Nonexistent

~Chapter Twenty-Seven~

Stepping back, I gave her a thin, apologetic smile, but the one she gave me was understanding, and she grasped my hand gently between her own. Glancing down at the bag in my hands, she gestured over to the small table that already had a small stack of gifts. "Go ahead and set them over there with the others, you guys will be doing your little exchange later on after dinner. Food should be ready in about twenty minutes, if you'd like you can go find the boys, I'm sure they're hiding in either Hunter's room or the living room."

My smile widened, and I nodded, stepping away to set down the bag as she gave Harper a hug, giving her what I assumed were similar directions to me. As I wandered around, I glanced at the decorations lining most of the walls, and the sparkling Christmas tree as the brilliant center piece, hovering close to the lit fire, but not close enough to catch fire.

I trailed my fingers on the edges of the needles from the tree, observing some of the ornaments that looked like a child had made them. One of the two boys likely had, and as I shifted, I saw what looked to be a picture of younger Hunter, sand covering his hair and most of his face, with the brightest grin I had ever seen as he stood partially drenched in water at the beach. My smile turned almost wistful, tracing a finger on the rim of the small picture frame.

"I was six." I whirled around, facing Hunter who stood leaning against the large archway that lead to the main hallway. "I had been trying to build a sandcastle, spilled my bucket of water from trying to run and then tripped. I remember my mother hovering, worrying I would hurt myself, and my dad just started laughing, so I did too, and he took that." I turned my head back to the ornament.

Smirking slightly, I spoke just loud enough for him to hear, "You were cute." His eyebrow raised, but I could also see the slight flush to his cheeks in the warm light from the fireplace.

"Were?" I nodded, trying to keep the grin off my face.

"Yep, those were definitely your better days." He shrugged off the wall, stepping towards me until he was close enough that I could smell the faint cologne he was wearing. My own eyebrow raised as he tilted his chin down to lock his eyes with my own.

"Oh really?" His minty breath fanned over my face slightly, and I tried not to flinch backwards at the change in his tone.

"Mhm," my tongue darted out to lick my chapped lips, regretting having not put chapstick on before leaving my house. I watched his eyes flicker downwards at the movement, and he shifted closer.

"Hunter! C'mon man, your mom's called you like four times, she wants you help setting up the table." Oliver's voice echoed down the hallway, and I jerked backwards, stumbling over in my haste. Hunter's hand darted out to grab my wrist, hauling me back to an upright position with his cheeks a dark pink.

He turned his head to call over his shoulder, "I'll be there in a sec!" He gave me a shy smile before walking out of the room.

Once I was sure he was gone, I placed my hand over my rapidly beating heart, attempting to calm both my racing heart and my fast breaths. It took me several moments to settle, and I could hear Mrs. Brooks calling out that dinner was ready. Steeling myself, I took a deep breath and started making my way to the dining room.

***

Dinner was a lovely affair, the large feast Mrs. Brooks had prepared was amazing, and by far the best home cooked meal I had had in years. The table had been full of chatter, and I was sat between Harper and Jason on one end of the large table, with Logan on Harper's other side and the others scattered about. Hunter had been across from me, and took to nudging my foot with his own occasionally, resulting in me sending him small glares in between polite conversation.