“You look like you enjoyed that,” I said smiling.
He let out a long breath. “Hell yeah I did. I hope you have Kleenex.”
I giggled and got up to clean myself off. “I do.”
“And detergent for your sheets,” he added.
“Check on that as well.”
After wiping myself down, I tossed the kleenex to him so he could clean himself up too. An explosion from the movie playing on my laptop made me realize Batman was still fighting to save Gotham. I laughed again.
“I guess we’ll have to catch the end of The Dark Knight Rises another time,” I said.
“What?”
“The movie. We didn’t finish it.”
“Oh. I guess you can pause it now.”
I did so with an enormous smile on my face, then got back under the covers with him. We cuddled for a while, his fingers tracing circles on my back, my nails gently exploring the outlines of the tattoos on his firm chest. Being with Hunter made me feel safe and alive. I reflected on how hard I’d fought to prevent something like this from happening—from being in a sexual relationship with Hunter. It seemed so silly now.
Chapter Twenty
PARTY
On Thursday during psych class, Daniela reminded me she’d been invited to a Tau Beta Pi party by Cody. Even though Daniela wasn’t “seeing” Cody anymore, they had made up and were now back on friendly terms. I had given her an uncertain answer earlier in the week but after asking Hunter and him telling me he wanted to go, I notified Daniela that we were game to join her. I figured it would be a fun experience for both Hunter and me.
After classes, I texted Hunter. You ready for the TBP party tonight?
Moments later, he responded. Sure, am. I’m looking forward to showing you off :)
I responded with two smiley faces and he texted back. Well, as long as they look and don’t touch :).
I was looking forward to our first appearance as a couple at a public event.
Daniela was excited to meet Cody’s frat buddies so she took an extra long time in picking an outfit and applying her makeup while Hunter and I waited in the suite. She came out from the bathroom with frizzy hair wearing a denim jacket over a pastel polo, a short white skirt, pointy-toed flats, and big, gaudy sunglasses. The party had a spring break Miami-Vice dress theme and Daniela took it very seriously. I wore a pair of dark jeans and a maroon-checkered button down, and Hunter traded his usual training sweats for an olive polo and jeans. He looked mouth-watering with his muscles stretching against whatever fabric he wore.
“So, how do I look?” Daniela said striking a pose.
I laughed. “Wow, you look awesome!”
Hunter laughed as well. “Definitely.”
“Thanks! Hopefully, the fratdaddys at the party will think so as well!”
We left Floyd Hall around 10:30 and by the time we arrived at the TBP house, it was almost eleven.
“Did you go to any TBP parties freshman year, Lorrie?” Daniela asked, as we approached the front porch where a couple of guys and girls were smoking and drinking.
“No, I went to like one frat party and I don’t remember what the house was,” I said.
“Oh yeah,” she said. “We went to that one Phi Kappa Delta party together but all the boys there were pretty immature so we left early.”
I recalled the event and how some drunk guy spilled beer all over both our shoes. Then I realized that had been Gary’s frat. His story about having to skip the hockey game with Hunter because the guys at PKD couldn’t unclog a toilet made a lot more sense now.
Hunter chuckled. “If any guy does that to you tonight, Lorrie, I’ll teach him a lesson.”
“Oooh, so protective,” Daniela said. “Wish I had me an MMA fighter boyfriend.”
I smiled at her, slightly blushing.
“I can introduce you to a few of the guys down at Bigg’s Gym,” Hunter said. “Although, I gotta warn ya, they’ve got some rough edges.”
“Even better. I like a guy who’s a little unruly. Makes it all the more fun to change ‘em.”
Hunter and I both laughed.
We walked up to the porch and Hunter held the door open for both of us as we went inside. The house was full of people. Wagon Wheel was blaring from a stereo somewhere and people—especially the girls—were singing along with the chorus: “Heyyyy mama rack me!”
“Banjos, man,” Hunter said, shaking his head as he watched a group of drunk girls slurring words off-pitch, drinks held high in the air. “They’re like catnip for Midwest girls.” He looked at us. “Thirsty? I’ll get us some drinks.”
“Thanks, Hunter,” I said.
Like a true gentleman, he went to get Daniela and me drinks while we hung out in the living room watching an overly competitive group of people play beer pong.
“So how have Hunter and you been? You guys look so cute together!”
“We’re doing great. I actually feel like we’re kind of obsessed with each other,” I mused. “Not sure if that’s a good thing or a bad thing.”
“It’s a good thing from what I can see. You’ve got this glowy aura going on. I haven’t seen you look so happy in a long time, Hunter has quite the effect on you. To be honest, I’m actually kinda jealous . . .”
I flustered at her compliments and giggled. “Yeah, I guess I’m pretty lucky things have worked out between Hunter and me. We’ve certainly had our ups and downs before getting to this point. But now that we’re dating, I’m glad he’s in my life.”
Daniela nodded and smiled. We exchanged a few bits about Hunter’s awesomeness and began to scan the room for a potential guy for Daniela when Hunter returned, balancing three drinks with two hands. “Here ya go ladies!”
Just as we offered our thanks to Hunter, the music unexpectedly changed to a rap song.
“Awww yeahhh. Now this is what I’m talking about! I love this song!” cried Daniela, shaking her hips and waving her drink around in the air to the hypnotic beat and explicit lyrics. “Make it nasty! Make it nasty!”
“What song is this?” I said.
“You haven’t heard this?! Jesus, Lorrie. It’s Make It Nasty by Tyga. Duh! Please at least tell me you’ve heard of twerking.”
“Of course I’ve heard of twerking!” I said, slightly offended by the accusation. I turned to Hunter to see if he was judging me and he was simply smiling. “Everybody knows about Miley Cyrus and that VMA performance.”