Chapter Two
Hunter
The blonde seated next to me at the juice bar is yammering on and on about some shit I could care less about. Her desperate attempts at flirting and flaunting her fake tits at me are having no effect. I take my phone out of my pocket, pretending to be checking my messages, but really, I’m looking at the one picture I have with me and Lucy together. It was from the night of Brooke’s wedding. I remember every moment of that night. Her singing Pat Benatar with the band, how she smelled of fresh cut lilies when we danced, and the way her laugh echoed through the tent when I showed off my break dance moves. The thing that stands out in my mind the most was the way she felt in my arms when we took this picture. Every soft curve fit perfectly against me. Like she was made just for me. That night she tore at the bindings wrapped around my heart, and I haven’t been the same since.
“Can I buy you a juice?” The blonde pulls me out of my memory.
“Sorry, I’m meeting my girlfriend for coffee,” I lie. Disappointment washes over her face as she turns her back to me and walks as fast as she can to the locker rooms. A few years ago, I would have taken her up on her offer, except we would have skipped the juice, headed straight to my hotel room, and I would have fucked her pretty little brains out. That Hunter no longer exists. It’s more of a shock to me than anyone else. The longest relationship I’ve ever had was a two nightstand with a pair of twins I met while on a job in Brazil. I’ve photographed every continent in the world, I’ve been with my fill of some of the most beautiful women. To me they were just a willing pussy to get my dick wet. I was an asshole, which is why Brooke told me to stay far away from her best friend Lucy. I’ve never been one for following the rules. Brooke should be proud I made it this long before making my move.
I’ve been biding my time, showing Lucy and my sister that I’m not the womanizing ass hat I once was. I haven’t been with a woman since that night at the wedding. That has been a hell of a challenge for me. Blue balls are no fucking joke, but it was a sacrifice I needed to make. Not just to sleep with Lucy, but to be a better man for her and for myself. Watching how my father fell apart over losing my mom was my greatest fear. I never wanted to be that vulnerable, that broken over anyone. But damn if a sexy little blue-eyed coffee shop owner didn’t fuck that all up.
I grab my gym bag and head out to the parking garage to my car. The hunt for a new home starts today. Brooklyn has been my home since I moved to New York right after high school. My first apartment was smaller than my room back at my grandmother’s place in Boston. It didn’t bother me, I was barley home as it was. My internship with Travel Magazine kept me working long hours doing grunt work. Prepping location shoots, fetching coffee, and backup cameras. It was shit work, but I learned so much about photography and how to run a professional shoot.
My mom gave me my first camera when I fifteen. Back then my father and I had battles over what my future should be. He wanted me to follow in the family footsteps and be a cop. That was never what I wanted. Behind a camera was and still is a peaceful place for me. After blow ups with my dad, I would steal my mom’s cheap camera and sneak out of the house. I would spend hours roaming the streets of Boston taking pictures. One afternoon after a particularly nasty fight, I climbed out my bedroom window and there waiting for me at the bottom of the drain pipe was my mom. To my surprise she wasn’t mad that I was sneaking out. Instead, she handed me a brown leather camera bag and inside was a vintage Rolleiflex camera. She said a real photographer needs a good camera. Nobody understood me the way she did. I took that camera everywhere with me, even today, as I travel the world, that camera is always in my bag. Every time I look at it, it reminds me of her. It’s like I still have a piece of her with me.
Brooklyn no longer feels like home. It hasn’t since Brooke moved across the country to live in Seattle. Brooke and I have always had a special bond. I practically raised her after our mother passed away. She’s more than a sister to me, she’s my best friend. We’ve been there for each other through some of the worst times in our lives. I helped put her life back together after the death of her fiancé. I loved having her there with me and it hurt like hell when she moved. I understood why she needed to get away, but it didn’t stop me from trying to convince her to stay. In the end, her moving was the best thing for her. She found the happiness she needed. Seeing her so happy with Brian, Ella, and Matthew gives me hope that even after suffering such heartbreak, you can still find a way to put the pieces of your heart back together.
That’s why I decided to move here to Seattle. I need to be surrounded by that kind of hope on a daily basis. Lucy has left my heart open and raw, and the thought of giving it to her scares the shit out of me. My dad was never the same, but Brooke was able to find herself again after getting her heart broken. I just hope I’m as strong as she is.
****
“Hunter, this place is so you.” Brooke beams at me from over her shoulder. I couldn’t agree with her more. The two-bedroom loft sits on the second floor of an old bread factory. There is exposed brick and metal beams everywhere. Floor to ceiling widows that let in all the natural light. There is space for a dark room, and if I want, I can lease out the space below and open my own gallery.
Being a photojournalist has been an amazing dream come true. I’ve taken pictures on every continent, but it’s time I settle down. I’ve spent my entire life hiding behind my camera, capturing the biggest moments in other people’s lives. It’s time I step out from behind the lens and have a life of my own. Plant some roots, that includes a job that keeps me local. It wasn’t until I saw the photographs at Lucy’s coffee shop that I realized I wanted to start my own gallery, featuring local photographers and artists. Give people with real talent a place they can showcase their work.
“I’m glad you like it, because I bought it,” I admit. The moment I walked through the door I knew this was my new home. It was only the second place my realtor showed me. It being just a couple of blocks from Lucy’s coffee shop may have had another hand in me picking this place. I’ll be able to see Lucy every day.
“Hunter that’s so amazing. I’m so happy for you.” Brooke squeals as she slings her arms around me, giving me a big hug, well, as big as she can do with her pregnant belly. Even Logan, the little man growing inside her, gives me a congratulatory kick. “Did you hear that Logan, Uncle Hunter is staying in Seattle,” she says to her stomach.
“Uncle Hunter is going to be around for a long time. I’m going to be around for this little guy and for Ella and Matthew, and most importantly, for you, Brookie.” I love my niece and my nephews so much, and I want to be there to watch them grow up. To be there when they need someone to vent to when their parents are driving them crazy.
“I’m glad to have my big brother back. I’ve missed you, we’ve all missed having you around,” she says.
“I know, and I regret not moving here the day you said you were relocating to Seattle. But I’m here now, and I give it six months before you are threatening to kick my ass back to New York,” I tease.
“Not in a million years.” Her words get masked by the loud growling coming from her stomach. We both look down at her bump to see a little foot pushing against her shirt. “I think Logan is hungry.” She giggles.
“Let’s go get the little momma some food, and we can talk about how you are going to decorate my new place.” I’m not even going to pretend I have any say in what will be going in my new place. Brooke took over the decorating of my place in Brooklyn after she moved in with me. She said my taste was too much college dorm room on crack and that I was a grown ass man who shouldn’t still have milk crates as end tables. Thanks to her eye for design, my place looked incredible and sold for triple the value.
“I want a mountain of tacos.” She gets a crazy taco fiend twitch in her eyes.
“What the pregnant lady wants the pregnant lady shall get.”