The night had been wonderful with Hunter and when Arabella woke up in the morning, her skin was still tingling with the memory of her touch, his breath, his kisses. She wanted to close her eyes and live in that moment forever. Sleep had not come easy to Arabella that night. Once Hunter had drifted off to sleep and she was alone with her thoughts, she had thought about the man that had tried to mug them. He had scared her, a lot. But he also made her realize that she needed to learn how to defend herself and Hunter. They had gotten lucky that he only had the knife and he didn't know how to use it but what if he did know how to use it? Or what if he had been a monster? Would Arabella be able to help Hunter take the thing down? She wasn't sure and that worry tugged at the back of her mind for the rest of the night. When she woke up in the morning, it was early and Hunter was still asleep so she quietly slid out of bed, pulled on Hunter's tee shirt and a pair of sweatpants before slipping into her shoes and walking out of the hotel room. She walked down to the breakfast buffet and she fixed up two plates with a little bit of everything before grabbing a cup of coffee and heading back to the elevator.
Hunter woke up and felt sad. He loved waking up with Arabella in his arms. What made him even more sad that the fact that she was gone, but the reason she was gone. If she was gone that meant that she didn't sleep well. That meant that she either had a bad dream or something was bothering her. Hunter sat on the foot of the bed. He had looked for clothes, but Arabella must have put them on to go downstairs. He looked over and ate a stale chocolate covered strawberry. He grimaced a little and took a swig of the left over cider before standing up and adjusting his boxers. He set the tray on the table and sat back down on the foot of the bed, waiting for Arabella to come back. When she did, he immediately looked up. "Hey, what's wrong?" He said, taking the tray of food from her and setting it on the bed next to him. He grabbed her wrist and pulled her onto his lap. "You woke up before noon. Tell me what's wrong." He said, kissing her shoulder and wrapping his arms around her midsection.
Arabella looked at Hunter and she took a breath, closing her eyes a little bit. "It's nothing" She said softly and she ran her hand down his arm a little bit before reaching beside him to the food tray and she tugged on it a little bit. She didn't want to have to talk about the bad things with Hunter. She didn't want to have to include him in her worries again. She didn't want to see him worried about her. "I got a bit too much bacon for myself, so you can have some of mine" she said softly.
Hunter ate a strip of bacon and then pushed the tray away, out of her reach. He was hungry and he could tell, but he wanted Arabella to talk about what was bothering her. "Ellie." He said with a sigh. "Talk to me. I can tell when something is bothering you and I want to know what it is." He said, rubbing her back a little. He hated seeing her upset. He figured that it was a bad dream or something, but part of him was worried that it was something that he did. "Ellie, did I do something? Please, talk to me." He kissed her on the shoulder and put a hand on her thigh. "You can talk to me."
"You did nothing wrong, Hunter. You're amazing" Arabella said softly and she looked at him with a slightly worried look on her face. She didn't want him to be worried like this. He didn't want him to be upset because of her. Arabella brushed her fingers across his cheek briefly and she took a deep breath. "There's nothing to worry about, really. I'm just being silly. Thinking too much. I'm fine" She said softly and looked down at her lap for a moment, running her fingers through her hair.
"Well," He started, rubbing her thigh a little. "Let me help you think." He said quietly. He sighed and felt a little hurt that she wouldn't just tell him. They were going to get married, but she wouldn't let him help her? She waved him off again and Hunter sighed. "Ellie...." He whined slightly. "Come on." He kissed her shoulder and put his chin on it. "Talk. To. Me." He said, taking her hand and holding it in her lap.
Arabella closed her eyes and she let out a small sigh. "I just..." She started but stopped, trying to find the right words to explain how she felt. "After you fell asleep last night, I stayed up and I started thinking about the guy with the knife from last night. I couldn't really sleep after that, you know?" She confessed softly. The last thing that she wanted was for Hunter to worry about her. She didn't want him to feel like he had to protect her all of the time which was part of the reason she was so upset. She felt like she couldn't protect herself and she hated that.
"Ellie..." He started to talk, but stopped when he started laughing a little. "Ellie, that guy had absolutely no chance of hurting either of us. He held up his bandaged arm. "You've hurt me worse than this, first of all. Second of all, let's say he had something else." He said, clearing his throat. "Let's say he had a gun. He points it at me and for some reason I can't defend myself. All you have to do is tell him to go away and he will." He said, kissing her cheek. "You could tell him to take off his clothes and dance like an elephant and he would. Even if you didn't have your charmspeak, you've got that knife and I know that I taught you how to throw it with some accuracy. It can't hurt him, but it can hit the gun." He turned her head and kissed her on the lips. "That's assuming you remember anything I taught you." He said with a chuckle as he kissed her again.
"It's hard to remember anything when your teacher is such a stud" Arabella said softly and she kissed him lightly. After a moment, Arabella pulled away a little and looked at Hunter with big eyes. His arms around her were making her feel a bit better. She was happy that he was there for her and that he was going to protect her. He was saying great things to her and she leaned into him slightly. "I don't know Hunter. I grew up at camp and all of my closest friends were incredible with stuff like that. They all had these incredible skills that they had gotten from their parents and sometimes I just feel like I can't protect myself and it sucks. I don't always want to be the damsel in distress"
Hunter sighed and looked at her. "Ellie, you will never be the damsel in distress." He said, shaking his head. "'Incredible skills' don't even get close to matching your charmspeak. You don't need to fight when you can make the enemy go away." Hunter said, rubbing her back again. "Ellie, I chose to protect you last night because I love you and I couldn't imagine anything bad happening to you. If you had chosen to, you could have protected me just as easily. At no point did I think you were the damsel in distress." He put his cheek on her shoulder and pulled her closer. "You're the demigod here. Not me."
"You're the one that has killed too many monsters to count. Not me" Arabella said softly and she turned her head to kiss him. Maybe he was right. She knew that her charmspeak was pretty amazing and she was proud of it but she couldn't help but feel a little jealous when she saw a daughter of Ares or someone like Hunter, kicking serious butt. "Thank you, by the way. For everything. I think I would have totally lost my mind last night if I didn't have you next to me" She breathed and looked at him with big eyes.
Hunter smiled and kissed her back. "That's what best friends are for." He said gently, putting a hand on her thigh again. "We can do knife-fighting lessons again, if you want." He said quietly. "It's a shame you can't give me charmspeaking lessons. Ellie, you've got something that years and years of practice can't teach." He reassured her. "I was bored for a long time. You were naturally gifted with the ability."
"I think that knife-fighting sounds like a really good idea. Maybe some archery too. Might as well learn from the best, right?" Arabella said softly with a little smile and she brushed her fingers across his cheek. She was blushing a little bit from his compliments about her charmspeak and she kissed him lightly as a thank you, not really being able to find the right words to tell him just how much that all meant to her. She reached over and tugged on the tray of food, bringing it closer to them. Arabella picked up a strawberry and she took a bite out of it, kissing Hunter right after.
"Mmm...Sweet." He said with a smile against her lips. "Oh, you ate a strawberry?" He teased, running his hands along her thighs again. "Thanks for getting breakfast, Honey bunch." He said, pressing his lips to hers. He felt better about the whole situation. He knew that she had broken up with Brian previously because she felt that she needed to figure out how she would do on her own. He didn't want that to happen to them. He took another swig from the cider and handed her the bottle. "You can finish it if you want." He said, eating another strip of bacon.
Arabella drank the last sip of the cider and she placed the bottle down. She was looking forward to the drive. Just her and Hunter in the car for hours on end. It was going to be relaxing and simple and wonderful. Arabella rolled off of Hunter's lap and she laid down on her bed, picking up her phone so that she could look at the map. With a yawn, she put the phone down on the bed beside her. "I am going to sleep well in the car today" she said with a little giggle and she looked up at Hunter. His words from that morning were echoing in her head and they made her feel amazing. He knew just how to make her feel better.
Hunter chuckled and smiled at her. "Oh, yeah?" He said, rolling on top of her. He looked at the map. "St. Louis. That's...5 hours." He took her phone from her and set it on the bed. "The arch. Other stuff." He kissed her lightly and teasingly on the lips. "There's so much to do there." He kissed her again and grinned at her. "Mia bella." He whispered against her lips. He knew that his actions would likely get her riled up and he loved it. He kissed her one more time before crawling away from her. "Well, let's get packed up." He said with a chuckle.
"You are the biggest tease I have ever met. Like..I thought that I was a tease. But nope. You beat me at that too" Arabella giggled and she stretched out on the bed, taking deep breaths. She sat up and crawled over to him, kissing him tightly. "You're going to have to put some clothes on before I jump your bones" she said and patted his chest before rolling off the bed and stretching. Packing wouldn't be too long but she knew that if would be difficult to do with Hunter teasing her like that.
Hunter smiled and looked back at her, blushing a little. He had completely forgotten about his lack of clothing. "Well, I would have clothes except you're wearing them." Hunter turned around, back to his backpack and flexed. He didn't make any poses, but he flexed, assuredly exhibiting his back muscles, knowing that Arabella would get even more excited. "I won't look if you want to get changed real quick." He said, putting his hands in front of his face, but still flexing.
Arabella looked over at Hunter and she took a breath, openly gawking at him. At this point, it was honestly taking everything she had not to throw herself on him and start kissing him. She closed her eyes, turning away from him for a moment because she needed to regain some of her composure. Arabella smirked a little and she slipped out of Hunter's clothes and she walked over to him. She placed the clothes over his arm and she pressed herself against him for a moment, placing a kiss on his collar bone before turning and walking towards her suitcase.
Hunter froze for a moment before taking a deep breath. He gave her another minute to get dressed before removing his hands from his face. He looked back at her to see her completely nude. "Would you..." He started before closing his eyes and taking a deep breath. "And I'm the tease?" He said with a chuckle. "You're packing in the nude." He said as he moved the clothes from his arm to the bag. He thought for a moment before deciding to go all in. He slipped his boxers off and looked into his backpack for a new pair, taking his time to make sure that Arabella had plenty of time to get her eyeful.
Arabella looked over at him with a smirk on her face. She was checking him out and there was no shame in it, at all. Arabella walked towards the bed and as she passed him, she gave his butt a little pat and she giggled. It was things like this that made her love being with Hunter that much more. He would do things like this with her and it would be fun and kind of hilarious and not to mention it would get her pretty excited. Arabella looked over at him and she tossed her teddy bear back to her bag then walked over to him, standing behind him and placing a kiss between his shoulder blades. "Man..I am one lucky girl" she giggled softly.
Hunter blushed a little when she patted his butt. He was about to give in and put some clothes on when he felt lips on his back. Hunter turned around quickly and grabbed her by the hips. "I am one lucky guy." He said, checking her out. He whistled softly and pulled her close, kissing her tightly on the lips. He felt her respond, leaning into him, putting her hands on his arms. He ran his hands across her back and down, pushing his luck. He grabbed her butt and pulled her closer to him, feeling passionate yet competitive at the same time.
Arabella felt her heart race and she ran her hands down his arms, holding onto his biceps. She didn't really know what to do at the moment. Part of her wanted to step backward and fall onto the bed with Hunter and have her way with him. The other part of her really, really wanted to win whatever unspoken competition was going on between them. She pressed herself closer to him and she nibbled on his bottom lip slightly then she pulled away. "Well, we should get back to packing" She said, giving him a wink and she headed towards her suitcase, trying not to laugh.
Hunter sighed and took a deep breath. He had gotten so worked up, he thought his heart might jump out of his chest. He slipped on a pair of boxers and walked over to her. "Il mio unico e solo." He said, putting his hands, lightly on her hips. He kissed her neck and breathed on her skin. "Pour vous tenir à proximité." He breathed gently into her ear. He didn't kiss her, but he more grazed her skin with his lips. "Je veux t'embrasser tendrement." He finally placed a small kiss on the back of her neck and breathed warm breath upon her skin. He smiled deviously, almost positive that it would work.
"Oh..that is not fair" Arabella shivered and she dropped the clothes in her hands so that she could turn around in his arms. She placed her hands on his chest and she pulled him closer. As her fingers grazed against his skin, she kissed his top lip then his bottom lip. Arabella knew that she wasn't going to win their competition. She just wanted to be as close to him as possible. "You are going to drive me insane one of these days, Hunter" she breathed with a smirk.
Hunter grinned and kissed her briefly on the lips. "I....win!" He said, putting his hands up and stepping away from her. She gave him a look and glared at him. He laughed and winked at her before stepping forward and sweeping her into his arms. He kissed her tightly as she wrapped her arms around his neck. "I was about to breakdown, myself." He muttered against her lips. He fell back on the bed, their lips still locked together. "This trip is going to take forever if we keep doing this." He said with a chuckle, trailing kisses down her neck and across her shoulder. "I guess you really will sleep well in the car."
"I am going to have the best sleep ever" Arabella said softly and she hooked her toes in his boxers so that she could start to tug them down. Being able to do something like this with Hunter felt like such a dream to Arabella. It was something that she never thought would have happened when they were younger and now that it was, it almost seemed too good to be true. Arabella kissed him lightly and she looked up at him, getting lost in his dark eyes. "You're incredible, Hunter" She breathed.
Hunter grinned an unbreakable grin. The morning had started out shaky, but now it felt perfect. Hunter lifted his hips and pulled his boxers down, kicking them off before running his fingers through her hair. He kissed her tenderly and sighed happily. He looked at her, feeling happier and happier that he would be able to look into her eyes and gaze upon her face every morning for the rest of his life. "I love you." He said with a smile. "I really really really do love you."
-----
Arabella was curled up on the seat in the car with her head on Hunter's leg. She was looking up at him with a small smile. They had been driving for about 3 hours and Arabella had slept for most of that time. she was awake now though but she didn't really feel like sitting up. It was comfortable on the seat like that, looking up at Hunter. Her smile got a little bigger and she bit her lip. That morning had been so wonderful with hunter and he was able to make her feel so amazing. She couldn't believe that she had been lucky enough to be with someone as wonderful as Hunter. "Do you need me to drive at all?" She asked him lightly.
Hunter smiled at her and laughed a little. "Nope. Everything's perfect." He said, tapping her lightly on the nose. She scrunched her face up a little and Hunter thought it was absolutely adorable. He laughed again and sighed, feeling like nothing could ruin this moment. "You doing okay, miele grappolo? Do I need to change the radio station or do we need to stop?" He asked, brushing a little bit of hair out of her face.
"I'm doing wonderful" Arabella said softly and she took his hand, brushing her lips against his knuckles. She yawned a small yawn and she turned her eyes back to him, holding his hand close to her heart. Arabella liked to look at him, just look at him. Everything about him amazed her. "We should have a movie night tonight or something like that. Or maybe we can watch a TV show, something like Friends." Arabella suggested.
Hunter laughed at her and kissed her hand. "If you'll recall," He started, sarcastically. "I proposed a movie night last night." He said with a grin. "You had other plans in mind. Much more...intimate plans." He nodded and kissed her hand again. "Not that I'm complaining. I was just stating a fact. You and that beauty of yours." Hunter muttered with a playful scoff. He looked down at her and smiled. He loved how easily he could make her blush. He felt a little bad that she had been with so many bad guys that not one of them told her how beautiful she was. She was so hard on herself and all Hunter wanted her to know was that she was the most beautiful girl in the world. "You're so beautiful, Ellie, and you don't hear it enough." He said quietly.
Arabella blushed a deep pink and she looked up at Hunter with happy eyes. She loved hearing that sort of thing from Hunter. The way he said it made her believe it. Growing up, no one ever told her that she was beautiful. She was with guys that never told her and were horrible to her, first of all. But no one ever told her. Everyone assumed that she heard it all the time or that she knew she was beautiful because she's Aphrodite's daughter. "You make sure that I hear it plenty" Arabella said softly and she closed her eyes. "Thank you"
Hunter smiled and sighed happily. She was absolutely beautiful and he hoped that she knew how beautiful she actually was. "I can stop saying it if you want me to." He said quietly, giving her hand a squeeze. He exited toward St. Louis and switched on the cruise control again. "I really don't want to though. I rather like it." He kissed her hand again and stopped at a stoplight.
Arabella pushed herself to sit up and she slid next to him. She placed little kisses along his jaw, placing her hands on his arm. "I like it too" She said softly in his ear and she brushed her lips against his jaw. She was happy with him. She was happy sitting next to him and holding onto his arm and kissing him. It was simple and easy and it made her very happy. she never thought that she could be this happy. "You're handsome" she giggled.
"You too." He said with a smile. "Except...pretty. Not uh...handsome. You're...Never mind." He said, feeling incredibly stupid. "I'll just not talk ever again. Thanks." He nodded and went back to driving, his cheeks very red. He loved her and he felt comfortable with her, but sometimes he would become so shocked that someone like her would be with someone like him. She had a way of making him all flustered. He opened his mouth to speak, but decided against it. He shook his head and went back to driving.
Arabella placed her chin on his shoulder and she smiled at him as he drove. Seeing him get all flustered like that made her heart flutter. One of the reasons she fell in love with him in the first place as the way he would get flustered and stumble over his words. She found it very endearing and wonderful. "That's too bad, because I like it when you talk. I like it quite a bit" She said with a nod and she placed a kiss against his cheek.
Hunter smiled and turned his head, lightly kissing her on the lips. He sighed and turned back to the road. They were getting close and Hunter pointed to the St. Louis arch as they passed it. He wrapped his arm around her and sighed, wanting to be out of the car for a little while. He drove for a while and stayed silent, but hoped that she was keeping an eye out for a good hotel.
Arabella leaned against him, gazing out of the window. She was lost in her own little world, not thinking about anything right infront of her. Her eyes closed for a moment but she shook herself and looked out of the window. Arabella was looking forward to getting to a hotel and being able to stretch her legs. It would be nice to do something. Suddenly, she realized that Hunter wasn't looking for a hotel and that she was supposed to her. "Oh! Right there!" She said, pointing towards a hotel that looks pretty decent.
Hunter smiled and quickly turned into the parking lot. He looked at the hotel and then looked at Arabella. He shrugged and shut off the car. Hunter quickly kissed her on the lips and slipped out of the car. He ran around to the other side and opened her door, kissing her hand as she stepped out. He grabbed their bags out the back and walked in. He pulled out his credit card and waited for Arabella to talk to the man at the counter.
Arabella looked over at Hunter and she gave him a small smile before turning back to the man at the counter. She was trying to think of something that she could do to get Hunter to start talking again. With a little sigh, she passed his credit card back to him and put hers down on the counter. She felt bad that Hunter was paying for so much of their trip. "Could we get one of the rooms with a king size bed and nonsmoking?" She asked nicely. "One of the really nice ones" she added with a grin. The man looked at her for a moment before smiling at her and typing on the computer. He got everything squared away and passed the room key over to her with a smile on his face.
"Here's your room key, Ms Foster" He said and looked over at Hunter, the smile fading slightly. Arabella thanked him and grabbed her stuff. She turned to Hunter and gave him a wink before walking towards the elevator.
Hunter grimaced a little when he took his card back. He wanted to complain about her paying, but that would involve talking and he said he would stop talking. He sighed and followed her to the elevator, bags in hand. He looked over at her and smiled, setting the bags down on the ground. He stood there for a minute before kissing her on the cheek, laughing quietly.
"Would you talk?" Arabella said, looking over at him with a small smile. She stepped closer to him and she slipped her arms around his neck. Arabella pulled him down to her and she kissed him tightly. "I miss your sexy voice" She cooed and ran a finger down his chest. The doors to the elevator opened and an elderly lady walked in. With a giggle, Arabella pulled away from Hunter and she stood beside him with her hands in her pockets. She looked over at the lady and the lady looked over at Hunter then looked at Arabella and gave her a wink, as if to say 'good job, hun'. Arabella had to bite her lip to keep from laughing out loud and she was thankful when the elevator finally stopped on their floor.
Hunter raised an eyebrow at the elderly lady as he picked up the bags and walked out. He followed Arabella down the hallways and to their room. She gave him a look for a second before opening the door and walking in. Hunter followed and set the bags down on the bed. He was curious what they would do for the rest of the day, but he couldn't talk so that made communicating difficult. He ran a hand through his hair and then sighed. He looked at her for a moment before signing to her that he was going to take a shower. He grabbed some clothes and kissed her cheek before walking into the bathroom.
Arabella smirked at him and she followed him into the bathroom. She closed the door and leaned against it, folding her arms across her chest. "I'm not letting you get a shower until you start talking to me again." She said in a defiant voice. She thought about it for a second then shrugged. "Well, I suppose you could take a shower but I'm not leaving and I don't know how eager you are to shower naked with me in the room" Arabella shrugged and grinned up at him.
Hunter sighed and looked at her. He wanted to talk to her, but this had become more of a game for him than an actual problem. He slipped off his socks and shoes before stepping into the shower. He pulled the curtains and made sure that there weren't any gaps. He knew that this wasn't going to work, but he had no choice. He undressed and tossed his clothes over the top of the curtains before turning on the water. After a moment or two of adjusting the temperature, Hunter got the water right and started to shower.
Arabella gasped when his clothes fell into a pile at her feet. She had not been expecting him to actually do that. It took her a moment to full understand the situation before taking a breath and walking over to the curtain. "Hunter Reed, you talk to me right now" She said, trying to sound stern but she quickly dropped that and pouted. "Hunter..please...I am so sick of the sound of my own voice" She huffed and after a few seconds of silence, she sighed, folding her arms across her chest.
He put shampoo in his hair and thought for a second, a small smile on his face. "I didn't think that was possible." He said with a chuckle. He laughed quietly and stuck his head out of the curtain, giving her a wink before pulling his head back in. He was kidding, but he just couldn't resist it. She had set herself up so perfectly. He finished showering quickly and reached through the curtain, grabbing a towel and pulling it back in. He wrapped it around his waist and stepped out of the shower to see a still slightly shocked Arabella.
Arabella looked at him and she opened her mouth to say something but she closed her mouth again when she realized that she didn't know what to say. She didn't really expect him to say something like that. She wasn't angry, she was just shocked. "Yeah, well..you.." She stumbled then huffed and stuck her tongue out at him like a little kid and she folded her arms across her chest.
Hunter laughed at her and stepped forward. Hunter took her wrists in his hands and lightly unfolded them, placing them around his neck. He kissed her on the forehead and put his hands on her hips. "I know. I'm so mean to you." He said quietly as he pressed his lips to hers, smiling softly. "I missed talking to you." He said quietly.
