We pulled into the diner a half hour later and I waited for Graham to pull up next to me before I got out. The third set of headlights had followed us all the way to the diner and it was making me nervous. When Graham got out, he walked around to my door, watching the parking lot as he did so. When he opened my door, I could feel the unease coursing through him.
“You saw it too?” I asked.
“Yeah.”
“Do you think it was Seth?” I asked nervously.
“I’m not sure. I couldn’t see. Do you want to report him?”
“Not yet. Even if it was him, he’s not really doing anything wrong.”
“Lucy, he followed you out to your car and I saw him gripping your arm. He was being rough. Just do me a favor and don’t go to your car alone anymore. Let me know when you need to leave and I’ll walk you.”
“I’m sure you’re overreacting, but I’ll do that.”
“Alright. Let’s go grab some food.”
We went inside, but I couldn’t help looking around the parking lot as we walked in. I had an uneasy feeling, but I didn’t see anything unusual, so I shook it off and sat down with Graham.
“So, there really is a convention coming up in Philadelphia. It’s supposed to be very interesting.”
“What are they lecturing on?”
“There’s a bunch of different things. Most of them are training seminars for teachers, but then there are a few guest lecturers that really get into how to engage students and get them interested in the subjects you’re teaching. I’m pretty psyched for it.”
“Can you send me the information? I’d love to go if I can.”
“Sure, I can-”
“Looks like I’m interrupting something.”
That voice. So dark and deep, it instantly wet my panties. I looked up into Hunter’s beautiful eyes and glared at him. I had to keep up my defenses around him. He had the power to totally disarm me if I wasn’t careful.
“Hunter, what are you doing here?”
“What people usually do in a diner. I’m here to eat. I didn’t realize you would be here, let alone on a date,” he said with disdain. I watched as his eyes flicked over Graham, judging him and by extension, me for being here with him. Graham was a great guy and didn’t deserve the ridicule.
“Uh, I think I’ll use the restroom,” Graham said, excusing himself for me to deal with Hunter. I smiled at him gratefully, but that smile faded when Hunter took his seat opposite me.
“What are you doing here? Did you follow me?”
“No. I came to eat dinner. I’m meeting Derek here.”
“Why do I not believe you?”
“I don’t give a shit if you believe me. What’s with that guy anyway?”
“What do you mean? He’s a colleague.”
“And the beard?”
“I think it looks sexy,” I said defensively. Honestly, I didn’t really care for the beard, but I didn’t like that Hunter was being so cruel to a man he didn’t even know.
“He looks like a fucking lumberjack. He’s trying too hard.”
“Because he has a beard?”
“All these young guys nowadays, they grow fucking beards because they think they’re cool. They look fucking ridiculous.”
“And I suppose only someone like yourself is allowed to grow a beard?”
“When was the last time you saw me with a beard? I may not shave every day, but I don’t let my facial hair grow so long that I look like I belong in the wilderness.”
“What’s your problem? Why do you have to be so critical of him?”
“The man has a fucking man bun. I’m not being critical. I’m saying what the fuck is that? No self-respecting man wears a bun and grows a beard that long. It’s like he can’t decide if he’s a man or woman.”
“You’re just jealous because he’s here with me.”
“He wants you and I already told you that you were mine.”
“And I told you that we’re over. Besides, we’re just friends.”
He snorted, shaking his head at me. “He wants inside your pants and if you think otherwise, you’re blind.”
“Well, maybe I want him inside my pants.”
His face turned lethal, but before he could say anything, Graham was back.
“Everything okay here?”
“Fine. Hunter was just leaving.”
Hunter glared at me, obviously unhappy with my dismissal, but stood and held out his hand for Graham to sit down.
“I’d suggest the lasagna, but I don’t think that’d be a good idea for you,” he said to Graham. “It’d probably get stuck in your beard.”
He walked away, leaving me mortified and speechless.
“Nice guy,” Graham smirked.
“I’m really sorry.”
“Don’t be. Some guys just don’t know when to walk away. It’s obvious he wants you, but I take it you don’t want him?”
“It’s complicated,” I said, wishing that I didn’t have to say anything about Hunter to Graham. I really liked Graham and thought there could be something between us. I just hoped that Hunter hadn’t scared him off. “Should we order?”
He nodded and we went back to talking about the conference, but I couldn’t help but notice Hunter sitting at a table not too far from us with Derek. At least Derek was nice enough to leave me alone while I sat here with Graham. Although, he did look at me and raise an eyebrow as he shook his head. Apparently, Derek didn’t like him either.
When we left the diner, Graham walked me to my car and I noticed a man sitting in a car beneath the street light. I couldn’t tell what he looked like from a distance, but the car looked familiar. I squinted to try and see better, but I couldn’t make out who it was.
“Do you want me to follow you home?”
I looked over to see him staring in the same direction. “I’m sure it’s nothing.”
“Still, I would feel better if I made sure you got home safe.”
“Thank you. I appreciate that.”
