I went for his mouth slowly, but moved at the last second, catching him on the cheek for a lightning- fast peck.
“Thanks,” I said brightly before stepping away from him. I needed some space so I could breathe.
“Tease. You’re a tease, Missy girl.”
“You know you love me.”
He shook his head.
“Nope, still don’t like you,” he said with a sigh.
“Liar,” I countered.
“Hypocrite.” He stepped closer to me.
“Douche.”
He smiled slowly. “Gorgeous.”
“Ass.”
“Sexy.” He was coming for me, and I couldn’t stop him. Somehow I’d have to.
“Stop.”
“Go.”
“Red light.”
“Green light.”
“No.”
“Yes,” he whispered, reaching out to hold my shoulders. “Just say yes. Say you’ll be with me.”
“I can’t.”
“Why not?”
“I can’t, Hunter. Don’t ask me again.”
“Aw, Missy. Why do you do this to me?”
“I’m sorry.” My voice broke and I was afraid I was going to cry. No, I was not going to cry. I promised myself no boy, no man, would ever make me cry again. And that was why.
“I’m sorry,” I said before I ran out of the room.
“What’s wrong?” Renee said from the couch where she was ensconced with her nursing books.
“Nothing. I’m going for a walk.”
“But it’s raining.”
“So? I have an umbrella.” I grabbed it from where I’d hung it by the door.
“Don’t open it inside,” Hunter said from the hallway. “It’s bad luck.”
I didn’t respond as I got out of there as quickly as I could.
I walked around campus for two hours, just thinking and looking at the ring. It was still on my finger. He’d said it was just a ring, an apology ring, but it was so much more than that. Rings were symbolic. Rings were in circles. Circles never ended, which was why they were symbols of eternity. No beginning and no end.
God, it was so beautiful. How had he known? Granted, I did have a crap ton of peacock stuff, but the way he’d had it put together was just perfection. He’d been planning this for a while. How long? Yet another question I’d thought to ask him while out on my stroll. Campus was deserted, seeing as how it was too late for most classes and it was raining.
Rain didn’t bother me. Hunter did. My feelings for Hunter bothered me the most.
I didn’t end up crying, but I came pretty damn close. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d cried. I’d never been much of a crier, and after everything that had happened, it was like someone had shut off the valve in my tear ducts.
I wanted to punch him again. I wanted to break things and scream, so instead I kept walking. I walked until I’d made it from one end of campus to the other twice, and my shoes were soaked through. I hadn’t thought to wear my super-cute rain boots I’d bought only a few weeks ago. What a waste.
The ring weighed a million pounds by the time I had made it back to the apartment. I looked down at it one more time. Wow. Just wow.
They were having dinner when I walked in.
“He’s not here. He went to stay with Mase for the night,” Renee said before I’d even closed the door. “What did he do to you?”
“This,” I said, holding up my hand. There was a shattering noise as Renee dropped her plate.
“It’s on her right hand,” Darah pointed out.
“Oh,” Renee said, leaning down to get the plate. “So I broke a plate for nothing.”
“It’s not exactly nothing,” I said, shucking off my soaked sneakers and socks and laying my umbrella to dry beside the door.
“Lemme see,” Renee said, grabbing for my hand.
“Shit. That is some rock. I’m pretty sure that was what sunk the Titanic.”
“It’s gorgeous, Tay,” Darah said.
“I don’t know what I’m supposed to do with it.”
“Duh, wear it and make the rest of the female population jealous. Hunter Zaccadelli doesn’t buy girls rings. That’s just not a thing that happens,” Renee said.
“How would you know?”
“No reason,” she said, looking down at the ring again.
“What have you heard?”
“Oh, just that he’s a playboy. One of the girls in my bio class had a friend that got a little burned by him. She was a little bitter.”
“I bet that’s an understatement.” I wondered if she was one of the girls whose numbers was still in his phone. Maybe it was Chastity.
“What was her name?”
“Briana? Britney? Something that began with a B. Damn, that is some ring.”
It certainly was.
“Are you sure you don’t want him? Because I’d be happy to take him off your hands.”
“What about Paul?” Darah said.
“What about Paul?” Renee snapped.
“Don’t play dumb, Ne. I know he called you and you talked. We sleep in the same room.”
Yeah! The attention was on someone else for a change. I dove in, pestering Renee along with Darah until she spilled that Paul had called her and wanted to meet.
“I don’t know.”
“Why don’t you have him over for one of our potluck nights? Then there won’t be so much pressure,” I said.
“I guess.”
“Do it,” Darah said. “Right now.”
“Okay, okay. Hold your horses.” She got out her phone and sent the text. “There. Happy?”
“Joyous,” Darah said.
“So back to the ring,” Renee said.
I sighed and showed it to them again.
*****
I didn’t see Hunter until the next night when he came back from classes. I was still wearing the ring. I’d gotten compliments on it all day, and more than one of my female classmates had asked if I was engaged. I had to swallow hard and tell them no.
Besides, Hunter had said he didn’t believe in marriage. I hadn’t seen that it was so great either. My parents were divorced, along with half of the married population. The idea that there was one perfect person destined for each of us sounded way too perfect. It was a fairytale, and not reality. Not that I didn’t like to indulge in the occasional delicious fairytale every now and then,. I just knew that I had to come back to reality.
“Should I assume that since you’re still wearing it that you like it and don’t want it to go away?”
“Yes, I like it. It’s just unnecessary. I only asked for chocolate.”
“I had a lot of assery to make up for.”
“That is true, but I don’t think it was several thousand dollars worth.”
“You don’t know how much the ring cost.”
“No, but I’m not a moron. I can do Internet research as well as anyone else. I can figure out how much each of these stones is worth, generally speaking, and then figure out the setting and labor and so forth. What? You wouldn’t tell me.”
“You are one of the most curious girls I’ve ever met. You just have to know everything.”
“Curiosity isn’t a sin.”
“Too bad,” he said. I fought the urge to sick my tongue out at him, because that was juvenile, and I was an adult. “Don’t forget, we have mediation tonight at seven.”
“Shit.” I had forgotten. This should be fun.
“We could make a pact to go and just sit there and say nothing like in Good Will Hunting.”
“I would pay good money to see you be silent for a whole hour. Just about as much as this ring is worth.”
“I don’t want the ring back. I’d lose that bet just so you wouldn’t give it back to me.”
“Why, Hunter? According to my research this ring is worth about as much as Sassy. If you couldn’t find housing, where the hell did you get the money?”
“Well, Miss Caldwell, I prefer to discuss these issues at our mediation. I think that’s a more fitting environment, don’t you think?” he said with a smirk. Oh, he was just infuriating.
“I’m going to take a shower. Be sure to take off the ring before you join me.”
“Never. It’s never going to happen,” I yelled as he walked into our room.
Oh, but it could. It could be a thing that could happen, if I let it. I stared down at the ring. I didn’t know if it was my imagination that it seemed to get bigger the longer I wore it. Next week I was going to wake up and it would be the size of a football and all the bones in my finger would have been crushed by it. Then I’d have to get surgery and they’d probably never be able to get my finger back to normal and I’d have a funky finger for the rest of my life and a crazy story to tell.
I was thinking way too much about this.
Hunter was quiet during dinner, as if he was showing me that he could be silent. I wasn’t very impressed. If he could do it for an entire day, that would be something impressive.
Renee was off at another study session and Darah was out with Mase, so it was just the two of us.
“Hey,” he said as we were finishing, “it looks great on you. I’m glad you like it.”
What wasn’t to like?
“Thank you,” I said again. It seemed to be the only normal response I could think of in regards to the ring.