Flashing Lights

25 - How

"What was that all about earlier?" Hunter asks while we walk out of the elevator, hands in the front pockets of his black jeans, while we're making our way towards the exit of the hotel.

"What do you mean?"

I see him raising his eyebrow, but he doesn't respond.
I know that this is about Paul. Maybe he was kinda jealous after all?

The thought makes me smile, but I make sure to not let him notice that.

We're almost out of the hotel when he entwines his fingers with mine, and I immediately yank his arm, stopping him in his tracks. He looks at me with an amused smile and I can tell by the look in his eyes he knows exactly what's going on in my mind. "Trust me, Millie. No questions. Just go with it. Tonight, we're just two very normal people going on a very normal date."

"How?" I automatically ask, not letting go of his arm.

He shakes his head, a boyish grin plastered on his face. "What did I just say? No questions. Just trust me. Can you do that?"

Is this a trick question?
Of course I want to trust him. I'm just not entirely sure I should.
He's very charming but the guy has a reputation, or did you forget?

"I do, yes. I trust you." I answer with a short nod of my head.
At least for now.

He starts walking again, still holding my hand. With my free hand, I adjust the black baseball cap I grabbed on the way out of my room in an attempt to cover my bruise and take a deep breath, just like I always do before stepping outside whenever I'm in his company.

But this time, there is no-one there.
We're completely alone on the pavement in front of the hotel.

"How?" I ask for the second time in a very short period, but he just turns his head from side to side again.

Right. No questions.

I see a black SUV with tinted windows driving towards us, and immediately recognize it as Luke's car. When the car comes to a stop in front of us, Hunter opens the car door before I get the chance to do so myself. "After you, Mills."

----------

"Hunter...I thought we were two normal people going on a normal date?" I stammer after opening the door that was supposed to bring me to our seats.

"Yeah?"

"This isn't normal." I shake my head and make my way over to one of the six cocktail tables standing in this enormous private suite, running my finger over the tabletop. How can this be his normal? You can easily fit fifty people in this room, even more. Every wall has at least one gigantic flat screen attached to it. Multiple seating areas fill up the room, every one of them with different, but all very cozy looking couches.

And then there's the view. The wall in front of me is made entirely out of glass. Mirrored windows apparently, because the girl who is checking herself out in front of me doesn't move when I wave at her.

Hunter appears beside me and gives her a wave too. Still nothing.
Poor girl. She doesn't have a clue who's watching her while she's busy checking for lost food between her teeth.

I walk further along the windows, to the other side of the room when Hunter continues our conversation."It is in my world. Did I overdo it?"

"A little, yes," I answer while slowly nodding my head.

"Look, until we go public with this dating thing this is as normal as it's going to get with me in public."

Okay, I guess he has a point there. I can't expect him to walk into a crowded place like this and not get recognized. I'm still baffled we got here without anyone following him.

"What?" I ask when I see him staring at me.

He puts his hand in his neck while biting his lip and looks up at the ceiling. "Figures I happen to like the only girl in the world who isn't impressed by all this."

"Pretty sure I'm not the only one. But you're right. I'm sorry, I didn't want to make you feel bad. It's pretty amazing. It really is. And trust me, I'm more than impressed. You just didn't have to spend all this money to go on a date with me. I would have been happy with a hot dog or a picknick in the park. Anything would have been fine as long as you were there."

Shit. Did I really just say that out loud? 

"That wasn't so hard now, was it?"

I decide to play dumb. "What?"

"Admitting that you like me and that you voluntarily want to spend time with me." He says with the smuggest look on his face.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. Don't make me repeat it." I laugh.
It's one thing to feel it, it's a whole other thing to actually say it to the guy you're slowly falling for.

"Besides, renting this place wasn't half as expensive as moving the whole crew to another hotel and make everyone believe I'm there with them."

"What?"
Well, this is turning out to become a very popular question this evening...

"Is that how you pulled this off?"

"Uh-huh." He hums as he walks over to one of the seating areas that overviews the court. He throws himself onto the couch and pats the cushion next to him. "Join me?"

"No," I say and put my hands on my hips, reinforcing my words. "You can't just say that like it's a normal thing to do. You don't get to move a whole crew against their will just to go on a date with me."

"Chill, Millie. It was nothing."

"Don't you 'Chill Millie'-me. Not this time. How did you explain it to them?"

"That whole no-questions thing didn't last very long now, did it?"

"Ha-ha."
Can someone please remind me why I agreed to go on this date again?

"Lighten up, Millie. I'm not going to fight you on our first date." He says while keeping his eyes fixated on the court where the Chicago Bulls and Portland Trailblazers are warming up.

"Do you do this for every girl you take out? If so, you're going to be broke very soon..."

"No. I never had to."

"Oh."

"And I never wanted to."

"Oh?"

"And now just sit your difficult ass next to me, the game is about to start."

"Fine," I huff and heavily sit down on the spot he was patting minutes ago.

He pulls me closer to him and kisses the top of my head, making my heart immediately skip a beat.

Great... I guess this means I'm officially done for.