He followed me home, but everything seemed normal when I parked my car. I waved him off and headed inside for the night. At my door, there was note that I figured was from the super. I unlocked my apartment door and threw the note on the counter, along with my purse. After taking a quick shower, I threw on some pajamas and picked up the note.
He’s not good enough for you.
What the hell did that mean? Who wasn’t good enough for me? Hunter. Damn him. Of course, this was his way of trying to keep my mind on him and not Graham. The difference was, Graham actually spoke to me whereas Hunter just demanded everything from me. I was so tired of these games he was playing with me. I just wanted him to let me go. Not only did I have to deal with Hunter inserting himself into my life whenever he could, I also had to deal with Seth Mackenrow following me around like a creeper.
Over the next week, I made sure to leave as soon as possible from school and took everything I could home with me so I wasn’t stuck late at night. However, I still had to maintain office hours and that occasionally put me at the school later than I would have liked. I thought about asking Hunter to get me some Mace, but I didn’t want him to start worrying about me. He would probably insist on having someone follow me to and from school and that wasn’t going to happen, especially when I wasn’t sure if there was even anything to worry about.
CHAPTER FOUR
Hunter
“WHO’S THE DOUCHEBAG?” Derek asked as he sat across from me in the diner. I couldn’t take my eyes off Lucy and Man Bun. She actually liked that asshole? His pants were tighter than most women wore. And he had on those oversized tennis shoes that didn’t do anything but get in your way when you walked. He was obviously younger than me. Lucy was thirty, which was only five years younger than me, but still, I didn’t take her for the type to date an asshole like that.
“A colleague.”
“He’s a teacher?” Derek asked incredulously. “What does he teach? Demystifying the Hipster?”
“What?”
He nodded. “You wouldn’t believe that shit, but it’s an actual college course.”
“What do you think she sees in a guy like that?” I said, nodding over to Man Bun.
“I don’t know, but I bet he waxes.”
I pulled my gaze from Lucy to glare at Derek. “Don’t start that shit.”
“What? I’m just saying, the ladies like it. Maybe you need to find out if it’s something she likes.”
“I already know what she likes and I can guarantee he doesn’t have one as big as mine.”
“It’s not all about size these days. Now women want you to share your feelings and shit.”
“So, if a dude has a small dick and doesn’t know how to use it, he’ll still get the girl if he can be sensitive?”
Derek shrugged and waved over the waitress. “I don’t know. All of the heroes in Claire’s books are normal. This is a whole new generation of fucked up.”
“What can I get you boys?” the waitress asked. She was maybe in her early twenties, but she referred to us as boys.
“Let me ask you something,” I said, cocking my head in her direction. “What does your generation of women want in a man?”
“What, like a list?”
“Sure.”
“Well, he needs to be sensitive and a gentle lover. He needs to be respectful of my body and realize that I am his equal in every way.”
“Wait,” I said, holding up my hand. “You think women and men are equals in every way?”
“Uh, duh. God created us equal.”
“God also created man to be the protectors and women to bear children. The day a guy pushes a baby out of his dick and women take care of the men, then I’ll believe we’re equals.”
She sneered at me and crossed her arms over her chest. “Did I mention that a man should be sensitive?”
“Okay,” Derek held his hand up. “What else? What about style?”
“What do you mean?”
Derek rolled his eyes at me. “Beard? No beard? Short hair? Long hair?”
“Oh,” she grinned. “I love my man to have long hair. It’s so sexy to grip onto. And beards are all the rage right now.”
“What about manscaping?” he asked.
She turned bright red and smiled. “If I have to keep it clean, so does he.”
“Thanks for the help.” She smiled and walked away without taking our orders. “Told you. That’s what women want now.”
“You’re taking the word of waitress Barbie?”
“Hey, you heard her. And even if she does look like a fucking Barbie doll, that chick is hot. She could get any guy she wants and she just told you exactly what she’s looking for.”
I looked back at Lucy as she laughed at something Man Bun said and sneered. “How the hell am I supposed to compete with that? He’s practically melting all over her.”
“That’s the point. He’s playing his strengths, the same way you do. But his strengths are charming the fairer sex. Yours are getting them into bed. You need to combine the two if you’re going to get her back.”
“That’s what I’ve been trying to do, but she won’t listen to me. I’ve been telling her she’s mine and she refuses to listen.”
“You can’t fucking tell her she’s yours. You have to show her that you’re hers in every way and eventually she’ll come around.”
“It would be easier if I could just hit her over the head and drag her back to my place.”
“Yeah, that probably would be easier, but it also comes with a felony kidnapping charge.”
✯✯✯✯✯
Three days later and my face was itching like crazy. I shaved every fucking morning, but for the last three days, I hadn’t shaved once. At first, I told the guys that I hadn’t had time that morning. The next day, I said I just hadn’t felt like shaving that morning. This morning however, I didn’t know what fucking excuse I was going to use. I was scratching so much that everyone would know that it wasn’t just laziness. How did guys stand to have hair all over their faces? This was ridiculous.
I walked into Reed Security and I got a few stares, but the worst of it came when I entered the conference room for our meeting. Most of the guys were already in there and after a moment of silence, they all started laughing at me.
