better than most of the demigods. Same with that bow of yours and your knife"
"I was impressed with that charmspeak of yours." Hunter said with a nod. He looked over at her and smiled. "You had the whole camp in the palm of your hand." He leaned over and kissed her cheek. "What impressed me was that you didn't use it to control the camp. Lesser people would have given in." He put his forehead on her shoulder and sighed. "Maybe that's why you're so amazing..." He said, putting his chin on her shoulder and smiling.
Arabella resisted the urge to turn and kiss him deeply, like she wanted. She figured that it was a bad idea to do that while driving. Instead, she turned her head and gave him a quick kiss before turning back to the road. They were on open highway now and it was nice, more relaxing than being in a city or something like that. "You're too kind to me, Hunter" She sighed happily. "Having total control of the camp would have been wrong. Even if I could have charmspeaked you into breaking your oath with me" Arabella said with a little laugh.
"Artemis was actually worried that me being at camp might be dangerous." He said with a chuckle. "'There are those silver-tongued daughters of Aphrodite!'" He quoted in a very Artemis-esque voice. He rolled his eyes and smiled at her. "You could have charmspeaked me into kissing you before I took the oath, you know?" He said with a smile as he kissed her cheek. He put a hand gently on her thigh, but moved it up and put his hand lightly on her stomach. He patted it a few times and kissed her cheek again.
"Yeah, well...where would the fun be in that?" Arabella said, her cheeks were pink though. She didn't even think about that. She giggled a little when he patted her stomach before chewing on her lip a little. "Silver-tounged..." Arabella scoffed quietly. Artemis was Arabella's least favorite god, by far. There was no question, really. "I'd rather go shopping with Hades then spend an afternoon with Artemis" She said simply and looked around as they pulled into a town, looking for a hospital sign.
"I can't imagine she's too pleased with me, anyway." Hunter said with a smile. He leaned back against his door and put his feet on the seat. "I still can't believe everything that I've experienced. I mean, growing up in it, it started to become mundane, but now that I'm away...It seems so...fantastical." He said with a dreamy look on his face. As much as he gave up and sacrificed for the gods, he still did enjoy being an adopted half-blood for all those years. He will never forget any of it. "Artemis needs to leave me alone, now. I'm not a...Well, you know." He said with a chuckle as he put his head against the window.
"Oh..I know" Arabella said and she looked at him, wiggling her eyebrows. With a giggle, she turned back to the road and she put a hand on his leg. "Everything at camp seems pretty fantastical to me too. It feels like it's been so long since I've been there. I miss being around a big group of people who knew the truth about the gods. As soon as I moved out of camp, whenever I formed relationships with people, it felt kind of fake because I was hiding a huge part of myself"
"'How'd you learn how to use a knife like that?' Well, umm...self-taught. 'How'd you get that scar?' Umm...car accident." He said, reenacting conversations he had while he was homeless. "I know what you mean. The mist just doesn't even try and cover up all of my scars. Hellhound. Harpy. Nemean Lion. Atlas. Prometheus. Chimera. Chimera." He said, pointing to scars. "I had to get creative, so people didn't think I just sat in the middle of the street, waiting for cars to come and hit me." He sighed and looked at her. :We should go back sometime." He nodded and smiled softly. "We can walk in and you can kiss me and I can show you all my favorite spots and you can brag to your siblings..." He said with a chuckle.
"Ouu..they are going to be SO jealous" Arabella said with a grin and she turned down a street that had a sign for a hospital up ahead. She was looking forward to Hunter getting the cast off. It was a pain to have to work around it. Besides, it was never fun to roll over when she was sleeping and get his cast digging into her back. Arabella reached over and took his hand, running her fingers over a small scar. "I love your scars" She told him.
Hunter smiled and kissed her hand. "Good, because it was a LOT of trouble to get them." He said with a smile as he sat normally again, looking out the windshield. "I love not having a big hunk of plaster on my arm." He said, waving his cast around. He probably had a crazy tan and it probably smelled really bad, but he was more than excited to get his cast off. When they parked at the hospital, he hopped out of the car and ran around to her door, opening it for her.
Arabella smiled up at him, her stomach fluttering just like it did everytime he did something like that. She slid out of the car, trying to be graceful as she did it. With a small yawn and a stretch, Arabella took a couple of steps away from the car so that Hunter could close the door. She locked it quickly and stuffed her keys into her pocket before taking his hand and walking towards the hospital doors with him. "I can't wait for you to not have a hunk of plaster on your arm, either." She said with a giggle as they walked inside the doors.
Hunter smiled and caught a nurse. "Hi, ma'am. I have this cast and I'd really like it removed. I broke my arm--really small fracture--and it's pretty much all healed. Is there anyway that you or someone else can cut me out of this thing?" He asked with a smile on his face. The nurse looked at the cast a moment before looking up at Hunter.
"Your doctor gave you a cast this big for a really small fracture?" She asked with a raised eyebrow. Hunter smiled and cleared his throat before nodding. "Alright, umm...step into that room right there. We'll get you out of here in no time."
