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“Jayson, hi.”

“No way. You’re fucking my boss, aren’t you?” Jayson looked around the locker room, and that’s when I realized he wasn’t alone. “Yo! Boss man is getting laid!” he hollered before I could bring his attention back to me.

“Jayson,” I snapped, finally getting him to listen.

I didn’t have it in me to look over at Hunter who was likely melting into his chair right now.

“Me and Hunter are … dating.” Looking around at everyone else, I set the phone down, clearing up answers for all of them at once. “I mean … we haven’t really talked about it or put labels on anything yet.”

“We are dating,” Hunter confirmed.

“Yeah, what he said.” I cleared my throat. “Anyway, I kind of just dropped the bomb on everyone else, and Peyton so kindly wanted you to be involved. So, we are dating—have been for a little bit now. And we shared a moment in the spare room here because, frankly, I missed him and wanted to get my hands on him, and I’ve never actually missed someone before like that so…” I continued to ramble when Hunter finally cut in.

“What I think Andi is trying to say is, we are enjoying each other’s company, and I think we are going to head out early so we can continue to do that. Spencer,” he nodded, “Avery. Thank you for having me, please forgive me if I overstepped, but hopefully, I can be back another time, and we can all start fresh.”

Hunter started to stand, and I was honestly so dumbfounded, that I didn’t mind being pulled away from dinner if it meant I was leaving here with him.

I had zero chill or ability to make sense of my feelings out loud, and that was exactly why I wanted this to happen one time only—no matter how chaotic it was. After tonight, I was already fully prepared for Peyton to grill me the next time we ran into each other at home.

“Is that what it’s like around your friends all the time?” Hunter asked as he slipped off his jacket and threw it over the back of his couch.

“Sort of. Maybe not to that extent, but when you get a lot of big personalities in one room, it’s bound to get a little crazy sometimes. In a weird way, I think it was just their way of being excited for me.”

“By being nosy?”

“Look, Hunter.” Taking slow strides toward the couch, I placed my hands along Hunter’s chest as I started to unbutton his dress shirt. “When I go years without bringing a man around, never talk about how obsessed I am over any guy, or even think about entertaining a second date, my girls are going to want to know what’s changed. So, what I’m trying to say is … you’re kind of a big deal. Think you can handle that?”

After I released the last button, Hunter stood in front of me with his muscular chest proudly on display.

Fuck, even though I’d spent my fair share of nights at his place lately, he’d always remained respectful. He’d fall asleep most nights with a shirt on after hours of us binging old reruns of Friday Night Lights, and now, seeing him in the dim light, each muscle carved to perfection, I couldn’t help but trace the lines with my fingers. Especially the ones that led all the way down beneath his waistband.

“Oh, I can handle it.” His gaze dipped to my hands. “Remember how I mentioned wanting to do filthy things to you?”

“How could I forget?” I toyed with the button on his pants, remembering what it was like earlier to pull them all the way down to his ankles.

Taking my hands in his, he tore me away from my daydream.

“I want to show you something, Andi,” he explained but didn’t move.

“Okay?”

“Do you trust me?”

There was something off about Hunter. I couldn’t pinpoint it, but all of a sudden, he had this dark and mysterious side to him that I hadn’t experienced before. His question piqued my interest, but whatever he wanted to show me had me on pins and needles.

“You haven’t given me a reason not to trust you.”

“Correct … but I need to know that you fully trust me.”

My mind wandered back to how determined he was to get to know me. His willingness to come into my work—watch me with other men before we’d really gotten to know each other. How he cared for me so deeply when I opened up to him about Logan. But most of all, how he trusted me enough to tell me about his late wife.

There wasn’t a doubt in my mind.

“I trust you more than I’ve ever trusted anyone, Hunter.” I couldn’t believe the words that spilled out of my mouth. Never in my life had I been vulnerable with someone on this level and this quickly.

His Adam’s apple bobbed with a thick swallow.

“Follow me.”