Chapter 38

The new door that greeted us when we got to my place looked a lot more sturdy than my old one. I unlocked it and stepped inside. I half expected there to be traces of the door exchange inside. Sawdust, old screws, a beaten down door leaning against the wall. But the hallway looked like it always did. While I was looking for a mess, Hunter had been inspecting the door. He grunted in approval and I looked at it as well. It looked safe, had a peephole and a security bolt, everything a girl needed when living in a cursed apartment.

“It looks sturdy,” I commented.

“It will keep you safe,” Hunter agreed.

“Safe enough to move home?” I asked, wishing I hadn’t asked.

“No, sweetness. Until this is over you’ll stay with me.”

“Fine by me,” I said. I was sick and tired of having unwanted guests showing up at my door. Before moving back to my apartment, I would look into getting someone to come and do a blessing, or chase the bad mojo away. Hunter closed the door and I walked towards my bedroom to pack a larger bag. “There are some things in the fridge that we can take with us,” I told Hunter.

“I’ll get them,” he offered and got to work. It took us less than fifteen minutes to pack what I needed. Hunter insisted on carrying everything and I made sure everything was locked up. We headed for the grocery store. It felt like a reassuringly normal thing to do, walking down the isles, pushing a cart and putting food items in it.

“This is actually fun,” Hunter told me as he put a carton of eggs into the cart.

“It is,” I agreed.

“We didn’t include any snacks on our list,” he said, frowning. “Which are your favourites?”

“I like popcorn and Oreos,” I told him. He nodded and disappeared while I collected the milk. When he came back he was fully loaded with chips, popcorn kernels and every flavour of Oreos I had ever seen.

“This is my secret pleasure,” he told me, showing me a huge bag of pork rinds. It went into the cart with the rest of the snacks.

“How are we going to get everything into your apartment? We will have to take two trips,” I said as we were loading Hunter’s car.

“We’ll take your things and a bag or two. The rest, the door man will bring up,” he said. I looked at him. I had never had anyone working for me like that and the idea was foreign to me. He smiled.

“I know how it feels. It took me a while to get used to using the services as well. It made me uncomfortable letting others do things I have always done myself. That was until Jerry told me he was offended I didn’t let him do his job. Now I just make sure I give them a hefty Christmas and summer bonus,” he told me. I nodded as I could see Jerry’s point. If I was hired to do a job and my customer didn’t let me do it, it would make me feel weird as well. We got home and after Hunter had taken my bag up to my room, he helped me start to put the food away. “I don’t think I ever had this much food in my kitchen,” he told me. He looked satisfied as he opened his fridge and pantry and took stock. It all seemed so normal and natural to me. I had to remind myself that this wasn’t permanent, we hadn’t moved in together. It was just temporary. As I offered to make us lunch, Hunter went to check if his men had found out something.

“God, bad or no news?” I asked as he came back.

“Some news, they think they have found the men and are tracking them. John and Jason will come by at nine tomorrow morning to give us a first report,” he told me. I nodded and plated the omelettes I had made. We ate in silence as we both were occupied with our own thoughts. After we had cleared away the dishes, Hunter showed me the ins and outs of the security system. There was a small monitor in the kitchen that had access to all the surveillance cameras and where you could set the alarm and almost everything else in the apartment as well. He showed me how to access the surveillance feed on the TV and Hunter walked me through all the different settings. When we were done, I got up from the couch. “Where are you going?” he asked.

“I have a date tonight. I’m going to relax in the bathtub for a while and then I need to get ready,” I told him. He chuckled.

“I was going to pick you up and do the whole chivalrous thing. Now I don’t know what to do,” he said.

“How about I stay in my room and you can collect me from there?” I suggested. He laughed.

“I like that.”

I was nervous. The bath had not helped the least. It just made me horny as the hot water made my mind go places I didn’t need it to take me. Wictor texted me as I was doing my hair.

W: How’s it going? Want me to come over and help?

I needed to figure out what I was going to tell him about my new situation.

Me: No thanks, I think I got it.

Me: Can I call you tomorrow?

W: Sure thing. I was going to call you anyway to get the tea.

W: But not before nine. I will kill you if you call me before nine.

I thought about the meeting Hunter had arranged in the morning.

Me: I won’t. I’ll call around lunch.

W: That’s my girl. And while you are in a listening mood. Go out and have fun tonight. I recommend at least two orgasms.

I just looked at the message and my fantasies from the bathtub came back. I shook my head and forced myself to stop thinking about what it would feel like to have a naked Hunter on top of me. When the knock on my door came, I was ready and nervous. I opened the door and smiled at Hunter. He had dressed in a dark suit that fit him like a glove. It showed off his broad shoulders and well-trained body. I willed myself not to drool like a lunatic.

“You look amazing,” Hunter said. I smiled at the compliment, it sounded like he meant it and it made me relax a little.

“Thank you,” I said.

“These are for you,” he told me and held out a bouquet of mixed flowers in purple and pink tones.

“They are beautiful. How did you know which my favourite colours are?” I asked as I took them from him and smelled them.

“Lucky guess,” he told me with a smile. I didn’t believe him, but I let him have his secrets.

“I need to put these in water, do you have anything I can put them in?” Hunter's face fell.

“I don’t think I own anything for putting flowers in,” he told me.

“You have a pitcher, that will do,” I said. We walked down to the kitchen together and put my flowers in water. “Thank you,” I said again as I placed them on the counter and gave him a light kiss on his cheek.

“I am happy you liked them,” he told me and I felt him place his hand on my lower back. For a moment he pressed me to him. Then he relaxed the grip somewhat and used his hand to steer me to the elevator. Hunter was an absolute gentleman, but then he always was. At the restaurant he held my chair as we sat down. ‘Primrose’ was one of the best restaurants in the city. They served a fusion between British and French cuisine. The waiters all had dress coats and the restaurant was decorated with table cloths, silver cutlery and chandeliers. We were handed menus and the waiter walked us through the specials. We ordered our food and I relaxed a little more when the waiter walked away. Hunter smiled at me and reached for my hand. I placed it in his. “Thank you for accepting to go on a date with me,” he said.

“I was more than happy to,” I told him. It was true. I may be a nervous wreck. But I enjoyed it at the same time.

“I guess this is the point in a date when we should get to know each other. But I feel like we have already accomplished that. Anything you want to tell me about yourself?” he asked. He had a permanent smile playing on his lips and it made his honey-coloured eyes sparkle. I thought about it.

“I can spend hours researching a new recipe once I get an idea. When I was a child I wanted to become a firefighter, but abandoned the idea when I realised you had to be okay with heights. I have always wanted a cat, but never had one and I can’t stand horror movies,” I told him. He laughed.

“Firefighter?” he asked.

“I had seen a children’s show where a firefighter saved people from a burning building and I thought it was the coolest thing ever.”

“That does sound cool,” he agreed.

“But then I found out you had to climb ladders and rescue people above the first floor. I made the decision that it wasn't a career for me.” I giggled. “How about you?”

“I hate spiders. With a passion. I wanted to become an artist when I was younger and I was accepted to an art program in New York for college. And I love horror movies,” he told me.

“Artist? You paint?” I asked, surprised.

“I draw mostly. Or I did. I haven’t picked up a pen or pastels in years,” he told me. “It became more important to be able to provide.” He was skirting around the subject we were both avoiding. I felt brave, or maybe more accurately, I wanted this date to go well so I needed to make sure we didn’t screw it up.

“Are we going to talk about the elephant in the room or are we going to ignore him?” I asked.