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SEVENTEEN - PART 1

"Holy shit!"

My eyes shot open to Abby standing in the doorway of my bedroom, with an expression mixed with anger and confusion. When I realized whose arm draped around my waist, I quickly understood why.

"Okay, I'll admit it. This looks bad."

Abby placed the empty cardboard boxes on the floor. "Yeah! It fucking looks bad, Dylan!"

"Let me just wake him up, and then we can figure this out because I think I'm still drunk." I swatted Hunter's arm with the back of my hand. "Hunter, wake up," I gritted through my teeth.

Hunter's sleeping body responded with a stir, tightening his grip and pulling me closer to him.

"Fuck this," Abby snipped, storming out of the room.

I could hear distant noises from the kitchen. A cupboard opening and slamming shut, the sound of running water. Shortly, Abby returned with a glass in hand, walking towards the side of the bed, splashing the water onto Hunter's face.

"What the –" Hunter yelled, making eye contact with the girl, "Abby," he greeted coldly, wiping his face, "Nice to see you again."

"The feeling is not mutual," she spat.

"Charming as ever."

Abby crossed her arms over her chest, "You know, after waking up early to come over and help you pack up the apartment, this is honestly the last thing I –" She cut herself off. "Wait. You two didn't... you know... right?"

"No! God, no!" I exclaimed. Turning my head to Hunter, my voice dropped to a whisper, "Right?"

"We did not," he said, twisting his expression into a smug look, "Not that someone didn't try."

"Dylan!"

"I did not!" As soon as the words left my lips, the memory of last night began to flood back, causing my cheeks to burn. "I was drunk. Very, very, drunk."

Abby crossed her arms over her chest. "Then why were you in her bed?"

"Are you my mother or something?" Hunter huffed in annoyance.

"No, I'm a rightfully overprotective best friend."

Hunter sat up. "After I made sure she got home safe and up the stairs in one piece, like the nice guy I am, Dylan asked me to come in, and I said that wasn't a good idea. Apparently, that was the wrong answer because she opened the door and pulled me inside the apartment anyway."

I buried my face in my hands out of embarrassment as the story began to play out in my head.

"To sum it up for you Abigail," Hunter continued, "I got her into bed and tried to leave but, she wasn't having it. She kept asking me to stay, so I said I'd take the couch. Once again, that was the wrong answer. We settled on the bed. I stayed full dressed," he motioned to his clothing, "And the only contact we had was what you saw this morning." Hunter shrugged, "What can I say? She's hard to say no to."

I glanced back and forth between the two of them. Abby continued to stare down Hunter with narrow, angry eyes.

"Okay, in my defence," I spoke up, interrupting the heavy silence, "I was really, really drunk."

"It's alright. You had a good excuse."

Abby's eyes widened. "You told him?" She looked back at Hunter, "Don't you dare think that for one second you had anything to do with that decision."

"Why do you two keep thinking I would do such a thing?"

"It's in your nature," she spat.

Hunter rolled his eyes, slowly getting out of bed. "You know, there was a time when you were a fan of me, Abigail."

"It was a low point in my life to think you actually had a caring heart."

Raising a hand to his chest, he pouted. "That hurts me," he replied sarcastically.

Sensing the anger rising in Abby to uncontrollable levels, I quickly got to my feet. "I'll let you out."

Hunter grabbed his suit jacket from the end of the bed. "Till next time, Abigail."

I rolled my eyes, pushing him out of my bedroom. As we walked towards the door, the only thing on my mind was how to end this insane twelve-hour encounter. Was I supposed to thank him for taking care of me during my drunken time? Were we supposed to hug? Shake hands? Or, end things with a quick "see you around".

Before I could decide, Hunter spoke.

"So I'll see you tonight? You said seven, right?"

"Tonight?"

Hunter nodded. "Yeah... you asked me to come help you pack while Abby's at work. You had me cancel a meeting."

"Oh, right! Of course!" I did my best to sound convincing as I followed him towards the door. "Yup, seven is perfect. See you then!"

I shuffled him out of the apartment as fast as I could. Slamming the door shut, I pressed my body up against it, letting out a deep, anxious breath.

There wasn't a lot that I remembered from last night. Standing outside that restaurant was the only part I was able to picture clearly. The pain of remembering our first date and how everything started. The desire of wanting to go back and do it all over again. And then, pretending for the rest of the walk was just like that night. I glanced down at my hand. How could a simple touch be that memorable?

"You're insane."

The sound of Abby's voice pulled me from my torturous thoughts.

"What?"

Abby crossed her arms over her chest. "How the hell did last night cause all of this?"

"Cause all of what?"

"Pickle, it's written all over your face." She sighed, "Did you forget what he called you not too long ago?"

A pathetic clingy one-time fuck that never got the hint.

"No, Abby, I did not forget that," my voice grumbled, "I just have bigger things to worry about now. Real-life problems. Dealing with a stupid love triangle that doesn't even exist, might I add, is way at the bottom of my list."

"You're seriously going to have him over here tonight?"

I shrugged. "He cancelled a meeting for me. I can't bail on him now. Besides, he's coming to help me pack. What trouble is that going to do?"

I could tell by the look on her face that she wasn't impressed with my answer. Abby wanted me to still hate him as much as she did. And to some extent, I did. But not enough to pass up on his offer to help.

Abby rolled her eyes. "Dylan, this is Hunter Grayson we're talking about. Trouble follows him wherever he goes."

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1. this is another 3 part chapter

2. part 1 is by far the shortest

3. buckle up my angels