I'll Be The One

Chapter 45:

=Tallon's POV=
[Monday, 4/15/2019-9:45 am]
[Archipelago; Arc Isle]
[Dreki Apartments; A10]

It's unfathomable, unreal how badly I've wanted Hunter in a sexual sense lately. We hang out at least twice a week, and typically on the weekends; he or I stay at each other's apartments. It's usually whatever night Hunter doesn't have work. My feelings for Hunter are growing, and I wanted to try new things with him that weren't our average go out on a date, watch a movie in someone's room, or take a stroll in the park. I wasn't ready to have sex yet, at least I didn't think so. I wanted to be with him sexually, but I don't think I'm mentally prepared for going all the way yet. I felt like I needed to experience some of the foreplay first, to see what I liked. I remember what Hunter said about Jay not liking penetration, but Hunter, on the other hand, did like it. So, I should probably find out the things I like before doing the deed and having sex.

As of tomorrow, it will be a week since the transplant surgery. Hunter and Arianna's recoveries are going great; Ari still has to stay in the hospital until the 23rd of April. I'm glad Hunter is out, though. Hunter is still a bit sore when bending, but otherwise doing really well. Hunter still goes to school and work, but his hours are shortened, and he's down to three days a week on mostly morning or mid-shifts. It freed up his nights more, so I wasn't complaining. Hunter was helping the Odin's Dragons out with his extensive computer and hacking skills. I don't know how he did it, but I wouldn't question the immense progress we've made since Hunter joined the team, undercover, of course. We had another bust on 14th; we got the Hells Dragons. Now, we're down to just the Dreki Trappers and the Drake Killers. Both groups are hard to track down, but so were the Hells Dragons, and we got them thanks to Hunter.

It's almost 10 am now; I was thinking of asking Hunter to join me for a late breakfast. He's always taking me out, but I never invite him, so why not? I grabbed my phone and pulled up our messages together.

9:45 am
Morning, baby. I was wondering if you'd like to catch a late breakfast with me?

I sent it off and began to clean up a little when I got a response from him.

Hunter's Cell, 9:47 am
Raincheck, babe. I'm actually headed to class from 10-12, and then library for term paper work until 3 when I go off to music until 4.

I had completely forgotten he had class today. An idea struck me!

9:48 am
How about dinner then? My treat tonight? We can meet out front of the building, and walk to the café down the street?

Hunter's Cell, 9:50 am
Sounds great. I'll meet you for 5? Gives me a chance to drop my stuff and shower first. Talk to you later, babe!

I was excited. I was glad he had agreed, and it felt good that I was taking him on a date this time. We'd probably watch a movie tonight too, Hunter didn't have class tomorrow, but I think he had work from 10 am to 6 pm. Cool. Now, all I had to do was wait until 5:00 pm for our date!

. . .

[5:10 pm]
[Drage Soul Café]

I met Hunter in the hallway by the entrance/exit doors in our complex; we linked hands and walked the eight or so minutes to the café. We got inside and picked a quiet table across from the windows. The server already came by to take our drink and appetizer order.

"So, how was class today, baby?" I asked him with a smile.

"Pretty average. The only class I actually enjoy is music," Hunter said.

"Is the advanced logic and language easy for you?" I wondered.

"It's all pretty easy for me; I knew the term paper would be my biggest challenge and project of second semester. That's why I took the harder classes during first semester," Hunter stated gently.

"Ah, planning your classes accordingly for your schedule. I like that," I told him. "Never did thank you for yesterday,"

"What did I do?" Hunter inquired.

"You know…The thing with work, helping us out?" I hinted.

"Oh, that! Yeah, no problem. Glad my tech skills come in handy," Hunter chuckled. "So, what inspired today?"

"Us going out for dinner?" I questioned as Hunter nodded. "Well, you're always taking me out. I guess I didn't think it was fair, so I decided to ask you out this time,"

"Awe. You're cute," Hunter teased as I blushed. "But thank you. Truth be told, I woke up late and hurried out to make it to class; I missed breakfast. And I did so much work on my paper in the library that I passed over lunch. When I got home today; I was probably gonna make a sandwich and knock out,"

"Glad I could help then. If you're tired, we can head right back to the complex after, so you can sleep?" I offered.

"I'm alright, babe. The shower perked me up a bit. I don't have class tomorrow, so I can sleep in til like 9:30 am," Hunter stated.

"As long as you're sure," I replied.

"How's your sister doing?" Hunter inquired.

"She's doing great; I went and visited her today with Garet while the others were at work or in school," I said. "She'll be released next Tuesday,"

"Happy to hear it," Hunter chuckled.

"She's all anxious to get out and perform that song," I added.

"I bet; she did a great job," Hunter assured. "How is she doing on all her makeup work?"

"Good, good. She gets whatever she can done before mom or dad brings Elliot to visit, and she'll give it to him to pass in at the next school day," I smiled.

"Good teamwork," Hunter laughed a bit.

