Hunter looked at Kenzie’s blush with an unknown expression on his face. He was mesmerized by her movements in the ring, with the way she skated. She looked beautiful and he had been enchanted. When she fell, Hunter had been extremely worried that she had hurt herself. He was very pleased to know that she hadn’t.
He realized he had been staring at Kenzie for a long time, before he shrugged and dropped his head on her lap.
“I’m tired and you’re going to be my pillow,” he declared, staring at her. “What’s next on our agenda, by the way?”
Kenzie smiled down at Hunter. "I don't know about you, but I'm going back to my apartment to take a nice, hot shower. I'm done with the cold for today," she declared, bending down to press a light kiss to his nose.
Hunter closed his eyes when he felt Kenzie’s lips on his nose before he opened them again, staring at Kenzie with an affectionate look in his eyes. God, how much he loved that woman. He couldn’t even imagine life without her.
“Mind if I joined you?” He murmured, a calm and innocent look on his face despite the question.
Kenzie flushed deeply. "If we're wearing swimsuits," she managed to choke out, not meeting his eyes.
“Now where’s the fun in that?”
Hunter tried his hardest to fight off the laughter that was threatening to spill. Oh how much he adored this woman. He loved teasing her, but sometimes he wondered if he would go too far with his jokes. He just wanted Kenzie to tell him whether she felt uncomfortable with him joking like this or not. That, and because he just loved teasing her.
Hadn't she told him about the promise she had made herself? Or…No. No, that was a dream. She'd told him in a dream… Darn it.
How did one even go about saying something like that? How would that conversation get started?
Kenzie sighed and leaned back in the bench, running her fingers through Hunter's hair. "I do want to talk to you about something… But how about I take my shower and you can come over or something? Or I can go to your place. Or whatever," she suggested quietly.
Hunter frowned.
“Er, whatever’s fine with you,” he said slowly, wondering if he went too far with his teasing. “But I guess your place works. It’s nearer, right?”
"Yeah. Do you want to go now?" Kenzie asked, finally looking back down at him. "We could go return our skates and head over."
Hunter shrugged.
“Honestly I’m fine with whatever you decide,” he replied. “Personally I’m beat, but if you want to skate a bit more, I’ll be happy to watch you do so.”
Kenzie shook her head. "No, I'm pretty exhausted as well. I think we should go now; that way I can shower and we can talk sooner."
(Last post for the night! ;P)
(😂😂)
The group said their goodbyes before parting. Hunter was waiting in Kenzie’s room as she showered, laid down on the bed, eyes closed.
(I am finally back from work!)
As soon as Kenzie had finished showering and getting dressed, she stepped out of the bathroom and saw Hunter laying on her bed. She smiled and, knowing he couldn't see her through his closed eyes, silently walked over. With a soft sigh, she laid next to him, making sure her still-wet hair didn't land on his face or anything, and pressed a light kiss to his cheek.
When Hunter felt something soft press against his lips, his eyes twitched open. Dazed, he looked up to see Kenzie.
“Did I fall asleep?” he murmured sleepily, moving himself into a sitting position. “Anyway, what was it that you wanted to talk about?”
(Sorry, I'm here! Give me a second to write something.)
Kenzie bit her lip as she thought about what she was going to say. "I…wanted to talk to you about, uh, what you tease me about…"
Hunter blinked, realization dawning on him.
“Oh…” he rubbed the back of his neck. “Er, if it bothers you, I’ll stop.”
"No, no!" Kenzie said quickly. "It's okay. It's just…" She sighed and looked down at her hands, twisting the ever-present ring around her finger. "I– um– I just wanted to tell you that, uh… Well, when I was around twelve or thirteen, I…made myself a promise. I said that I would never have kids before I was married, or do anything that would lead to it…"
Hunter looked at Kenzie before sighing with relief.
“God, you scared me back there,” he said with a heavy breath. “Kenzie, I’m not with you because of that. I’m here because I love you and I want to be with you. I can live without all the other stuff. I don’t need it. So I don’t expect you to give yourself to me for that, because I don’t need it,” he ran his fingers through his hair before looking at Kenzie. “Besides, I like the whole ‘doing-it-after-getting-married’ thing. It makes it feel special. The only reason I tease you like that is because I love getting reactions out of you. It doesn’t mean I’m indirectly asking for it, because I’m not. God, I’m blabbering now. What I mean to say is that I’m willing to wait until we’re both married. It’ll be worth it.”
"I know you're not with me because of that, but I just wanted to tell you why I react the way I do…" Kenzie clarified. "And… I'm glad you feel that way, too." She looked up from her hands, giving Hunter a small smile. "You just made my life so much simpler."
Hunter smiled softly before cupping Kenzie’s cheek, pulling her closer to kiss her softly on the lips.
“I’m tired,” he muttered against her lips. “Can I sleep here with you?”
"Mm-hm," Kenzie hummed in response. She was tired, too, and having Hunter there to keep her warm would be a welcome addition to sleep.
