Hunter was exhausted and sweaty. Muscles ached and pained in ways he’d never felt before, but he loved it. River looked similarly mussed. Half of his hair was plastered against flushed skin. His eyes looked just as tired, but he was smiling into his pillow, watching Hunter lazily. Hunter could get used to these quiet moments. Especially if River continued to look at him like that.
He could have stayed there forever, staring at River staring at him. But his urge to pee was strong. Hunter raced off to the bathroom and when he returned, he noticed how dark the room was. It was so late. Hunter dreaded waking up the next morning to take Melodie to school.
Moonlight streamed through the blinds, creating patterns on the wooden floor. The light reflected off of a smile and Hunter noticed a photo he never saw before. Hunter moved closer, crouching down to get a better look.
On the dresser next to the bed was a photo of a woman. She looked tired and exhausted in that hospital bed but happy to be holding the child in her arms. Hunter saw warm dark skin, large doe eyes, and a smile that lights up the room. This was Melodie’s mother.
Hunter heard rustling and looked to find River peering over the bed, staring at the picture.
“What’s her name?” Hunter asked, a soft question cutting through the silence.
“Nia,” River replied distractedly. Then his brows furrowed, eyes focusing on the man crouching on the floor. “I never told you that?”
“You haven’t told me anything about her.”
River looked at the picture frame for another long moment before scooching back. When he started patting the covers as a ‘come here’ signal, Hunter stood up and climbed back onto the bed.
“I’d just started working for Bobby, the guy who used to own my bar, when she started showing up,” River explained. “Nia was a recent college graduate stepping into the corporate sphere. I thought she was gorgeous and she liked my flirting so we started hooking up. And that turned into dating. I think we both liked the freedom. We weren’t exclusive and didn’t expect each other to coddle us or whatever normal couples do. We just existed together.”
“Then she got pregnant.”
River glanced over at the photo again, Nia’s smile and the young baby being reflected in his eyes.
“We had to make a choice. Her mom was a bit of a religious nut so if I wanted to stay in the baby’s life, there was only one option.”
“We-” River cut himself off, laughing at the memory. “We got married in three months and five months after that, we had Melodie.”
“That must have been hard,” Hunter muttered, clenching at the wrinkled sheets. “Creating a marriage and taking care of a baby all at once.”
“It was hard,” River agreed with a cold smile. “But Nia had it harder. She had to take time off to have Melodie. When she got back to work, people treated her differently.”
River paused, his Adam’s apple bobbing with a swallow. His face grew tight and his eyes hard. That’s when Hunter realized that he wasn’t unaffected. He’d loved that woman, whether he would admit it or not.
“I think-” River trailed off, dragging a hand down his face. ” . . . I think that’s why she left.”
“Because her coworkers were mean?”
“Because they’d made her out to be a mom,” he clarified.
Hunter still didn’t understand. She was a mom, how could that title push her away? River noticed Hunter’s confused expression and sighed.
“Nia never wanted to be someone’s mom or someone’s sister or someone’s wife. She wanted to be Nia Benjamin and a family messed that up.”
Hunter glanced at the framed picture, trying to imagine that smiling woman giving River and Melodie up. He could hardly understand it.
“So she left, sent me the divorce papers, and I haven’t seen her since.”
Last year, Hunter would have thought River was unaffected by what Nia did. But now he saw it. He saw his clenched jaw, holding back emotion. He saw his crossed arms, protecting him and his heart. He saw River’s right hand which shook against his consent. Slowly, Hunter wrapped his arms around the shorter man and drew him into a hug.
“I’m so sorry.”
“Don’t be,” River shook his head against Hunter’s shoulder, damp face pressing into fabric. “She wasn’t happy here, I know that now. I just wish Melodie didn’t have to pay for my mistakes.”
Hunter pulled back, holding River’s head between both hands. He needed to stare into his eyes properly. The older man looked defeated, drowned in a guilt from years ago. But Hunter wouldn’t let him. He had to do something. So, he kissed him.
When Hunter pulled back, River looked surprised, dark eyes blinking up at Hunter in confusion.
“You did nothing wrong,” Hunter asserted, his face fierce and determined. “I don’t know her but I know you. I know you made a great husband.”
Hunter brought River into his arms again, hugging him fiercely. River was shocked to realize this is what he’d been missing out on for all these years. He and Nia hated their emotions and avoided them at all costs. Hunter lent into them, unafraid of whatever they brought. He laughed and screamed and cried whenever he felt like it. And he pushed his River to do the same. River hadn’t felt this accepted in a long time.
He pressed his forehead against Hunter’s chest, smiling into the darkness.
