No Rules To Love

Chapter Twenty Seven:

After Ashley made me realise I did, in fact, love Hunter, a tremendous weight lifted off my shoulders. I also figured that my rules were absolute crap. I was doing quite well in my career so far (even getting a single audition was doing well) and I was in love with someone. It seemed that I was having the best of both worlds at that very moment.

I sat on the sofa, all dressed up, my legs jiggling in anticipation. Although I saw him almost every day, the thought of seeing Hunter again — especially in a date capacity — excited me. I was also a little apprehensive. Would things be different between Hunter and me now that I knew I was in love with him?

I realised I was about to find out because the doorbell rang. My legs stopped still and so did my heart.

Even after the months of knowing Hunter, he still caused these reactions in me.

I stood up and smoothed down my dress before grabbing my small bag and opening the door.

There Hunter stood, looking as amazing as ever. Instead of the usual smile that he had plastered across his face when he saw me, his expression was that of a worrier. He seemed perturbed, as if he were over-thinking something.

"You okay?" I asked him. Straight away, I was on edge and worried I had forgotten to do something. "Is something wrong?"

He shook himself from the strange reverie that he seemed to be in and flashed me a quick smile. I still wasn't completely at ease, though.

"Oh, nothing," he replied with a serene smile. "I was just trying to remember how to get to this restaurant. Not been in a while, you see."

I nodded, but I didn't quite believe him. But I would not dwell on it for too long, as I didn't want to ruin our night. It was probably nothing anyway. My overthinking brain always got the better of me.

"Anyway, let's go, milady," Hunter said, holding out his arm.

"You know, for an actor, your British accent is terrible." I laughed as I looped my arm through his. We then started our walk to the restaurant. Hunter chuckled in response to my quip. "If you do get the part, I have no idea how you're going to cope in Once. I mean, that's an Irish accent!"

Hunter's chuckling ceased as he went, "Yeah."

I knew I'd hit a nerve somehow, but I did not know why. Maybe he didn't get the part, and he was feeling slightly bitter about it. But that would have required him to audition and he would have told me he had gone for one.

Wouldn't he?

I didn't ask him about it, because clearly this was a touchy subject and I didn't want to push it. He'd tell me in his own time. Though I couldn't keep the thought from nagging away at me. If we were in this strange, so far unlabelled relationship, why wouldn't he tell me what was on his mind?

We continued walking to the restaurant in companionable yet slightly awkward silence. Though he had his doubts initially, he seemed to know exactly where he was going.

"I forgot to tell you before," Hunter piped up, startling me for a second. "You're looking beautiful tonight."

His words startled me even more. Although Hunter's compliments weren't rare, compliments about my appearance made me uncomfortable. Of course, I blushed, and I averted my eyes to the floor.

"Thank you," I mumbled around a small smile.

I saw a brightly lit building ahead, and we travelled in the direction of it. The whole of the wall was glass. Curiosity got the better of me and I peered in. I saw couples and families sat at wooden tables, tucking into what looked like delicious food. Dangling from the ceiling were lampshades, which lit up the whole place, giving it a good ambience.