"How goes your term paper?" I inquired softly, taking a sip off my soda which the server brought a minute or two ago.

"Coming along. I try to get a full page done every day, and then I spend the weekend editing all the stuff I did that week. Occasionally, I have to stop and fix things, or get a bit more research. I'll definitely have it done before it's due, which is I think, May 24th. And then finals starts on the 27th," Hunter replied.

"Studying up for all that?" I asked.

"Of course, but I'll only have two exam days. Monday the 27th for Music and Advanced Logic. And then Wednesday the 29th for Advanced Languages. The paper will already be turned the Friday before finals. I should have all my grades by Monday, June 3rd and then I believe…The music concert will be Friday, May 31st. After that…I'm done. My diploma gets mailed to me. Dad is probably doing a graduation party on the 8th or 9th," Hunter informed.

"That's great, baby. And then you're done with college, right? After the music concert?" I beamed.

"Yep, that will finish it for me. Kind of a last hoorah for all the graduates," Hunter nodded.

"And you'll be done with McViking too, won't you?" I wondered.

"My last day is June 7th. Already put it in, and making sure Daryl is ready to take over," Hunter responded. The server brought our appetizer over, and then took our order for the main course. Hunter got alfredo pasta with chicken and broccoli while I got a small steak with a baked potato and carrots. The server headed off to put it in as Hunter and I started to enjoy the clam chowder, which was an appetizer we both picked for ourselves.

"You said before you have a lot of odd and end engineering jobs for after college?" I said after some silence.

"Yeah, I can't wait either. I can do most of the designing and meetings at home using Skype. I'll really only have to go in to do physical work," Hunter replied gently. "How's things going with…Well, you know?" he inquired.

"Another block to find what we're looking for," I admitted.

"Need my particular set of computer skills again?" Hunter offered.

"Can't. Dad is gonna be around to watch everything for a couple weeks. He knows about Flynn, Maddie, Harper, and the twins helping out…But if he saw you; we'd be in huge trouble," I sighed.

"I understand, don't worry," Hunter smiled. "I'll keep my ears open and listen for anything like I happened to do the day I learned everything,"

"Appreciated," I breathed a sigh of relief. The last thing I needed was for my dad to find out that Hunter was the cause of our last two major busts with gangs. Or for him to learn that Hunter is part of the operation. Dad would flip out on me, and if not him, Salvatore would. I'm supposed to be protecting Hunter, not putting him in danger. Well, the protection bit is a bit much to say. I only protect Hunter as a secret service agent if he's in danger and I'm closest to him at the time. It was still the duty of Harry, Cody, Andrew, and Bryant. Trevor and I only acted if it was an emergency situation that needed action instantly. And Hunter knew that, which was good because I didn't want him to be mad if we had to protect him again.

No, I made sure Hunter knew the day we started dating that if something happened when he was with me, or all our friends. Trevor and I had to go bodyguard mode to keep him safe. Hunter said he understood, and thanked me for being honest even though I wasn't supposed to say anything to him about that. I didn't care. Hunter forgave me, and we were dating; I wouldn't hide that from him because I didn't want to lose him. I liked Hunter a lot, and hell; I think I might be starting to fall in love with him. I didn't know how Hunter felt in that regard, so I wasn't going to say anything just yet. Besides, we've only been together two months on Saturday, the 20th of April.

"So, what's the deal with Avery and Trevor? Seems like they're getting pretty close," Hunter questioned.

"I think they've had a thing for one another since New Year's Eve, to be honest, but neither of them will speak up," I smiled.

"I saw them holding hands that night, same as you and me kind of did," Hunter chuckled as I blushed a little. I remembered that, and enjoyed it a lot.

"I think they've secretly been going on dates since the inauguration," I informed lightly.

"Well, good for them. Everyone deserves to be happy," Hunter agreed with a nod. "I think Drew and Miya will get back together,"

"I think so too," I nodded. "That will be good, though. Drew really loved her, and was torn up for a while. I think he still is, but must be fading because he seems happier to know Miya and him will be getting a chance to talk about what happened,"

"I believe Flynn wants to propose to Harper, but waiting until she graduated college first. Those two been together a long time from what I understand," Hunter stated.

"Two years. They started dating during their second year of college, September-ish. So it's been about two years and," I began.

"Seven months," Hunter interjected.

"Yeah, that's right," I said. "How do you know he's gonna propose?"

"He's my roommate, and I hear everything. But mostly because he asked how I knew I was ready to ask Cassandra to marry me. How did I know I was ready to seal the deal? How did I know the perfect ring; all that stuff. I think he's gonna propose either June, when she graduates, which puts them at two years and nine months…Or over Snoggletog, which sets them at three years and three months," Hunter laughed a bit.

"That would be nice, though. And then them getting married probably a year later. I feel like Seth and Madison might be right around the engagement stage too; she's been dropping hints about wanting to settle down and have a family," I enlightened.

