H unter

I was glad this week was halfway over. I didn’t know how much more I could take. My mind had constantly been on Lexi and the conclusion I had come to when out golfing with her father. I hadn’t been able to bring myself to call her over since, in my heart, I really didn’t want to break things off with her. Still, there was so much at stake, and our relationship had the possibility of completely taking down all of it .

I sighed and reached over to the side table next to the couch, where my phone was vibrating. Electricity fluttered through my chest at the sight of Lexi’s name on the screen. I didn’t want to take the call, but I knew ignoring her wasn’t an option .

“Hey,” I said, answering .

“Hey. I wanted to see if I could come by,” she said .

“Sure,” I replied. “The door will be open .”

“Okay,” she said. “Be there in five .”

When she walked in the door, I looked up from the sofa and smiled. She looked adorable in a pair of short knit shorts and a tiny T-shirt with a rainbow on the front. She pranced over into the living room and climbed on top of me, straddling me as she kissed my neck. I closed my eyes for only a second, realizing I needed to stop this before it got out of hand. I pulled her back by her shoulders and moved her to the side before standing up and taking a deep breath .

“What’s wrong?” she asked .

“Lexi,” I said, rubbing my face, “we can’t do this anymore. All of this is way too dangerous for everyone involved. When I went golfing with your father, he seemed so out of sorts, so worried about you on every level. He just wants what is best for you, and so do I. I want what’s best for all of us, and I’m afraid if we keep this up, we’re all going to get hurt. You need to listen to your father .”

“Hunter, where is this coming from?” She looked perplexed and hurt. “My father wants to control me. Just because he is my father doesn’t mean he is handling my life the right way. Threatening me with cutting me off if I date anyone is typical. He has ruled through fear my entire life, and I don’t care anymore. Don’t get me wrong, I love my dad, but he would have made a lot more sense if he would have talked to me on an adult, emotional level, not like he was the police .”

“I know,” I said, shaking my head. “But it’s not just your life that this has the possibility of affecting. Your father has been by my side for years. The last thing I want to do is see him hurt and betrayed. It just wouldn’t be fair to him .”

“Hunter,” she said, her voice lower, as she stood up and walked toward me, “I know you don’t want to hurt my father, but what about our happiness? Why don’t we get a chance to have a beautiful life together? I don’t want to be with anyone else, only you .”

I stood there staring at her hurt eyes and her beautiful face, and I couldn’t help but melt at her feet. She was right. Why should we sacrifice our happiness because Kam was extremely overprotective and overdramatic? I cared about Lexi on a whole new level, and I didn’t want to be with anyone else either. I reached up and ran my hands down her arms .

“You’re right,” I said, leaning in and kissing her. “I don’t want to let you go .”

I grabbed her wrist and walked her back to the bedroom, where we got comfortable and curled up in bed. For this occasion, there was no sex, no dirty talk, and no flirting. We simply lay together, feeling how close we were to each other. Lexi was curled up beside me, her head on my chest, and I stroked her long blond hair. I pulled the covers over us and thought about how perfect this moment was with her in my arms and silence around us. This moment told me everything I needed to know about the decision I had just made .

My attraction to Lexi was more than just physical. Beyond the absolutely mind-blowing sex we had on a regular basis, we actually had a lot in common. We were both dreamers, stuck in a world that expected more from us than we wanted to give. Instead of dwelling on the past, we looked to the future, pointing out every part of the road we wanted to travel down. We both had dreams bigger than we could wrap our heads around, and it was something that really drew me to Lexi. Our minds worked the same way, and our passion was unstoppable—and not just our passion for each other .

Money had always been something that came between me and most girls I dated. I had mostly given up on dating because it seemed as if every girl I came across was more concerned about my bank account than me personally. Lexi came from money, and even more importantly, she didn’t give a shit about it. Sure, she liked shopping and all the rest, but she didn’t care about her father’s money. She wanted to support herself, even if it wouldn’t provide her with the lavish lifestyle she was used to. I never had to question whether Lexi was in this for the cash or not. She’d made it more than clear that she was in this for me, and only me, no strings attached. I had a hard time believing I would ever meet someone with that same mentality, especially someone who had so much to lose by being with me .

Lexi might work at a café to appease her father, but she was incredibly intelligent. I loved that we could sit and have a deep, educated conversation about the world, politics, and just life in general. I hadn’t found anything so far that she wasn’t aware of or educated on, and not just from college, but from her own willingness to learn for herself. She was independent in that way, never relying on someone else to teach her what she could learn on her own. That independence extended to everything in her life, and I could feel her wanting to break free at all costs. In the end, she was just an extremely sweet person who looked out for others more than she looked out for herself. It was extremely endearing .

When we were together, it was a constant back and forth of witty banter. She had something to say for everything I threw at her, and it had almost become a challenge to see who could stump who first. We laughed uncontrollably whenever we were alone and forgot all the unimportant crap around us. She was funny, witty, and extremely sarcastic, which matched up to me perfectly. Lexi’s sense of humor was amazing, and I never had to worry about offending her or saying something over her head .

I lay there next to her thinking about all the amazing things I felt, not even realizing I was edging closer to a conclusion I had pushed to the back of mind. Slowly, my hand stopped stroking her, and I pulled it up to my forehead, shaking my head. I realized this wasn’t a crush or a lustful desire. I was actually falling in love with Lexi .

The revelation struck me like a thunderbolt. My heart was cheering “yes” while my brain was screaming “fuck!” With any normal relationship, I would have been over the moon about realizing I was falling in love, but with Lexi and me, it absolutely terrified me. If I was in love with Lexi, that would make it impossible for me to give up our relationship. It was only a matter of time until the truth revealed itself. When that happened, all hell would break loose, and not just for me. I had to be absolutely sure that we were supposed to be together before I was forced to make a choice about standing by our relationship or pushing it off. I already knew, though, that there was no way I would be able to push her away .

I looked down at Lexi, who was now sleeping with her head pressed against my chest. She was so beautiful and looked so peaceful. It no longer mattered to me if all hell broke loose, because I knew that I couldn’t bear to not have this woman by my side. She had become a part of me, and that was cemented in my heart, no matter what the consequences would be .