Chapter Seventeen - New Year's Bash

I put on my earrings before spritzing on some of my new perfume. Fixing my hair with a satisfied glance I make my way over to my laptop that is playing music while I have been getting ready. Today is New Years Eve and we are attending a party thrown by the Jackson family's neighbor who live ten minutes away from the ranch.

But as I'm about to shut down my laptop a notification pops up about me receiving an email. I decide to check it out quickly because I can hear Hunter coming up the stairs and we need to get going soon. I skim through the email before my eyes widen at its contents.

"Red! Come on, we're going to be late! Why do you women take so long – what happened?" He frowns as he walks into the room to see me staring at my laptop screen in disbelief.

"I-I...a popular magazine company emailed me. They said that they've been looking through my photography online and have asked if I would shoot a few of their upcoming campaigns." I explain breathlessly as I look up at him.

"That's great! Did you say yes?!" He grins excitedly before giving me tight hug.

I smile at his reaction. "Not yet. I'm a little nervous honestly."

"They'll love your work, Red. In fact, they already do!" His eyes flicker with understanding as they gaze into mine. "Take this chance. It could open up a lot of doors."

I exhale deeply before nodding in agreement. "Okay, I'll email them back now."

He smiles and watches as I type a response before sending the email. As soon as I've done that I release a breathless laugh before turning to him. His grin is so wide and his baby blues are glimmering with excitement, pride and happiness. I find myself melting into a puddle over how much he cares.

"You're going to do great, sweetheart. This is your time, I just know it." He whispers before pressing his lips to mine.

God, I love you, I think to myself as I kiss him back with equal passion. Sadly, he pulls away all too soon before tugging me up. He looks quite handsome in his navy patterned shirt with black jeans and boots. His eyes roam over my figure and I watch them darken in desire. I chose to wear a black dress with see through mesh sleeves and skirt. It has a plunging neckline and the first half of the skirt is covered with a black material so I'm not revealing as much. What I love most about this dress is that it's covered in white stars.

"You like?" I smirk as I twirl for him.

"I love." He grins cheekily as he pulls me in for another kiss.

We break away when we hear Michelle calling everyone down. Chuckling at his pouty expression I take his hand and intertwine it with mine before we leave the room. The men are all dressed smart as are Ella and Michelle. Ella's wearing a baby pink, sequined dress that makes her bump look cute whereas Michelle's outfit is a gold, wrap dress.

Some of the boys decide to walk the ten minutes whereas me, Ella and Michelle opt for the car since we're wearing heels. Not even five minutes after we arrive at the beautiful two-story house of the Sawyers family the guys meet us in the foyer. Hunter slips his arm around my waist and holds me close as we introduce ourselves. The Sawyers have a son who's the same age as Noah and a daughter around the age of seventeen. She not so discreetly eyes up the Jackson brothers and Ella's eyes meet mine before we chuckle quietly.

We make our way inside to the open plan sitting room and kitchen where the party is in full swing. There's a pool outside too and the garden has been lit up brightly with decorations to match. Me and Hunter grab drinks before he introduces me to some of his high school classmates and old friends. He catches up with them about the good times before Michelle and Evan pull me away to introduce me to some of their own friends.

I dance with everyone a few times before Ryder and Hunter become jealous of Judah dancing with me and Ella. The drinks are great and the food is even better. I find myself loosening up and having a good time as I make my way back to the dance floor with Ella.

But after two dances, Ella leaves to rest for a bit and this random man comes up and tries dancing with me. I look around for Hunter while feeling quite uncomfortable with how close he's trying to get. He's being too flirty and forward and it makes me panic a little with everyone gathering into the house as it gets closer to midnight. Everyone starts counting down at the top of their lungs and I can't see any of the Jacksons near me.

"Come on, beautiful! Loosen up, have some fun!" He grabs my hands and pulls me flush against him.

"No thank you. Can you please let me go?" I try to escape his grasp but he just holds me tighter.

"Why don't we start the new year off with a kiss?" He grins creepily before grabbing my chin harshly.

"No! What the fuck?!" I knee him where the sun doesn't shine and he curses loudly.

"Crazy bitch!" He groans as he cups his groin.

"What the fuck are you doing Danny –" I hear Hunter before he snatches me out of his grasp and turns me around to face his chest.

"Get lost Hunter! I saw her first!" Danny clenches his jaw as he stands. "Fucking bitch is insane anyways!"

"She's my girlfriend! How dare you talk about her like that!" Hunter seethes angrily while stroking my back.