"Thank you, ma'am." Hunter said as he took Arabella's hand and lead her into the room.
Arabella followed Hunter, looking around at everything, a little nervous. Hospitals always made her nervous and they probably always would make her nervous. They were too clean and there were too many people that we sad or scared or nervous. She could feel it when she stepped into the doors. Arabella held onto his one hand with both of her hands and moved closer to him. When they walked inside the room, Arabella gingerly sat down on the chair in the corner and looked up at Hunter. After a few minutes, the door opened and a man walked in with a clipboard.
"Hello, Mr. Reed and uh.." He said, raising his eyes to look at Arabella.
"Oh, uhm..Foster" Arabella said and she sat back into her chair, turning her eyes back to Hunter.
"Ms. Foster." He said as he wrote while glaring at Hunter. He set down the clipboard and looked at the cast. "Nice drawings." The man said as he opened a cabinet. He pulled out a saw and plugged it into the wall. "Alright. This won't hurt, but some people have found it uncomfortable, so if it does just look at her." He said gesturing to Arabella.
"Yes, sir." Hunter said as he looked at Arabella. He just wanted to look at her. He smiled and looked at her. He wasn't sure how long he looked, but was surprised when he heard.
"Done." the man said, putting the saw away. He wiped Hunter's arm off and handed the pieces of the cast to Arabella. "Well, thanks. Have a good day." He said as he walked and left.
Arabella looked at the cast pieces for a moment before putting them down and turning her eyes back up to Hunter. She smiled softly at him and she wiped her hands on her jeans before standing up. "Well...at least he managed to take off the cast without almost slicing your arm off" She said in a teasing voice and she moved closer to him, kissing him tenderly. "Is your arm okay? Everything's going good so far?"
Hunter put a hand on her hip and stretched out his other hand. He clenched and unclenched his fist. "No pain." He said as he bent his wrist. It was a little uncomfortable, but nothing hurt. He smiled and put his hands on her hips, pulling her closer. He kissed her on the lips. "Thank you." He said as he kissed across her cheek and down her neck. "You know..." He said as he brushed her neck with his lips. "They closed the door to the exam room." He said with a smile as he moved his hands up her sides.
Arabella giggled and she placed her hands on his thighs, shivering at the feel of his lips on her skin. It was an electrifying touch and it wasn't one that Arabella was going to forget anytime soon. It felt like it set her whole body on fire but gave her goosebumps at the same time. She closed her eyes and she leaned into him more. "Let's just hope that they don't have to use this room anytime soon" Arabella whispered and her hands squeezed his thighs.
Hunter stood up and kissed her. "I've been waiting to do this again." He moved his hands down to her butt and lifted her up, kissing her tightly. He felt her wrap her legs around his waist and he wrapped an arm around her waist, his lips never leaving hers. Hunter loved being able to carry her. It made him feel strong and she felt so small close to his body. He heard the door open and he quickly set her on the bed, taking a step away as a doctor walked in, followed closely by a small child and his mother. "We were just leaving." He said as he grabbed his cast and hurried out the door, Arabella's hand in his.
Arabella laughed as they rushed out of the hospital and towards their car. She opened the door and she slid in, pulling Hunter in behind her. Her arms found their favorite spot around his neck and she pulled him down to her. Her lips danced across his jaw and brushed against his lips before she kissed him tightly. Arabella didn't want this moment to end. She never wanted to stop having moments like this with Hunter. It was a rush to run out of the hospital and into their car like that. Arabella took the cast from his hand and put it aside before pulling Hunter closer to him.
Hunter smiled against her lips and hummed as he kissed her. "In a hospital parking lot...." He said with a laugh as he moved his hand up and down her side. He stopped for a moment before pulling away and sitting up. He pulled her closer and started the car. "In Cleveland. We'll pick this up in Cleveland." He said, taking deep breaths.
Arabella leaned back against her seat, her heart slowly going back to it's normal pace. She closed her eyes for a moment and she nodded. "Cleveland" She agreed in a breathless voice. Arabella turned her eyes back to Hunter and she smiled lightly. She watched him as he pulled the car out of the parking lot and down the street, heading out of the town. Arabella looked back out the window and she took a deep breath. "How far to Cleveland?" She asked with a giggle.
"Too far." He said with a nod. He looked over and kissed her lightly on the lips and looked back at the road. They stopped at a busy intersection and Hunter looked over. He pulled her close and kissed her tightly on the lips. He leaned into her and kissed across her cheek. "Cleveland is way too far." He said as he moved his lips to her neck. He heard a loud honk behind him and he cursed under his breath before sitting up again and hitting the gas. As Hunter drove, Arabella placed kisses along his jaw occasionally. He loved the feeling of her lips against his skin. The warmth of her closeness. The steadiness of her breathing. He smiled and kissed her forehead lightly before turning back to the road again.
