Keep On Walking (A Hunter Hayes Fanfiction, Book 3 of the Hardships Saga)

Chapter Twenty-Three

❝crush (pronounced krʌʃ or kruhsh), noun
an intense but usually short-lived infatuation.❞

After breakfast, they set out for the aquarium. Ryan felt the stares of people who had nothing better to do than wonder about other people's lives. Hunter was wearing a hat and sunglasses, but it didn't do him any good. The paparazzi followed them wherever they went. Usually, the hate from the fans and paparazzi didn't bother her, but today, she knew every gossip magazine would be talking about her "daring new look" and the weight she had gained from being pregnant. She could imagine the headlines now. Perfectly normal young person gains weight after pregnancy even though she's famous?! Read pg. 4. It was ridiculous.

Once they got into the aquarium, Elle and Phoenix were enamoured with the creatures swimming under the water. Ryan adjusted her beanie, and Hunter gave her a kiss on the cheek. "Everything okay?"

"Yeah."

He sighed. "Oh, darling. I really am sorry that I didn't bother to celebrate our anniversary."

"It's okay. I mean, we do technically have two. It's confusing. I should've told you I wanted to celebrate this one more than the other one."

"You're not mad anymore, are you?"

"No. That was irrational of me. I'm sorry."

"No, it's okay."

Robin burbled from her stroller, and Ryan quickly checked on her. "Do you think she wants something?"

"Nah. Babies love colours. She's probably just amazed at how beautiful all the fish are."

She gulped. "Hey, you don't think... shaving my head... was, you know... too extreme?"

"Too extreme?" said Hunter. "Darling, I can't thank you enough. Look at her. She hasn't been this happy since we first started dating."

She looked over at Elle, who was talking excitedly with Phoenix. "And you know, Drew really likes underwater animals, he says they're called 'marine animals' or something. And he told me dolphins aren't actually fish- they're mammals, like us! Like, they have warm blood, and they need air to breathe! That's why they always jump out of the water! Watch this one, see?"

"Ooh!" said Phoenix, nodding ecstatically. "Dowfin!"

Hunter tightened his grip on her waist. "That's all you," he said softly. "You helped her be happy again. And hair or no hair, I'm so grateful for that."

"Is it bad?"

He laughed. "I've always had a thing for short hair anyway," he said, kissing her forehead. "Hmm, what's your favourite sea creature?"

"Penguins. Or seals."

"Penguins! Yeah, I think they have a penguin exhibit here somewhere," he said, pulling out his brochure and looking through it. "Here! See, let's go look at them!"

She laughed slightly. "Hunt, honey, we have three kids. It's not just us. We need to prioritise ourselves so that we see everything and don't disappoint them, okay?"

He sighed. "Fine. What's for lunch?"

"We barely just had breakfast, and you're already thinking about lunch?"

"Of course I am. Best way to a man's heart is through his stomach, after all," he said with a wink.

"Funny. I don't think you ever even tasted my food until we started dating."

"I knew you were amazing at everything from the moment I met you," he said, kissing her temple.

Her mind went back to the moment she had realised who Hunter was. It was such a surreal moment. She could still remember seeing those blue eyes close up for the first time, and being too shocked to register who it actually was that she had crashed into. It was almost instantaneous, falling in love with him, that it was only when she recognised exactly who she had crashed into that she was shocked back into reality.