Arabella smiled and she leaned into him, kissing him again. "I missed hearing your voice" She said softly and looked up at him with big eyes. She leaned into him, loving that he was wearing only a towel and that his arms were around her. Arabella didn't have to do anything with him. She didn't need to be ripping his clothes off. She was happy to just kiss him. "You should get dressed before I jump your bones" Arabella said softly and she gave him a wink before pulling herself out of his arms and stepping out of the bathroom.
Hunter followed her out and quickly dug a pair of boxers out of his bag. He hurried back into the bathroom and put them on before reemerging. He walked over to his bag and pulled out some clothes. "You want to watch a movie tonight? We can get room service and some sparkling cider." He described as he pulled on his jeans. "Cuddle up in bed. Watch movies until we fall asleep. How's that sound?" He pulled his shirt over his head and walked over to her, grabbing her hands in his.
Arabella slipped her arms around his waist and she rested her head on his chest, taking a deep breath. She liked standing as close to him as she possibly could. Feeling his arms around her and hearing his heart beat. "It all sounds perfect" She whispered and she turned her eyes to look up at him. "It's missing ice cream though" she giggled and she stretched up to kiss him lightly.
Hunter laughed and kissed her nose. "Well, we just can't have that, can we?" He said with a grin as he wrapped his arms around her, holding her close. He slid his hands up her sides and reached her armpits, picking her up and carrying her to the bed. He set her down and crawled on top of her, kissing her on the chin and then tightly on the lips before rolling off and grabbing the phone. "I'll take care of room service. You pick the movie."
"Wonderful" Arabella said and she folded her legs under her. She grabbed her blanket and wrapped it around her shoulders before grabbing the remote and going though the movies that they had. After a few moments, Arabella picked out a movie and she put the remote down. She stretched and leaned towards Hunter, placing a few kissed along his jaw while he was on the phone.
Hunter grinned and glanced at Arabella as he talked on the phone. He kissed her on the forehead while he was being transferred. "Yes...Hello. Could I have the...chicken fingers and...the mac & cheese and...the spaghetti and meatballs and...the pulled pork. Yes...Yes...No, it'll be paid separately." He said with a grin, sticking his tongue out at Arabella. "No, could I also have a bottle of sparkling apple cider and--I see this build-your-own sundae bar? Could--Yes...Okay...Good. Yeah. We'll have that too." He put an arm around Arabella and kissed her forehead. "It'll be separate. Okay. Thank you!" He hung up and snuggled up to Arabella. "It'll be here in a while. What movie did you pick?" He asked with a smile.
"Two Weeks Notice" Arabella said and she looked up at him and sighed. "Would you let me pay for something, for once?" She huffed and laughed a little bit. She closed her eyes for a minute, just out of pure happiness. Whatever Hunter was ording on the phone sounded wonderful and she was looking forward to watching movies with him. Maybe tomorrow they would spend some time in the city before heading out. Arabella brushed her fingers against his cheek and she smiled a little bit at him.
Hunter smiled and closed his eyes. He was so glad that they had gone on this trip. He kissed her temple and laced his fingers in hers. This all seemed really perfect. A lot of people would probably say that things were too perfect, but Hunter didn't want to think about it. He was happy. She was happy. That's all that really mattered. "I like you." He said with a chuckle as he leaned his head on hers.
"Mmm...I like you too. I think I'll keep you around for a little while" Arabella giggled and she looked at him with happy eyes. She had forgotten all of the bad things, all of the worries that she had. Hunter calmed her down and made her blissful. Arabella moved her fingers down to his collar bone and she leaned in to give him a kiss. Just then, there was a knock at the door and Arabella jumped a little bit out of surprise. She had forgotten all about the room service and she wasn't expecting to hear the knock.
"Oh, that'll be the room service." He said quietly as he stood up from the bed, giving Arabella one last kiss on the cheek. He hurried over to the door and opened it revealing 2 women pushing carts in. He helped them come inside. "You can set that on the table. Thanks." He watched as they set the trays on the table. "Is that everything?" He asked, reaching for his wallet. One of the girls pushed the carts out of the door and let it close behind her.
"That's everything." the other girl asked, stepping forward and standing close to him. She glanced over at Arabella and giggled a little before turning back to Hunter.
Arabella glared at the girl who was standing far too close to Hunter. She slid off of the bed and walked over to them and she slipped her arm through Hunter's, giving the girl a fake smile. "Thanks, have a good night" she said to the girl in a tone that said 'this is final, please leave'.
"If you need anything, at all..just give me a call. My name's Tiffany" The girl said with a little giggle. She was totally ignoring Arabella and was leaning towards Hunter, so her shirt was falling down a little bit.
"Okay, you need to leave. Now" Arabella said to Tiffany. Tiffany froze for a moment as soon as Arabella spoke to her with a dreamy look on her face. Eventually, she turned and walked out of the room.
Hunter watched the door close behind Tiffany before turning to the food. Everything that had just happened went completely over Hunter's head. "Everything looks great!" He looked at her and kissed her cheek. "Go sit down on the bed. I'll make you a plate." He said, kissing her gently. He turned to the food and grabbed a plate, filling it for Arabella. He made himself one and then handed one to her, and sat next to her. "What did I miss?"
"Did you seriously not catch any of that?" Arabella asked and she took the plate form her hands before flopping down on the bed. She was kind of happy that Hunter never really caught onto girls flirting with him. At least she knew that he wasn't looking at other girls like that. It kind of ticked her off when she saw girls flirting with him like that but at the same time, she kind of felt lucky too. She knew that girls could flirt with him all they wanted but she was the one that he was going to wake up to every morning. Arabella took a small sip from her drink then looked over at Hunter. "That girl was pretty much throwing herself on you. I had to charmspeak her to get her to leave"
"Who?" Hunter said, taking a bite of chicken. He looked over at Arabella and raised an eyebrow. "Oh, Tiffany?" Hunter thought back to what had happened. In retrospect, she might have been flirting with him a little. "She was?" Arabella nodded and Hunter shrugged. "It doesn't matter really." He laid back and kissed her temple. "She doesn't hold a candle to you, babe." He said, turning back to the movie and eating some pork.
"Pssh, I know that" Arabella said with a small smile at Hunter's words. She looked over at him and let out a small sigh as she took a bite of her food then slid across the bed, so that she was beside Hunter. She leaned into him ever so slightly and she took another bite of her food. "I guess I'm just going to have to get used to girls flirting with you. You're too good looking for there to NOT be any girls throwing themselves on you"
"That's fair." Hunter said with a chuckle. "You're too beautiful for there to not be any guys drooling all over you." He kissed her on the cheek and smiled. "I probably won't get used to it though...I'll still be insanely jealous." He laughed and turned back to the movie, leaning into her a little. He finished eating and looked over at Arabella. "So, did I make good choices?" He asked, referring to the food.
"Hmm? Oh! Wonderful choices" Arabella said with a little smile and she took the last bite of her food. She pushed the plate away and laid back on the bed with a hand on her stomach. Arabella let out a little moan and she looked over at Hunter. "So much food" She moaned "You're trying to make me fat, aren't you" Arabella teased with a small giggle.
"Yep. You've finally figured me out." Hunter said sarcastically as he grabbed the plates and threw them away. "I was waiting outside your building for that giant to go to your office, so that I could kill it and then have you fall in love with me and have you move in with me and make plans for a future, just so I can make you fat." He said with a nod. He started to consolidate the food when he noticed the sundae bar still sitting there. "Oh. What's this?" He asked, looking through the various toppings. "What are gummi worms?" He asked, holding one up and examining it.
"Oh, Hunter...you have been missing out. First cotton candy and now this" She said, shaking her head slightly. She pushed herself to sit up and she plopped herself down beside him. Arabella picked up a gummi worm and she took a big bite out of it. "I used to eat so many of these. I could seriously eat an entire container in one day" She confessed with a nod and she finished off her gummi worm. "Just try it. It's not something I can really explain. Here, have my favorite" She said with a smile and she passed him one of the green and orange worms.
Hunter raised an eyebrow and took it from her, gingerly holding it in his hand. He cleared his throat and took a deep breath before popping it into his mouth. He chewed and made several odd expressions as he assessed gummi worms. "That's...Why did...What is the point of eating these?" He said with a raised eyebrow. He thought they tasted good, but they were just odd.
"The point is to eat so many, you're on a sugar high for hours" Arabella giggled and she popped another one into her mouth. She chewed on it happily then started to build her sundae. She put a few gummi worms out of the top of her ice cream and loaded it up with pink heart sprinkles and chocolate sauce. Arabella chewed on another gummi while she put a spoonful of whipped cream ontop of it all with a small drizzle of strawberry sauce. "Oh man, this looks heavenly"
Hunter looked at Arabella's sundae, slightly impressed. He poured Cap'n Crunch cereal on his ice cream and added sprinkles, chocolate sauce, caramel, and M & M's. He grabbed his dish and sat down next to Arabella. "Ice cream was a good choice." Hunter said, taking a spoonful and shoving it into his mouth. He winced slightly at the extremely cold ice cream, but soon let a smile spread across his face as the richness of everything melted together. He took another bite and then kissed her on the cheek, leaving a little smudge of ice cream on her cheek. He laughed a little and went back to his ice cream.
Arabella looked at him with a confused look on her face when he laughed. She didn't feel the ice cream on her face and she had no idea why he was laughing. Cautiously, she touched her cheek with her fingers then made a face. "Oh, Hunter" She whined. Arabella put some strawberry sauce on her lips and she kissed Hunter's jaw before he could stop her. She laughed and took a bite of her whipped cream, smiling happily at the sweet taste of it.
Hunter sighed and wiped it off using the back of her hand. Hunter nudged her a little before reaching his spoon into her sundae and taking a big bite. She looked at him, mouth slightly agape and Hunter smiled defiantly. "Yours looked better than mine." He said with a shrug. She went to go for a bite of his, but he stopped her by putting a hand on her forehead.
"This is so not fair!" Arabella squealed as she struggled against his hand. She knew that she probably looked like an idiot but she didn't care. Arabella was happy to be with Hunter and she was comfortable with him, so she knew that he probably wouldn't make fun of her. Even if she did look like an idiot. Arabella stopped struggling and she pouted. Her eyes turned up to look at him and she gave him the puppy eyes. "You are so horrible to me"
"See?" Hunter said, pointing to the puppy eyes. "That's not fair. I can't resist you even when you don't have puppy eyes. How do you expect me to do so when you do?" He handed her the rest of his sundae and leaned back, wrapping his arms around her. "You are going to be bouncing off the walls, Ellie. So much sugar." He sighed and rolled his eyes a little, turning back to the movie.
Arabella took a bite of her ice cream and she giggled, snorting a little bit in an adorable sort of way. "I know. It'll be fantastic" She said with a laugh and she finished off her ice cream. She grabbed the bowl of gummi worms and she started eating them like they were nothing. Arabella leaned back into Hunter and she looked at the movie but she wasn't really watching it. She had seen that movie so much, it wasn't like she was missing anything. Arabella laid down with her head on Hunter's lap and she ate another gummi worm. She looked up at him with a smile and stuck a worm in her mouth with the other end sticking out as an offer to Hunter.
Hunter looked down at her and laughed, more of a snorty short laugh. He wiggled his eyebrows and leaned down, kissing her tightly on the lips, mostly ignoring the gummi worm being shared between them. When he finally pulled away, he bit off his half and swallowed it with a smile. "I don't want you complaining about not getting enough sleep tonight. It'll have been all your fault." Hunter said, sounding slightly motherly. He turned back to the movie and absentmindedly played with her hair a little, just keeping his hands busy.
"I'll just sleep in tomorrow" Arabella giggled and she closed her eyes as he played with her hair. It was a wonderful feeling. Having her hair played with had always been one of her favorite things. Her siblings used to play with her hair in the Aphrodite cabin, her dad used to play with her hair to put her to sleep when she was a baby, her mother played with her hair all the time when Arabella was visiting her and now Hunter was playing with her hair. It was a relaxing, wonderful thing. Arabella took a breath and she sat up, tugging at her shirt a little bit. "I need to change out of these sweatpants..I'm really warm" she said and she stood up, tugging on the pants. Without thinking about it or caring about it at all, Arabella got a pair of shorts out of her luggage, she pulled off her pants and she tugged the shorts on, adjusting them slightly.
Hunter gasped a little at her lack of modesty. He wasn't sure why he should be surprised at this point. He crossed his legs under him and pulled her back by her waist into his lap. "There is a thing called modesty. It does exist." He said, teasingly as he rubbed her shoulders. "I'm sure it must sound like a foreign concept, but it is a thing." He kissed her neck and pulled her back toward him, so she was leaning up against him.
"Meh. Who needs modesty?" Arabella shrugged and she closed her eyes, leaning into his kisses. "Modesty is boring" She giggled and she placed her hands on his thighs. She could feel all of the sugar in her body but Hunter's hands and kisses were calming her down a little bit. "Mmm..so, since the movie is almost over..what do you want to do next?" she asked in a soft voice.
Hunter moved his hands to her back and smiled as he placed kisses along her shoulders. "There is a pool downstairs. It's probably still open." He said quietly. "It's not very modest, but we could go swimming if you like." He ran his hands down her back and to her sides, squeezing gently, making her squirm a little. "We can just stay in and watch another movie. Or I can go swimming. I'm sure Tiffany would love to join me." He teased, kissing her slightly behind her ear.
"The bitch" Arabella muttered and she giggled at the feeling of his lips behind her ear. "Mmm...let's go swimming. That sounds like fun" She said with a nod. Arabella pulled away from him so that she could turn around and look at him. She kissed him lightly, leaning into him and she slid off of the bed, walking over to her suitcase and pulling out her bikini. "I'll be back" She gave him a wink then walked into the bathroom, closing the door.
Hunter chuckled and walked to his bag. He yanked out his trunks and set them on the bed as he stripped down. "So, you're willing to change shorts in front of me," He slipped them on and stood by the door to the bathroom. "But you won't change into a bikini in front of me." He leaned on the threshold a little and smiled. She reemerged from the bathroom and he grabbed her by the hips, pulling her in and kissing her. "Mmm...You're pretty." He said with a smile.
"You're hot" Arabella said with a little giggle and she leaned into him. It felt good to have Hunter say that to her and hold her like that when she was wearing a bikini. So much of her was exposed and Hunter made her feel good about herself. She kissed him, slipping her arms around his neck. "I hope that no one is at the pool. I don't want to deal with annoying teenagers" She joked.
Hunter smiled and sighed happily. "You ready, honey bunch?" He asked with a chuckle as he grabbed her hand. She nodded and he kissed her hand before leading her out the door. He slipped their room key in his pocket and walked to the elevator. They got in and Hunter pressed the 'L' button. He kissed her cheek and ran his thumb across the back of her hand as they waited for the doors to open again. When the door opened they stepped out and walked to the pool. Hunter pulled off his shirt quickly and leapt into the empty pool, curling into a cannonball and making a huge splash.
Arabella squeaked and she jumped away from the water as it splashed up around him. She giggled, holding her sweater around herself and watching as Hunter's head popped back up and he looked at her with a grin on his face. Arabella slid her sweater on and she adjusted her top before walking over to the side of the pool and she sat down, sticking her feet in. "It's nice that it's just us here. If we decide to make out, no one is going to give us weird looks" She giggled.
Hunter smiled and swam toward her. "We might as well do it before someone comes in." He said with a chuckle as he stood between her legs, placing his hands on her thighs and his lips on hers. She wrapped her legs around his waist and kissed him tightly, running her fingers through his hair. Hunter ran his tongue across her lips as he lifted her up and walked deeper into the pool, making holding her up a little easier. That was when he heard the door open and people gasping.
Arabella let out a sigh and she put her head on his shoulder but she didn't let go of him. She didn't turn around to see who was there but she knew who she didn't want to see and that was a bunch of teenage girls that were going to spend too much time here, fixing their hair and giggling over at Hunter, checking him out. She would have no privacy with him. Arabella sighed and she looked up at Hunter. "Who is it?" she asked him softly, keeping her back to the entrance.
Hunter waved nervously at Tiffany and her friends as they walked into the pool area, followed by a maid replacing the towels. "It's Tiffany and some other girls." Hunter said to Arabella, in merely a whisper. Tiffany waved back and then turned to her friends, giggling quietly.
"You're the guy who bought all the food, right?" She asked with a raised eyebrow. She pulled off her cover to reveal a very small string bikini that left not much to the imagination. She looked at Hunter as she adjusted it and then slowly walked into the water. Hunter nodded and looked back at Arabella, wishing a little that she would let go of him.
"Yep. That's me." Hunter said, shortly. He put his hands on her thighs and pinched and tickled until she finally let go.
Arabella looked over at Tiffany and she took a breath, fliddling with her fingers a little bit. Tiffany's friends were giving her looks that made her feel pretty uncomfortable. Tiffany was looking at Hunter, ignoring Arabella completely. Seeing Tiffany in that tiny bikini was making Arabella feel very self conscious. Tiffany was a good looking girl and seeing her looking so confident made Arabella fold her arms across herself nervously.
"How long are you in town for?" Tiffany asked, moving ever so slightly closer to Hunter. Arabella looked up at Hunter and she let out a sigh. She knew that Hunter would never do anything but it still made her feel anxious and a little ticked off to see this girl flirting with Hunter so much. Arabella shivered and she got goose bumps on her arms.
"I'll be in the hot tub" She told Hunter softly and she climbed out of the pool and walking over to the hot tub and slipping in.
Hunter frowned a little at Arabella as she left before turning back to Tiffany who had moved even closer and had a satisfied smile on her face. Hunter backed away a little and cleared his throat. "Just the night, I think. We'll be leaving tomorrow." Hunter said with a nod, looking her in the eye. She moved in a way that attempted to accentuate her body's features and draw Hunter's eyes to them, but Hunter resisted. He swam around her and started walking toward the stairs out of the pool. One of Tiffany's friends stood in his way and put her hand on his chest. Hunter backed away quickly, turning around only to be met by Tiffany again.
"Do you workout?" She said, placing her hands on his arms. "You seem like you workout. Maybe some heavy lifting?" She said quietly, nodding over toward Arabella.
"I don't really workout." Hunter said, missing the blatant jab at Arabella. "I'm just very active." He said, pulling away from her and rubbing his arms. "Do you?" He asked, not recognizing that she was hitting on him.
"Are you kidding?" She said, rolling her eyes. She turned around and lifted her butt into the air. "You don't get an ass like this without working out."
Arabella looked over at Hunter with Tiffany and her friends. She took a breath and slid down into the hot tub, closing her eyes and trying to focus on the hot water. She didn't like that Tiffany was with Hunter. She didn't like that Tiffany was pretty much wearing nothing. This was the first time that Arabella was actually aware of the fact that Hunter could leave her if he wanted, if he found someone better. When they were at camp was the only time she ever saw girls flirt with him and he was a hunter at that point, she had nothing to be jealous of. Now, however, he was in the pool with an attractive girl and they were talking about their work outs. Arabella looked down at her stomach for a minute and sighed. Maybe she would start running again when they got home. Why wasn't Hunter leaving the pool? Arabella was a little ticked off about that.
"So, what time are you leaving tomorrow? We should do something together" Tiffany said in a suggestive voice and she brushed her fingers across his chest.
Hunter swallowed hard and backed into the wall before sitting down on the edge, trying to stay away from her. "Pretty early. Not much of a chance to do anything." He said, looking down at her as she put her hands on his legs. Hunter stood up quickly and cleared his throat. "It's a shame. You seem...like a...enjoyable...personality." He lied before walking over to the hot tub and sitting down next to Arabella. He could already feel his body relax. "Hey, beautiful." Hunter said quietly with a smile as he wrapped an arm around her and kissed her cheek.
"Oh, there's plenty of time." Tiffany said as she sat down close to Hunter, pressing her chest against his arm. Hunter moved away a little and closed his eyes, wishing this were over. He just wanted to relax. He hoped he could do that here, but he was wrong. He moved his hand to Arabella's leg and gave it a loving squeeze before drawing an 'I' and then a heart and then a 'U' on her leg.
He gulped and then looked over at how uncomfortable she was. He patted her leg again and then started to write a letter at a time. "Do you want to l-" He was interrupted when Tiffany managed to take his hand away and hold them in hers.
"You've got big strong hands." She said, gently blowing on the palm of his hands. Hunter tried to pull them away, but her grip held strong. He wanted to push her down and run off, but making a fuss and being mean to a girl was not on his to do list.
Arabella couldn't take it anymore. The more and more Tiffany talked, the angrier and angrier Arabella got. She wanted to smack that girl so hard. Having Hunter sit next to her was calming her down a little bit but she was still pissed off.
"I'm sure that you're really good with your hands" Tiffany said, almost breathing it and she placed Hunter's hand on her own thigh. This was the last straw for Arabella. She couldn't stand it anymore. She knew that Hunter was probably feeling uncomfortable and Arabella was furious.
"Listen, bitch. You're going to get your hands off of my man and you're going to go away, unless you really want to see how great of a fist I can make" Arabella snapped at Tiffany and she glared over at her. Tiffany was looking at her, stunned, like she didn't really expect Arabella to say anything like that. Soon enough though, Tiffany composed herself and she looked over at Arabella with a cocky look on her face.
"I'm not scared of you." She said, almost in a mocking sort of voice. Arabella sat up a little and leaned across Hunter so that she could look in Tiffany's eyes.
"You should be" Arabella hissed then she stood up, grabbing Hunter's hand and tugging him out of the hot tub with her.
Hunter followed obediently, drying off quickly and slipping his shirt on. It clung to his body and made him a little cold as they rushed through the lobby. He, honestly, felt like he got in trouble. Arabella was uncomfortable and Hunter could tell, but he couldn't bring himself to leave. He felt like that would be rude. When they got onto the elevator, Hunter took the towel from around his waist and lightly put it over Arabella's shoulders. "Sorry." He said quietly, shivering slightly.
Arabella was still furious when they walked into the elevator. She knew that the threat might have been a little uncalled for and she also knew that she would never do anything like that. but she wanted Tiffany to think that she would. She wanted Tiffany to think that Arabella was not someone to be messed with. Arabella sighed softly when she felt the towel around her shoulders and she gingerly reached a hand up to hold them closed. Hunter said that he was sorry and she didn't really know how to respond at first. Arabella was a little bit ticked off at him but it was nothing big. She let out a little sigh. "It's okay" She said in the same quiet voice as him, not looking over at him.
Hunter took a deep breath and nodded softly before studying the pool of water collecting at his feet. "Umm...Well, never mind." He said, waving it away. Arabella gave him a look that said, 'Tell me or I will bite your face off,' and Hunter nodded again, feeling regretful of the whole situation. "Am I in trouble?" He asked quietly, putting a sort of kicked puppy look on his face. He hated fighting with Arabella and he hated when there would be awkwardness or discomfort between them. He glanced briefly at her before studying the ground again. He really didn't want to be in trouble.
