No Rules To Love

Chapter Thirteen:

"I can't believe you've finally graduated!" Mum exclaimed, pulling me in for a hug. This must have been the tenth hug in the past fifteen minutes. My mother also kept repeating that same sentence over and over again, so I gave her the same response by default.

"Me neither!" I said, around a blocked throat. I had a blocked throat for two reasons. The first being that I was trying to fight tears that were threatening to surface, but I refused to cry today. I wanted to be strong, plus Ashley would kill me if I ruined my make-up. And the second reason was that my mum was hugging me so tightly that I could barely breathe, let alone reply.

"I think it's time you let Talia breathe now." Dad chuckled whilst patting my mum on the shoulder. Mum let go of me at once, mumbling an apology, and she stepped away. Dad looked at me with a smile in his eyes and his arms were wide open. "Do you mind if your old man gets a hug? Only I won't squeeze you as tight as your mum did."

I grinned. "Of course you can get a hug." I stepped into my father's arms and they embraced me. I was always a little bit of a Daddy's Girl at heart, but that didn't mean that I loved my mum any less. It only meant that I appreciated my dad's hugs a little bit more than my mother's. Dad's hugs were a lot less frequent and bone-crushing.

We both pulled away. Even my dad looked a little choked up at the prospect of his little girl graduating from university. I couldn't look at him for much longer, in fear that I would start bawling my eyes out. For someone quite strong when it came to getting rejected for roles, I was a mess where my family was concerned.

There was a tap on my shoulder. I turned around with a smile on my lips, expecting to see Ashley or Michael. I was ready for them to pull me away for yet another celebratory hug. But when I did see who it was, my good mood didn't falter whatsoever.

Hunter stood there, shuffling from one foot to the other, looking nervous. But he had a small smile dancing around his lips.

"Hi," I grinned, wanting to start the conversation off.

"Hey," he replied. "So that's it, huh? Finally graduated."

"Yep." I smiled in reply.

Well, this was not awkward at all.

Hunter seemed as if he was at a loss for words.

"Congratulations." He finally choked out. His hand had crept up to his neck, and he was scratching it. For someone so confident while he was performing, Hunter seemed uncharacteristically nervous. I had no idea why.

"Thanks." I chuckled. Then I did something quite unexpected, even surprising myself. I pulled Hunter in for a hug.

At first, Hunter seemed a little surprised at my movements and I shocked myself, too. But I figured hugs were flying about everywhere. What's one more added into the mix? Hunter finally decided on how to respond, as his arms came around my back and pulled me closer to him.

It was a brief hug, but it felt strange... In a good way. It wasn't like a hug I had experienced from my family members or even my closest friends. But this felt somehow different, and it was almost impossible to describe.

We threw a tentative smile at each other when we pulled away. I had no idea why we were acting this way. We were having civil conversations as of late, yes, but this felt awkward. It was not like how we usually communicated, arguing or otherwise.

"I forgot to tell you earlier," Hunter broke the silence by saying, looking bashful. "But you're looking great today."

A blush crept its way onto my cheeks. I tried to conceal it with my hair, but I didn't think I had done a decent job of it. Why was I acting this way? All because of a simple compliment from Hunter. I scolded myself for acting like a hormonal teenager.