Learning to Live

Chapter 40

"So," Hunter said, the shadows on his face sharp as the sky darkened into the deepest colors of twilight. "When are you moving in?"

I laughed. "You don't do things halfway, do you, Jamison?"

He just grinned. His phone rang. With a sigh, he stopped petting Stevie, who nudged my hand, and retrieved his phone from his pocket. He muttered a curse before picking up.

"Yes, Antonio?.... No, I told you. Nothing yet.... When I'm ready, I'll let you know.... I don't care of they're offering a billion dollars. I'll come back when I want to come back."

The other end of the call raised his voice. Antonio must be fuming. Hunter just held the phone away from his ear until the ranting ended, then he said, "No." And hung up.

The phone started ringing again. Hunter turned it off and dropped it on the table.

"Are you sure that's okay?" I asked.

"Positive," he said. "I have more important things to do."

His roguish smile made me curl my toes. "Antonio wants you back in the cage."

"Mhm." Hunter shifted until he could wrap his arm around my shoulders and pulled my legs across his lap. Stevie ended up on his other side, right on top of my feet, warming them up. We were one cozy pretzel. The porch lights flickered on. The air was growing chillier as the day darkened to night, but I was warm.

He threaded his fingers in my hair, slightly rubbing my scalp. My eyes fluttered close, and I leaned my head on his shoulder. Peaceful.

"My entire team wants me back in the cage," he grumbled.

"What do you want?"

He kissed my forehead and mumbled, "I want to stay like this forever."

That made two of us. "No, seriously. Do you want to go back?"

"I am serious. I put everything on hold two years ago because I realized that my personal life was going to shit even when I have a successful career. And that's not all I wanted from life."

His words echoed my thoughts and my situation. I took it as a sign that I was doing the right thing.

"And now your personal life is...?"

"On the right track. Now it's on the right track," he said. "So maybe I'll go back to the damn cage and see if I actually want to spend more time there or just call it quits."

That reminded me. "I want to see your photographs," I said.

He chuckled. "They're not really great. I just shoot whatever I feel like it."

I raised my head to see his sheepish look. "I still want to see them later. If you want."

"I'll show you."

I yawned. I was toasty and full. And at peace. My eyelids grew heavy, and I surrendered to sleep.

*** **** ***

I wasn't in my studio.

That was my first thought. I blinked. A beam of light cut right through the darkness and fell on a framed photograph on the wall. My mind slowly trudged out of the mud, and memories came back.

Right. Hunter.

The sound of water running. It stopped, and the beam of light grew larger. I sat up and pushed my hair back. The mattress was a cloud beneath me. I was disoriented.

"Did I wake you up?" Hunter asked, coming out of the lit room. A bathroom. He turned on the bedside lamp next to the bed I was on.

"Where the hell am I?" I asked, looking around. The covers on my lap were a dark blue color, and the bed could fit in ten people. Five, if they were Hunter's size.