Arabella looked up at him and the look on his face and she sighed. She didn't want to fight with him either and the last thing that she wanted was to go up to the hotel room that only had one bed and go to sleep angry. "No" Arabella said softly and she took a step closer to him, wanting to feel closer to him even if she was a little bit annoyed with him. "I just...why did you leave the pool? Or tell her to back off or something? Especially when she was insulting me and practically molesting you"
"She was insulting you?!" Hunter said, feeling angry now. He didn't notice her insult Arabella at all. He clenched his fists and felt the urge to run down there and yell at Tiffany. The elevator doors opened and Hunter took a deep breath, unclenching his fists and taking Arabella's hand. "I'm sorry. I just...I wanted to swim. I was hoping I would be able to, but then she showed up and I tried to continue, but she kept messing with me and I really didn't want to be mean to her, I guess I could have, but I would have felt bad and whenever she touched me I pulled away or at least tried to pull away, but I don't like being mean and I thought it would have been mean, you know?" He said all in one breath, finally arriving at their room. He felt bad for everything that had gone on in the pool. He looked over at her and sighed before studying the ground again, wanting to sit down, but unable due to the wetness of his swimsuit.
Arabella walked over to her suitcase and she pulled out a pair of sweat pants and a loose tee shirt. With a sigh, she walked over to Hunter and kissed his cheek. "It's okay, Hunter" She said softly and she chewed on her lip. "I'm going to get changed" She said with a nod and she walked towards the bathroom, closing it behind her. As soon as the door was closed, she dropped the towel and looked in the mirror, down at her thighs and her stomach. Heavy lifting, that's what Tiffany had said. Tiffany was a very small girl and the way she talked about her work outs made Arabella want to jump onto a treadmill. After a moment, Arabella pulled off the wet bikini and tugged on her loose clothes.
Hunter changed into a pair of pajama pants and waited for Arabella to leave the bathroom before hanging up his wet clothing in the shower. He reemerged and looked over at Arabella. He could tell that he hurt her, but he wasn't sure how to fix it. "Hey, Ellie? I..." He took a deep breath and walked over to her, wrapping his arms around her and hugging her. "I'm really sorry. I really want to make it up to you, somehow, but I don't know where to begin." He held her tighter, feeling so glad that she was even talking to him. "What do you want me to do? I will do anything." He said, pulling away so that he could look her in the eyes.
Arabella looked up at Hunter with big eyes. She didn't really know what to say to him at that point. She was so upset but she was mostly upset with Tiffany. Arabella was happy to have his arms around her. It calmed her down. It held her to the ground. She took a breath and looked up at him. "Can we just..lay in bed or something?" She asked softly. She didn't really want Hunter to do anything to make it up to her. She just wanted to curl up in bed with him.
"Absolutely." Hunter said with a nod before scooping her up into his arms and setting her down on the bed. He laid down close next to her and looked into her radiant blue eyes. "I'm really really sorry." He said quietly, putting his forehead against hers. Hunter felt so bad. He didn't even do anything, but he felt terrible. He wrapped his arms around her tightly and held her close, never wanting to leave her again. He didn't want to look at another girl ever again. He loved Arabella and nothing else.
Arabella closed her eyes for a moment, calming down her nerves and trying to get back to a place where she was happy and content. She was in a hotel room with the man of her dreams. Everything had to get better soon, right? Arabella slowly opened her eyes and she looked up at him again. "It's okay, Hunter. It's not your fault" She said softly. It sucked to know that he felt bad. Even if he didn't say it exactly, she could hear it in his voice. "I'm sorry I lost my temper"
"No. Don't be sorry." Hunter said, shaking his head. "That contagious slut deserved it." He said, waving toward the door. He hesitated a moment before kissing her lightly on the lips. "I never thanked you. For saving me from her and her friends." He closed his eyes and kissed her tightly on the lips, tasting her emotion. "Thank you." He sighed and ran a hand up and down her arm. "I love you more than anything. You're perfect and I love you. And not a day will go by without me being surprised at how beautiful you are."
Arabella closed her eyes again, taking a deep breath. She didn't know if hunter knew just how much those words meant to her in that moment. Arabella was feeling so low about her looks because of one little jab from some girl and to hear Hunter tell her that he loved her, she was perfect and that she was beautiful overwhelemed her. His words comforted her and even though she tried really hard not too, a few tears slid down her cheeks. She was just so full of so many emotions in that moment, she couldn't really stop herself from crying a little bit. "I love you too" She finally breathed after a few moments of silence.
Hunter gasped when he saw her tears fall down her cheeks. "Ellie," He started, cradling her cheeks in his hands and kissing away her tears. "Don't listen to what Tiffany said. She's not important. She works at a hotel and gets kicks by having meaningless flings with random guests." He kissed the corner of her eye. "You own a major fashion company. You make money every time you breath. You're in love with a very handsome man. You're more beautiful than her ad her friends combined. She's small beans. You are amazing." He said, running his thumbs across her eyes, gently wiping the tears pricking at her eyes.
Arabella looked up at him for a moment then moaned softly. "Oh, Hunter..you're not making this any better" She said with a watery giggle. She snuggled in closer to him and she took a slightly shaky breath. "I'm sorry, I just..I don't know" She whispered and she wiped at her eyes. "I hate crying" She muttered and put her face into his neck. There had been so much that happened, she didn't even really know how she felt yet. Her emotions were all over the place.
Hunter rubbed her back and felt her tears dampen his shoulder. "Shh...It's okay." He said quietly. "Would it help if you were mad at me?" He asked quietly. He just wanted to see her happy. Everything that he had said was true, but he hated seeing her cry. She looked adorably cute when she cried, but he still didn't like seeing her unhappy. "Come on. Look at me." He said, raising her chin to look at him. "You are not fat. You are not ugly. You are not heavy. You're beautiful and perfect and I love the way my arms fit around you and I love how easy it is to pick you up and carry you around." Hunter said before kissing her lightly on the lips.
'You're too sweet to me" Arabella said softly against his lips but she loved what Hunter was saying to her. She loved how it made her feel, like she really was beautiful and perfect. Arabella took a little breath and she leaned into him, kissing his top lip softly. It was nice to just be in the bed with him like that. It was relaxing and her whole body just wanted to stay in that bed. "You really are amazing, Hunter" She whispered and looked up at him.
Hunter smiled softly, still feeling bad for this whole situation. "You are too." he said before kissing her lightly on the nose. He never wanted to be without her and he hoped that she knew that. That he could never love anyone else lik he loves her. "I'm never going to leave you, Ellie. I promise." he kissed her on the lips and gently rubbed her arm, dancing his fingers up and down.
Arabella smiled softly up at him and she kissed his nose lightly. "I'm going to hold you to that promise" She teased in a softly voice and she cleared her throat. Arabella pulled away from him and she rubbed her hands together. "Lay down" She said and Hunter looked at her with a slightly confused look before he lowered himself onto his stomach. Arabella took a breath and she scooted over, sitting down on him lightly and she started to rub his back. If she was doing something like this then she wouldn't be thinking about other things and they could go to sleep happy.
Hunter closed his eyes and could only think about how good it felt to have Arabella rubbing his back. "Ellie, you don't mmm...Have to...Do this." He mumbled into the mattress. He didn't want her to be upset about this. She had every right to be, but he really didn't want her to. Hunter felt bad enough for the both of them. He turned his head and looked at her in the corner of his eye. "I should be rubbing your back. I'm the big dumb idiot." He said with a sigh, closing his eyes again. "I really am sorry, Ellie. I never wanted to hurt you."
"You're not a big dumb idiot, Hunter." Arabella said softly as she rubbed his back. She slid her hands up his back and she started to rub his shoulders. It felt good to have something to do with her hands. It was relaxing. Arabella took a deep breath and she closed her eyes briefly. She was still upset about the whole night but she was more upset with Tiffany at that moment. Tiffany's words had cut deep and even though Hunter had hurt her a little bit, it was nothing compared to how Tiffany had hurt her. "I don't want us to go to bed feeling bad or angry or guilty, okay? Let's just...talk about all of this tomorrow" she said softly.
Hunter nodded softly. "Sorry." He said, burying his face in the mattress again. Hunter felt so bad about this whole thing and going to bed not feeling guilty wasn't going to be possible for him tonight, but he wanted to do anything to make Arabella happy. He turned his head and kissed her hand for a second before putting his face into the mattress again. "So, I thought that we could go check out the arch and walk around a little bit before we leave. We're headed to Kansas City next. Does that sound okay?"
Arabella let out a soft sigh and she continued to rub his back. She brushed her hands down his back and she started rubbing circles in the small of his back. Arabella knew that Hunter was still beating himself up. She could feel it. She didn't want him to be upset or feel guilty. Arabella let out a sigh. "Yeah, that sounds good. We can talk about that tomorrow too though, okay? Let's just...try to relax tonight" Arabella said softly and she leaned down so that she was laying ontop of him and she placed her hands on his sides. She placed gentle kisses along the nape of his neck, moving her lips down his skin towards his shoulder.
Hunter sighed and closed his eyes. He was comfortable and he loved having her so close to him, but he still felt bad. She wanted to relax tonight though. He wanted what she wanted. "I love you, Ellie." He said quietly, his eyelids feeling heavy. He was forcing himself to relax, but it was slowly taking less effort. He turned his head and felt her lips against his one more time before slowly drifting to sleep.
Chapter 111 - Hunter and Arabella
Hunter woke up with a smile on his face. It was the second morning that he had woken up now in Kyle and Marina's guest room. And it was the second morning that Arabella didn't have any bad dreams. He blinked his eyes open and took a deep breath. He looked at Arabella's arm sprawled over him. He gingerly put a hand on it and rubbed while placing a small kiss on her forehead. It was quiet. The day before, they had spent hanging around Louisville with Kyle and Marina. He was extremely grateful that he had gotten a chance to work in the forge with Marina. He looked down and smiled at how serene Arabella looked at that moment. "I love you so much, Arabella Marie Foster and that will never ever change." He said in a whisper before kissing her on the head again.
Arabella groaned softly and a smile spread across her lips when she heard Hunter's voice. She was in a good mood. The previous day had been such a good day and she had a feeling that it was going to be another good day. Hunter was making her warm and happy and even though she wanted to stay in the bed forever, she opened her eyes slowly and yawned. "I love you too, Hunter" She whispered and stretched out her legs a little bit.
Hunter let out a quiet laugh and scooched down in the bed a little. Laying face to face with her, he put his hand on her hip and kissed her tenderly on the lips. "Mmm...Good morning, Beautiful." He said with a smile as he ran his hand over her hip. He kissed her on the nose and slid his arm under her. He pulled her up a little and wrapped his arms around her. She laid on top of him. She wasn't straddling him and kissing him. He wasn't taking off her clothes. They were just lying together comfortably. "I was going to make breakfast this morning, but I'm so comfortable now..." He said with a smile as he felt Arabella kiss his chest and draw a heart over his.
"I'm comfortable too, so..you better not move" Arabella said softly, still drawing the heart on his chest. She yawned briefly and stopped drawing on his chest to rub her eyes. She was happy to just be with Hunter like this. It was simple and easy and seemed to come naturally to them. They didn't need to be doing something or getting frisky. She just needed to be with him. Arabella looked up at him with sleepy eyes and a smile spread across her lips. "I think that this is the best way to wake up in the morning. There is nothing better" She said in a matter-of-fact voice.
"I'm certainly not complaining at this point." He said quietly as he ran his fingers through her hair. His other arm wrapped tighter around her. Having her laying on top of him like this made him smile. It made her feel small and delicate while it made him feel strong and protective. He knew that he wasn't going to let anything happen to her. He yawned slightly and tickled the small of her back a little. "Did I tell you how beautiful you are? I don't think I tell you enough." He said with a small smile. "You are the most beautiful person to ever grace this earth." He said with a nod. "This is a fact and don't argue with me."
Arabella put her head on his chest and she giggled a little bit, her cheeks a bright pink. "Stop it, Hunter..you're making me blush" she said softly and nuzzled into him. Hearing him say something like that to her made her heart skip a beat and her hands flutter. It still made her all giggly and excited when he said that she was beautiful. "And thank you" She whispered, placing an innocent kiss against his collar bone. "Do you know that you are the most handsome man on the planet?"
"No. No." Hunter said, shaking his head. "We're not talking about how handsome I am. How VERY handsome I am." He teased with a grin. "We're talking about how beautifully magnificently gorgeous you are." He said with a nod. He smiled at her and she looked up, smiling back. He danced his fingers down her spine and kissed her shoulder. "You really are beautiful, Ellie. Without even trying. Without make up. Without doing something with your hair. Without wearing some fancy dress. I could look at you for the next 100 years and you would remain the most beautiful girl in the world."
Arabella's cheeks got pinker and pinker until they were a bright red. She took a breath and kissed him, totally speechless about what he had said to her. Arabella was totally swept off of her feet. "You're too nice to me, Hunter. At least let me talk about how handsome and sexy you are if you're going to say all of that stuff about me" she said with a small giggle and she brushed her fingers along his jaw. "Because you are very handsome and sexy and strong..." she said softly with a smirk.
Hunter smiled and cradled her face in his hand. He could feel the warmth coming from her cheeks due to all the blushing she did. "You're cute when you're blushing." He said, partially ignoring what she had said about him. He loved it when she said stuff like that to him, but he usually didn't think about stuff like that. He knew that Arabella was always thinking about how she looked. It was natural for her being a daughter of Aphrodite. "I love you." He said with a grin before pressing his lips to hers in a tender kiss.
"I love you too" Arabella whispered against his lips and she leaned into him, kissing him. It meant a lot ot her to hear those sort of things about her. Especially because of her history with Chad and Brian. They often made her feel like something was wrong with her. Like she had done something wrong or there was something wrong with the way she looked. Hunter made her feel beautiful just the way she was. "Mmm..do you think that we should get up soon? I'm sure that Kyle and Marina are wondering why we're sleeping in so late" she whispered with a smile.
"Right. Sleeping." He said with a smile. She went to slap his chest, but he kissed her again and that changed into her just putting her hand on his chest. He felt her curl her fingers, digging her nails into his chest a little. Hunter finally broke the kiss. He smiled and left small kisses on her lips, trying to overcome the urge to keep kissing her. He finally stopped and took a deep breath. "Alright. Let's go." He said, letting her roll off of him. He finally stood up and walked over to his bag, changing into a pair of jeans and a sweatshirt.
Arabella walked over to her bag, carefully pulling out a pair of jeans with a shirt and a matching cardigan. She peeled off her pajama shorts and tugged on her new clothes, pulling at them and adjusting them until they were perfect. Her fingers raked through her slightly messy hair as she piled it into a golden bun on the top of her head. After making sure that her clothes were adjusted right and she didn't have any stray hair falling down the back of her neck, Arabella took Hunter's hand and grinned at him. "Ready!"
Hunter smiled at her. She looked so eager to start the day. "Let's go then." He said with a grin as he kissed her hand and lead her down the stairs. The house was quiet, but that wasn't particularly surprising. It was still a little early. When they reached the kitchen, the coffee machine had automatically turned on and was now brewing some coffee. "Alright. You handle the technology, I will start on breakfast." He said, gesturing toward the coffee machine. He looked in the fridge and pulled out the eggs and the bacon. He looked around and saw some premade pancake mix. He shrugged and pulled that toward his workstation. After washing his hands, he got started making breakfast for the four of them.
Arabella nodded and she turned towards the coffee pot, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath of the coffee. It was one of her favorite smells in the world and it was enough to get her going. She reached in the cupboard and took out a couple of mugs. She pulled out the sugar dish and the milk, setting it out on the counter. As she was getting all of this ready, her eyes landed on the small hearth. "I missed being able to put my food into the fire after I left camp. I felt so bad for not being able to do that but I also knew that if I tried to light a fire in my apartment, I'd probably burn the whole building down"
Hunter scoffed. "I stopped praying and sacrificing all together, considering my circumstances. Fire was used for warmth not burning food which was used for eating not giving away." He shrugged and turned back to the food sizzling in the now hot pan. "Once I got back with you though, I started praying to your mom. And I'm thinking about praying to Artemis again." He said with a shrug. "I'm glad that Marina made us one of those hearths. We'll be sure to sacrifice now." He said, kissing her on the cheek lightly.
Arabella nodded, a small smile spreading across her lips when he kissed her cheek. "I have never prayed to anyone other than my mom." she said wiped her hands off on her jeans then turned around, leaning against the counter with a thoughtful face. "Well, I prayed to Artemis a few times..whenever you were away from camp on some dangerous quest..I prayed to her to keep you safe."
Hunter nodded and transferred the bacon onto a plate before realizing what she had said. He looked at her and smiled softly. "Thank you." He said, walking over to her and wrapping his arms around her. "I really can't thank you enough. I didn't know that you...that anyone would have cared enough." He faced her and put his thumb on her chin, bringing her face up and kissing her softly on the lips. "Mmm...You're pretty." He said quietly, rubbing his nose on hers. She giggled and he gave her a quick pat on the butt before turning back to the food. "You're too good to me, you know."
Arabella scoffed and looked over at him with a small smile. "You deserve the best Hunter" She said with a nod and she looked down at her cardigan, playing with a button. "I'm sure that that's not me but I can only do my best" She added in a soft voice and she looked up at him. She wanted Hunter to be happy and she wanted him to have everything that he deserved. Sometimes she thought that he deserved a lot better than her. He had been through so much and she wanted him to be happy.
Hunter looked down at her and frowned. He couldn't believe that she didn't think she was good enough for him. He turned back to the food and scooped the eggs into a bowl. "How dare you think you're not good enough for me." He said quietly, finally turning to her. He wrapped his arms around her again, kissing her forehead. "Ellie, I could not have asked for a more perfect person. I was blessed the day that you came back into my life and every single day that I wake up and am lucky enough to be able to hold you in my arms, I feel even more blessed. Ellie, I love you more than life itself and I don't want anyone else. They could be a supermodel, beauty queen, astrophysicist who graduated with honors from Julliard and is a champion archer and fencer. I don't want them." He said, looking into her eyes. "I don't want them because they're not you."
Arabella took a breath and she looked up into his dark eyes that have seen too much for someone as young as him. She didn't know how to respond to him, she didn't know what to say. He made her feel as amazing as he made her sounds. He made her heart race and her stomach start doing backflips. Arabella was speechless. So she did the only thing that she could think of and she stretched up to kiss him tightly. "I love you" She breathed.
Hunter smiled and kissed her back, leaning into her. He wrapped his arms around her, holding her tightly. "I love you too. More than anyone has ever loved anything." He whispered, looking into her eyes. He felt her grab his collar and pull him closer, kissing him again. She stepped backward, leaning up against the counter and Hunter moved toward her into the kiss.
"Come on, you two. Not by the food." Kyle's voice said behind Hunter. Hunter ignored him and kept kissing Arabella just as tightly, pulling her closer. "Geeze, do I have to get a crowbar? I know we have one." He said, pouring himself a cup of coffee and adding milk.
Arabella giggled against Hunter's lips and she tried to kiss him back to keep the joke going but she burst into giggles and she had to pull away, resting her head on his shoulder. She cleared her throat and looked over at Kyle with flushed cheeks and a sparkle in her eye. "Good morning to you too, Kyle" she giggled and turned back to Hunter, placing a kiss on his jaw.
Hunter sighed and turned around. "There's bacon and eggs for us. Where's Marina?" Hunter asked a little surprised to see only Kyle. Kyle took a sip of coffee and sighed.
"Morning sickness." He said with a nod as he added some sugar to his cup. He stirred it a little. "I probably shouldn't have told you that, but...Oh well." He said with a small yawn.
"That sucks. I was going to make pancakes." Hunter said with a nod. Kyle swallowed his coffee quickly and cleared his throat.
"Don't let that stop you. I would love pancakes." He said with a nod. Hunter laughed a little and nodded, turning toward the pancake mix. He was stirring the batter when Marina walked in.
Arabella looked up at Marina and she smiled a little bit. To be totally honest, Arabella was a little jealous of her. She was looking forward to being pregnant and having a family with Hunter someday. Arabella took a breath and she looked back at her coffee, taking a sip of the warm drink. "How did you sleep, Marina?" She asked her with a smile. It was nice being around Kyle and Marina but she wished that they lived closer to Hunter and Arabella. She could imagine them being best friends and their kids growing up together.
Marina yawned and immediately looked at the coffee and the food. She only half-realized that someone had spoken to her. "Hmm? Oh, umm...I slept okay. A rough morning, but a good night's sleep. Who made food?" She asked, looking a little confused. Hunter smiled and raised his hand.
"Yeah. That was me." Hunter said with a chuckle. "Would you like a pancake or some bacon and eggs?" She finally comprehended his words and nodded.
"Sure. Uh...Yeah. Sounds great." She said, walking over to the coffee. She poured herself a cup and immediately took a long sip. "Mmm....Good coffee this morning." She said with a smile.
"That was Ellie. She was in charge of coffee. I was in charge of...Well, everything else." Hunter said, flipping the first pancake. "It's our way of thanking you guys for letting us stay here."
"Oh, no. It was our pleasure." Marina said, waving her hand, her voice muffled by her coffee mug.
Arabella smiled and she put her coffee mug down, folding her arms across her chest. "It's been really great to stay here" she said with a nod and smiled softly at Marina and Kyle. She was glad that they had stayed with Kyle and Marina. She was also looking forward to getting on the road again. Driving with Hunter was fun and simple. "We need to keep in touch. I think I still have some drachmas at home" She said with a nod.
Hunter nodded. "I don't have any, but we live close enough to camp. It won't be a problem." He said with a chuckle. "Well, let's eat quickly and then we'll need to get back on the road. We're headed to Chicago next, I believe." He said, putting the last pancake on the plate. "Alright. Food's up." He said, putting the plates on the table. Marina poured another cup of coffee for herself and then got glasses out for everyone else. Kyle got plates out and made one for Marina. He handed it to her before making one for himself and sitting down at the table. Hunter made one for Arabella and one for himself and set them both down on the table. Marina grabbed the hearth and set it in the middle of the table. She adjusted the flame and Hunter put in a slice of bacon sending it up to Artemis in prayer then put in a piece of pancake and sent it up to Aphrodite in prayer. A combination of woods, dew, roses, and chocolate hung in the air.
