18 ✓

TWENTY-SIX - PART 1

Reaching over to the driver's side, I pressed my hand against the horn. Right now, I didn't care if the blaring sound coming from the car woke the entire neighbourhood. We agreed to leave the house in an hour and since it was one minute past, he was now officially late. Therefore, the honking was appropriate. The front door of the house swung open and the annoying feeling that fluttered in my stomach only increased as I saw his face.

Hunter locked up the house and made his way to the car. "Impatient this morning, aren't you?"

I rolled my eyes. At least seeing his wet hair provided me with some satisfaction knowing he had to shower after I dumped the contents of Lily's breakfast on his head.

"What the hell are you wearing?"

"What do you mean? Is this not normal clothing?" I asked. Since when did a sweater, jeans, a jacket, and sneakers qualify for such harsh fashion criticism.

Hunter put the key into the ignition and the truck roared to life. "You look like we're about to head into a snowstorm with all those layers on."

"It's cold out!"

"You need to get out of Los Angeles more." He placed his hand on the back of my headrest and looked over his shoulder, reversing the car out of the driveway.

"How long is the drive?"

"As long as there's no traffic... should take us about an hour to get there."

Muttering a sarcastic, "Great," I did my best to suppress the groan of displeasure that bubbled inside, as I focused my attention on looking out the window.

"I'll do my best to get there as quickly as I can," he said, "I can't imagine how hard it will be for you to keep all those thoughts of yours from your dreams last night at bay."

"Why do you act like this?" I snapped, turning my head to view his smug face, "Were you just pretending to be a completely different guy when we were together or something?"

Hunter raised a brow. "I'm sorry?"

"This version of you... the one that makes crude comments and says whatever you can to get under my skin. This isn't the Hunter I-" fell in love with, "know." I noticed his grip on the steering wheel tightened. "So were you just pretending to be an actual decent human being the whole time, or what?"

Hunter remained silent and kept his eyes focused on the road, acting as if he were the only one in the car.

"You promised to tell me everything I wanted to know if I agreed to this stupid plan. Silly me, I thought we would actually follow along with our agreement. If this is how you're going to react to all my questions, then I'll-"

"Isn't it easier for you if I'm the guy you hate?"

"Well, right now, annoying comments or not, I do hate you."

Surprisingly, my remark earned a grin and an amused laugh. "Fair enough," he said, easing the tension in his hands. "I guess for some reason in my head, it makes sense. I know acting that way makes you hate me, so I keep doing it to push you further away."

"Do you really think you're that irresistible? News flash, Hunter. If you act like a decent person, I'm not going to fall to your feet."

He opened his mouth to speak, but instead of uttering any words, he pressed his lips together and nodded. "Noted."

"So could you dial it back with how much you piss me off, then? It's barely been a day and we still have a ways to go before this is all over. I'd rather try and make it as stress-free as possible."