Manaconda 2: The Second Coming(23)

He jumped at the door.

“Wow. Okay. Chill out, boy. One lap around the circles.” I frowned as I unhooked Sammy’s leash from my coat rack near the door and fastened it to his collar. Was someone playing music? It wasn’t unheard of in my neighborhood, but that was usually on a Saturday night, not a Tuesday.

I opened the door and a familiar rhythm followed by synthetic tones grew louder.

“In Your Eyes” by Peter Gabriel was playing at top volume.

Sammy pulled me down the path. “I’m only wearing flip-flops, you crazy dog. Wait a second.” The music was even clearer as I got to my driveway. “No way.”

Hunter stood in front of his Jeep, a boombox circa 1989 over his head. The song started over again. “Finally.”

I laughed. “What are you doing?”

“I’m wooing my girl,” he shouted over the music. “Are you impressed?”

“You’re an idiot.” I couldn’t stop laughing. The scene from Say Anything unfolding on my lawn. Even his Jeep was parked crooked to block the street.

“Can I put this down now? I think my arms are broken.” His arms shook a little. God, I missed those huge arms around me.

I crossed my lawn, Sammy in tow. He was running in circles beside me. Hunter slowly lowered the boombox to the roof of his car.

“It was nice of you to finally come outside.”

“Come on. That’s more than Diane did in the movie.”

“This is true.”

I slowly moved into the street until we were just a few feet apart. “You’re crazy.”

He shrugged. “You knew that.”

“Yeah.” I couldn’t stop the smile on my face.

He smiled back, his dimple flashing. The song kept playing as he stuffed his hands into his pockets.

“Jesus, just kiss him already! I can’t hear NCIS!”

I whirled around. “Sorry, Mrs. Donnelly!”

Hunter grabbed me and turned me around into his arms. Nerves gone, I went up on tiptoe and met his mouth. He wrapped his arms around my waist and lifted me until my toes were dangling. I held onto his shoulders for dear life, my fingers instantly searching for the silky perfection of his hair.

He stumbled back against the Jeep and set me down before collapsing against the hood. I stepped between his legs. It was very similar to our first kiss. Enough that the smile melted into the kiss as I linked my fingers at the back of his neck.

He curled a finger into the belt loops at each of my hips. “When you came out in these Daisy Dukes, I almost had a heart attack.”

“I don’t wear dresses all the time.”

“These,” he dipped his hands into my back pockets. “I want to see these every day of my life.”

My stomach flipped. “Every day?”

The smile slid off his face. He looked over my shoulder, then quickly twisted to hit a button the boombox. “Sorry!”

The door from Mrs. Donnelly’s house banged shut.

His gaze met mine. “Every day, Kenny. I’m dying without you.”

I played with the overlong strands of his hair. He’d let the shaved sides grow in, leaving him a little shaggy. So many little changes since I’d seen him. And so many things that were exactly the same. I played with one of the walnut beads of his rosary.

This man, who had become far more important than I ever imagined, had so much power over me. “Me too,” I whispered. “Come inside.”

His grip tightened.

I didn’t want there to be any doubt this time. I pulled him down to meet my mouth. “Inside.” He groaned into my mouth and the kiss spiraled from sweet to hungry.

I missed his taste. I missed his smell. I missed the way he touched me like I was the single most important thing in the universe. I’d been afraid of those feelings for so long that letting them in made my head spin.

Sammy pulled on my arm, breaking us apart.

“We should probably bring this inside,” he said against my cheek as he headed for my ear.

“Definitely.” I stepped back. Hunter picked up the boombox and took it to the back of his Jeep. “Um, can you bring that inside?”

He grinned. “Yes, I can.” He pulled out a basket and closed the door.

“Came prepared?”

“Well, I always wondered what Lloyd Dobler would do if the girl actually came out to see him. Does he just kiss her stupid, or does he take her to dinner?”

“So you voted for kissing me stupid and dinner?”

“Damn right. Because I intend on making love to you until we can’t breathe or move.”

“Oh.” I swallowed. “I could be on board with this plan.”

“I have everything we could need for a carpet picnic. And all of it will hold for hours.”