"Chicago should be fun. I really enjoyed myself when I was there last, even though it was for business" Arabella said with a shrug as she cut into her pancake and tossed a slice of the pancakes into the hearth, sending up a prayer to her mom. It felt good to give food to her mom again. It was such a habit at camp and she missed being able to do that. Arabella looked over at Hunter and she smiled lightly, placing her hand on his thigh. She yawned and took a bite out of a piece of bacon. "Perfect as always, Hunter"
Hunter smiled and kissed her cheek. "Thanks, babe." He said with a wink. Hunter stood up and refilled Arabella's coffee cup. "So, what are you guys going to do today?" Hunter asked, sitting back down.
"I've got a yard to do and then I have the rest of the day off." Kyle said with a nod. He glanced over at Marina and kissed her cheek. Marina giggled and then cleared her throat. "We'll probably work in the nursery a little. Making everything just right."
"I'm so excited for Hunter Benjamin." Marina said, gingerly putting her hand on her stomach. Kyle smiled.
"Or Samantha Jane." Kyle added. Hunter smiled. It was stuff like that that made Hunter excited to have kids with Arabella. He loved it and he loved her. Hunter finished his food and stretched a little, leaning back in his chair. He picked up his plate and, when Arabella was done, her plate. He put them in the sink.
"Well, we should get going." Hunter said with a sigh. He was sad to leave, but he did want to get back on the road.
Arabella nodded and she stood up, stretching a little. she drank the rest of her coffee and put the empty cup into the sink. She yawned and rubbed her eyes, thinking of putting make up on before they left. However, she remembered what Hunter had said that morning and she looked over at him. Maybe she didn't need make up, maybe she could go for a full day without putting any make up on. She took a big breath and decided not to put any on. "Yeah..we probably should head out" She agreed with Hunter and she tugged his pendant out from her shirt and she rubbed it.
"That's Hunter's pendant." Marina said, looking at the pendant in Arabella's hand. Hunter looked over and had completely forgotten about it.
"Yeah. When I told you that I had lost it, she had found it and was wearing it." Hunter said with a shrug. "She made it look so good, I let her keep it. I have this one now." He said, pulling out the small pendant that had belonged to his mother. Marina looked at it and nodded.
"Hmmm...Weird how things work out." She said with a smile. Hunter smiled back and put his hands together.
"Well, let's get going before we decide to stay another night." He said with a chuckle. He kissed Arabella on the cheek and smiled. "I'll go get our bags." He said, briefly putting a hand on her back. He kissed her again and then hurried up the stairs.
Arabella watched Hunter walk away and she took a breath then turned to Marina and Kyle. It was going to be difficult, saying goodbye to them but she was looking forward to getting back on the road. She smiled up at Kyle when he walked over to her and she hugged him. "Thanks for everything, Kyle" She said.
"It was nothing" He said, pulling away with a smile.
"You'll have to come and visit us soon" Arabella said with a nod. "I'm working on setting up the guest room and all that" She added and turned to Marina, hugging her. "If you need anything, give me a call. I've been dying to try making pregnancy clothes" She giggled and Marina pulled away, laughing a little bit and nodding.
"I'll definitely give you a call." Marina said with a giggle. "I'm only a few weeks and I already feel huge." She said, putting a hand on her stomach. Kyle wrapped his arms around her, putting a hand over hers.
"Nonsense. You're perfect." He said with a grin and kissing her cheek.
"Oh come on, you two. Wait for us to leave, at least." Hunter said, finally reaching the bottom step. He smiled at them for a moment as he set down the bags. Kyle stepped past Marina and shook Hunter's hand, pulling him into a hug. Hunter patted him on the back and laughed. "I'll talk to you later, man." Kyle stepped back and Marina moved into Hunter's open arms, throwing her arms around his neck, hugging him. Hunter hugged her tightly, lifting her up a little. "Thanks, Marina. For everything." He said quietly. Hunter finally set her down and sighed. "Alright. Let's get going. Bye, you guys. Thanks for having us." He grabbed the bags again and stepped out the door, Arabella following close behind.
Arabella closed the door behind her, hearing a soft click. She smiled at Hunter then walked towards the car, slipping into her passenger side seat. Arabella pulled her stuffed teddy bear out of her bag and she folded her legs, placing the bear in her lap and hugging it. "Marina is going to be such an amazing mother" Arabella said softly and she looked over at Hunter with a small smile. She hoped that one day, she would be an amazing mother too.
Hunter looked over at Arabella and grinned. He imagined Arabella holding a little girl the way she was hugging her teddy bear. There was so much affection there. The little girl would squirm in her arms and Arabella would whisper into her ear and she would calm down. She would brush her dark brown hair and style it and pick out the perfect clothes for their little daughter. She would be the perfect mother. "Little Auddie couldn't ask for a better mother." Hunter said, putting an arm around her and holding her tightly. He started the car and drove toward Chicago, 5 hours away.
Arabella leaned against him and she closed her eyes. It felt good to hear Hunter say stuff like that to her. She wanted to be a good mother, she wanted to be able to raise a child and have a family with Hunter. Hearing him say things like that just made her feel like she could actually do it, even though she didn't really have a mother growing up. Arabella nuzzled into Hunter's side and she pressed her lips against his neck. "She is going to have an incredible father" She whispered with a smile and she kenw that it was true. She could picture Hunter with their daughter, being a protective and adoring father. Their daughter would sit by him and watch in amazment as he fixed the car and he would teach her how to cook and all of the other little things that she would need to know.
Hunter smiled softly. He knew that he would absolutely love their daughter. "I love you. I love you. I love you." Hunter said with a chuckle, placing kisses on her forehead. "That's it. When we get to Chicago, I am taking you out. On a proper date. We'll dress up. I'll buy everything. It'll be nice." He said with a smile. "No creeps from your past. No fast food. And then afterward we can walk around Navy Pier. Will says it's beautiful." He said, kissing her on the head. "What do you think?" They stopped at a stoplight and Hunter turned to Arabella, kissing her lips.
"I guess I'll let you take me out on a date" Arabella said and giggled. She leaned into him, kissing him tightly before the light turned green. "I think that it sounds perfect, Hunter" She told him softly and she put her head on his shoulder as he drove. She felt so incredibly lucky to be with the man of her dreams in that moment, driving towards Chicago and planning not only an amazing date but also thinking about a perfect life. Arabella yawned and she closed her eyes again. "Mmm..and I love you too, by the way" She said softly.
"Do we need to stop for coffee or something?" He said with a raised eyebrow. "You seem to be yawning an awful lot, Ellie?" He lightly ran a few fingers through her hair and kissed her cheek. He looked down and checked his dashboard. "Mmm...We need gas anyway. Let's stop .You get some coffee, I'll fill up." He said, exiting toward the next town and finding a gas station. He pulled next to a pump and got out.
Arabella stretched and she rolled out of the car, grabbing her purse. As she walked past Hunter, she gave his butt a small smack and she walked into the gas station store, giggling. She walked around, picking out snacks and a couple bottles of drinks. After grabbing a coffee and a few other little things, she walked over to the counter and paid for her things. Without missing a beat, Arabella opened a chocolate bar and took a bite out of it as she walked back towards the car with her things. "I think I got us enough stuff to last until Chicago" she said with a nod.
"I think you got enough stuff to last us longer than Chicago." He said with a smile. He wrapped his arm around her and kissed her forehead before taking a bite out of the candy bar she had bitten into. "Mmm...Good choice." He said with a grin before kissing her on the lips. The taste of chocolate on his lips would always be special for him and getting the taste from Arabella's lips made it even more special. He kissed her until he heard the nozzle click off. He kissed her one more time before putting the nozzle back on the pump. He climbed into the car and started it again, smiling softly as he watched the needle zoom back up to F. "Feel better?" He asked, looking at Arabella's cup of coffee.
"So much better" Arabella sighed, holding the very large cup of coffee to her chest so that she could felt the warmth from it. It was getting colder now and Arabella was happy that she packed winter clothes but it was still a little cold in the air. She put down her cup of coffee and she reached into her bag, pulling out Hunter's sweatshirt and she took off her little cardigan so that she could slip into Hunter's sweatshirt. It was the one that she knew was a little big on Hunter, making it huge on her but she didn't care. It was warm and it smelt like Hunter. Arabella took a bite of chocolate and she leaned over to kiss Hunter before picking up her cup of coffee and leaning back in her seat. "Do you know how much time Will spent in Chicago before he started going to camp?" She asked in a curious voice.
Hunter thought for a second. "He came to camp when he was 12, I think." Hunter said with a nod. "Will was born near Chicago, but his mom moved there when she met his step dad." Hunter sighed and remembered when Will had told him about his family. He had always felt bad for Will and his mom and his little sister. His stepdad was awful to them and as jealous Hunter was of Will for having a family, he did feel sorry for him. "He spent a lot of time on the pier. It's apparently like a state fair or something." Hunter said with a nod.
Arabella nodded and she turned to look out of the window. "Did uh..did Marina or Kyle say anything while they were there? About me? Do they approve?" She asked nervously, looking over at Hunter. She had been waiting to ask Hunter that for a while but she wanted to wait until they left Kyle and Marina's place, in case they said anything bad about her.
Hunter shook his head. "They didn't say much, honestly." Hunter said with a shrug. "Marina said that she's never seen me happier." He leaned over and kissed her cheek. "I didn't talk to Kyle too much. We mostly talked about Marina and about camp." He looked over at her and smiled. "Thank you, though." He said, kissing her cheek again.
"Thank you? For what?" Arabella said and she looked up at him with a smile, her nerves fading away. She wanted them to like her. They were Hunter's best friends and they were important to him. She didn't want him to have to be stuck between her and his friends. Will and Penny liked her and now she knew that Marina and Kyle probably liked her. It was a good feeling. All she wanted was their approval.
"For caring." Hunter said with a nod. "It means a lot to me that you want to meet my friends and you care enough to want their approval." Hunter smiled and sighed. "It really doesn't matter, though. I love you. and I approve, so anyone else doesn't matter." He raised his arm and Arabella slid near him. Hunter put his arm around and held her tight. "They really do like you though. I'm positive."
Arabella snuggled into him and she smiled. "Well, I'm glad that they like me. I like them, so..that works out" She said with a small giggle and she took a sip of her coffee, turning her eyes to look out of the window. Arabella dug around in the bag from the gas station until she found a granola bar and she started opening it. "I'm going to start making clothes for Marina. Some pregnancy clothes and some baby clothes. It's expensive to have to go out and buy new clothes for only a few months"
"She'd love that." Hunter said with a smile. "You'd think that she were your sister sometimes by how much she pays attention to her appearance." Hunter kissed her head and took a bite out of her granola bar, looking at her with a defiant smile. He ran his fingers up and down her arm and looked at her. "Did I tell you beautiful you are?" He said, putting his head gently on hers. "Oh, wait. I did." He said with a nod. "Never mind." He teased, kissing her head again.
Arabella blushed a little and she placed a kiss against his jaw then gasped, pulling away from him to dig through her bag. "I got something for you in the gas station and I totally forgot about it" She said and pulled out a little wooden sign with the silhouette of a deer painted on it with the words 'a hunter lives here with the dear of his life'. "I saw this and I knew that there was no way that I couldn't pick it up for you" She giggled, holding it up for him to see it.
Hunter smiled and blinked at the sign. "Oh my gods...What?" He said, looking at the sign. "A hunter lives here with the dear of his life. Oh my gods..." He laughed and shook his head. "This is...I...There are no words." He said holding the sign a little. He looked back at the road and smiled. "Thank you." He said, kissing her shoulder. "And you are so completely the dear of my life." He said, kissing her cheek.
--------
The car was almost silent, except for the soft sound of a CD playing at a low volume. Arabella was curled up on the seat with her head on Hunter's leg. Her eyes were closed and she had a blanket pulled tight around her. She knew that she would be a little bit cold if it wasn't for the blanket and the warmth coming from Hunter's leg. Arabella moaned softly as she woke up from a nap and yawned. "Are we there yet?" She asked in a low voice, not opening her eyes yet.
Hunter didn't want to wake her up, so he let her sleep. He had parked outside of a hotel and was just waiting for her to wake up, running his fingers through her hair, lightly grazing her skin. "Yep. We're here. And we have a room." He said with a smile, bending down and lightly kissing her lips. "I was just letting you wake up before we went in. Our bags are in the room too." He said, grazing her jawline with his fingertips. "Come on." He said, slipping out of the car and hurrying around to the other side of the car. Hunter opened her door and helped her out, sweeping her into his arms and carrying her into the hotel.
Arabella giggled a little bit and she wrapped her arms around his neck, putting her head on his shoulder. "Thanks for letting me sleep" She said softly and she kissed his jaw lightly, ignoring the weird looks that they got from people. She was excited for their date and she was looking forward to spending the night in the hotel room, just the two of them. Arabella looked up at him with big, happy eyes and a smile on her face. "You're the best guy ever, you know that?"
Hunter managed to open the door and stepped inside, carrying Arabella. "Well, I try." Hunter said, kissing her lightly on the lips. He set her down on the bed and she pulled him down with her. He smiled and kissed her, his body hovering over hers. "I figured you would need your energy." He said against her lips. "Who knows what we'll be doing tonight. After our date, that is." He rolled onto his back and laid next to her.
Arabella giggled and she nuzzled in next to him, placing kisses along his collar bone. "Mmm...I know exactly what I want to do after our date" She said softly and she brushed her lips along his collar bone, up his neck, across his jaw and she planted a teasing kiss on his lips before pulling away and standing up. "I do need to get a shower before we go out tonight though" She said. "I want to look my very best for tonight" She wiggled her eyebrows and blew him a kiss before grabbing a thick towel and stepping into the bathroom. Arabella peeled off her clothes before turning on the hot water and stepping into the steamy shower. Right away, she felt better..more awake. Arabella stayed in the shower for a little bit longer than she meant to, leaning against the wall and closing her eyes. She wasn't sleeping, but she was lost in her own little world, imagining all of the wonderful things that were going to happen that night. She turned off the water, wrapped a towel around herself and stepped back into the hotel room.
Hunter smiled when she entered the room again. He had laid down on the bed and flipped on the TV. When she walked in though, he shut off the TV and crossed his arms across his chest, watching her with a smile on his face. "Don't you look lovely?" He said, practically leaping off the end of the bed and wrapping an arm around her. "I have to take a shower too, but I would be remiss if you weren't there." He said, kissing her lightly on the lips.
Arabella giggled and she leaned into him, into the kiss. She wanted to kiss him more and more and more but she also knew that she had to get ready for their date, she had to get dressed. Arabella took a breath and she pulled away a little bit, looking up at him with a smirk. "You need to get a shower because if you don't then we can't go on our date and if we can't go on our date then we can't get back to the hotel room and if we can't get back to the hotel room then you won't be able to see the surprise I have for you"
Hunter sighed and gave her butt a squeeze. "A surprise?" He said, kissing her again. "How mysterious." He said with a laugh before letting go of her. He grabbed a pair of boxers and a towel before stepping into the bathroom. He stripped down and stepped into the shower, turning on the water and letting it wash over him, calming him down a little. Arabella had this way of getting him excited. A look. A word. A touch. After a while, he stepped out and got dressed again. He balled his dirty clothes up and walked into the hotel room, making sure to show some skin for Arabella.
Arabella had just finished pulling on a pair of nude tights. They matched her skin perfectly but they would keep her little bit warmer in the night air. After she pulled those on, she was slipping into her pink dress when Hunter walked into the room. When she saw him, she caught her breath, openly checking him out. Arabella walked over to him and she wrapped her arms around his neck. "My man is one sexy man" She giggled and pressed her lips against his.
Hunter chuckled against her lips. "And my woman is one gorgeous woman." He said, running his hands along her sides. He pulled her in for one last lingering kiss before letting go and walking to his bag. "Alright. I've got to get dressed too, so...Enjoy the show, I guess." He said with a wink as he slipped his pants off. He heard a wolf whistle and laughed as he put on a blue dress shirt. He heard a howl when his slacks were fastened and as soon as his jacket was slipped on, he felt arms around his waist. He smiled and ran his nails lightly along her arms. "Hello, beautiful." He said with a smile.
"Hello, handsome" Arabella said softly and she planted a few kisses on the nape of his neck. She was looking forward to their date. It was fun to get all dressed up like they were and go out. It made her feel special and pretty. She was also looking forward to getting back to their hotel room after the date and spending the night with him. Arabella ran her hands down his sides then pulled away. ''Make up time" she said and he heard him sigh as she walked towards the bathroom with her make up kit. Arabella froze, looking into the mirror. Hunter always had a problem with her wearing make up and she had a problem with not wearing any make up. It made her feel sloppy and lazy when she didn't do anything. She looked down at her make up kit and she remembered what Hunter always said to her about her make up. He said that she didn't need it. Instead of pulling out all of her primer, foundation, cover up, blush and so on; Arabella only pulled out her liquid eyeliner. She made a simple line across her top eyelids and put the rest of her make up away when she walked into the room. "I'm ready to go when you are" she said, a little nervous about the lack of make up.
Hunter looked over at her, expecting the mask of make up she usually put on and was surprised to see just some eyeliner. He walked over to her and cradled her cheek in his hand, feeling her skin not some makeup. "You look...There isn't a word to describe how beautiful you look." He said quietly, pressing his lips to hers in a loving kiss. He grazed his fingers down her arm to her hand. He took it and finally broke the kiss. "Alright. Let's go." He said, leading her out of their hotel room.
Arabella followed him, smiling at the feeling of the butterflies in her stomach. She wanted to hug him and kiss him and never let go of him. He knew how to make her feel special, to make her feel beautiful. They were on their way out though and as they stepped into the elevator, she saw a family with a little baby. Arabella figured that putting the moves on Hunter right then would be a bad thing. She looked up at him with a smile and squeezed his hand before looking down at the baby girl, who was smiling up at Arabella from her stroller. Arabella smiled back and the baby girl giggled. Arabella looked up at Hunter again, her heart melting.
Hunter smiled down at the little girl and kissed Arabella's cheek before turning back to the child. She was just a bubbly happy little baby girl and he could already tell that Arabella was being driven crazy. The elevator stopped and the car unloaded into the lobby. He smiled as the baby girl giggled at Arabella one last time as the family headed toward the pool. Hunter took Arabella's arm and they walked out of the hotel and into the cool night air. Hunter opened her door for her and helped her inside before getting and starting it. "I figured we could drive into downtown and park. Then we would figure out where we wanted to eat and then we'd be closer to the pier." He said, looking over at her. "Assuming you don't want to get out and steal that little girl."
Arabella smoothed out her dress and she looked over at Hunter with a small smile. "I just might steal that little girl" She said with a small giggle. She was looking forward to being a mother now, even though she knew that it wasn't something that was going to happen right away. Arabella never thought that she would have kids and now that she found the man that she wanted to raise a family with, she was looking forward to the rest of her life. "Mmm..ours will be cuter though" She said with a nod. "She's going to have your eyes and your hair, for sure"
"She'll have your smile." He leaned over and kissed her on the tip of the nose. "And your precious little nose." He said with a smile as he leaned back in his chair and started driving toward downtown. He was so happy at that moment. He was with the girl of his dreams. They were talking about their future. Their kids. Their family. He slipped his arm around her waist and pulled her close before kissing her cheek. "Alright. Where do you want to go?" He asked, finally arriving to the downtown area.
"Hmm..." Arabella looked around the street. There were a couple places that looked promising. She tugged at the hem of her dress then pointed to a building that was pretty close to where they were parked. It looked like a pretty nice restaurant and a couple people were just walking out of it and they looked pretty happy. "Let's go there" She said and smiled up at Hunter, kissing him. She pulled away and was about to open up her door when Hunter and jumped out of his side and ran around to open her door. With a smile, Arabella slid out of the car and kissed him before taking his hand and walking towards the restaurant.
Hunter smiled and kissed her cheek. "Good choice." He said, opening the door and letting her inside. He walked up to the hostess and asked for a table for two. She waited a few moments before leading them to a table in the back of the restaurant, next to a window with a view of the pier and Lake Michigan. "There are so many options." He said, looking through the menu. "Have you ever had lobster? It sounds interesting."
"You've never had lobster? One of your best friends is a son of Poseidon and he couldn't get you one lobster" Arabella teased, shaking her head. She grinned over at him then nodded. "Yes, I've had lobster and it's amazing" She said more seriously and she looked down at her menu. It was an expensive place but it wasn't nearly as expensive and some of the places she had been in New York City. "I think I'm going to get the lobster, actually" She said with a nod.
Hunter put his menu down on the table and looked up at Arabella. "Would you eat lobster if you could hear it talking while you cooked it?" He asked with a chuckle. Hunter looked out the window and smiled at the view before noticing Arabella's reflection. He looked at her a moment before noticing the waitress walk up. "We'll both have the lobster. Thank you." He said, handing her the menus. She took them and smiled, before walking away from the table. Hunter went back to looking at Arabella's reflection in the window. When Hunter looked at her directly, she looked back at him, putting an expression on her face. When she doesn't know he's looking at her, she has no expression. It's candid. She was just as beautiful.
Arabella looked over at him and she smiled a little bit. She picked up her glass of water and took a sip, looking over at Hunter still. He smiled back at her and she resisted the urge to jump across the table and start kissing him. It wasn't easy to do. Arabella took a breath and she put her water down. "Thanks for bringing me out here tonight, Hunter. It's nice to go on a date with you" she said and brushed her fingers across his knuckles.
Hunter sandwiched her hands between his. "It was my pleasure." He said, gently running a hand up her arm. He kissed her ring finger knuckle and smiled. "I'm really glad you let me bring you out here tonight." He took a sip of water and looked up when their food came. "Wow..." He breathed as they set the the food on the table. He thanked the waiter before looking down at his food. "Umm...How do I...eat...this?" He asked, gesturing toward the lobster.
"Twist off the claws, like...this" Arabella told him and she twisted off the claws from her lobster. She smiled over at him as he took the claws off of his own lobster. She kind of loved the fact that he didn't know something like eating a lobster. Arabella felt like he was so amazing at everything he did and it was kind of nice to be able to show him how to do something. She also found it pretty funny that he could kill a million monsters like it was nothing but he didn't know how to do something that Arabella had grown up doing. "Now just...crack open the claws" she said in a slightly strained voice as she pulled apart one of her claws and took a bit of meat out with a fork.
Hunter jumped a little as the shell cracked open. "Oh. Okay." He said, pulling the meat out of the claw. He looked at it a moment before taking a bite. "Oh, gods..." He said, chewing the tender meat of the lobster. "This is...oh my gods." He said quietly. "This is amazing." He said, looking up at Arabella with a grin. He quickly devoured the other claw before closing his eyes and sighing. "Alright. Now what?" He asked, looking at the rest of the animal.
