The Boy on the Bridge

by Sam Mariano

  “Oh my God, you guys, can you believe she did that? She’s crazy.”

  Angelina shakes her head, examining her nails. “She’s so fucking crazy. Like Hunter would even care about her making out with his best friend. Everyone knows he only has eyes for Riley.”

  Melina rolls her eyes. “She’s such an idiot.”

  “She’s jealous is what she is,” Angelina says. Glancing at me, she says, “When he took you to that ball in New York, she lost her everloving shit. You might’ve noticed by the lighted display up front, but she has serious crown envy. She knows Hunter’s the closest thing to a real prince she’ll ever get her claws into. She could’ve killed you, honestly.”

  “Like, of course he’s going to take his girlfriend to the ball, Valerie,” Melina says, rolling her eyes. “What did she expect?”

  “It’s psychotic behavior, honestly,” Angelina says.

  I’m still uncomfortable with their serpentine natures and how easily they jump from team to team, but they’re not answering the only question I have. “Why did Anderson get involved?”

  Melina’s eyes light up. She grabs my arm, like this morsel is too delicious and she can’t stand it. “Oh my God, they’re fucking. Did you not know?”

  “Jesus, Melina, you don’t have to be so crass,” Angelina tells her. Her gaze flits to me. “But yeah, they’re totally doing it. It started because she was so mad about you sleeping with her boyfriend, she decided to do the same thing to you, but then it didn’t really work because… I mean, when you can have Hunter Maxwell, honestly, who cares what your exes are up to?”

  “He wasn’t your ex yet, though,” Melina says quickly, searching my face for any sign that I might be upset. “The first time she blew him was after her party. It was her idea to get you two back together. He didn’t even want to date you, she made him do it.”

  Angelina nudges her friend, eyes widening at her overstep. “Tone it down, Melina. God.” Looking back at me, she says, “Sorry, Riles. That was an ugly way to tell you. Melina needs to learn to check her gleeful schadenfreude.”

  Gleeful schadenfreude is redundant. Schadenfreude is, by its very definition, gleeful. And rooted in low self-esteem. No wonder Sherlock doesn’t like her. Melina should probably talk to somebody about her issues. Not for Sherlock’s benefit, but so she can be a happier person.

  Wait, why is that what I’m focusing on?

  My tummy feels a little rocky. My chest feels a little tight, but I’m not entirely sure why. It’s not like I have any feelings left for Anderson, but I can’t deny it’s a bit humiliating to hear.

  And I didn’t even suspect anything. I knew we weren’t talking much after we got back together, but I can’t believe…

  “I guess that means she cheated on you, too, huh?” Melina poses, frowning at Hunter.

  He’s not fazed by this news at all, but he is watching me to see if I am.

  I’m thrown by it, I’m not gonna lie.

  Once the shock subsides, though, I can’t say I care all that much. If anything, I find it kinda sad that Valerie was so hellbent on revenge, she fucked someone she probably didn’t even like just to try to hurt me.

  I also think it’s a touch poetic that Hunter didn’t even have to take her down. She did it to herself.

  It’s hard to imagine her rebounding from this when Melina and Angelina have decided to frame it this way. People are viewing what she did with ridicule, and that might be the final blow to her popular status.

  She should’ve just let it go.

  Melina and Angelina keep gossiping, but Hunter grabs me and hauls me away.

  “Are you all right?” he asks.

  I glance up at him. “Yeah. Why wouldn’t I be?”

  “The Anderson stuff…”

  I shrug. “It’s gross, but I don’t care. It’s his business who he bangs. I did get suspicious that he was attracted to her at homecoming, but…” I look up at him, smiling faintly. “It only really bothers me to think that you are.”

  “I’m not,” he says firmly, stopping me and grabbing my arm so he can pull me close. “You know that, right?”

  I look up at him and nod. “Yeah, I know that.”

  “Good.” He bends to kiss me. “You’re the only woman in the world as far as I’m concerned.”

