L exi

L ight peeked through the blinds in Hunter’s bedroom, waking me from my deep sleep. I could feel Hunter’s arms still wrapped around me, and I smiled, feeling more comfortable than I ever had before. Everything about him filled me up inside, from the way he handled my nervous outbursts to the way he made me laugh on a regular basis, even how much passion we had between us. Waking up in his arms, in his bed, in his apartment felt more right than anything I had ever done before .

I ran my hands up and down his arms, listening to him stir behind me. I turned over and faced him, kissing his nose and waiting as he slowly opened his eyes. He pulled me in closer and smiled, realizing I was still there and we were still wrapped up together underneath the covers. He glanced over at the clock and then plopped his head back down beside mine, running his fingers through my tangled mess of hair .

“Good morning, handsome,” I whispered .

“Good morning, beautiful,” he said, smiling. “I’m glad you’re still here .”

“Me too,” I said happily. “I’m so glad that you changed your mind. I know it has to be hard on you because my father is your best friend, but I know everything will turn out all right in the end. Being with you these last few weeks has been the best time of my life. I’ve come to know you as my best friend, and I couldn’t even start to imagine what it would be like if you weren’t the first person I called when I was happy, sad, angry, or whatever. I know it’s crazy, and it isn’t what either of us had in mind when we started this whole thing, but I don’t regret where it has gone .”

“I don’t either,” he said, kissing my lips. “I want you by my side all the time, and if we are going to face the repercussions for it, I know that as long as I have you by my side, we will be okay .”

I stared into Hunter’s eyes, completely lost in my feelings for him. He was so strong and so sweet that I knew, no matter what, I was going to be okay. I laid my head down on the pillow and smiled, thinking about everything that had happened just over the last day and a half. I was feeling extremely overwhelmed, but being there with Hunter made everything okay .

“You know, now that we have decided to be together, officially, we are going to have to tell my father,” I said, the dread clear in my voice. “It’s only going to make things easier in the end if we don’t have secrets from the people we love. At first, I’m sure it will be terrible, but after he gets used to it…well, it will seem like no big deal .”

“I know,” Hunter said, sighing. “We will tell him. It will just have to be when the time is right .”

“Okay,” I said, smiling .

I rolled over on my back and stretched my hands above my head, yawning loudly. I didn’t want to get out of bed, but I knew I should be getting back home, and Hunter needed to get ready for work. I pulled myself upright and swung my feet over the bed. Hunter sat up behind me and wrapped his arms around my shoulders. He leaned in and kissed the back of my neck, groaning as I laughed and pulled away. If I didn’t force myself away then, there was a good chance I was never going to pull away. I turned around and smiled as he watched me pull on my clothes. Then I looked in the mirror, fixing my wild hair. Hopefully, I didn’t run into my father, but if I did, I didn’t want to look like I had just crawled out of a ditch .

I kissed Hunter on the top of the head and then grabbed my bag on the way out. His cologne lingered on my skin, and butterflies flew through my chest. I leaned against the wall and took in several deep breaths, feeling happier than I ever had before. We had made a commitment to each other, one that would take a lot of faith in each other and a lot of trust. I knew I was ready to take that on headfirst, and although I should have been nervous, I had never felt as calm as I did in that moment .

I rode the elevator up to my floor and exited before thanking the operator and smiling sweetly. I turned the corner and put my key in the door, trying to be quiet since I wasn’t sure whether my father was still there or not. After I walked into the apartment, I turned the corner to the bedrooms and ran straight into my father. I stumbled backward and laughed. I wasn’t sure where the laughter came from, but with my nerves suddenly on edge, it was an instantaneous reaction. He looked at me for a moment and then began laughing too, looking down at the coffee stain now on his shirt .

“Well, I didn’t really want to wear this shirt anyway,” he said, chuckling .

“Sorry, Daddy,” I said, laughing. “Are you going to the office today ?”

“Yes, and I’m actually running late,” he said. “I was a little worried about where you were. I saw you didn’t come home last night .”

I froze slightly, not sure how to answer his question. Part of me wanted to tell him the truth, but the other part, the one not wanting to face anything of any consequence in that moment, started thinking up a lie as fast as I could. I hated this, lying to my father. I loved him too much, but I knew it wasn’t the right time to come clean about everything. He looked at me suspiciously as I stood there, completely dazed .

“Lexi?”

“Huh?”

“I asked where you were last night since you didn’t come home,” he said, furrowing his brow .

“Oh, sorry. I’m exhausted,” I said, laughing. “I was over at Mandy’s place, and I just crashed there on the couch. It was late and I didn’t want to wake you up .”

I stood there nervously, waiting as he ran my response through his head. I could tell he was suspicious and that my answer didn’t quite make him feel any better. I was holding my breath, and my heart was beating wildly in my chest. Finally, a smile broke through his rough exterior as he took off his tie and shirt to go get a new clean one .

“Let me take those,” I said, gesturing at his dirty clothes. “I’ll drop them off at the cleaners when I go down to the lobby in a little bit to check my schedule .”

“Thank you, sweetie,” he said, his face and voice softening. “I’ll just go get changed and be on my way then .”

I waited until he had walked back into his room to let out the deep breath I’d been holding. I folded the dirty shirt and tie and set them on the table before walking back to my room to change my clothes. I grabbed a brush and ran it through my tangled hair, realizing how disheveled I looked in the mirror. I walked across the room and sat down on my bed, thinking about all the things my father had told me. I didn’t want to hurt him, but I was afraid that I wasn’t going to have a choice. The last thing I wanted to do was ruin his and Hunter’s relationship, something that my father had kept close to him for as long as I had been alive .

On top of all that, I was really worried about Hunter’s image. He was a handsome billionaire bachelor that the media had paid close attention to in the past. His charming demeanor and clean record when it came to drama was something that helped him gain trust in the business world and grow his company even more. When they got wind that he was dating someone less than half his age, there was sure to be some sort of backlash. I didn’t want Hunter walking around with people thinking he was some kind of pervert, but there really wasn’t much I could do to shield him from that. Hopefully his charm and class would prevail and people would understand that he was just a person. Hell, if movie stars could date people half their age, why couldn’t Hunter? It didn’t make sense to me why his dating choices had anything to do with his company. It was just another thing that irritated me about society .