Arabella giggled at Hunter's reaction and she cleared her throat before continuing. "Flip her over, break the tail away, push the meat out of the tail and..enjoy" she explained, telling him how to eat the tail end of the lobster while she did all of the actions herself. It as fun to sit with him and show him how to eat his lobster. She tried not to giggle as she ate and watched him enjoy his lobster. Clearly, she was going to have to learn how to cook lobster because he was loving every single bite. Once they were both done, she wiped her hands off on the napkin. "Okay..last bit are these legs" She explained and held up the pencil thin legs that she had ripped off of her lobster. "There isn't much meat in them but I think that it's the best meat, so...worth the effort. You have to sort of nibble on the shell to loosen up the meat then you can suck it out at the end like a straw"
Hunter looked at the legs and took a deep breath. He chewed on the shell and managed to crack it open enough, but unintentionally ate the shell. He took a gulp of water, washing the shell down and looked at Arabella with a disgusted look on his face. "This meat had better be good." He said under his breath before sucking the meat out. He chewed a bit, savoring the flavor and finally swallowed, a smile on his face. "That's...perfect." He said, putting the rest down and looking up at Arabella and smiling. "That was wonderful." He said with a happy sigh.
Arabella smiled at him and she looked around them with a devious smirk on her face. When she saw that they were hidden pretty well and no one was looking at them, she pushed the plates to the side and she leaned across the table, put her hands on either side of his face and she kissed him passionately. With a teasing glint in her eye, she pulled away and sat back down in hre chair, fixing her dress. "That was wonderful" She giggled.
Hunter took a deep breath and smiled at Arabella. "That was wonderful." Hunter said with a chuckle. The waitress brought the check and Hunter paid. "Alright. Dinner? Check." He said, standing up. He took Arabella's hand and when she stood, he spun her into his arms and kissed her on the lips. "Shall we go for a walk by the pier? Or is the bedroom calling already?" He asked, kissing her again, holding her in his arms. He finally let go and took her hand as they left the restaurant.
"Mmm..let's go for a walk. How many times are we going to be in Chicago?" Arabella said and she gave his hand a small squeeze as they started walking. It was dark out and it was quiet, the only sounds were the clicking of her heels on the pavement and their steady breaths. She shivered a little and she leaned into Hunter with a smile on her face. It really was a beautiful city, from what she's seen of it at least. "Thanks for dinner, by the way. I'll pay you back when we get to our hotel room" She giggled and placed a kiss against his jaw.
Hunter smiled and laughed a little. He never would have imagined that he would be in a situation like this. A girl that he loved this much was by his side. He had just had a wonderful dinner and he was excited to get back to the hotel room. Right now, he was more than happy just being with her. "We need to go this way. Toward Navy Pier. It's like a carnival there. A ferris wheel. Games. Attractions and all that." He took off his jacket and put it around her shoulders. He wrapped an arm around her gently, giving her a squeeze.
"Ohh..that sounds like fun" Arabella said excitedly and she leaned into him. It was going to be a fun night, Arabella was sure of it. Even if the fair was boring or her feet started to hurt from her shoes or if she got too cold to carry on. Just being with Hunter was going to be fun and exciting. Arabella leaned into him and she looked up at him with happy eyes. "We should get some cotton candy while we're there" She nodded.
Hunter smiled and kissed her temple. "I'm going to win you something. A big stuffed animal or something. Just pick out one you want." He said as they passed under an archway and finally entered the pier. There were bright lights and even though it was dark, the lights made it easy to see everything. He knew that they had to go on the Ferris wheel. He lead them through the fair toward the wheel. "Oh, speaking of cotton candy..." He said as he walked up to the table. "Just one." He said, handing the man money. He artfully spun the web of candy floss onto a stick and handed it to Hunter who handed it to Arabella. "What is that stuff?" He said, gesturing toward the cotton candy.
"What is this stuff? This is the food of the gods" Arabella said with a little giggle and she ripped some off of the stick, trying not to get it all stuck on her fingers, she popped into her mouth and smled happily at the taste of the sugar. She looked up at Hunter and she held the stick out to him to try. "It's basically just sugar but it's the best thing on the planet" she said and she took another bite out of the cotton candy then licked her lips, trying to get it all off.
Hunter tore some off and ate it. "Huh." He said, handing it back. He rubbed the remnants of it between his fingers. "Melted sugar spun and cooled into strands. When you touch it, it heats up and melts again. That's so cool!" He said brushing the the sticky crumbs off his hands. He looked over at Arabella and chuckled. "I'll get it." He said, kissing right by her mouth. He hummed and laughed against her skin before finally breaking away. "Sugary." He said with a chuckle.
Arabella grinned up at him and she took a piece of cotton candy before turning to look around at everything. It was a pretty quiet night but there were still people around. Arabella spotted a very large stuffed bear that was hanging up by a game. It was one of those games with the water gun with the objective of shooting the water at a target and holding it there for a certain amount of time. "Oh, Hunter..look!" she gasped and took his hand, walking over to the stuffed bear. From where she was standing, she could see that it was incredibly soft and the perfect bear for cuddling. It's head was probably two times bigger than Arabella's, if not bigger.
"I got this." Hunter said, kissing Arabella on the cheek. Hunter walked up to the stand and pulled out his wallet. "How much to play?" He asked the man.
"2 bucks." The acne-ridden teen said with a very apathetic look on his face. Hunter handed him the money and then prepared to play. Hunter concentrated and when the buzzer went off, fired the stream of water at the target. Behind the target was a tank slowly being filled up with a scale of which price you would receive. Hunter smiled as he hit the target perfectly until the water stopped. He looked up with a smile on his face and saw that the tank hadn't even reached the lowest line. "Sorry. Better luck next time, sir. Would you like to try again?"
"I hit the target perfectly. The whole time. I deserve something." He said, pointing toward the tank. The kid shrugged.
"Not my problem, man. Rules are rules." He said rudely. "Try again. Go ahead." He said, holding out his hand. Hunter walked around to the side and saw the tank with an obvious leak in it. Hunter walked to the kid again.
"Dude, that tank has an enormous leak in it. This is rigged." He said quietly. He smiled at Arabella a moment before leaning forward to the kid. "I'm going to hand you two dollars and I'm going to play again." He whispered. "You are going to fix this game and I am going to win or I'm going to get the police involved and the bad publicity your employer receives isn't going to help you make enough money to buy yourself that Barbie doll that you want so very much." Hunter smiled and patted him on the shoulder. "I think I'll try again." He said, handing the kid two dollars.
"Excuse me a moment." He said, walking toward the back of the stand. A moment later he came back and accepted Hunter's money. "Go ahead, sir." Hunter smiled and played again, easily filling the tank and making a siren go off, alerting the surrounding area of the victory. "Congratulations. Select your prize." He said with a forced smile, gesturing to the wall of toys.
Arabella squeaked happily, not noticing what Hunter had done at all. She was too focused on the cotton candy and trying to not be upset that he hadn't won. She had really wanted that bear. When the siren went off though, she wrapped her arms around Hunter's neck and kissed him, giggling. People all around were looking at them and at the game, shocked that someone had actually won something. Arabella watched as Hunter picked out the bear that she had been looking at and when the kid picked it up and passed it over to them, she kissed Hunter again. She was thrilled that he had won. "I knew you could do it" She said happily.
Hunter smiled and wrapped an arm around her. "Well, I did my best." He said, giving a nod the kid at the stall. He took the bear from him and handed it to her. He watched as she hugged it tightly, burying her face in the plushness of its fur. He walked idly next to her with his hands in his pockets, happy that he could make her happy. That's all he wanted really. Hunter sighed and they finally reached the Ferris wheel. "Oh! Here it is." He said, hurrying over to the ticket booth and getting two tickets.
Arabella turned her eyes up, looking all the way to the top of the Ferris wheel and she gulped. "Oh dear..okay" She said softly and she gave her new bear a tight squeeze while she waited for Hunter to get the tickets. Once he did and he walked back to her with the tickets in his hand, Arabella linked her arm through his and she nervously walked towards the Ferris wheel with him. She got nervous with heights sometimes and the Ferris wheel did not look like it would be fun to fall out of. "Ever been on one of these?" She asked Hunter, looking up at him.
"No, but it looks awesome." He said with a grin, looking up at the top. He looked over at her and saw her nervousness. He sighed and kissed her temple. "Hey, I've got you. You'll be okay." He said, slipping an arm around her waist and holding her close. "Ellie, I am never going to let you fall." He said with a grin. They waited in line for a moment or two before being let onto a car by themselves. The Ferris wheel moved and went up and up and up, presenting a beautiful view of the city and the lake. He was seated next to her and was holding her hand tightly. It was beautiful. She was beautiful. He pulled his hand out of his pocket and cursed under his breath. Hunter looked at her for a moment before dropping to one knee and looking into her eyes.
Her breathing and already shallow and her heart was already beating fast because of her nerves. Arabella looked down at him, holding his gaze. She didn't know what he was doing but she didn't want to get her hopes up. She didn't want to find out that he was picking something off the ground or something like that. In fact, if he was just picking something up, she was probably going to smack him for leaving her side as the Ferris wheel stopped when they were at the very top. "Hunter.." she breathed, her heart racing.
Hunter smiled at her anxiousness. He lightly put a hand on her thigh, knowing exactly what he was doing. Her reaction the first two times was too much. "Arabella Marie Foster," He said slowly, looking into her bright blue eyes, seeing her nervousness. "Ellie. Will you..." He spoke slowly, drawing this out. He chewed on his lips a moment before taking a deep breath feigning nervousness. "Will you lift your legs up? I dropped my keys under the seat." He said with a chuckle, feeling a slight twinge of guilt for tricking her.
"Dammit, Hunter!" She huffed but she lifted her legs up so that he could get his keys and when he sat back down, she smacked his arm. Arabella had gotten excited, she had gotten her hopes up. She was sure that Hunter was about to propose to her. She was sure that she was going to be getting a ring and they would be engaged in the next minute. However, he was just tricking her. Part of her knew that if she was watching this in a movie or something, she would be laughing her butt off. However, she wasn't watching it as a movie and she was pretty embarrassed. "You are so mean"
Hunter finally moved closer to her again, assuming she was done hitting him. He kissed her cheek and took her hand again. "Think about it this way. Did you even notice that we were at the very top of the Ferris wheel? Not only that, but we temporarily halted at the top?" He gave her hand and squeeze and kissed her cheek again. "I was just taking your mind off things." He put an arm around her and smiled, holding her tight as they looked out at the water. "I'm excited for you to be Mrs. Arabella Marie Reed." He said quietly, smiling gently.
Arabella let out a sigh and soon enough, she let herself lean into him. She smiled gently when she heard her name like that. It was perfect and it was wonderful. She was done with being Arabella Marie Foster. She wanted to be Arabella Marie Reed. Her eyes turned up to look at him and she smiled a little bit. She was still a little bit ticked off about his trick on her but the Ferris wheel was getting closer to the ground, so that was a good thing. "I'm excited too" She said in the same quiet tone and she leaned up, kissing him.
Hunter leaned into her just as she was leaning into him. He moved his other hand to her hip and pulled her closer, kissing her with more passion. That's when the Ferris wheel slowed at the platform. "Oh. We need to get off." He said, pulling out of the embrace they had been in. He let her jump off before jumping off himself. He brushed off his pants and looked over at Arabella. She was dressed beautifully with a small purse over her shoulder and the gigantic bear in hand. He slipped an arm around her waist and kissed her teasingly on the lips, wondering if she had felt the extra passion he had put into their embrace on the Ferris wheel.
Arabella leaned into his arms, into the kiss. The more and more he kissed her, the more she felt like she was being swept off of her feet. The passion in his kisses and his touch was almost too much for her. She placed a hand on his chest, holding onto his shirt lightly and she pulled him closer to her. Arabella didn't care that there were people looking at them or kids that were working at rides were watching them. She just cared about his touch. Arabella shivered lightly and moved closer to him."I love you, Hunter. Even if you do like to trick me" she whispered then giggled.
"I love you, Ellie." He said quietly. "And I trick because I care." He teased being met with a light smack on his arm. He took her hand and started walking back to the gate. "Should we head back to the hotel and finish up our night?" He asked, more breathed, into her ear. He saw her shiver slightly and nod. He smiled and exited the park. He was excited to get back to the hotel. Not just because of what they would inevitably end up doing at the hotel, but because he loved being with Arabella. He loved being able to be comfortable with her. Sitting together. Being together and not caring what they said or how they dressed. "So, what--"
"Alright. Hand it over." Hunter turned around and saw a man holding a knife with a ski mask on. Hunter took a step back and held Arabella behind him, staying between her and the man.
A squeak of shock and fear came out of Arabella when Hunter held her behind him. She hadn't totally registered what was going on when the man with the ski mask and knife had first arrived but once Hunter had moved her behind him, she was able to really understand their situation and a wave of fear washed over her. Why did this have to happen to them now? Could they never have a good night together without something going wrong? Arabella had to do something. She couldn't just hide behind Hunter and wait for something to happen. But what could she do? Her eyes flickered down to her bracelet, the one that was a gift from her mother and it turned into her knife. But her knife was Celestial bronze. It would do nothing to the mortal man who was standing in front of them. She looked around Hunter and she looked at the man in the ski mask and she chewed on her lip, trying to look more brave than she actually was. "Please..just let us go" She said softly in a terrified voice.
Hunter looked at the man. He had no idea what he was doing. "Stay back, Ellie." He said, pushing her back a little. He looked back at the man and put his hands up. "Listen, man. Your hands are shaking. You have no idea what you're doing with that knife. I don't want to hurt you, but I want to help you." He said, slowly stepping forward. "How about I give you a few bucks and you leave us alone, okay?"
"How about I kill you and your girlfriend and take it all?" The man replied, pointing the knife menacingly at Hunter's face. Hunter took a deep breath before stepping forward again.
"Look. We both know that's not what you want." Hunter said, trying to reason with him. The man scoffed.
"Oh yeah?" He said before thrusting the knife at Hunter's stomach. Hunter stepped sideways and blocked it with his arm. The man pulled back and tried again, but this time Hunter grabbed his arm and twisted his wrist, waiting for the sound of dislocation before knocking the knife out of his hand. He kicked it into a stormdrain and kicked the man in the butt back into the alley where he had emerged.
"Get out of here!" He yelled as the man ran off, clutching his wrist. He turned to Arabella. "Are you okay, Ellie?" He asked, hurrying toward her and looking her in the eyes.
Arabella looked up at Hunter with big eyes then she looked down at his arm and she saw the bloody flowing freely from it. A little gasp escaped from her and she took his arm gingerly in shaking hands. "Oh, Hunter..." She breathed and chewed on her lip. "Are you okay?" She asked him, not really bothering to answer his question. She was terrified and shocked and worried about Hunter but she wasn't hurt. Arabella took a shaky breath and she ran her hands through her hair nervously. "Okay..okay..let's get back to the car. I have a first aid kit there" She said, her voice shaking as much as her hands. She hated to see him hurt, even if it was only a cut on his arm.
"Ellie, stop." Hunter said, grabbing her wrist. He pulled her in and kissed her tightly on the lips. After a moment or two he broke it, looking into her eyes. "Calm down." He said firmly. He looked at his wound for the first time and cringed as he ripped open the already made cut in his shirt to reveal his wound a little more. He grabbed at the shoulder of the sleeve and with a few good pulls, ripped the sleeve off and tied it around the wound. "Alright. I'm good." He said, patting his arm. Arabella was looking at him like he had committed a crime. "Oh, come on. The shirt was already ruined." He said as they reached the car. He pressed her up against the side and kissed her. "Back to the hotel?" He asked, kissing her again.
"How can you be so calm? We just about got mugged and you're hurt" Arabella said and she looked up at Hunter with big eyes. She liked being against the car like that though. The car meant that they had a place to hide if that guy came back and Hunter in front of her meant safety. Arabella took a small breath and she opened up the car door, sitting in and sliding over to the driver's seat where she reached around and grabbed the first aid kit. She looked up at Hunter, holding onto the first aid kit tightly. "Please..let me put a proper bandage on it and clean it before we go anywhere"
Hunter sighed and kissed her forehead. "Let's get in the car at least." He said, walking around and opening her door for her. He got in and put his arm in her lap as he started the car and turned on the heat and a little bit of music. He wasn't calm. To be honest, he was a little scared. That guy could come back and have a gun. What if that guy had had a gun? Hunter probably would have been dead by now. He looked over at Arabella who deftly worked on his arm. He needed to be strong for her. He needed to be strong for himself, but he needed to be strong for her more importantly. "What a nice date..." He said quietly.
Arabella nervously cleaned his cut, trying not to hurt him anymore. She chewed on her lip and looked over at him. With a sigh, she stopped cleaning his cut and looked him in the eye. "It was a wonderful date, Hunter." She said softly and honestly. After a moment, she turned back to his arm. She put a bit of Neosporin on a bandage and gingerly put that on his arm. Arabella leaned down and she placed a light kiss against the bandage. Even though she was terrified and nervous and shocked, she smiled a little bit at Hunter. "Let's just...get back to the hotel" she breathed and took a little breath. She didn't want to be scared. She didn't want to be nervous but she was.
Hunter looked at his newly bandaged arm and smiled. "Thanks." He said to her, holding up his arm. He buckled his seatbelt and started back toward the hotel. He held her close He kissed her lightly on the temple and ran his fingers up and down her arm. "Ellie, we're fine. I'm fine. We're safe. Nothing is going to hurt you. Not while I'm here, okay?" He held her close and comforted her all the way back to the hotel. He didn't get out immediately. Mostly because he was so comfortable. "I'm glad you had a good time. I know, I did." He said in almost a whisper.
Arabella leaned into him with her eyes closed. Being with Hunter calmed her down. He made her feel safe and secure. He tied her to the ground. Arabella knew that if she had been with anyone else, she would have been having a panic attack. She looked up at him and she took a slightly shaky breath. "You were amazing tonight Hunter. With that guy..you were really amazing. It was like seeing you fight a monster again" she said with a tiny smile and she placed a kiss on his shoulder.
Hunter smiled, feeling a little proud. It did feel good to be fighting something bad again. He was just disappointed that it had to be a fellow human being. "Oh, please. I wouldn't have gotten cut if I were back at camp." He said with a chuckle as he brought her face up to his. He kissed her on the nose as she put her chin on his shoulder. He turned and looked at her face-to-face. "Hey, beautiful. You think we should go up?" He said, referring to the hotel room. "It's up to you."
Arabella closed her eyes for a moment then she looked up at Hunter and she nodded slowly. She wanted to crawl into bed and even though she knew that she wasn't going to be able to sleep at all, she wanted to be with Hunter and her blanket and her old teddy bear. She wanted to curl into Hunter's side and listen to his heart beat and feel his steady breaths. Slowly, with a little groan, Arabella slid out of the car when Hunter opened the door for her and she leaned into him a little bit. she tugged at her dress and looked up at him. "I can't wait to get into a pair of shorts" she said in a slightly teasing voice.
Hunter smiled and held onto her as they walked into the hotel. He leisurely lead her into their room and closed the door behind him. Arabella walked into the bathroom and closed the door. Hunter talked toward the door, loud enough that she could hear. "We should order a movie on the hotel TV service or whatever." He said, gesturing to the TV and the remote. "And we can order some room service and just curl up in bed and watch the movie. He took off the remnants of his bloody shirt and threw it in the trash. He dropped his pants and carefully folded them, placing them back into his suitcase. "Does that sound okay?" He asked into the bathroom.
Arabella tugged off her dress and she gingerly folded it, placing it on the counter. With a little bit of effort, she was able to pull off her tights and she folded them quickly. As she tugged on a pair of short black shorts and a loose shirt that fell off of her shoulder, she thought about everything that had happened that night. She tried to focus on the good things and not on the man but everytime she started thinking about somehting good, his face flashed in front of her eyes. Arabella pulled the clips out of her hair and she shook out the golden waves before turning and padding out of the bathroom. She looked at Hunter and she caught her breath. He was an incredibly handsome man and she couldn't resist checking him out a little bit. "Yeah..that's good" she said softly with a little nod and she tugged at her shorts that hardly covered her legs at all.
Hunter slipped on a pair of pajama pants and turned around, letting out a gasp at her outfit. She looked beautiful. He didn't even realize he was staring until she waved at him and giggled bashfully. "Oh, right. Umm..." He looked around the room, blanking slightly. "Movie. Remote. TV. Room service." He blurted out to her. He looked at her and couldn't help himself anymore. He stepped toward her and wrapped his arms around her, kissing her lightly on the lips. "I'm sorry. I couldn't help it." He whispered as he trailed kisses along her exposed shoulder. "You're just so pretty."
Arabella smiled a little bit and she pressed herself closer to him, placing her hands on his chest and running her fingers across his skin. He was warm and comforting and his kisses on her shoulder made her feel better with each kiss. She wanted to melt into him and never leave. Arabella turned towards the bed, pulling Hunter with her and she sat down, looking up at him with a teasing sort of look on her face. "We don't need a movie tonight" She said simply, shaking her head and taking his hand. She tugged on him slightly, pulling him closer to her.
Hunter sat down next to her and pressed his lips against hers. He ran his hands down her sides before reaching her thighs. He nibbled a little on her bottom lip before lifting her into the air and standing up. Hunter smiled and kissed her on the lips. "Yes, ma'am." He said brushing his lips across her cheek. He felt her legs wrap around him and he laughed a little as he ran his hand up and down her thigh, supporting her with his other hand. "Mmm....Do you still want Room service?" He asked against her skin.
Arabella shrugged lightly and she held him closely, squeezing her legs around him a little bit. She loved being close to him like that. After everything that had happened that night, she didn't want to let go of him at all. Arabella chewed on her lip and looked at him. "Well, we could always get some chocolate covered strawberries" She giggled and kissed him.
Hunter laughed and kissed her tightly on the lips. "Sounds good." He said with a smile. He shuffled to the phone and picked it up, blindly dialing the front desk. It was ringing and Hunter pressed his lips to hers. Finally someone came on the line. "Hmm? Yes...Hello. Can you send me to...Room service?" He said, still kissing her. He was put on hold and Hunter kissed her tightly and squeezed her butt. "Mmm...Oh! Hello? Yes." He turned his face and talked into the phone. "Could we have some chocolate covered strawberries?" Arabella turned his face and kissed him. "Mmm...And some sparkling apple cider?" He kissed Arabella and listened to the man talk. "You don't have....Do you have chocolate...Okay. Now do you have strawberries....Okay. Then I expect them up here. And the sparkling cider. Yes. Yes. Thank you." He said quickly before hanging up and pushing Arabella up against the wall. He kissed along her cheek and down her neck to her shoulder.