  I try to smile, but I know it’s not very bright. “Now I’m wondering if I ever kissed him after she did and thinking maybe I should just cut my lips off and try to grow new ones.”

  Hunter smirks, grazing the sensitive seam of my lips with his blunt fingertip. “Gonna have to overrule you there. I love these lips.”

  “I guess it doesn’t matter if he did or not,” I mutter, dropping his gaze. “It’s not like I haven’t kissed lips that have touched hers. I’ve kissed you.”

  His brow furrows. I see it out of the corner of my eyes, but I don’t look up at him.

  Dammit.

  It’s like the ghost of Valerie Johnson is always lurking in the shadows, waiting for an opportunity to pop up and haunt me.

  “Hey,” he says, catching me under the chin and trying to force my gaze back to his.

  I still don’t look at him. “I shouldn’t have said that,” I say, not really wanting to talk about it.

  “It’s what you were thinking. I don’t want you to hold back what you’re thinking. I just… wish you weren’t thinking that.”

  “I wish I didn’t have a reason to.” I finally let my gaze flicker to his, but I regret it when I see the guilty look on his face. It feels like a knife to the gut.

  I don’t want to keep making him feel bad, I really don’t.

  I know he feels bad for what he did. I know he can’t change it. I wish I knew how to stop digging up the grave, but… maybe I don’t. Maybe I can’t.

  I told him I’d never let it go. I knew it was beyond my capabilities, that’s why I warned him.

  Not her.

  Sighing heavily, I look up at him. “Do we really have to stay at this dance until it’s over?”

  His dark gaze is much dimmer now as he shakes his head. “No,” he says softly. “We can leave if you want to.”

  I feel even worse making him leave, but now I’m so caught up in frustration and disappointment… I really just want to go home.

  Hunter calls the car a little early.

  Once we’re inside, I ask him, “Can you take me to my house instead of yours?”

  He frowns. “I thought you were spending the night.”

  I don’t want to.

  I know I can’t say no if he forces the issue, but I also know he won’t really make me do something I don’t want to do. I call our arrangement a game for a reason. It’s a loophole he found that we can live in, not a real prison.

  “I’d like to go home,” I tell him, my tone faintly apologetic.

  His mouth turns down a bit grimly, but he nods and gives the driver my address.

  “I’m sorry,” I say, placing my hand over his on the seat.

  He moves his hand, but only so he can wrap his arm around my shoulders. He pulls me into him and kisses my forehead. “You don’t have to be sorry.”

  “This isn’t how I wanted this night to go.”

  “It’s not a big deal,” he assures me, turning over my hand on my lap so my palm is facing up. Lightly dragging his fingertips down the center of my palm, he lights up my nerve endings, leaving me a little breathless. “I didn’t really want to spend tonight alone, but if that’s what you need…”

  My heart contracts. He knew it would. I look over at him, narrowing my eyes. “I know what you’re doing.”

  Feigning innocence, he continues with that featherlight touch, enslaving my body and tempting it to turn on me. “What? Telling my beautiful girlfriend how much I’ll miss her company tonight?”

  “My mom’s right,” I mutter, letting my eyes fall shut. “You are a manipulator.”

  He leans close, gently touching his perfect lips to the shell of my ear and sending a whole new wave of shivers danc
ing down my spine. “I have an idea.”

  “What’s that?” I murmur, my eyes still closed.

  “What are you going to do when you get home tonight?”

  “Probably make some hot chocolate and watch a Christmas movie with my mom. Possibly also with Ray.”

  “Is your mom expecting you?”

  “No, she thinks I’m staying with you.”

  He murmurs a noise that sounds like satisfaction as he kisses his way toward my jawline. “Perfect. So, what if we do this? We’ll go to my house so I can change into something more comfortable. Then, since the only issue is that you don’t want to fuck me, I can come back to your house with you. We can watch a Christmas movie together with your mom and Ray. I have no problem with Christmas movies.”

  We both know if he gets me inside his house, I’m not leaving until morning.