"Eli and Roxy have been together…What? Like eleven months now. A year sometime in May?" Hunter wondered.

"Yeah, sounds right," I replied. I was happy all my friends were happy, and it was funny that all of us were basically in relationships. "So, what did you tell Flynn about know when the right time to propose was?"

"I told him the truth; I proposed to Cassandra because I thought she would be less insecure and on my ass if we were engaged. Yes, I loved her, and wanted to have a future with her. But I wasn't going to ask her to marry me until I'd finished college, to be honest with you," Hunter confessed. "Then there was all the stuff that happened; Jay and my mom dying. If Jay hadn't passed; I probably would end up married to him. He always talked about it," he smiled some. "Cassandra knows, or at least now she does; that Jay meant more to me than she did, and that I stopped loving her,"

"I remember when you told her," I nodded. "What's that feeling like?"

"Loving someone?" Hunter looked at me now as I nodded again. "There's a difference in loving someone and being in love with them. At least that's what mom and dad told me when I talked to them about things between Jay and Cassandra. I loved both of them, but Jay more,"

"What did your parents tell you?" I questioned.

"Loving someone is a choice; being in love is not. Loving someone is fleeting; being in love is forever. Loving someone means needing them around; being in love is needing them to be where they are happy. Loving someone is a rush; being in love is a steady stream of emotions. Loving someone is about ownership; being in love is a partnership. Loving someone is an uphill battle while being in love is effortless," Hunter said firmly, but calmly.

"That's deep," I admitted.

"But when you put it against two people who you care about; it makes sense. Jay was my first, for basically everything and loving him just happened. Cassandra, on the other hand…Well, that was kind of a choice. I chose to be with her, chose to return the feelings she had for me. The feelings for Jay just came on. My feeling for Cassandra were fleeting, like I loved her less as time went on. We had ups and downs, a lot of doubt. With Jay…It never stopped. I always loved him, no matter what. I…Still do, even though he's gone. Hope you don't mind that I still feel that way," Hunter mentioned.

"He was a very special person in your life, Hunter. I'd never get upset just because you still care for him. I mean, the song you two sang together about true love seems pretty accurate from all I've heard about you two," I said lightly.

"Yeah…But if it were true love, as in meant to be forever, Tal…Jay wouldn't have died that night, and he'd still be here with me," Hunter revealed gently. "He's not, so while he'll always have a special place in my heart; he wasn't the one," he added. "But back on what we were talking about…I loved Cassandra, but it was…Just rushed. Like…She started saying I love you right away. With Jay; it was steady feelings, gradually growing over time up to love, and then staying there. Cassandra believed she owned me, but Jay and I had a partnership. And you saw, as the last example, that being with Cassandra was constant doubt, disloyalty, ups and down; it was…Hard to love her, but I still did. With Jay; everything came naturally. So…Yes, I loved Cassandra, but I was in love with Jay and that's why I took him back. That night when he asked me to be his again, I thought about all this same stuff we're talking about; the realization just hit me,"

"But when Jay died…You didn't have anyone else. And you did still technically have feelings for Cassandra, so you took her back after some time passed," I frowned.

"That's correct, and then in October 2017; my third year of college, I asked her to marry me. We were going to get married that Summer, before fourth-year…But then mom died, and we put it off. Plus, I broke up with Cassandra for being insensitive about me pushing the wedding back. However…Like an idiot; I forgave her again, and told her I didn't want to hear anything about marriage with her until I brought it up. I said we'd marrying this coming June…And I decided when the plans would start. I was going to re-propose in November, when I quit McViking, and then we'd plan the big day, but she fucked up and honestly…I think I felt a lot better after we ended things for good. When I'd actually caught her in the act and proved all my suspicions," Hunter explained.

"Understandable. And then after it was over; the feelings just faded, right? Well, until something sparked between you and me," I blushed a bit.

"Yeah, that's right," Hunter smiled. Our food was delivered to us and we prepared to enjoy the meal together. I was glad Hunter told me about all the love and in love stuff because I was clueless and now…I felt like I could use all that to figure out my growing feelings for him. It was kind of happening without much effort, so maybe I was in love with him? I knew he'd always love Jay, and I was fine with that. "Now, let's eat. I'm starving. We can do a movie after if you want?"

"My place or yours?" I looked at him while cutting my steak.

"Either is fine. I think Flynn has the friends over now, so your place would be quieter," Hunter mentioned while cutting up his chicken strips for the pasta. "We can just stop by mine so I can get something comfortable to put on. Not that I don't like my jeans, but you know what I mean,"

"Of course. Yeah, that's fine. Though, I think you have a set of stuff at my apartment from the last time you slept over. You left them in the bathroom and I washed them with mine,"

"I'm sorry," Hunter mumbled.

"Oh, it's fine. So we can head right to my place after dinner if you like?" I suggested.

"Well, works for me then," Hunter nodded.

"Alright. Let's eat then," I said as we both started, and continued talking about random things.