"Hunter, let's just go okay? Let's find your family, come on." I try and pull him away but dumbass Danny just had to go and ruin it.

"Girlfriend, huh?" Danny's eyes roam over my body in a disgusting way. "Where'd you find this hot piece of ass –"

"That's it!" Hunter snarls before lunging at him and punching him square in the nose.

"Hunter!" I move to grab him but get pulled back by Roman.

"I'll deal with them. Wait by the entrance." He murmurs before grabbing the back of Hunter's shirt.

I nod with a sigh before making my way out of the room. Peeking behind my shoulder I see the brothers pull the two of them off each other before Roman tries to calm Hunter down. Stepping out into the foyer I wait for Hunter who walks out a few moments later. He sighs heavily once he spots me and walks over looking like someone who knows they're in deep trouble.

I bite my lip in worry when I see his bloody fists and the cuts on his lip and cheek. Taking his hand gently, I pull him out of the house. It's already midnight anyways and I can't believe he started off the new year by bashing someone's face in. He remains silent the whole ten minutes back to the house but I can tell he wants to say something.

We make our way upstairs and I take off my heels as I tell him to sit on the bed. Finding a medical kit in the bathroom I make my way back to him with a wet rag. I kneel on the ground in front of him before cleaning and disinfecting his cuts and broken skin.

"Did you really have to hit him?" I ask quietly as I move to clean the cut on his lip and cheekbone.

"Yes."

I smack his chest lightly with a glare. "All we had to do was walk away, Hunt. You can't just go around hitting people, especially at someone else's house!"

"Zoe, he's a sleaze bag! He harasses women every chance he can get!" He argues as I apply ointment to everywhere besides his lip.

"Still Hunter, you shouldn't have –"

"He deserved it and I'm not sorry about ruining his stupid face!" He crosses his arms with an adamant huff.

I close the kit with a slam before standing and making my way back to the bathroom. "I can't believe I'm in love with an idiot."

"Wait...you love me?" I freeze before turning to face him slowly. Fuck me, did I say that out loud?! I think to myself in horror.

"Uh...it depends..."

"On what?" He frowns in confusion as he stands.

"If you love me too?" I ask bravely while my poor heart hammers away in my chest.

"What if I say no?" His eyes glimmer with mischief and I catch the brief quirk of his lips.

"Then forget I ever said it." I shrug and watch as he arches a brow in response.

He shakes his head with an amused chuckle before staring at me with...adoration? "Well, I love you too."

I blink in surprise before nodding my head dazedly. "Good."

I mentally slap myself hard. I take back what I said about him because it's me who's the biggest idiot on this planet, I think to myself. Who the fuck replies like that to someone who just told you that they love you?!

"Great." He grins widely as we just stand there staring at each other. "Can I have a kiss now?"

"What for? Breaking someone's nose? I don't think so." I scoff incredulously before turning to put the kit back.

"Zoe!" He whines as I come back out and close the door. "We just confessed our love for each other and you won't even kiss me?!"

I glance at him with an amused smirk. He has an adorable frown on his lips as he stares at me expectantly. Sighing softly, I step closer to him and he wraps his arms around my waist tightly with a grin. I caress the area under his scraped cheekbone before meeting his breath-taking ocean blue eyes.

"What am I going to do with you?" I whisper as a smile graces my lips.

"Love me?" He suggests with a smirk.

I shake my head in amusement before pushing up on my toes and pressing my lips to his. Being mindful of the cut on his bottom lip I only peck him softly before pulling away. He groans before following me and kissing me again, as if he can't get enough. I wrap my arms around his neck before tugging on the ends of his hair which makes him moan softly. It makes me smile to know how much of an affect I have on him.

"When did you realize?" I ask when we pull away and he seems to catch onto what I'm talking about.

"The day you helped me make dinner. I wanted you stay and meet my parents." He smiles handsomely as he pulls me tighter against him. "You?"

"The night you asked me to be your girlfriend." I grin when he chuckles.

"Hunter Jackson! Get down here right now!" Our moment is cut short when we hear Michelle yell from downstairs.

I laugh as he rests his forehead against mine with a heavy sigh. "I'm so screwed."

"Don't worry, I'll back you up this time." I wink and squeal when he pinches my butt.

"I love you." He whispers with a cute smile as he hugs me from behind.

"I love you too."

"Hunter! Don't make me come up there!" Michelle yells again and she sounds much closer this time.

His eyes widen before he rushes out the door with me following behind. I laugh happily when he glances at me behind his shoulder and winks before meeting his mother. The chaos starts once more and I find myself loving how there's never a dull moment in the Jackson's house. 

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