Arabella giggled against his skin and she placed her hands on his arm, holding onto his bicep as she brushed her lips across his neck. She didn't care that there were people giving them weird looks as they passed by them or kids making grossed out faces from the backs of their parents cars. Arabella was happy against Hunter like that. "Mmm..I've never wanted to get to Cleveland so badly before" She whispered against his skin and she trailed her kisses down his shoulder.
Hunter took a deep breath and kissed her on the forehead. "Me either. I think we're almost there, thankfully." He said quietly. He drove and tried to keep his calm as well as he could, but Arabella leaving tender kisses on his neck and lips was making it difficult. He smiled softly and leaned his head back against the seat. When they finally reached Cleveland, Hunter stopped in a gas station and started to fill up. He ran inside and asked where the nearest hotel was. After the clerk told him he paid for his gas and hurried back to his car where Arabella was waiting 'patiently'. Hunter took a deep breath and drove to the hotel. He parked and kissed Arabella tightly on the lips. He pushed her back and laid over her, kissing her tenderly across the cheek to her neck and shoulders, running his hand along her stomach and sides.
Arabella shivered at his touch and her hands grazed down her back. It was taking everything she had not to wrap her legs around him right then and there. With a racing heart and shallow breaths, Arabella pulled away from Hunter a little. "Hotel room" She breathed and wiggled out from under him and out of the car. Once he was out of the car and had the doors locked, Arabella rushed into the hotel room and she slapped her credit card down on the counter. "I need a room. Now." She said in an urgent voice. Soon enough, she had her room key in her hand and her credit card back in her wallet. Her arms snaked around Hunter's neck and she pulled him into the elevator with her.
Hunter smiled and kissed her tightly on the lips. He reached for the buttons and finally found the panel. "What room are we in?" He whispered. She showed him the key and he kissed her again. "Well, we'll get there when we get there." He said with a brief chuckle as he ran his hand across all the buttons. He lifted her up and leaned on the back of the elevator, his back against the wall. He wrapped his arms around her with her legs around his waist. They went through a couple floors, making sure that no one saw them or wanted to get on. On the third floor, the doors opened and a family of four gasped as they looked into the elevator. Hunter quickly dropped Arabella and looked. "We're uh...We're going up. And we pressed all the buttons." He said with red cheeks and an apologetic wave.
Arabella giggled, hiding her face in his shoulder as the doors closed, leaving the family looking at them with shocked looks on their faces. Once the doors were closed again, Arabella stretched up, placing kisses along Hunter's jaw. She placed her hands on his arms and she leaned into him, into the kiss. It felt like it was a long time when the bell finally dinged and stopped on their floor. Arabella pulled away from the kiss with a little gasp and she walked out of the elevator, bringing Hunter with her. She took out the room key and she tried to swipe it but her hands were shaking because Hunter's hands were on her hips and his lips were dancing along her nape of her neck. "You're distracting me" She breathed with a smile.
Hunter laughed quietly and ran his hand down her arm. He put his hand over hers and swiped the card for the door. He turned the handle and pushed her inside. She turned around in his arms and put her hands on his chest. He closed the door with his foot as he kissed her tightly on the lips, running his hands up and down her sides. "I guess we'll get our bags later." He whispered against her lips. He trailed his lips across her cheek and down her neck to her shoulder. He slipped her sweater over her head and threw it against the wall before running his hands up her shirt, lightly tickling the small of her back. He slipped off her shirt and wrapped his arms around her, kissing her neck. "I love how my arms fit around you." He said with a smile. He kissed her on the lips. "You're so thin!" He said with a laugh before pressing his lips tightly to hers.
"After all of that food you make me, that's a little surprising" Arabella teased with a giggle. She nuzzled into him, slipping her hands up his shirt. Being so close to Hunter made her feel better than anything else on the planet. He made her feel loved, protected, beautiful and safe. He lit a fire in her spirit and made her heart race and her whole body feel warm. Arabella tugged his shirt off and she tossed it to the side before walking over to the bed and flopping down on it. With a devious smirk, she took his hands and pulled him ontop pf her, kissing him passionately.
Hunter kissed her tightly and rolled next to her. He kissed her and laced his fingers into hers. "It really doesn't matter." He said, kissing her again. "I'd love you no matter how you looked. You'd still be beautiful." He said with a soft smile as he ran his hand through her hair. He looked her in the eye and kissed her on the forehead. He looked at her for another moment before sighing. "We don't have any protection." He said calmly, trying to hide his laughter a little. He put his hand on her side, pulling her closer. "I could use a nap though, if you want."
Arabella looked up at him for a moment then let out a sigh. "You are such a tease" She muttered and she placed her forehead on his shoulder. Of course. This would happen to her. Arabella took a breath, trying to calm down her racing heart. Slowly, she rolled so that she was laying on her back and she took deep breaths, her chest rising and falling with each breath. "Yeah..nap sounds good. Then I won't be too tempted to jump your bones" She said in a quiet voice and she looked over at him with a small smile.
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