Arabella gasped a little bit when he pushed her against the wall and she smiled a little bit, biting on her lip. She placed her hands on his neck and she brushed her fingers against his skin lightly. At that moment, she didn't care about anyone or anything other than Hunter. He was holding her against the wall and he was placing kisses on her shoulder. It was enough to drive a girl crazy. She took deep breaths, trying to regain some control over herself and she ran her hands down his chest, pressing her fingers into his skin lightly. "Oh gods, Hunter..you are just..wow" She breathed.
Hunter shuddered a little and he breathed lightly on her neck. "You're beautiful." He said, stepping backward and falling back onto the bed. He kissed her on the nose and ran his hands up her back under her shirt. He kissed her and danced his fingers along her spine. "I--" There was a knock on the door and Hunter sighed. He rolled on top of her and kissed her tightly on the lips before standing up. "Don't go anywhere, gorgeous." He said with a grin before walking toward the door.
Arabella took a breath and she laid back on the bed, closing her eyes. She took deep breaths and her heart was racing. It felt like it was taking Hunter ages to come back to her and she hated waiting. She missed his warmth and even though it had only been a few seconds, her skin tingled for his touch again. Arabella hear Hunter talking to a man then she heard the sound of wheels as the man from room service rolled into their room, leaving the tray. "Your strawberries and your cider" A man's voice said and he stopped talking quickly, seeing Arabella on the bed. She didn't notice that he had frozen in place and looked down at her with a slightly stunned look on his face.
Hunter grabbed the tray and set it on the table before grabbing the cart. He shoved the cart and the man out the door. "No tip for ogling my woman." He said before slamming the door. He grabbed the tray and set it on the bed before crawling on top of her and kissing her lightly. "Nobody gets to look at you, except me." He said with a chuckle as he sat up and poured her a glass of cider. He poured himself a glass and grabbed a strawberry. He put the undipped side in his mouth and presented it to her with a smile.
Arabella looked up at Hunter and she giggled, pushing herself to sit up. She slipped her arms around his neck and she moved closer to him, taking a bite out of the strawberry that he was holding in his mouth. She kind of liked the fact that Hunter was protective like that. It made her feel special. From her experience, most guys would just look at her like it was okay from them to gawk at her, even if she didn't know them at all. She liked that Hunter stood up for her in that way. Arabella smiled up at him as she nibbled on the strawberry and she kissed him lightly, reaching over to grab another stawberry. she took a bite out of the chocolate side and kissed him again with chocolate on her lips.
Hunter pulled the stem out of his mouth and set it on the tray. He kissed her and tasted the chocolate on her lips, humming and smiling. He ran his tongue across her lips and savored the taste of chocolate. "This was a good choice." He said, taking a sip of cider. He grabbed another strawberry and pressed the side of it to her lips. He kissed her and twisted the stem off, biting into the strawberry. The chocolate and the strawberry juice covered his and her lips. He put the stem down and kissed her tightly, wanting nothing more than to be with her. To hold her close. To kiss her lips. "I love you." He breathed quietly.
"I love you too" Arabella breathed back and she ran her hands down his arm, squeezing his muscle lightly. It was easy being with Hunter. It felt like it was second nature to her. Arabella pressed herself against him and she looked up at him through her eyelashes. Could a moment be any more perfect? Arabella was beyond happy. She was blissful and excited about their lives together. She kissed him lightly, grazing her lips across his for a moment before pushing the rest of the strawberries to the side and lying back on the pillows, pulling Hunter on top of her.
Hunter smiled and put his forehead against hers. He stayed there for a moment, just looking into her eyes. Seeing the love. The passion. He no longer understood how he had been living without her. He had no idea how he would survive without her in his life. She was his other half. He kissed her on the lips and trailed kisses down her chin and neck to her chest. He breathed softly against her skin and brushed his lips to her shoulder.
Arabella took his hand and she held it up, placing her hand against his. Her hands were smaller than his and she loved his hand. They were worn and had clearly been used quite a bit. They made her feel safe. Arabella smiled and she twisted her fingers around his, holding his hand close to her chest. She shivered slightly as he brushed his lips against her skin and she slipped a leg around his hip, pulling him closer.
Hunter placed small kisses along her collar bone. He squeezed her hand and kissed it softly, feeling the connection between them. He trailed his kisses along her shoulder, up her neck, across her cheek and finally reached her lips again. He rolled onto his side and put an arm around her waist, their legs tangling together, pulling each other closer and locking lips passionately. Hunter ran his fingers through her hair and gently caressed her cheek. He ran his hand down her arm and smiled. He squeezed her hand and broke away from the kiss, looking into her bright blue eyes. He kissed her nose and grinned at her. He put his forehead lightly on hers and kissed her nose again. Hunter loved looking at her. If he could do anything in the world it would be this. Looking at her. Kissing her. Holding her hand. "La femme la plus belle de la planète est en face de moi." He said quietly, dancing his fingers up and down her arm.
Arabella groaned softly and a smile spread across her lips when she heard Hunter's voice. She was in a good mood. The previous day had been such a good day and she had a feeling that it was going to be another good day. Hunter was making her warm and happy and even though she wanted to stay in the bed forever, she opened her eyes slowly and yawned. "I love you too, Hunter" She whispered and stretched out her legs a little bit.
Hunter let out a quiet laugh and scooched down in the bed a little. Laying face to face with her, he put his hand on her hip and kissed her tenderly on the lips. "Mmm...Good morning, Beautiful." He said with a smile as he ran his hand over her hip. He kissed her on the nose and slid his arm under her. He pulled her up a little and wrapped his arms around her. She laid on top of him. She wasn't straddling him and kissing him. He wasn't taking off her clothes. They were just lying together comfortably. "I was going to make breakfast this morning, but I'm so comfortable now..." He said with a smile as he felt Arabella kiss his chest and draw a heart over his.
"I'm comfortable too, so..you better not move" Arabella said softly, still drawing the heart on his chest. She yawned briefly and stopped drawing on his chest to rub her eyes. She was happy to just be with Hunter like this. It was simple and easy and seemed to come naturally to them. They didn't need to be doing something or getting frisky. She just needed to be with him. Arabella looked up at him with sleepy eyes and a smile spread across her lips. "I think that this is the best way to wake up in the morning. There is nothing better" She said in a matter-of-fact voice.
"I'm certainly not complaining at this point." He said quietly as he ran his fingers through her hair. His other arm wrapped tighter around her. Having her laying on top of him like this made him smile. It made her feel small and delicate while it made him feel strong and protective. He knew that he wasn't going to let anything happen to her. He yawned slightly and tickled the small of her back a little. "Did I tell you how beautiful you are? I don't think I tell you enough." He said with a small smile. "You are the most beautiful person to ever grace this earth." He said with a nod. "This is a fact and don't argue with me."
Arabella put her head on his chest and she giggled a little bit, her cheeks a bright pink. "Stop it, Hunter..you're making me blush" she said softly and nuzzled into him. Hearing him say something like that to her made her heart skip a beat and her hands flutter. It still made her all giggly and excited when he said that she was beautiful. "And thank you" She whispered, placing an innocent kiss against his collar bone. "Do you know that you are the most handsome man on the planet?"
"No. No." Hunter said, shaking his head. "We're not talking about how handsome I am. How VERY handsome I am." He teased with a grin. "We're talking about how beautifully magnificently gorgeous you are." He said with a nod. He smiled at her and she looked up, smiling back. He danced his fingers down her spine and kissed her shoulder. "You really are beautiful, Ellie. Without even trying. Without make up. Without doing something with your hair. Without wearing some fancy dress. I could look at you for the next 100 years and you would remain the most beautiful girl in the world."
Arabella's cheeks got pinker and pinker until they were a bright red. She took a breath and kissed him, totally speechless about what he had said to her. Arabella was totally swept off of her feet. "You're too nice to me, Hunter. At least let me talk about how handsome and sexy you are if you're going to say all of that stuff about me" she said with a small giggle and she brushed her fingers along his jaw. "Because you are very handsome and sexy and strong..." she said softly with a smirk.
Hunter smiled and cradled her face in his hand. He could feel the warmth coming from her cheeks due to all the blushing she did. "You're cute when you're blushing." He said, partially ignoring what she had said about him. He loved it when she said stuff like that to him, but he usually didn't think about stuff like that. He knew that Arabella was always thinking about how she looked. It was natural for her being a daughter of Aphrodite. "I love you." He said with a grin before pressing his lips to hers in a tender kiss.
"I love you too" Arabella whispered against his lips and she leaned into him, kissing him. It meant a lot ot her to hear those sort of things about her. Especially because of her history with Chad and Brian. They often made her feel like something was wrong with her. Like she had done something wrong or there was something wrong with the way she looked. Hunter made her feel beautiful just the way she was. "Mmm..do you think that we should get up soon? I'm sure that Kyle and Marina are wondering why we're sleeping in so late" she whispered with a smile.
"Right. Sleeping." He said with a smile. She went to slap his chest, but he kissed her again and that changed into her just putting her hand on his chest. He felt her curl her fingers, digging her nails into his chest a little. Hunter finally broke the kiss. He smiled and left small kisses on her lips, trying to overcome the urge to keep kissing her. He finally stopped and took a deep breath. "Alright. Let's go." He said, letting her roll off of him. He finally stood up and walked over to his bag, changing into a pair of jeans and a sweatshirt.
Arabella walked over to her bag, carefully pulling out a pair of jeans with a shirt and a matching cardigan. She peeled off her pajama shorts and tugged on her new clothes, pulling at them and adjusting them until they were perfect. Her fingers raked through her slightly messy hair as she piled it into a golden bun on the top of her head. After making sure that her clothes were adjusted right and she didn't have any stray hair falling down the back of her neck, Arabella took Hunter's hand and grinned at him. "Ready!"
Hunter smiled at her. She looked so eager to start the day. "Let's go then." He said with a grin as he kissed her hand and lead her down the stairs. The house was quiet, but that wasn't particularly surprising. It was still a little early. When they reached the kitchen, the coffee machine had automatically turned on and was now brewing some coffee. "Alright. You handle the technology, I will start on breakfast." He said, gesturing toward the coffee machine. He looked in the fridge and pulled out the eggs and the bacon. He looked around and saw some premade pancake mix. He shrugged and pulled that toward his workstation. After washing his hands, he got started making breakfast for the four of them.
Arabella nodded and she turned towards the coffee pot, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath of the coffee. It was one of her favorite smells in the world and it was enough to get her going. She reached in the cupboard and took out a couple of mugs. She pulled out the sugar dish and the milk, setting it out on the counter. As she was getting all of this ready, her eyes landed on the small hearth. "I missed being able to put my food into the fire after I left camp. I felt so bad for not being able to do that but I also knew that if I tried to light a fire in my apartment, I'd probably burn the whole building down"
Hunter scoffed. "I stopped praying and sacrificing all together, considering my circumstances. Fire was used for warmth not burning food which was used for eating not giving away." He shrugged and turned back to the food sizzling in the now hot pan. "Once I got back with you though, I started praying to your mom. And I'm thinking about praying to Artemis again." He said with a shrug. "I'm glad that Marina made us one of those hearths. We'll be sure to sacrifice now." He said, kissing her on the cheek lightly.
Arabella nodded, a small smile spreading across her lips when he kissed her cheek. "I have never prayed to anyone other than my mom." she said wiped her hands off on her jeans then turned around, leaning against the counter with a thoughtful face. "Well, I prayed to Artemis a few times..whenever you were away from camp on some dangerous quest..I prayed to her to keep you safe."
Hunter nodded and transferred the bacon onto a plate before realizing what she had said. He looked at her and smiled softly. "Thank you." He said, walking over to her and wrapping his arms around her. "I really can't thank you enough. I didn't know that you...that anyone would have cared enough." He faced her and put his thumb on her chin, bringing her face up and kissing her softly on the lips. "Mmm...You're pretty." He said quietly, rubbing his nose on hers. She giggled and he gave her a quick pat on the butt before turning back to the food. "You're too good to me, you know."
Arabella scoffed and looked over at him with a small smile. "You deserve the best Hunter" She said with a nod and she looked down at her cardigan, playing with a button. "I'm sure that that's not me but I can only do my best" She added in a soft voice and she looked up at him. She wanted Hunter to be happy and she wanted him to have everything that he deserved. Sometimes she thought that he deserved a lot better than her. He had been through so much and she wanted him to be happy.
Hunter looked down at her and frowned. He couldn't believe that she didn't think she was good enough for him. He turned back to the food and scooped the eggs into a bowl. "How dare you think you're not good enough for me." He said quietly, finally turning to her. He wrapped his arms around her again, kissing her forehead. "Ellie, I could not have asked for a more perfect person. I was blessed the day that you came back into my life and every single day that I wake up and am lucky enough to be able to hold you in my arms, I feel even more blessed. Ellie, I love you more than life itself and I don't want anyone else. They could be a supermodel, beauty queen, astrophysicist who graduated with honors from Julliard and is a champion archer and fencer. I don't want them." He said, looking into her eyes. "I don't want them because they're not you."
Arabella took a breath and she looked up into his dark eyes that have seen too much for someone as young as him. She didn't know how to respond to him, she didn't know what to say. He made her feel as amazing as he made her sounds. He made her heart race and her stomach start doing backflips. Arabella was speechless. So she did the only thing that she could think of and she stretched up to kiss him tightly. "I love you" She breathed.
Hunter smiled and kissed her back, leaning into her. He wrapped his arms around her, holding her tightly. "I love you too. More than anyone has ever loved anything." He whispered, looking into her eyes. He felt her grab his collar and pull him closer, kissing him again. She stepped backward, leaning up against the counter and Hunter moved toward her into the kiss.
"Come on, you two. Not by the food." Kyle's voice said behind Hunter. Hunter ignored him and kept kissing Arabella just as tightly, pulling her closer. "Geeze, do I have to get a crowbar? I know we have one." He said, pouring himself a cup of coffee and adding milk.
Arabella giggled against Hunter's lips and she tried to kiss him back to keep the joke going but she burst into giggles and she had to pull away, resting her head on his shoulder. She cleared her throat and looked over at Kyle with flushed cheeks and a sparkle in her eye. "Good morning to you too, Kyle" she giggled and turned back to Hunter, placing a kiss on his jaw.
Hunter sighed and turned around. "There's bacon and eggs for us. Where's Marina?" Hunter asked a little surprised to see only Kyle. Kyle took a sip of coffee and sighed.
"Morning sickness." He said with a nod as he added some sugar to his cup. He stirred it a little. "I probably shouldn't have told you that, but...Oh well." He said with a small yawn.
"That sucks. I was going to make pancakes." Hunter said with a nod. Kyle swallowed his coffee quickly and cleared his throat.
"Don't let that stop you. I would love pancakes." He said with a nod. Hunter laughed a little and nodded, turning toward the pancake mix. He was stirring the batter when Marina walked in.
Arabella looked up at Marina and she smiled a little bit. To be totally honest, Arabella was a little jealous of her. She was looking forward to being pregnant and having a family with Hunter someday. Arabella took a breath and she looked back at her coffee, taking a sip of the warm drink. "How did you sleep, Marina?" She asked her with a smile. It was nice being around Kyle and Marina but she wished that they lived closer to Hunter and Arabella. She could imagine them being best friends and their kids growing up together.
Marina yawned and immediately looked at the coffee and the food. She only half-realized that someone had spoken to her. "Hmm? Oh, umm...I slept okay. A rough morning, but a good night's sleep. Who made food?" She asked, looking a little confused. Hunter smiled and raised his hand.
"Yeah. That was me." Hunter said with a chuckle. "Would you like a pancake or some bacon and eggs?" She finally comprehended his words and nodded.
"Sure. Uh...Yeah. Sounds great." She said, walking over to the coffee. She poured herself a cup and immediately took a long sip. "Mmm....Good coffee this morning." She said with a smile.
"That was Ellie. She was in charge of coffee. I was in charge of...Well, everything else." Hunter said, flipping the first pancake. "It's our way of thanking you guys for letting us stay here."
"Oh, no. It was our pleasure." Marina said, waving her hand, her voice muffled by her coffee mug.
Arabella smiled and she put her coffee mug down, folding her arms across her chest. "It's been really great to stay here" she said with a nod and smiled softly at Marina and Kyle. She was glad that they had stayed with Kyle and Marina. She was also looking forward to getting on the road again. Driving with Hunter was fun and simple. "We need to keep in touch. I think I still have some drachmas at home" She said with a nod.
Hunter nodded. "I don't have any, but we live close enough to camp. It won't be a problem." He said with a chuckle. "Well, let's eat quickly and then we'll need to get back on the road. We're headed to Chicago next, I believe." He said, putting the last pancake on the plate. "Alright. Food's up." He said, putting the plates on the table. Marina poured another cup of coffee for herself and then got glasses out for everyone else. Kyle got plates out and made one for Marina. He handed it to her before making one for himself and sitting down at the table. Hunter made one for Arabella and one for himself and set them both down on the table. Marina grabbed the hearth and set it in the middle of the table. She adjusted the flame and Hunter put in a slice of bacon sending it up to Artemis in prayer then put in a piece of pancake and sent it up to Aphrodite in prayer. A combination of woods, dew, roses, and chocolate hung in the air.
"Chicago should be fun. I really enjoyed myself when I was there last, even though it was for business" Arabella said with a shrug as she cut into her pancake and tossed a slice of the pancakes into the hearth, sending up a prayer to her mom. It felt good to give food to her mom again. It was such a habit at camp and she missed being able to do that. Arabella looked over at Hunter and she smiled lightly, placing her hand on his thigh. She yawned and took a bite out of a piece of bacon. "Perfect as always, Hunter"
Hunter smiled and kissed her cheek. "Thanks, babe." He said with a wink. Hunter stood up and refilled Arabella's coffee cup. "So, what are you guys going to do today?" Hunter asked, sitting back down.
"I've got a yard to do and then I have the rest of the day off." Kyle said with a nod. He glanced over at Marina and kissed her cheek. Marina giggled and then cleared her throat. "We'll probably work in the nursery a little. Making everything just right."
"I'm so excited for Hunter Benjamin." Marina said, gingerly putting her hand on her stomach. Kyle smiled.
"Or Samantha Jane." Kyle added. Hunter smiled. It was stuff like that that made Hunter excited to have kids with Arabella. He loved it and he loved her. Hunter finished his food and stretched a little, leaning back in his chair. He picked up his plate and, when Arabella was done, her plate. He put them in the sink.
"Well, we should get going." Hunter said with a sigh. He was sad to leave, but he did want to get back on the road.
Arabella nodded and she stood up, stretching a little. she drank the rest of her coffee and put the empty cup into the sink. She yawned and rubbed her eyes, thinking of putting make up on before they left. However, she remembered what Hunter had said that morning and she looked over at him. Maybe she didn't need make up, maybe she could go for a full day without putting any make up on. She took a big breath and decided not to put any on. "Yeah..we probably should head out" She agreed with Hunter and she tugged his pendant out from her shirt and she rubbed it.
"That's Hunter's pendant." Marina said, looking at the pendant in Arabella's hand. Hunter looked over and had completely forgotten about it.
"Yeah. When I told you that I had lost it, she had found it and was wearing it." Hunter said with a shrug. "She made it look so good, I let her keep it. I have this one now." He said, pulling out the small pendant that had belonged to his mother. Marina looked at it and nodded.
"Hmmm...Weird how things work out." She said with a smile. Hunter smiled back and put his hands together.
"Well, let's get going before we decide to stay another night." He said with a chuckle. He kissed Arabella on the cheek and smiled. "I'll go get our bags." He said, briefly putting a hand on her back. He kissed her again and then hurried up the stairs.
Arabella watched Hunter walk away and she took a breath then turned to Marina and Kyle. It was going to be difficult, saying goodbye to them but she was looking forward to getting back on the road. She smiled up at Kyle when he walked over to her and she hugged him. "Thanks for everything, Kyle" She said.
"It was nothing" He said, pulling away with a smile.
"You'll have to come and visit us soon" Arabella said with a nod. "I'm working on setting up the guest room and all that" She added and turned to Marina, hugging her. "If you need anything, give me a call. I've been dying to try making pregnancy clothes" She giggled and Marina pulled away, laughing a little bit and nodding.
"I'll definitely give you a call." Marina said with a giggle. "I'm only a few weeks and I already feel huge." She said, putting a hand on her stomach. Kyle wrapped his arms around her, putting a hand over hers.
"Nonsense. You're perfect." He said with a grin and kissing her cheek.
"Oh come on, you two. Wait for us to leave, at least." Hunter said, finally reaching the bottom step. He smiled at them for a moment as he set down the bags. Kyle stepped past Marina and shook Hunter's hand, pulling him into a hug. Hunter patted him on the back and laughed. "I'll talk to you later, man." Kyle stepped back and Marina moved into Hunter's open arms, throwing her arms around his neck, hugging him. Hunter hugged her tightly, lifting her up a little. "Thanks, Marina. For everything." He said quietly. Hunter finally set her down and sighed. "Alright. Let's get going. Bye, you guys. Thanks for having us." He grabbed the bags again and stepped out the door, Arabella following close behind.
Arabella closed the door behind her, hearing a soft click. She smiled at Hunter then walked towards the car, slipping into her passenger side seat. Arabella pulled her stuffed teddy bear out of her bag and she folded her legs, placing the bear in her lap and hugging it. "Marina is going to be such an amazing mother" Arabella said softly and she looked over at Hunter with a small smile. She hoped that one day, she would be an amazing mother too.
Hunter looked over at Arabella and grinned. He imagined Arabella holding a little girl the way she was hugging her teddy bear. There was so much affection there. The little girl would squirm in her arms and Arabella would whisper into her ear and she would calm down. She would brush her dark brown hair and style it and pick out the perfect clothes for their little daughter. She would be the perfect mother. "Little Auddie couldn't ask for a better mother." Hunter said, putting an arm around her and holding her tightly. He started the car and drove toward Chicago, 5 hours away.
Arabella leaned against him and she closed her eyes. It felt good to hear Hunter say stuff like that to her. She wanted to be a good mother, she wanted to be able to raise a child and have a family with Hunter. Hearing him say things like that just made her feel like she could actually do it, even though she didn't really have a mother growing up. Arabella nuzzled into Hunter's side and she pressed her lips against his neck. "She is going to have an incredible father" She whispered with a smile and she kenw that it was true. She could picture Hunter with their daughter, being a protective and adoring father. Their daughter would sit by him and watch in amazment as he fixed the car and he would teach her how to cook and all of the other little things that she would need to know.