“You know, being with you feels like-“
Everything I wanted my marriage to be.
He paused, shocked by how true the words were. Hunter patiently waited for him to finish, grazing a hand up and down the older man’s back.
“It feels good,” River said instead, releasing a shuttered breath. “I’m glad you’re here.”
“I always will be.”
With those words, Hunter kissed him. He pressed their bodies closer together and River clasped his neck. He needed something to hold on to, an anchor in the storm. His mind raced with the thundering realization. His right hand shook against Hunter’s skin.
He loved him.
He loved Hunter.
—————
River was surprisingly well-rested the next day. He didn’t have uncontrollable yawns or stinging eyes. It was probably because when his alarm rang to take Melodie to school, he didn’t get out of bed.
The young CEO kept his promise, promptly getting dressed and getting Melodie ready for school. Later that morning, River got a text informing him that Melodie was ten minutes early that day with breakfast in her belly, lunch in her lunchbox, and two single braids accompanying her typical ponytail. River laughed at the message because he knew Hunter was extra. Of course he added the braids.
Hunter had sent a photo of Melodie’s new hairstyle as proof. She was smiling widely at the camera, holding up a crooked peace sign and her Tiana lunchbox.
Maybe this could work. Maybe . . . River could have it all.
He checked the time, confirming that they hadn’t closed yet. If he hurried, he could get everything updated in time. River slipped through the staff door, going to his office for privacy. Then, he called the school.
Hunter was surprised to receive the text from River, asking him to come over that night. They’d spent all of Saturday and Sunday together. He’d expected River to want some space. But the words were very clear.
Can you come over tonight?
Hunter left the office at 5:30 and was at River’s place by 6:30. The detour came from his stop at his condo to get a change of clothes. It was wishful thinking to imagine that he’d stay over for the third night in a row, but Hunter could hope.
Melodie opened the door using both hands and had to walk backwards to pull it open. Before she could trip on the shoe rack, Hunter reached for her, pulling the child into his arms.
Her ensuing laugh was infectious. Hunter spun her around once before gently placing her on her feet.
“Hi, Hunter,” she grinned, breathing heavily from the excitement.
“Hi, Melodie.”
“Didn’t you have something to show him?”
River’s interjection made his daughter gasp and run out of the room. Hunter looked at the older man who stood at the far end of the room with a curious look, but River only shrugged.
“I can’t ruin her surprise,” he explained. Hunter closed the door behind him and River rushed over, pulling him in for a kiss. Hunter moaned into River’s mouth, dropping his bags and throwing his arms around River’s shoulders in response.
The shorter man pulled back with a small smile, staring at Hunter from underneath his lashes.
“I . . . have a surprise for you too.”
River’s hand slid down and Hunter wondered if the surprise involved unbuttoning his pants. A wonderful idea if not for the child who would return any minute. But River’s hand had gone to his own pocket. Hunter hadn’t felt anything bulging out when he hugged River, so what could the gift be?
River raised a clenched fist. His bottom lip was held firmly between his teeth and he stared at Hunter nervously, looking for something. Then he smiled.
“I know we’re going about this relationship completely out of order,” he joked, making Hunter chuckle softly. “But, I’m going to make it weirder. Here.”
He opened his hand and there it was.
A key.
“It’s a key to the house,” River explained, laughing nervously. Hunter’s eyes almost bulged out of his head, staring at the other man in shock.
“I also had you added to the list of guardians at her school so you can pick Melodie up,” he continued. Each word lit up Hunter’s heart, and he was already about to burst. “The key’s for if you want to crash here or lock up, I don’t know.”
River’s words weren’t creating any more reactions. Hunter was frozen, staring wide-eyed at the man in front of him. River winced, his smile slipping away.
“Is it too much?”
A minute later, Melodie had found her portrait of Hunter. She had trouble with his shoulders so they were two times as long and his teeth were colored in with yellow, but she thought he would like it anyway.
She ran into the living room, portrait in hand, and paused when she found her Dad and Hunter kissing. She knew it! Melodie grinned, happy to have been right. But, as the seconds dragged on, she sighed noisily.
“Why are you still kissing?” she asked, confused. It didn’t make sense for them to go so long without breathing.
Hunter told her he’d gotten a key to the house. The metal thing was pretty shiny and she knew her dad used it to open and close the door, but it seemed like a lousy gift. Hunter didn’t share her opinion, though. The rest of the night, he watched River, eyes more loving than any Disney prince Melodie had ever seen.
———————————
Not the key!
Who would have thought River would give him the key first??? He’s really changed.
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