When the teacher had his back turned, I pulled out my phone in a last fit of desperation.
Me: Help! Basket weaving is officially the worst summer class ever.
I’m gonna lose my mind.
Or strangle myself with grass. Not a pretty way to go.
It only took a few seconds for Hunter’s speech bubble to pop up on the screen.
Hunter: Need an escape?
Me: Desperately.
Hunter: I’ll be right there.
Meet me outside.
I smiled and then tucked my phone back into my pocket before raising my hand. It was time to utilize an excuse as old as time.
“Mr. Joey?”
He turned toward me, a vacant smile on his face. “Yes, young pupil?”
I glanced at the people weaving their baskets next to me and then motioned for him to come closer so I could whisper. “May I be excused? Mother nature isn’t being very kind to me today. My female organs are punching me in the stomach.”
His brows arched and then nodded solemnly. “You know, I think I have something that could help you with those problems. Ginger is useful for problems of the female nature.”
“No, no ginger necessary.” I smiled painfully at him, trying my best to keep up the ruse. Most male teachers I knew would’ve tuned out by now and sent me on my way. It seemed that Joey was a different species. “But would you mind if I left class early? I think I have a date with my heating pad at home.”
“Of course, little pupil,” he said, patting the top of my head. “Go. Be free. Contemplate the mysteries of the universe. And don’t forget your basket.”
I scooped up my sorry excuse for a basket and said my goodbyes to the group. Most of them didn’t even look up as I left. And when I got outside, Hunter’s beat-up powder blue truck was waiting for me. It had the toolbox on the back, rusted out spots along the sides, and a set of massively large tires. The door swung open as I walked up, revealing Hunter sitting in the driver’s seat with a cream-colored cowboy hat on his head.
His black t-shirt with the sleeves cut off once again made it impossible not to notice the amazing cut of the muscles in his arms. He was definitely ripped. Living on a ranch had been good to the boy. The smile he shot me was full of mischief and his eyes twinkled under the brim of his hat.
“Hey, pretty little lady. I don’t suppose you ordered a white knight escape plan?”
I had to work hard to haul my petite self up into the passenger seat, but it gave me time to hide the heating of my face at Hunter’s compliment. This blushing thing was such a strange new thing. I couldn’t wait for it to go away.
“Are you supposed to be my white knight?” I asked, grinning over at him as I buckled in.
He faked a hurt expression, placing a hand on his heart. “You even have to ask that question? I take my role as your white knight very seriously. The valiant blue steed agrees.”
Patting the dashboard, he shot me another crooked grin. Immediately, something inside of me seemed to pulsate with need. It was a strange and powerful sensation, as if I hadn’t eaten for a year. Gulping for breath, I kept my eyes glued to the road as he put the truck into drive and pulled out of the library parking lot.
“So...where we going?”
My voice wasn’t quite as steady as usual. I could only hope Hunter didn’t notice. The last thing I needed was for him to get weirded out by the strange things happening to my body when I was around him. Apparently, I needed to have a stern conversation with myself about what was appropriate around my best friend.
“Hope you don’t mind, but I invited some of the rodeo guys over tonight for a backyard campfire,” he said, his eyes trained on the road. “They’re already there, getting the burgers started on the grill.”
I threw the back of my hand against my forehead and pretended to swoon in my seat. “Me and twenty cute cowboys all to myself? What’s a girl to do?”
He glanced at me and then back at the road. “You don’t...like one of them, do you?”
I snorted and watched the houses flying by my window. “Not a chance. If I want someone that smells like leather, I’ll cuddle my dog, Princess, and her toy football.”
“Good one,” he replied with a dry laugh.
Silence fell upon the truck. I glanced over at Hunter to see the muscles in his jaw working as he stared hard out the windshield. I wished I could read his mind. There was a time not that long ago when I’d have known exactly what was going on inside of that head of his.
“Mind if I invite Lexi and Beth?” I asked, pulling my phone out of my pocket. They were still in hot water over this whole competition thing, but I was pretty sure they’d never forgive me if I didn’t get them an invite. “They’d love to drool over your friends.”
He nodded. “Mom will like that. She was complaining about having too much testosterone in the house tonight.”
I laughed. That sounded like Bree. A few minutes after I shot a quick text off to the girls, we pulled up to Hunter’s house. There were several beat-up pickups parked along his road, a sure sign that the cowboy convention was in town. The F-150 in front of his house had a bleached deer skull and rack attached to its front grill. I shuddered at the sight and jumped out of the truck, thankful that at least Hunter hadn’t become that country since his time away.
The deer skull could go. The weirdly attractive cowboy hat could stay.
“They’re out back,” Hunter said, rounding the truck. “Come on, I’ll hunt you down a
