Life Goes On (A Hunter Hayes Fanfiction, Book 2 of the Hardships Saga)

Chapter Thirty-Nine

❝gift (pronounced ɡɪft or as spelled), noun
a present; something given voluntarily without expectation of something in return.❞

Fifteen minutes later, they were still lying in the dark, not speaking to each other. "Are you still awake?"

"Maybe," said Ryan.

He sighed. "I'm sorry. I should've talked to you about this."

She turned around to look at him. "Why don't we talk about it now?"

"Talk about what, sex?"

"Not necessarily. Just our outlook into the future- and if that future includes each other."

"Can I at least hold you?" he asked petulantly.

She laughed quietly. "Oh, alright."

He moved closer to her and took her into his arms, hugging her and kissing the top of her head. "There. Much better," he said, a smile in his voice. She felt much warmer as well. "Now, why don't you talk to me about what you want for us?"

"I don't care where it takes us, Hunt. I love you. I want to be with you. I just... don't know. I thought that I loved him, and then that happened. And now I can't even do something to make you happy."

He sighed. "I'm regretting that more and more every second. My dove, if I cared that much, then I'd've honestly talked to you about it. Since I didn't think it was that important, I didn't discuss it with you. It's a physical act between two lovers, and seriously, that's all it is. It doesn't matter. Don't blame yourself. Don't, okay?"

She shook her head. "But that's not the only thing, Hunt. It took you so long to kiss me that second time, because I wouldn't let you. I need to start trusting you more." She took a deep breath and began to kiss Hunter, but he stopped her.

"We're not doing this now," he said gently. "Maybe soon. But not right now. Though I don't mind just making out with you for a little while."

She chuckled softly under her breath, and Hunter pinned her to the mattress and kissed her deeply, losing his hands in her hair, and his train of thought focusing on nothing but the taste of her lips- sweet and salty at the same time, which made her all the more addictive. She sighed into the kiss, moaning slightly as her hands moved to his chest. "You're so beautiful and I love you so much," he breathed softly against her lips. "And I haven't gotten to talk to you much lately, and I'm sorry about that. I'm sorry that I tried something that's important to us both without asking you first. But I promise, I love you, and I want you to be mine forever. Do you understand?"

She nodded silently, and he kissed her again, this time rolling over so that she was lying on his chest. "You're the most incredible woman in the world. You're so smart, and kind, and incredible. And you're so beautiful, my dove. You're so, so beautiful."

"I love you, too," she whispered. "Hunt, you took care of me when I had no one else. And you gave me hope. That's something I haven't had for the past six years."

"Why haven't you had hope for the past six years?"

"It's a long story."

"We have time."

"Hunter, please."

"I think it's time for another round of you tell me something, I'll tell you something."

She sighed. "Alright. Well, what do you want to know about?"

He thought about it for a moment. "I want to know about... your first kiss."

She laughed. "Easy. Well, it was in... Grade 9, I believe. I was in the hockey team, and a boy, his name was Luke Vasquez, asked me out. I said yes, because I had never been asked out before. This kid then took me on a date I'll never forget. He took me to the movies, we watched some random documentary about fish, I don't even know what it was about, it was so boring. Then he bought me a drink, which he managed to spill all over himself and me. The poor kid, I remember I was trying so hard not to laugh. Anyway, I felt kind of guilty that I knew we wouldn't be going on another date, so I gave him a kiss on the cheek and said thank you when he was dropping me off at my house. But then he kissed me full on the lips, proclaimed his love for me, and then asked me to marry him. Needless to say, I went inside and got my dad. He's a big, scary looking guy, with this bushy beard and bushy eyebrows- Luke ran for it as soon as he saw him. He never spoke to me again."