  We both know that, but… his featherlight caress is weakening my resolve. With a sigh of defeat, I tell him, “Fine. We can go to your house first.”

  Hunter grins, leaning in and kissing me right on the mouth, then he says, “Driver. Slight change in plans.”

  Slight change in plans is right.

  I sigh, turning my body slightly so I can lean against his muscular chest. “You always get what you want, don’t you?”

  His hand covers mine against his chest. He kisses my forehead, but when he answers, his tone is more somber than I expect given his victory.

  “No. Not always.”

  Chapter Sixty Nine

  Hunter

  I’ve always considered it funny that a man should ever feel nervous before proposing to a woman.

  After all, why would you ask someone to marry you if you weren’t sure what her answer would be?

  I understand it today.

  Graduation day.

  This year has been full of surprises, rife with twists and turns.

  There was a bit of a learning curve when it came to figuring out how to hold onto Riley. Ray had it right when he told me that getting a Bishop woman into a traditional committed relationship is like trying to nail down air. Didn’t stop either one of us from grabbing a hammer and getting to work, but they damn sure don’t make it easy.

  That’s all right.

  I don’t need Riley to be easy; I only need her to be mine.

  She has been, but today might be the last day.

  I knew I had until graduation to show her how it could be between us, and I think I have. We’ve made great memories and enjoyed the hell out of each other, I know that.

  I’ll always remember waking up with her in Italy with the sun shining in on her through the window of my dad’s estate. The way her cute little freckled nose wrinkled up as she laughed at something her mom said to Ray when we had dinner with them at the winery. I’ll never forget the way Riley lightly sucked on her fingertip after tasting a particularly delicious cube of cheese and her big blue eyes accidentally met mine across the table. The way my fingers dug into her flesh as I hauled her against me in the bedroom afterward, pulling up the fabric of her sundress, needing more than anything to get inside her.

  There are a lot of things I’ll never forget.

  I’ll never be satisfied with mere memories of Riley, though.

  I’m too greedy. I want more of them. I want her future, too. I want to be a part of every memory she ever makes.

  She’s the love of my life, and I think I’m hers, too, I’m just worried that might not be enough.

  I look down at the blue jewelry box cradled in my hand as I sit on the bridge behind my house and wait for her. She was still taking pictures with her mom and Ray after graduation. Neither of my parents showed up, so once I took pictures with Riley and her family, I left.

  I asked her to meet me here after.

  She knew why.

  She knows she has a decision to make.

  She might not know I’m going to propose. I kinda hope she doesn’t, because while she did agree to meet me here after, her eyes weren’t bright with excitement. It was a nervous kind of look, like she knew… it might be the end for us.

  My chest tightens. I rub at it absently, looking down into the water.

  I should’ve picked a later end date. Given myself more time. Maybe I should’ve told her she had to stay mine through the summer, too.

  I fucking hate this feeling, this ache. I’m not afraid of much, but I’m fucking terrified right now.

  Riley’s quiet and unassuming if you don’t know her, so she should be able to sneak up on me, but I’m too aware of her. I feel it in the air when she’s near the bridge. I shove the ring box into my pocket so she doesn’t see it.

  I don’t stand up and meet her halfway, though. I let her come to me.

  She walks over and sits down next to me.

  She has finally changed out of her graduation robe. I teased her that she’d probably steal it. She was so happy to be walking around in that big, baggy thing, so proud of the bright yellow stole draped around her neck, proclaiming to the world that she was at the very top of her graduating class.

  Valedictorian.

  She should be proud. She certainly worked hard enough for it.

  I know I’m proud of her nerdy little ass.

  “Hey,” she says, dangling her legs over the edge. She’s wearing a blue dress, so her legs are mostly bare.

  “Hey,” I say back.

  “Why’d you leave?” she asks. “We were still taking pictures.”

  “Eh. I usually take a fee for that kind of work. You can’t afford me.”

