Two Steps Back (Hunter Hayes fanfic Bk.3)

Magnets in a Closet

Hunter was trying desperately to escape. Not thirty seconds after the ceremony had ended, a young girl of twelve or thirteen had jumped on him for an autograph. He had signed her arm, her shoulder, her ankle, and practically every other visible place on her body. For an hour or so, he had been able to shake her since he'd had to take pictures with the rest of the wedding party, but now that he was back inside, it was becoming much more difficult to get rid of her, and her constant stream of compliments, complaints, and babble was grating on his already fraying nerves. Stephanie had kept her at bay for a while, but his lovely girlfriend had gone up to powder her nose nearly ten minutes ago.

The young girl took a small break in her running commentary when her mother called her name from another table. Hunter knew this was likely to be his only opportunity.

That's it, he thought, rising from his seat. I'm going to find her. I can't take this anymore.

The wind was fairly flying behind him as he darted up the stairs. Glancing down when he reached the top, he spotted the girl running up after him, and he kicked it into high gear. The men's room was all the way at the end of the hallway, and he knew he'd never reach it before she saw him. Instead, he ducked into the first doorway he saw, a closet marked "Housekeeping".

Breathing heavily, he pulled the door closed and receded into the back. But he tripped on his way, and he heard a muffled squeak as he landed on what was apparently a person.

"Oh, I'm so sorry," he whispered, moving rapidly, but not seeming to get out of the stranger's way. "Are you okay? I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to sit on you. I...what are you doing in here?" he asked, finally managing to roll off the person and squinting to help his eyes adjust to the dark.

"I was avoiding someone," a voice said.

The scene became very familiar, very quickly. Hunter obviously recognized the voice, and he imagined that Bethany knew precisely who he was as well.

He cleared his throat. "Uh, me too."

Silence engulfed them, and a single memory hung in the air like Christmas lights: brilliantly bright in the absence of light.

A lifetime ago, in a closet similar to this one, waiting for a recess to end and a court session to resume, Hunter had held Bethany James to his heart as she cried over a wrong they had both thought he'd committed. And then he had sobbed, too, knowing how badly he had hurt her, and before he knew what was happening, she was kissing him.

It was the first time he ever told her that he loved her.

Hunter sighed now, feeling his guilt more acutely than ever. When Bethany had thought he had been unfaithful to her with Amanda, she had forgiven him. She had accepted him back into her life, and she had never questioned his loyalty again. And yet he hadn't done the same when she had been with Trenton.

He didn't say anything to her, but the tension in the room had grown to a nearly palpable state, and he felt her jolt when he touched her knee. His body moved over hers until he had her in an embrace.

Bethany was understandably surprised, but after a few moments, she returned his hug wholeheartedly.

"I'm sorry I couldn't do it before," Hunter whispered, breaking the silence and sending a shiver down her spine. "But I forgive you. Truth be told, there really isn't anything to forgive," he breathed a small laugh, and Bethany clutched him harder, feeling a rising sob that she pushed down.

"I was just afraid to lose you," he sighed. "And I did what I thought I had to in order to keep that from happening. But I guess I lost you anyway, didn't I?"

Bethany moved closer, not really sure what else she could do. She wanted to say he hadn't lost her, that she was still his. But how could she? He was with Stephanie; she was with Jordan. Her feelings for Jordan were real. She had just spent the most amazing night with him, and he had told her he loved her.

But her love for Hunter had been real, too, and much deeper than her feelings for Jordan. It was everything she ever wanted to hear, the words he was uttering now. She couldn't help but think it was too little, too late, that it had simply taken him too long, that maybe his forgiveness wasn't enough anymore.

But when Hunter kissed her moments later, she accepted his lips hungrily. It was like revisiting an old memory, or dreaming as she had so often done of a moment of reconciliation like this. It was so different from kissing Jordan: familiar but passionate, easy, but so, so enthralling. Hunter was like an extension of her own body, and they moved in sync, as though choreographed and practiced over and over.

Hunter didn't know why he was kissing her. He had never been unfaithful to a girl in his life, and he had been with Stephanie for a year now. And he was leading Bethany down a path she shouldn't have to be on either, one where she would have to either lie to her boyfriend, or explain that she had kissed him, her ex-fiancé, and possibly lose Jordan as a part of her life. Is that what He wanted? It was true he was jealous of Jordan, more so than he had been of Sam. Was he really so petty?

But he had never meant to put her in such a position. It was just impossible for him to share this dark closet with her and not kiss her.

And it had been so long. Too long. It was as though he were an addict, and he had been forced into rehabilitation against his will. This moment was his break-out, his liberation from the months upon months of withdrawal and physical agony caused by the absence of these lips. Her body, her eyes, her soft hair and the lovely sounds of pleasure she made when he did all the things he knew she loved.

By unspoken agreement, they stopped before they did something they couldn't undo, and they exited the closet one by one without a word. No plans for their future, no more "I'm sorrys" or explanations.

One unsullied memory, one unbreakable moment in a complicated web of emotions.

They watched each other out of the corners of their eyes the rest of the evening. Neither of them knew what would happen next, but they felt a great weight had been lifted from their shoulders. Finally they were free to decide. Nothing was holding them apart anymore.

The magnet ends had been spun around, and now all that was left was to wait for them to meet up.