she posted about Hunter now, almost as if he’d been spending nights with her and not with me. I also tried to swallow the confusion I felt about the way she claimed him, tried to convince myself that I wouldn’t have wanted to claim him, even if I could.
But I couldn’t make myself believe the lie.
I would’ve claimed Hunter. I would’ve happily tagged him in a billion, inane Instagram posts, if it meant that people knew that he was mine, that I meant something to him, more than just a warm body and a comfortable bed.
But was that really true?
Did I mean something more to Hunter? Or was he just going to replace me with a different version of me when he finally got bored of us? Maybe someone younger? Maybe someone who didn’t yearn to claim him as their own?
Was I just a willing bridge to another covert relationship?
“Are you okay?” Hunter asked, his head peeking up from underneath the bedsheets.
“What?” My voice sounded far away, even as it echoed in my own ears.
“You just seem kind of distracted.”
“I’m… yeah…” I admitted the truth, quietly hoping that Hunter wouldn’t ask a follow-up question.
“I want you here with me, Patrick,” Hunter murmured. “I know you’ve got a lot on your mind and a lot on your plate, but when we’re together, I’d like to think that I’m—”
“All I’m thinking about?”
“Well, yeah.” Hunter grinned. “Is that too conceited to say?”
No.
It wasn’t too conceited for Hunter to want to be all that I was thinking about.
It was just too painfully accurate.
I kept those thoughts to myself though as I playfully replied, “An NFL player being conceited? I would’ve never imagined.”
“Very funny.” Hunter grinned again before he brought his mouth back down to my cock.
I whimpered at the feel of his lips tightening around my shaft, his tongue lightly dragging right along my weeping slit. My fingers then twisted into his hair even tighter as I exploded into his mouth, my come shooting out of me as my abdomen flexed in response.
When I was finished, Hunter pressed a small kiss to the inner side of my thigh, his lips curved into a warm smile. “Thanks for coming back to me.”
“Always.” I grinned as I said the phrase, hoping that it came out lined with sarcasm, hoping that Hunter wasn’t able to tell how my skin seemed to tingle at the idea of there being an always with Hunter, an ongoing rhythm to our magic.
Hunter then looked back up at me again before he casually asked, “Hey, do you want to go to the arcade down the street?”
I’d never been to this arcade before.
Honestly, I hadn’t even noticed it was here before.
Which was strange, because I had to have passed it at least a million times in my commute to work. And the place was pretty hard to miss, what with its glowing red neon sign and huge posters in its glass windows promising the newest and latest arcade games in stock.
I took a moment to look over at Hunter, who was now wearing a dark hoodie and those same, cheap shades I’d picked up at the supermarket a few nights ago. He looked like a different person as he stood next to me, unrecognizable with his clothing and an air about him that I couldn’t quite place.
And when the realization hit me, I took a step closer to him, wondering if my conclusion was really right on the money. “You’re nervous.”
“Just a little bit,” Hunter admitted. “I don’t usually like going out to places like this anymore, not if I don’t know what I’m getting myself into.”
“Have you been to this arcade before?”
“Yeah.” He smiled. “I used to come here all the time with Elana, and when she graduated high school, I kept coming with my other friends, too. It used to be one of my favorite places in the city.”
“Used to?”
“You know, before I became Hunter Perry.” Hunter frowned as he spoke. “That’s something I miss about being able to just go places and do things. I miss just being able to be myself without worrying if I’ll get a phone call from Elana about how I’m fucking up my image.”
“That sounds…” I tried and failed to come up with kinder words. “Shitty.”
Hunter laughed in response. “Yeah. It kind of is. But I guess it’s worth it because I’m still putting up with it. Just another hazard of the job.”
“Have you ever considered doing something other than football?” I suggested. “It just