Meet Cutes Are Better the Second Time
Chapter 25: Lazy Saturday
When Hunter finally made his way downstairs, he found Rachel and his mother seated at the kitchen island. His girlfriend was leaning over, examining a photo album, while his mother ate cut up strawberries from a bowl.
"Nooooo," he groaned. He knew exactly what was contained in the seafoam green book in front of Rachel. "It's too early for baby pictures."
"It's never too early to embarrass you," his mother retorted.
Rachel gave a soft laugh. "You were a cute kid, Hunter."
He hummed softly as he walked over to her. He rested his shoulder and wrapped his arms around her. He settled one palm over her stomach and let the other rest on top of it.
"I'm still cute," he said.
"Of course you are," she agreed. She turned her head, pressing her lips briefly to his cheek. "Absolutely adorable."
He gave satisfied little hum before turning his attention to the book.
The page she was on had the words 'Age Six' scribbled at the top and five photos pressed into the pages.
The top photo on the first page had him and Emerson standing next to each other. They were grinning, Hunter showing off a bloody mouth and a gap in his front teeth while Emerson had blood on his fingers and a white tooth in his spread palm. Under the photo was a plastic bag with a small tooth in it, someone had written the words 'Hunter's first tooth' on it in sharpie. Below the tooth was a picture of him sitting on the front steps of his childhood home with his hands buried in the top of a giant pumpkin.
The second page begun with a picture of him riding a neon green bike down the street. Under it was one of him at the zoo with a group of other children. There was a large snake settled across several of the children's laps. The final picture was one of him and his mother at what looked to be one of his father's work parties. He was clinging to her leg, half hidden behind it, as she spoke to a woman in front of her. Her hand was resting on top of his head.
"I remember that," Hunter remarked, gesturing towards the photo of him and Emerson. "My tooth was loose and Warner told us if we didn't get it out then I would choke on it when I went to sleep. So Emerson yanked it out."
His mother gave a soft sigh. "That tooth was no where near ready to come out. Don't let the picture fool you, Rachel, there were a lot of tears that day."
"I can imagine," she said. Her voice was tinted with amusement.
"How'd you lose your first tooth?" Hunter asked. He turned his head so he was looking at her.
Glanced at him before humming softly in thought. After a moment, she said, "Passover when I was six. I took a bite of matzo and it fell out."
"Ouch."
"I don't really remember it hurting all that much."
He made a soft sound before pressing his lips to the bottom of her jaw where he could feel the hard bones of her lower teeth. She raised an eyebrow at him. He gave a small smile. "Just in case it did."
"It was a top tooth," Rachel informed, reaching up to pat him on the head, "but the thought is appreciated."
"As sweet as you two are," his mother interrupted, drawing both of their attention to her, "I'd like to talk to you about last night now that your both awake."
"Oh..." Rachel's gaze dropped to the counter. "I am sorry about that, Mrs. Clarington. I feel childish for not being able to sleep by myself."
"It's alright honey," she assured. "But I am going to have to make sure your fathers know since I know it was a worry of theirs."
"I understand."
She smiled at them before reaching for another strawberry, "Now, it might be a tight fit but I thought we could make the sofa up for the two of you tonight."
Hunter's mouth fell open. "You're going to let us sleep together again? Even though Rachel's dads-"
"I'll speak to them again today when I explain what happened last night. As long as they aren't opposed to the idea, I don't have a problem with it." She added, "And I don't think they will be as our living room has multiple cameras and pretty much no privacy."
The couple was silent, gaping at her easy acceptance.
"Mouths closed, you two. Now, Hunter, what do you want for breakfast?"
"You know, I think you're really lucky."
They'd spent the day with his mother, watching movies and helping her with the small flower garden in the backyard, and now they were spending sometime with each other while she fixed dinner.
Hunter was laid back in one of the loungers on the back patio while Rachel sat between his legs with her back against his chest. She held one of his hands in hers, absently tracing the fingers on the back of his hand with one of her fingertips.
"Why?" he asked. His voice came out slow and sleepy. The warm weight of Rachel in his lap combined with the dark of the sky above them had been luring him
"You've got such a lovely woman as a mother," Rachel murmured. "I'm jealous."
"You have two amazing fathers," Hunter pointed out.
"You still have a father, even if he's not around," Rachel answered. She gave a soft hum, tapping her index finger against the center of his hand. "Have I ever told you about my mother?"
Hunter had been staring up at the stars as she spoke, but now his gaze snapped down to her. With the way they were sitting, he couldn't see her face.
"No," he said after a moment. "I didn't know you knew her."
"It's a long story. To sum it up, she sought me out a few years ago and things didn't go so well. She was teaching at my school earlier this year and I didn't find it any easier to connect to her know than it was then." She started tracing hearts into his skin. "So you see, I think you're really lucky to have the relationship with your mother that you have.
He made a sound of understanding. He twisted his hand in her grip so that he could lace their fingers together and leaned forward to drop a kiss against her shoulder. "We'll share mine then." Then,
After a moment, she nodded. Her voice had softened as she murmured, "I'd like that."
To dispel some of the tension, he added, "I'm pretty sure she likes you more than me already. No one else lets her win at Mario Kart."
His mother was right about the couch being a tight fit.
When he and Rachel squeezed onto it to sleep for the night, he found himself putting his arm around here less because he wanted to hold her (though he did) and more because he was afraid she would hit the ground if he let go.
Despite that small fear, Hunter found it easy to drift to sleep.
They were leaving in the morning, but it had been a good weekend. He'd gotten to see his mother, she had seemed to like Rachel, and Rachel had seemed to like her as well.
The warm feeling the weekend had left in his chest lured him to sleep without any problems.
E/n: I am not sure how I feel about this chapter so I don't have much to say?
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