  She smiles, leaning over and bumping her shoulder into mine. “Girlfriend privileges clearly state that you have to waive your fee for me. If I want to shove a camera in your handsome face five hours a day, you have to let me.”

  I shake my head, looking down at the water. “Sounds like a raw deal. What do I get out of it?”

  “Me,” she says lightly. “Isn’t that enough?”

  She was joking, but I’m not. “More than enough.”

  She smiles, looking over at me. She cocks her head, watching my face, then she reaches over to lovingly caress my jaw. “Why do you look sad?”

  “I am a little sad,” I admit.

  “Why?”

  “Graduation day.”

  She nods, then leans her head on my shoulder. “Don’t be sad,” she murmurs, but I take it more as she doesn’t want me to be sad than I don’t have a reason to be.

  I wrap my arm around her and pull her closer.

  She told me once that choosing to be with me now would mean sacrificing her own self-respect. I know Riley loves me. I know she loves me a lot.

  I do not know that she’s going to make that sacrifice for me. If she still feels that way…

  Well, then today is not going to be a very good day.

  I don’t want to draw it out, though. I want to get this part over and done with so I know where we’re going next.

  I reach over and touch her face, pulling her focus away from the water. She turns her head toward me, her big blue eyes meeting mine.

  She doesn’t look as anxious as I feel about all this, but she doesn’t have the sparkle I thought she would if she came here to tell me good news, either.

  I truly don’t know what to expect. I can’t tell what she’s feeling.

  I need to connect with her.

  I graze her bottom lip with the blunt end of my thumb, watching her face as her eyes close and she takes a big breath. I love her sighs of pleasure.

  I lean in to kiss her, but before I do, I rest my forehead against hers and just enjoy being this close to her.

  “Are you gonna kiss me, or do I have to do it?” she teases.

  A smile tugs at my lips. I open my eyes and look into hers. “Be patient, Catnip.”

  “What are you waiting for?” she asks.

  I consider for a moment whether or not I want to answer. I don’t want to wipe the easy smile off her face, but I don’t want either of us to lie to ourselves about the significance of this m
oment, either.

  Finally, I tell her, “I figure if this is going to be the last time I ever kiss you, it better be a good one.”

  Her face falls and it hits me in the gut. “Hunter,” she says softly, her hand rising to cup my face.

  I lean in, closing the small distance between us and tasting her lips. Maybe because I said that, the kiss is a little needier, a little more bittersweet. It tastes like fractured innocence. It has the tang of salty tears and heady regret.

  All I wanted was to build us a ship that couldn’t sink, but I know I splintered a lot of wood in the process. I know what it could cost me.

  Cost us, because whether she ultimately chooses to be with me or not, I don’t think anyone could ever love Riley more than I love her. It’s not possible.

  My lips leave hers, but our faces stay close. Riley blinks up at me, her eyes full of sadness I know I put there.

  I caused all of this, and I fucking hate that.

  Swallowing, I look at her pretty face, drag my thumb across her full bottom lip.

  Words usually come pretty easily to me, but right now I’m struggling with what I want to say, how I want to say it.

  “I want you to know that meeting you was the best thing that ever happened to me.”

  Those words are harder to get out than I thought they’d be, so I stop, even though I don’t mean to.

  “Hunter,” Riley says, her eyes filling with tears.

  I shake my head. “Let me say this.”

  Her brow furrows. A big tear sneaks out of the corner of her eye, but she nods.

  I use my thumb to wipe that tear off her pretty face. “I know I hurt you. It’s the worst thing I’ve ever done. Certainly the most selfish thing I’ve ever done, and it has a lot of competition there, but…” I glance down, then look back at her. “When we were in middle school, you didn’t scare me. Maybe it’s because I didn’t know enough to be scared. I was young, I didn’t know anything.”

  I look down.

  Riley caresses my jaw, a comforting gesture I don’t deserve.

  Meeting her gaze again, I tell her, “I’ve done a lot of shit to you over the years, Riley. It’s crazy that you still care about me at all, let alone love me like you do.”