Hunter smiled softly. He knew that he would absolutely love their daughter. "I love you. I love you. I love you." Hunter said with a chuckle, placing kisses on her forehead. "That's it. When we get to Chicago, I am taking you out. On a proper date. We'll dress up. I'll buy everything. It'll be nice." He said with a smile. "No creeps from your past. No fast food. And then afterward we can walk around Navy Pier. Will says it's beautiful." He said, kissing her on the head. "What do you think?" They stopped at a stoplight and Hunter turned to Arabella, kissing her lips.
"I guess I'll let you take me out on a date" Arabella said and giggled. She leaned into him, kissing him tightly before the light turned green. "I think that it sounds perfect, Hunter" She told him softly and she put her head on his shoulder as he drove. She felt so incredibly lucky to be with the man of her dreams in that moment, driving towards Chicago and planning not only an amazing date but also thinking about a perfect life. Arabella yawned and she closed her eyes again. "Mmm..and I love you too, by the way" She said softly.
"Do we need to stop for coffee or something?" He said with a raised eyebrow. "You seem to be yawning an awful lot, Ellie?" He lightly ran a few fingers through her hair and kissed her cheek. He looked down and checked his dashboard. "Mmm...We need gas anyway. Let's stop .You get some coffee, I'll fill up." He said, exiting toward the next town and finding a gas station. He pulled next to a pump and got out.
Arabella stretched and she rolled out of the car, grabbing her purse. As she walked past Hunter, she gave his butt a small smack and she walked into the gas station store, giggling. She walked around, picking out snacks and a couple bottles of drinks. After grabbing a coffee and a few other little things, she walked over to the counter and paid for her things. Without missing a beat, Arabella opened a chocolate bar and took a bite out of it as she walked back towards the car with her things. "I think I got us enough stuff to last until Chicago" she said with a nod.
"I think you got enough stuff to last us longer than Chicago." He said with a smile. He wrapped his arm around her and kissed her forehead before taking a bite out of the candy bar she had bitten into. "Mmm...Good choice." He said with a grin before kissing her on the lips. The taste of chocolate on his lips would always be special for him and getting the taste from Arabella's lips made it even more special. He kissed her until he heard the nozzle click off. He kissed her one more time before putting the nozzle back on the pump. He climbed into the car and started it again, smiling softly as he watched the needle zoom back up to F. "Feel better?" He asked, looking at Arabella's cup of coffee.
"So much better" Arabella sighed, holding the very large cup of coffee to her chest so that she could felt the warmth from it. It was getting colder now and Arabella was happy that she packed winter clothes but it was still a little cold in the air. She put down her cup of coffee and she reached into her bag, pulling out Hunter's sweatshirt and she took off her little cardigan so that she could slip into Hunter's sweatshirt. It was the one that she knew was a little big on Hunter, making it huge on her but she didn't care. It was warm and it smelt like Hunter. Arabella took a bite of chocolate and she leaned over to kiss Hunter before picking up her cup of coffee and leaning back in her seat. "Do you know how much time Will spent in Chicago before he started going to camp?" She asked in a curious voice.
Hunter thought for a second. "He came to camp when he was 12, I think." Hunter said with a nod. "Will was born near Chicago, but his mom moved there when she met his step dad." Hunter sighed and remembered when Will had told him about his family. He had always felt bad for Will and his mom and his little sister. His stepdad was awful to them and as jealous Hunter was of Will for having a family, he did feel sorry for him. "He spent a lot of time on the pier. It's apparently like a state fair or something." Hunter said with a nod.
Arabella nodded and she turned to look out of the window. "Did uh..did Marina or Kyle say anything while they were there? About me? Do they approve?" She asked nervously, looking over at Hunter. She had been waiting to ask Hunter that for a while but she wanted to wait until they left Kyle and Marina's place, in case they said anything bad about her.
Hunter shook his head. "They didn't say much, honestly." Hunter said with a shrug. "Marina said that she's never seen me happier." He leaned over and kissed her cheek. "I didn't talk to Kyle too much. We mostly talked about Marina and about camp." He looked over at her and smiled. "Thank you, though." He said, kissing her cheek again.
"Thank you? For what?" Arabella said and she looked up at him with a smile, her nerves fading away. She wanted them to like her. They were Hunter's best friends and they were important to him. She didn't want him to have to be stuck between her and his friends. Will and Penny liked her and now she knew that Marina and Kyle probably liked her. It was a good feeling. All she wanted was their approval.
"For caring." Hunter said with a nod. "It means a lot to me that you want to meet my friends and you care enough to want their approval." Hunter smiled and sighed. "It really doesn't matter, though. I love you. and I approve, so anyone else doesn't matter." He raised his arm and Arabella slid near him. Hunter put his arm around and held her tight. "They really do like you though. I'm positive."
Arabella snuggled into him and she smiled. "Well, I'm glad that they like me. I like them, so..that works out" She said with a small giggle and she took a sip of her coffee, turning her eyes to look out of the window. Arabella dug around in the bag from the gas station until she found a granola bar and she started opening it. "I'm going to start making clothes for Marina. Some pregnancy clothes and some baby clothes. It's expensive to have to go out and buy new clothes for only a few months"
"She'd love that." Hunter said with a smile. "You'd think that she were your sister sometimes by how much she pays attention to her appearance." Hunter kissed her head and took a bite out of her granola bar, looking at her with a defiant smile. He ran his fingers up and down her arm and looked at her. "Did I tell you beautiful you are?" He said, putting his head gently on hers. "Oh, wait. I did." He said with a nod. "Never mind." He teased, kissing her head again.
Arabella blushed a little and she placed a kiss against his jaw then gasped, pulling away from him to dig through her bag. "I got something for you in the gas station and I totally forgot about it" She said and pulled out a little wooden sign with the silhouette of a deer painted on it with the words 'a hunter lives here with the dear of his life'. "I saw this and I knew that there was no way that I couldn't pick it up for you" She giggled, holding it up for him to see it.
Hunter smiled and blinked at the sign. "Oh my gods...What?" He said, looking at the sign. "A hunter lives here with the dear of his life. Oh my gods..." He laughed and shook his head. "This is...I...There are no words." He said holding the sign a little. He looked back at the road and smiled. "Thank you." He said, kissing her shoulder. "And you are so completely the dear of my life." He said, kissing her cheek.
--------
The car was almost silent, except for the soft sound of a CD playing at a low volume. Arabella was curled up on the seat with her head on Hunter's leg. Her eyes were closed and she had a blanket pulled tight around her. She knew that she would be a little bit cold if it wasn't for the blanket and the warmth coming from Hunter's leg. Arabella moaned softly as she woke up from a nap and yawned. "Are we there yet?" She asked in a low voice, not opening her eyes yet.
Hunter didn't want to wake her up, so he let her sleep. He had parked outside of a hotel and was just waiting for her to wake up, running his fingers through her hair, lightly grazing her skin. "Yep. We're here. And we have a room." He said with a smile, bending down and lightly kissing her lips. "I was just letting you wake up before we went in. Our bags are in the room too." He said, grazing her jawline with his fingertips. "Come on." He said, slipping out of the car and hurrying around to the other side of the car. Hunter opened her door and helped her out, sweeping her into his arms and carrying her into the hotel.
Arabella giggled a little bit and she wrapped her arms around his neck, putting her head on his shoulder. "Thanks for letting me sleep" She said softly and she kissed his jaw lightly, ignoring the weird looks that they got from people. She was excited for their date and she was looking forward to spending the night in the hotel room, just the two of them. Arabella looked up at him with big, happy eyes and a smile on her face. "You're the best guy ever, you know that?"
Hunter managed to open the door and stepped inside, carrying Arabella. "Well, I try." Hunter said, kissing her lightly on the lips. He set her down on the bed and she pulled him down with her. He smiled and kissed her, his body hovering over hers. "I figured you would need your energy." He said against her lips. "Who knows what we'll be doing tonight. After our date, that is." He rolled onto his back and laid next to her.
Arabella giggled and she nuzzled in next to him, placing kisses along his collar bone. "Mmm...I know exactly what I want to do after our date" She said softly and she brushed her lips along his collar bone, up his neck, across his jaw and she planted a teasing kiss on his lips before pulling away and standing up. "I do need to get a shower before we go out tonight though" She said. "I want to look my very best for tonight" She wiggled her eyebrows and blew him a kiss before grabbing a thick towel and stepping into the bathroom. Arabella peeled off her clothes before turning on the hot water and stepping into the steamy shower. Right away, she felt better..more awake. Arabella stayed in the shower for a little bit longer than she meant to, leaning against the wall and closing her eyes. She wasn't sleeping, but she was lost in her own little world, imagining all of the wonderful things that were going to happen that night. She turned off the water, wrapped a towel around herself and stepped back into the hotel room.
Hunter smiled when she entered the room again. He had laid down on the bed and flipped on the TV. When she walked in though, he shut off the TV and crossed his arms across his chest, watching her with a smile on his face. "Don't you look lovely?" He said, practically leaping off the end of the bed and wrapping an arm around her. "I have to take a shower too, but I would be remiss if you weren't there." He said, kissing her lightly on the lips.
Arabella giggled and she leaned into him, into the kiss. She wanted to kiss him more and more and more but she also knew that she had to get ready for their date, she had to get dressed. Arabella took a breath and she pulled away a little bit, looking up at him with a smirk. "You need to get a shower because if you don't then we can't go on our date and if we can't go on our date then we can't get back to the hotel room and if we can't get back to the hotel room then you won't be able to see the surprise I have for you"
Hunter sighed and gave her butt a squeeze. "A surprise?" He said, kissing her again. "How mysterious." He said with a laugh before letting go of her. He grabbed a pair of boxers and a towel before stepping into the bathroom. He stripped down and stepped into the shower, turning on the water and letting it wash over him, calming him down a little. Arabella had this way of getting him excited. A look. A word. A touch. After a while, he stepped out and got dressed again. He balled his dirty clothes up and walked into the hotel room, making sure to show some skin for Arabella.
Arabella had just finished pulling on a pair of nude tights. They matched her skin perfectly but they would keep her little bit warmer in the night air. After she pulled those on, she was slipping into her pink dress when Hunter walked into the room. When she saw him, she caught her breath, openly checking him out. Arabella walked over to him and she wrapped her arms around his neck. "My man is one sexy man" She giggled and pressed her lips against his.
Hunter chuckled against her lips. "And my woman is one gorgeous woman." He said, running his hands along her sides. He pulled her in for one last lingering kiss before letting go and walking to his bag. "Alright. I've got to get dressed too, so...Enjoy the show, I guess." He said with a wink as he slipped his pants off. He heard a wolf whistle and laughed as he put on a blue dress shirt. He heard a howl when his slacks were fastened and as soon as his jacket was slipped on, he felt arms around his waist. He smiled and ran his nails lightly along her arms. "Hello, beautiful." He said with a smile.
"Hello, handsome" Arabella said softly and she planted a few kisses on the nape of his neck. She was looking forward to their date. It was fun to get all dressed up like they were and go out. It made her feel special and pretty. She was also looking forward to getting back to their hotel room after the date and spending the night with him. Arabella ran her hands down his sides then pulled away. ''Make up time" she said and he heard him sigh as she walked towards the bathroom with her make up kit. Arabella froze, looking into the mirror. Hunter always had a problem with her wearing make up and she had a problem with not wearing any make up. It made her feel sloppy and lazy when she didn't do anything. She looked down at her make up kit and she remembered what Hunter always said to her about her make up. He said that she didn't need it. Instead of pulling out all of her primer, foundation, cover up, blush and so on; Arabella only pulled out her liquid eyeliner. She made a simple line across her top eyelids and put the rest of her make up away when she walked into the room. "I'm ready to go when you are" she said, a little nervous about the lack of make up.
Hunter looked over at her, expecting the mask of make up she usually put on and was surprised to see just some eyeliner. He walked over to her and cradled her cheek in his hand, feeling her skin not some makeup. "You look...There isn't a word to describe how beautiful you look." He said quietly, pressing his lips to hers in a loving kiss. He grazed his fingers down her arm to her hand. He took it and finally broke the kiss. "Alright. Let's go." He said, leading her out of their hotel room.
Arabella followed him, smiling at the feeling of the butterflies in her stomach. She wanted to hug him and kiss him and never let go of him. He knew how to make her feel special, to make her feel beautiful. They were on their way out though and as they stepped into the elevator, she saw a family with a little baby. Arabella figured that putting the moves on Hunter right then would be a bad thing. She looked up at him with a smile and squeezed his hand before looking down at the baby girl, who was smiling up at Arabella from her stroller. Arabella smiled back and the baby girl giggled. Arabella looked up at Hunter again, her heart melting.
Hunter smiled down at the little girl and kissed Arabella's cheek before turning back to the child. She was just a bubbly happy little baby girl and he could already tell that Arabella was being driven crazy. The elevator stopped and the car unloaded into the lobby. He smiled as the baby girl giggled at Arabella one last time as the family headed toward the pool. Hunter took Arabella's arm and they walked out of the hotel and into the cool night air. Hunter opened her door for her and helped her inside before getting and starting it. "I figured we could drive into downtown and park. Then we would figure out where we wanted to eat and then we'd be closer to the pier." He said, looking over at her. "Assuming you don't want to get out and steal that little girl."
Arabella smoothed out her dress and she looked over at Hunter with a small smile. "I just might steal that little girl" She said with a small giggle. She was looking forward to being a mother now, even though she knew that it wasn't something that was going to happen right away. Arabella never thought that she would have kids and now that she found the man that she wanted to raise a family with, she was looking forward to the rest of her life. "Mmm..ours will be cuter though" She said with a nod. "She's going to have your eyes and your hair, for sure"
"She'll have your smile." He leaned over and kissed her on the tip of the nose. "And your precious little nose." He said with a smile as he leaned back in his chair and started driving toward downtown. He was so happy at that moment. He was with the girl of his dreams. They were talking about their future. Their kids. Their family. He slipped his arm around her waist and pulled her close before kissing her cheek. "Alright. Where do you want to go?" He asked, finally arriving to the downtown area.
"Hmm..." Arabella looked around the street. There were a couple places that looked promising. She tugged at the hem of her dress then pointed to a building that was pretty close to where they were parked. It looked like a pretty nice restaurant and a couple people were just walking out of it and they looked pretty happy. "Let's go there" She said and smiled up at Hunter, kissing him. She pulled away and was about to open up her door when Hunter and jumped out of his side and ran around to open her door. With a smile, Arabella slid out of the car and kissed him before taking his hand and walking towards the restaurant.
Hunter smiled and kissed her cheek. "Good choice." He said, opening the door and letting her inside. He walked up to the hostess and asked for a table for two. She waited a few moments before leading them to a table in the back of the restaurant, next to a window with a view of the pier and Lake Michigan. "There are so many options." He said, looking through the menu. "Have you ever had lobster? It sounds interesting."
"You've never had lobster? One of your best friends is a son of Poseidon and he couldn't get you one lobster" Arabella teased, shaking her head. She grinned over at him then nodded. "Yes, I've had lobster and it's amazing" She said more seriously and she looked down at her menu. It was an expensive place but it wasn't nearly as expensive and some of the places she had been in New York City. "I think I'm going to get the lobster, actually" She said with a nod.
Hunter put his menu down on the table and looked up at Arabella. "Would you eat lobster if you could hear it talking while you cooked it?" He asked with a chuckle. Hunter looked out the window and smiled at the view before noticing Arabella's reflection. He looked at her a moment before noticing the waitress walk up. "We'll both have the lobster. Thank you." He said, handing her the menus. She took them and smiled, before walking away from the table. Hunter went back to looking at Arabella's reflection in the window. When Hunter looked at her directly, she looked back at him, putting an expression on her face. When she doesn't know he's looking at her, she has no expression. It's candid. She was just as beautiful.
Arabella looked over at him and she smiled a little bit. She picked up her glass of water and took a sip, looking over at Hunter still. He smiled back at her and she resisted the urge to jump across the table and start kissing him. It wasn't easy to do. Arabella took a breath and she put her water down. "Thanks for bringing me out here tonight, Hunter. It's nice to go on a date with you" she said and brushed her fingers across his knuckles.
Hunter sandwiched her hands between his. "It was my pleasure." He said, gently running a hand up her arm. He kissed her ring finger knuckle and smiled. "I'm really glad you let me bring you out here tonight." He took a sip of water and looked up when their food came. "Wow..." He breathed as they set the the food on the table. He thanked the waiter before looking down at his food. "Umm...How do I...eat...this?" He asked, gesturing toward the lobster.
"Twist off the claws, like...this" Arabella told him and she twisted off the claws from her lobster. She smiled over at him as he took the claws off of his own lobster. She kind of loved the fact that he didn't know something like eating a lobster. Arabella felt like he was so amazing at everything he did and it was kind of nice to be able to show him how to do something. She also found it pretty funny that he could kill a million monsters like it was nothing but he didn't know how to do something that Arabella had grown up doing. "Now just...crack open the claws" she said in a slightly strained voice as she pulled apart one of her claws and took a bit of meat out with a fork.
Hunter jumped a little as the shell cracked open. "Oh. Okay." He said, pulling the meat out of the claw. He looked at it a moment before taking a bite. "Oh, gods..." He said, chewing the tender meat of the lobster. "This is...oh my gods." He said quietly. "This is amazing." He said, looking up at Arabella with a grin. He quickly devoured the other claw before closing his eyes and sighing. "Alright. Now what?" He asked, looking at the rest of the animal.
Arabella giggled at Hunter's reaction and she cleared her throat before continuing. "Flip her over, break the tail away, push the meat out of the tail and..enjoy" she explained, telling him how to eat the tail end of the lobster while she did all of the actions herself. It as fun to sit with him and show him how to eat his lobster. She tried not to giggle as she ate and watched him enjoy his lobster. Clearly, she was going to have to learn how to cook lobster because he was loving every single bite. Once they were both done, she wiped her hands off on the napkin. "Okay..last bit are these legs" She explained and held up the pencil thin legs that she had ripped off of her lobster. "There isn't much meat in them but I think that it's the best meat, so...worth the effort. You have to sort of nibble on the shell to loosen up the meat then you can suck it out at the end like a straw"
Hunter looked at the legs and took a deep breath. He chewed on the shell and managed to crack it open enough, but unintentionally ate the shell. He took a gulp of water, washing the shell down and looked at Arabella with a disgusted look on his face. "This meat had better be good." He said under his breath before sucking the meat out. He chewed a bit, savoring the flavor and finally swallowed, a smile on his face. "That's...perfect." He said, putting the rest down and looking up at Arabella and smiling. "That was wonderful." He said with a happy sigh.
Arabella smiled at him and she looked around them with a devious smirk on her face. When she saw that they were hidden pretty well and no one was looking at them, she pushed the plates to the side and she leaned across the table, put her hands on either side of his face and she kissed him passionately. With a teasing glint in her eye, she pulled away and sat back down in hre chair, fixing her dress. "That was wonderful" She giggled.
Hunter took a deep breath and smiled at Arabella. "That was wonderful." Hunter said with a chuckle. The waitress brought the check and Hunter paid. "Alright. Dinner? Check." He said, standing up. He took Arabella's hand and when she stood, he spun her into his arms and kissed her on the lips. "Shall we go for a walk by the pier? Or is the bedroom calling already?" He asked, kissing her again, holding her in his arms. He finally let go and took her hand as they left the restaurant.
"Mmm..let's go for a walk. How many times are we going to be in Chicago?" Arabella said and she gave his hand a small squeeze as they started walking. It was dark out and it was quiet, the only sounds were the clicking of her heels on the pavement and their steady breaths. She shivered a little and she leaned into Hunter with a smile on her face. It really was a beautiful city, from what she's seen of it at least. "Thanks for dinner, by the way. I'll pay you back when we get to our hotel room" She giggled and placed a kiss against his jaw.
Hunter smiled and laughed a little. He never would have imagined that he would be in a situation like this. A girl that he loved this much was by his side. He had just had a wonderful dinner and he was excited to get back to the hotel room. Right now, he was more than happy just being with her. "We need to go this way. Toward Navy Pier. It's like a carnival there. A ferris wheel. Games. Attractions and all that." He took off his jacket and put it around her shoulders. He wrapped an arm around her gently, giving her a squeeze.
"Ohh..that sounds like fun" Arabella said excitedly and she leaned into him. It was going to be a fun night, Arabella was sure of it. Even if the fair was boring or her feet started to hurt from her shoes or if she got too cold to carry on. Just being with Hunter was going to be fun and exciting. Arabella leaned into him and she looked up at him with happy eyes. "We should get some cotton candy while we're there" She nodded.
Hunter smiled and kissed her temple. "I'm going to win you something. A big stuffed animal or something. Just pick out one you want." He said as they passed under an archway and finally entered the pier. There were bright lights and even though it was dark, the lights made it easy to see everything. He knew that they had to go on the Ferris wheel. He lead them through the fair toward the wheel. "Oh, speaking of cotton candy..." He said as he walked up to the table. "Just one." He said, handing the man money. He artfully spun the web of candy floss onto a stick and handed it to Hunter who handed it to Arabella. "What is that stuff?" He said, gesturing toward the cotton candy.
"What is this stuff? This is the food of the gods" Arabella said with a little giggle and she ripped some off of the stick, trying not to get it all stuck on her fingers, she popped into her mouth and smled happily at the taste of the sugar. She looked up at Hunter and she held the stick out to him to try. "It's basically just sugar but it's the best thing on the planet" she said and she took another bite out of the cotton candy then licked her lips, trying to get it all off.
Hunter tore some off and ate it. "Huh." He said, handing it back. He rubbed the remnants of it between his fingers. "Melted sugar spun and cooled into strands. When you touch it, it heats up and melts again. That's so cool!" He said brushing the the sticky crumbs off his hands. He looked over at Arabella and chuckled. "I'll get it." He said, kissing right by her mouth. He hummed and laughed against her skin before finally breaking away. "Sugary." He said with a chuckle.
Arabella grinned up at him and she took a piece of cotton candy before turning to look around at everything. It was a pretty quiet night but there were still people around. Arabella spotted a very large stuffed bear that was hanging up by a game. It was one of those games with the water gun with the objective of shooting the water at a target and holding it there for a certain amount of time. "Oh, Hunter..look!" she gasped and took his hand, walking over to the stuffed bear. From where she was standing, she could see that it was incredibly soft and the perfect bear for cuddling. It's head was probably two times bigger than Arabella's, if not bigger.
