CHAPTER SEVENTEEN Hunter

Fourteen Years Ago

" H appy birthday, Hunt," Mr. Hayes, Mark's dad, said, holding my shoulder firmly. "Got a sec?" he asked, gesturing toward the garage.

"Want me to get Mark?"

"Actually, no, son. I want to speak to you alone."

I followed Mr. Hayes through the door from the kitchen and into the garage. The garage door to the street was open, so I figured if Mark wondered where I'd gone, he could easily find us.

I leaned against the family van while Mark's dad sat on a stool near his workbench. "Eighteen, huh?" he stated, running his hand along the top of his thigh. He seemed uncomfortable about something.

"Am I in trouble, sir? Did I do something wrong?"

He ran his hands through his graying hair and fixed his eyes on me. "Not yet," he responded. "And that's why you and I are going to have this little chat."

"Okay, sir."

I respected Mark's dad. He was far cooler than mine and was really involved in Mark's and Jill's lives. He was there for them. Something my father never was. He knew Mark had his heart set on me, especially after prom, when Mark showed up at the dance and demanded I leave with him, unconcerned about his sister Jill, my date.

"As you are aware, son, Mark is still only fifteen," he began. "I know sixteen is just two months away, but that doesn't affect this little chat."

"I don't follow, sir," I replied, nervously cracking my fingers while looking back at him.

"Are you boys having sex, son?" he asked point blank.

My face instantly flushed. The heat spreading across it was intense, and I thought for sure I'd shit my pants. "What?" I gasped, delaying my answer because I was embarrassed as fuck. "No! Gosh, no!" I added.

"Hunter?"

I raised my hand in protest. "I'm not lying, sir. Honestly, I'm not."

"You're boys, Hunt. Come on, I was a teenaged boy once myself."

I glanced toward the open garage door, and then checked the kitchen door, moving toward him. I leaned in. "Your son is a prude, sir." His eyes widened in shock before he began to laugh. "I'm gonna tell you the truth, and I'm sorry in advance, sir, but I have tried."

"And you're telling me Mark said no?" he asked. "The same boy who thinks you walk on water? He told you no?"

"He kisses me, sir. That's it. I swear to you."

His head tilted and one nostril scrunched up as if he was trying to determine if he was being hoodwinked by me. "Nothing else?"

"You wanna know why he said he won't have sex with me until he turns eighteen?" I asked.

"Not really but go ahead."

"He says if he gave it up before I went to college, I wouldn't miss him while I was gone, sir. Mark seems to think that what we have isn't real."

"Well, good for him," Mr. Hayes remarked. "And what you have… is it real to you, son?"

"I know I'm officially an adult now, sir, but yesterday and the days before that, I wasn't. Of course, I tried to talk him into having sex with me. I haven't had any yet, sir, and I'm desperate."

"Uhm, you can keep that to yourself, son. My concern is you understanding that Mark is a minor, like you were yesterday, but you are not a minor today," he explained.

"I know that, sir. You're worried about my legal exposure, right?"

"How'd you get so smart, son?" he asked.

"I wanna go into law enforcement, sir. I can't mess up my future by doing wrong."

Mr. Hayes stood and placed a hand on my shoulder. "But what about college, Hunt? You're going to have temptations. I expect you to be honest with my son while you're at school."

"Mr. Hayes, sir," I began to explain, turning toward the open door. "Mark showed up at my prom and made me go home. Do you really think he'd let me screw around?"

He laughed out loud. "And you love him?"

"I do, sir. And I'll never hurt him. I promise you that."

"Now don't go making promises you can't possibly keep, son."

"Okay, you're right. I'll probably hurt him, but I plan to make Mark my husband one day. I plan to be with him forever, sir."

He gazed at me as my statement settled in. "You," he began, pointing at me, "are a great young man, Hunter Copeland. I'd be happy to have you as my own son," he said, pulling me in for a hug.

"Thank you, sir, but I'm glad you're not my dad." He moved me away and looked at me curiously. "Because then I couldn't marry Mark."

"Smart ass. Don't tell Mark we had this chat."

"I mean it, sir. I'm gonna take care of Mark for the rest of his life. You'll see."