“What the fuck are you doing?” Cazzo asked.
“I’m trying a new look.”
“Yeah, I can see that, but you don’t have any hair on your head and now you’re growing a fucking beard. You’re going to look like a Guru or something. We could get you a turban and you’d fit right in,” Cazzo laughed.
“That’s real fucking hilarious.” I gave him the middle finger and sat down.
Derek walked in and shook his head as he looked at my unshaven face. “I didn’t say that you should grow a beard like that asshole.”
“What asshole?” Burg asked.
“This guy Lucy was at the diner with the other night. He had a beard that would rival any lumberjack and a fucking man bun,” Derek laughed.
“Shit,” Chance shook his head. “A guy can’t fucking compete anymore. All these women nowadays want sensitive men that look like fucking douchenozzles. Whatever happened to real men?”
“They’re all sitting in this fucking room,” Cazzo grumbled.
“You know what you need to do?” Sinner said. “You need to have a barbecue. Get all of us together and invite her over with Claire. She’ll be reminded what real men look like.”
“You just want me to feed you,” I shot back.
He shrugged and smirked. “Two birds with one stone.”
“I could bring her with Claire,” Derek suggested. “We’ll just say that we’re going to a party. She doesn’t need to know where.”
“You really think it would work?” I asked the guys.
They all nodded their agreement and the more I thought about it, the more I liked the idea. “Alright. We’ll do it this Friday night.”
“Ooh, Friday’s no good for me,” Cazzo said. “I’m taking Vanessa to an art exhibit in Pittsburgh.”
I rolled my eyes at him. “Fine, Saturday.”
“I’ve got a date Saturday,” Chance shook his head.
“So, bring her over.”
“Sorry, I’ve got tickets to the Opera. This girl’s a classy lady.”
“Sunday?” I looked around the table. “Or do you have plans to get your hair done?”
“Hey,” Sinner scoffed. “Don’t look at me. I may have handed over my balls to Cara, but there’s no fucking way I’d be caught dead doing that shit.”
Chance smirked at Sinner. “Hey, laugh all you want, but I got box seats. While you assholes are sitting around with your thumb up your ass, I’m gonna be getting a blowjob to Pavarotti.”
“Pavarotti’s dead,” Cazzo pointed out.
“Seriously?” Chance quirked an eyebrow. “She said she just saw Classical Eros Featuring Pavarotti.”
Sinner barked out a laugh and held out his phone to Chance. “She talking about fucking porn.” Chance grabbed the phone from him and clicked the link on the phone. Moans filled the air to the singing of The Three Tenors. “Oh, fuck. I already bought the tickets. Those things cost a fortune.”
“Maybe she’ll perform some of those acts on you during the show,” Sinner smirked.
“Fuck. I can’t believe I wasted my money on that. I could have had her on her back at my place, streaming porn.”
“So, Sunday then? Nobody has any objections?”
“Just shave the rat off your face before then,” Cazzo laughed.
I flipped him the bird and hoped to God that this worked.
✯✯✯✯✯
I had everything in place on Sunday. The grill was going and I had gotten the beer that Lucy liked, thinking she would definitely be impressed that I remembered. The guys started showing up with their wives and girlfriends around three and every time someone walked in, my eyes shot up, excited to see Lucy. I was at the grill, flipping the
steaks when I heard her voice.
“I still can’t believe you didn’t tell me the party was at Hunter’s place.”
“Huh,” Derek said. “It must have slipped my mind. I’m pretty sure I would have mentioned it had I known you were going to bring Man Bun.”
My head whipped up as I saw Lucy walking toward me with a scowl on her face. Derek was shaking his head and Man Bun was setting something on the table with Claire. I narrowed my eyes, trying to see what he brought and rolled my eyes when I saw it was white wine spritzer. Seriously? I couldn’t believe she brought this asshole. Of course, the women all flocked to him and praised him for his choice of beverage.
“Hunter,” Lucy said as she approached me. “I hope you don’t mind, but I brought Graham.”
“Sure,” I bit out. “The more the merrier.”
I flipped the steaks and tried not to slam the lid shut on the grill. My day may be ruined, but I wasn’t about to ruin the food. Steak was practically its own food group. I walked over to Derek with my beer and watched as Lucy and Claire laughed with Man Bun.
“Sorry. She just showed up with him.”
I shrugged. “Whatever. Not much I can do about it if she wants to be with that prick.”
Chance walked over and slapped me on the back. “Well, that kind of backfired.”
“No shit.”
“It could be worse,” he said.
“How do you figure?”
“He could have brought friends with him.”
He was right about that. The last thing we needed were more guys like him. A few hours later, I had successfully avoided Lucy and Man Bun for most of the party. I really just wanted them to leave so I didn’t have to watch him fawning over her. She obviously liked him. I could see that they had good conversation and she didn’t look the least bit uncomfortable around him. It fucking sucked to watch. Then, just about the time I was thinking they were going to leave, the douchebag came over and sat down with me and the guys.
Hunter: A Reed Security Romance Page 6