"I got this." Hunter said, kissing Arabella on the cheek. Hunter walked up to the stand and pulled out his wallet. "How much to play?" He asked the man.
"2 bucks." The acne-ridden teen said with a very apathetic look on his face. Hunter handed him the money and then prepared to play. Hunter concentrated and when the buzzer went off, fired the stream of water at the target. Behind the target was a tank slowly being filled up with a scale of which price you would receive. Hunter smiled as he hit the target perfectly until the water stopped. He looked up with a smile on his face and saw that the tank hadn't even reached the lowest line. "Sorry. Better luck next time, sir. Would you like to try again?"
"I hit the target perfectly. The whole time. I deserve something." He said, pointing toward the tank. The kid shrugged.
"Not my problem, man. Rules are rules." He said rudely. "Try again. Go ahead." He said, holding out his hand. Hunter walked around to the side and saw the tank with an obvious leak in it. Hunter walked to the kid again.
"Dude, that tank has an enormous leak in it. This is rigged." He said quietly. He smiled at Arabella a moment before leaning forward to the kid. "I'm going to hand you two dollars and I'm going to play again." He whispered. "You are going to fix this game and I am going to win or I'm going to get the police involved and the bad publicity your employer receives isn't going to help you make enough money to buy yourself that Barbie doll that you want so very much." Hunter smiled and patted him on the shoulder. "I think I'll try again." He said, handing the kid two dollars.
"Excuse me a moment." He said, walking toward the back of the stand. A moment later he came back and accepted Hunter's money. "Go ahead, sir." Hunter smiled and played again, easily filling the tank and making a siren go off, alerting the surrounding area of the victory. "Congratulations. Select your prize." He said with a forced smile, gesturing to the wall of toys.
Arabella squeaked happily, not noticing what Hunter had done at all. She was too focused on the cotton candy and trying to not be upset that he hadn't won. She had really wanted that bear. When the siren went off though, she wrapped her arms around Hunter's neck and kissed him, giggling. People all around were looking at them and at the game, shocked that someone had actually won something. Arabella watched as Hunter picked out the bear that she had been looking at and when the kid picked it up and passed it over to them, she kissed Hunter again. She was thrilled that he had won. "I knew you could do it" She said happily.
Hunter smiled and wrapped an arm around her. "Well, I did my best." He said, giving a nod the kid at the stall. He took the bear from him and handed it to her. He watched as she hugged it tightly, burying her face in the plushness of its fur. He walked idly next to her with his hands in his pockets, happy that he could make her happy. That's all he wanted really. Hunter sighed and they finally reached the Ferris wheel. "Oh! Here it is." He said, hurrying over to the ticket booth and getting two tickets.
Arabella turned her eyes up, looking all the way to the top of the Ferris wheel and she gulped. "Oh dear..okay" She said softly and she gave her new bear a tight squeeze while she waited for Hunter to get the tickets. Once he did and he walked back to her with the tickets in his hand, Arabella linked her arm through his and she nervously walked towards the Ferris wheel with him. She got nervous with heights sometimes and the Ferris wheel did not look like it would be fun to fall out of. "Ever been on one of these?" She asked Hunter, looking up at him.
"No, but it looks awesome." He said with a grin, looking up at the top. He looked over at her and saw her nervousness. He sighed and kissed her temple. "Hey, I've got you. You'll be okay." He said, slipping an arm around her waist and holding her close. "Ellie, I am never going to let you fall." He said with a grin. They waited in line for a moment or two before being let onto a car by themselves. The Ferris wheel moved and went up and up and up, presenting a beautiful view of the city and the lake. He was seated next to her and was holding her hand tightly. It was beautiful. She was beautiful. He pulled his hand out of his pocket and cursed under his breath. Hunter looked at her for a moment before dropping to one knee and looking into her eyes.
Her breathing and already shallow and her heart was already beating fast because of her nerves. Arabella looked down at him, holding his gaze. She didn't know what he was doing but she didn't want to get her hopes up. She didn't want to find out that he was picking something off the ground or something like that. In fact, if he was just picking something up, she was probably going to smack him for leaving her side as the Ferris wheel stopped when they were at the very top. "Hunter.." she breathed, her heart racing.
Hunter smiled at her anxiousness. He lightly put a hand on her thigh, knowing exactly what he was doing. Her reaction the first two times was too much. "Arabella Marie Foster," He said slowly, looking into her bright blue eyes, seeing her nervousness. "Ellie. Will you..." He spoke slowly, drawing this out. He chewed on his lips a moment before taking a deep breath feigning nervousness. "Will you lift your legs up? I dropped my keys under the seat." He said with a chuckle, feeling a slight twinge of guilt for tricking her.
"Dammit, Hunter!" She huffed but she lifted her legs up so that he could get his keys and when he sat back down, she smacked his arm. Arabella had gotten excited, she had gotten her hopes up. She was sure that Hunter was about to propose to her. She was sure that she was going to be getting a ring and they would be engaged in the next minute. However, he was just tricking her. Part of her knew that if she was watching this in a movie or something, she would be laughing her butt off. However, she wasn't watching it as a movie and she was pretty embarrassed. "You are so mean"
Hunter finally moved closer to her again, assuming she was done hitting him. He kissed her cheek and took her hand again. "Think about it this way. Did you even notice that we were at the very top of the Ferris wheel? Not only that, but we temporarily halted at the top?" He gave her hand and squeeze and kissed her cheek again. "I was just taking your mind off things." He put an arm around her and smiled, holding her tight as they looked out at the water. "I'm excited for you to be Mrs. Arabella Marie Reed." He said quietly, smiling gently.
Arabella let out a sigh and soon enough, she let herself lean into him. She smiled gently when she heard her name like that. It was perfect and it was wonderful. She was done with being Arabella Marie Foster. She wanted to be Arabella Marie Reed. Her eyes turned up to look at him and she smiled a little bit. She was still a little bit ticked off about his trick on her but the Ferris wheel was getting closer to the ground, so that was a good thing. "I'm excited too" She said in the same quiet tone and she leaned up, kissing him.
Hunter leaned into her just as she was leaning into him. He moved his other hand to her hip and pulled her closer, kissing her with more passion. That's when the Ferris wheel slowed at the platform. "Oh. We need to get off." He said, pulling out of the embrace they had been in. He let her jump off before jumping off himself. He brushed off his pants and looked over at Arabella. She was dressed beautifully with a small purse over her shoulder and the gigantic bear in hand. He slipped an arm around her waist and kissed her teasingly on the lips, wondering if she had felt the extra passion he had put into their embrace on the Ferris wheel.
Arabella leaned into his arms, into the kiss. The more and more he kissed her, the more she felt like she was being swept off of her feet. The passion in his kisses and his touch was almost too much for her. She placed a hand on his chest, holding onto his shirt lightly and she pulled him closer to her. Arabella didn't care that there were people looking at them or kids that were working at rides were watching them. She just cared about his touch. Arabella shivered lightly and moved closer to him."I love you, Hunter. Even if you do like to trick me" she whispered then giggled.
"I love you, Ellie." He said quietly. "And I trick because I care." He teased being met with a light smack on his arm. He took her hand and started walking back to the gate. "Should we head back to the hotel and finish up our night?" He asked, more breathed, into her ear. He saw her shiver slightly and nod. He smiled and exited the park. He was excited to get back to the hotel. Not just because of what they would inevitably end up doing at the hotel, but because he loved being with Arabella. He loved being able to be comfortable with her. Sitting together. Being together and not caring what they said or how they dressed. "So, what--"
"Alright. Hand it over." Hunter turned around and saw a man holding a knife with a ski mask on. Hunter took a step back and held Arabella behind him, staying between her and the man.
A squeak of shock and fear came out of Arabella when Hunter held her behind him. She hadn't totally registered what was going on when the man with the ski mask and knife had first arrived but once Hunter had moved her behind him, she was able to really understand their situation and a wave of fear washed over her. Why did this have to happen to them now? Could they never have a good night together without something going wrong? Arabella had to do something. She couldn't just hide behind Hunter and wait for something to happen. But what could she do? Her eyes flickered down to her bracelet, the one that was a gift from her mother and it turned into her knife. But her knife was Celestial bronze. It would do nothing to the mortal man who was standing in front of them. She looked around Hunter and she looked at the man in the ski mask and she chewed on her lip, trying to look more brave than she actually was. "Please..just let us go" She said softly in a terrified voice.
Hunter looked at the man. He had no idea what he was doing. "Stay back, Ellie." He said, pushing her back a little. He looked back at the man and put his hands up. "Listen, man. Your hands are shaking. You have no idea what you're doing with that knife. I don't want to hurt you, but I want to help you." He said, slowly stepping forward. "How about I give you a few bucks and you leave us alone, okay?"
"How about I kill you and your girlfriend and take it all?" The man replied, pointing the knife menacingly at Hunter's face. Hunter took a deep breath before stepping forward again.
"Look. We both know that's not what you want." Hunter said, trying to reason with him. The man scoffed.
"Oh yeah?" He said before thrusting the knife at Hunter's stomach. Hunter stepped sideways and blocked it with his arm. The man pulled back and tried again, but this time Hunter grabbed his arm and twisted his wrist, waiting for the sound of dislocation before knocking the knife out of his hand. He kicked it into a stormdrain and kicked the man in the butt back into the alley where he had emerged.
"Get out of here!" He yelled as the man ran off, clutching his wrist. He turned to Arabella. "Are you okay, Ellie?" He asked, hurrying toward her and looking her in the eyes.
Arabella looked up at Hunter with big eyes then she looked down at his arm and she saw the bloody flowing freely from it. A little gasp escaped from her and she took his arm gingerly in shaking hands. "Oh, Hunter..." She breathed and chewed on her lip. "Are you okay?" She asked him, not really bothering to answer his question. She was terrified and shocked and worried about Hunter but she wasn't hurt. Arabella took a shaky breath and she ran her hands through her hair nervously. "Okay..okay..let's get back to the car. I have a first aid kit there" She said, her voice shaking as much as her hands. She hated to see him hurt, even if it was only a cut on his arm.
"Ellie, stop." Hunter said, grabbing her wrist. He pulled her in and kissed her tightly on the lips. After a moment or two he broke it, looking into her eyes. "Calm down." He said firmly. He looked at his wound for the first time and cringed as he ripped open the already made cut in his shirt to reveal his wound a little more. He grabbed at the shoulder of the sleeve and with a few good pulls, ripped the sleeve off and tied it around the wound. "Alright. I'm good." He said, patting his arm. Arabella was looking at him like he had committed a crime. "Oh, come on. The shirt was already ruined." He said as they reached the car. He pressed her up against the side and kissed her. "Back to the hotel?" He asked, kissing her again.
"How can you be so calm? We just about got mugged and you're hurt" Arabella said and she looked up at Hunter with big eyes. She liked being against the car like that though. The car meant that they had a place to hide if that guy came back and Hunter in front of her meant safety. Arabella took a small breath and she opened up the car door, sitting in and sliding over to the driver's seat where she reached around and grabbed the first aid kit. She looked up at Hunter, holding onto the first aid kit tightly. "Please..let me put a proper bandage on it and clean it before we go anywhere"
Hunter sighed and kissed her forehead. "Let's get in the car at least." He said, walking around and opening her door for her. He got in and put his arm in her lap as he started the car and turned on the heat and a little bit of music. He wasn't calm. To be honest, he was a little scared. That guy could come back and have a gun. What if that guy had had a gun? Hunter probably would have been dead by now. He looked over at Arabella who deftly worked on his arm. He needed to be strong for her. He needed to be strong for himself, but he needed to be strong for her more importantly. "What a nice date..." He said quietly.
Arabella nervously cleaned his cut, trying not to hurt him anymore. She chewed on her lip and looked over at him. With a sigh, she stopped cleaning his cut and looked him in the eye. "It was a wonderful date, Hunter." She said softly and honestly. After a moment, she turned back to his arm. She put a bit of Neosporin on a bandage and gingerly put that on his arm. Arabella leaned down and she placed a light kiss against the bandage. Even though she was terrified and nervous and shocked, she smiled a little bit at Hunter. "Let's just...get back to the hotel" she breathed and took a little breath. She didn't want to be scared. She didn't want to be nervous but she was.
Hunter looked at his newly bandaged arm and smiled. "Thanks." He said to her, holding up his arm. He buckled his seatbelt and started back toward the hotel. He held her close He kissed her lightly on the temple and ran his fingers up and down her arm. "Ellie, we're fine. I'm fine. We're safe. Nothing is going to hurt you. Not while I'm here, okay?" He held her close and comforted her all the way back to the hotel. He didn't get out immediately. Mostly because he was so comfortable. "I'm glad you had a good time. I know, I did." He said in almost a whisper.
Arabella leaned into him with her eyes closed. Being with Hunter calmed her down. He made her feel safe and secure. He tied her to the ground. Arabella knew that if she had been with anyone else, she would have been having a panic attack. She looked up at him and she took a slightly shaky breath. "You were amazing tonight Hunter. With that guy..you were really amazing. It was like seeing you fight a monster again" she said with a tiny smile and she placed a kiss on his shoulder.
Hunter smiled, feeling a little proud. It did feel good to be fighting something bad again. He was just disappointed that it had to be a fellow human being. "Oh, please. I wouldn't have gotten cut if I were back at camp." He said with a chuckle as he brought her face up to his. He kissed her on the nose as she put her chin on his shoulder. He turned and looked at her face-to-face. "Hey, beautiful. You think we should go up?" He said, referring to the hotel room. "It's up to you."
Arabella closed her eyes for a moment then she looked up at Hunter and she nodded slowly. She wanted to crawl into bed and even though she knew that she wasn't going to be able to sleep at all, she wanted to be with Hunter and her blanket and her old teddy bear. She wanted to curl into Hunter's side and listen to his heart beat and feel his steady breaths. Slowly, with a little groan, Arabella slid out of the car when Hunter opened the door for her and she leaned into him a little bit. she tugged at her dress and looked up at him. "I can't wait to get into a pair of shorts" she said in a slightly teasing voice.
Hunter smiled and held onto her as they walked into the hotel. He leisurely lead her into their room and closed the door behind him. Arabella walked into the bathroom and closed the door. Hunter talked toward the door, loud enough that she could hear. "We should order a movie on the hotel TV service or whatever." He said, gesturing to the TV and the remote. "And we can order some room service and just curl up in bed and watch the movie. He took off the remnants of his bloody shirt and threw it in the trash. He dropped his pants and carefully folded them, placing them back into his suitcase. "Does that sound okay?" He asked into the bathroom.
Arabella tugged off her dress and she gingerly folded it, placing it on the counter. With a little bit of effort, she was able to pull off her tights and she folded them quickly. As she tugged on a pair of short black shorts and a loose shirt that fell off of her shoulder, she thought about everything that had happened that night. She tried to focus on the good things and not on the man but everytime she started thinking about somehting good, his face flashed in front of her eyes. Arabella pulled the clips out of her hair and she shook out the golden waves before turning and padding out of the bathroom. She looked at Hunter and she caught her breath. He was an incredibly handsome man and she couldn't resist checking him out a little bit. "Yeah..that's good" she said softly with a little nod and she tugged at her shorts that hardly covered her legs at all.
Hunter slipped on a pair of pajama pants and turned around, letting out a gasp at her outfit. She looked beautiful. He didn't even realize he was staring until she waved at him and giggled bashfully. "Oh, right. Umm..." He looked around the room, blanking slightly. "Movie. Remote. TV. Room service." He blurted out to her. He looked at her and couldn't help himself anymore. He stepped toward her and wrapped his arms around her, kissing her lightly on the lips. "I'm sorry. I couldn't help it." He whispered as he trailed kisses along her exposed shoulder. "You're just so pretty."
Arabella smiled a little bit and she pressed herself closer to him, placing her hands on his chest and running her fingers across his skin. He was warm and comforting and his kisses on her shoulder made her feel better with each kiss. She wanted to melt into him and never leave. Arabella turned towards the bed, pulling Hunter with her and she sat down, looking up at him with a teasing sort of look on her face. "We don't need a movie tonight" She said simply, shaking her head and taking his hand. She tugged on him slightly, pulling him closer to her.
Hunter sat down next to her and pressed his lips against hers. He ran his hands down her sides before reaching her thighs. He nibbled a little on her bottom lip before lifting her into the air and standing up. Hunter smiled and kissed her on the lips. "Yes, ma'am." He said brushing his lips across her cheek. He felt her legs wrap around him and he laughed a little as he ran his hand up and down her thigh, supporting her with his other hand. "Mmm....Do you still want Room service?" He asked against her skin.
Arabella shrugged lightly and she held him closely, squeezing her legs around him a little bit. She loved being close to him like that. After everything that had happened that night, she didn't want to let go of him at all. Arabella chewed on her lip and looked at him. "Well, we could always get some chocolate covered strawberries" She giggled and kissed him.
Hunter laughed and kissed her tightly on the lips. "Sounds good." He said with a smile. He shuffled to the phone and picked it up, blindly dialing the front desk. It was ringing and Hunter pressed his lips to hers. Finally someone came on the line. "Hmm? Yes...Hello. Can you send me to...Room service?" He said, still kissing her. He was put on hold and Hunter kissed her tightly and squeezed her butt. "Mmm...Oh! Hello? Yes." He turned his face and talked into the phone. "Could we have some chocolate covered strawberries?" Arabella turned his face and kissed him. "Mmm...And some sparkling apple cider?" He kissed Arabella and listened to the man talk. "You don't have....Do you have chocolate...Okay. Now do you have strawberries....Okay. Then I expect them up here. And the sparkling cider. Yes. Yes. Thank you." He said quickly before hanging up and pushing Arabella up against the wall. He kissed along her cheek and down her neck to her shoulder.
Arabella gasped a little bit when he pushed her against the wall and she smiled a little bit, biting on her lip. She placed her hands on his neck and she brushed her fingers against his skin lightly. At that moment, she didn't care about anyone or anything other than Hunter. He was holding her against the wall and he was placing kisses on her shoulder. It was enough to drive a girl crazy. She took deep breaths, trying to regain some control over herself and she ran her hands down his chest, pressing her fingers into his skin lightly. "Oh gods, Hunter..you are just..wow" She breathed.
Hunter shuddered a little and he breathed lightly on her neck. "You're beautiful." He said, stepping backward and falling back onto the bed. He kissed her on the nose and ran his hands up her back under her shirt. He kissed her and danced his fingers along her spine. "I--" There was a knock on the door and Hunter sighed. He rolled on top of her and kissed her tightly on the lips before standing up. "Don't go anywhere, gorgeous." He said with a grin before walking toward the door.
Arabella took a breath and she laid back on the bed, closing her eyes. She took deep breaths and her heart was racing. It felt like it was taking Hunter ages to come back to her and she hated waiting. She missed his warmth and even though it had only been a few seconds, her skin tingled for his touch again. Arabella hear Hunter talking to a man then she heard the sound of wheels as the man from room service rolled into their room, leaving the tray. "Your strawberries and your cider" A man's voice said and he stopped talking quickly, seeing Arabella on the bed. She didn't notice that he had frozen in place and looked down at her with a slightly stunned look on his face.
Hunter grabbed the tray and set it on the table before grabbing the cart. He shoved the cart and the man out the door. "No tip for ogling my woman." He said before slamming the door. He grabbed the tray and set it on the bed before crawling on top of her and kissing her lightly. "Nobody gets to look at you, except me." He said with a chuckle as he sat up and poured her a glass of cider. He poured himself a glass and grabbed a strawberry. He put the undipped side in his mouth and presented it to her with a smile.
Arabella looked up at Hunter and she giggled, pushing herself to sit up. She slipped her arms around his neck and she moved closer to him, taking a bite out of the strawberry that he was holding in his mouth. She kind of liked the fact that Hunter was protective like that. It made her feel special. From her experience, most guys would just look at her like it was okay from them to gawk at her, even if she didn't know them at all. She liked that Hunter stood up for her in that way. Arabella smiled up at him as she nibbled on the strawberry and she kissed him lightly, reaching over to grab another stawberry. she took a bite out of the chocolate side and kissed him again with chocolate on her lips.
Hunter pulled the stem out of his mouth and set it on the tray. He kissed her and tasted the chocolate on her lips, humming and smiling. He ran his tongue across her lips and savored the taste of chocolate. "This was a good choice." He said, taking a sip of cider. He grabbed another strawberry and pressed the side of it to her lips. He kissed her and twisted the stem off, biting into the strawberry. The chocolate and the strawberry juice covered his and her lips. He put the stem down and kissed her tightly, wanting nothing more than to be with her. To hold her close. To kiss her lips. "I love you." He breathed quietly.
"I love you too" Arabella breathed back and she ran her hands down his arm, squeezing his muscle lightly. It was easy being with Hunter. It felt like it was second nature to her. Arabella pressed herself against him and she looked up at him through her eyelashes. Could a moment be any more perfect? Arabella was beyond happy. She was blissful and excited about their lives together. She kissed him lightly, grazing her lips across his for a moment before pushing the rest of the strawberries to the side and lying back on the pillows, pulling Hunter on top of her.
Hunter smiled and put his forehead against hers. He stayed there for a moment, just looking into her eyes. Seeing the love. The passion. He no longer understood how he had been living without her. He had no idea how he would survive without her in his life. She was his other half. He kissed her on the lips and trailed kisses down her chin and neck to her chest. He breathed softly against her skin and brushed his lips to her shoulder.
Arabella took his hand and she held it up, placing her hand against his. Her hands were smaller than his and she loved his hand. They were worn and had clearly been used quite a bit. They made her feel safe. Arabella smiled and she twisted her fingers around his, holding his hand close to her chest. She shivered slightly as he brushed his lips against her skin and she slipped a leg around his hip, pulling him closer.
Hunter placed small kisses along her collar bone. He squeezed her hand and kissed it softly, feeling the connection between them. He trailed his kisses along her shoulder, up her neck, across her cheek and finally reached her lips again. He rolled onto his side and put an arm around her waist, their legs tangling together, pulling each other closer and locking lips passionately. Hunter ran his fingers through her hair and gently caressed her cheek. He ran his hand down her arm and smiled. He squeezed her hand and broke away from the kiss, looking into her bright blue eyes. He kissed her nose and grinned at her. He put his forehead lightly on hers and kissed her nose again. Hunter loved looking at her. If he could do anything in the world it would be this. Looking at her. Kissing her. Holding her hand. "La femme la plus belle de la planète est en face de moi." He said quietly, dancing his fingers up and down her arm.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)