"I kiss the corner of your smile, and I can taste the laughter in your soul".

~J. S. Parker

Hunter

"Mix the eggs with the vanilla and the sugar all together," I told Alex, who looked over the ingredients before us.

"And you'll do what exactly?" he asked.

"I'll melt the butter and the chocolate chips in a double boiler and then we'll mix it with the egg mixture. Finally we'll mix it together with the flour and baking powder and in the end, we'll put in the chocolate chips. Didn't you listen to me before?" I went on, repeating the directions to him.

"I'm sorry, I've never done this before!" he exclaimed, making me let out a huff.

He went on to follow my instructions, looking more focused than he probably had to. Baking cookies was something we did in my family like almost every month. Aurora loved the chocolate ones with chocolate chips in them. But, being barely tall enough to reach the kitchen counter, she always ended up watching me and my father do them. Not that she ever complained, seeing as in the end, she ate most of them anyway.

I was scooping up the last bit of the batter when Alex came up behind me and hugged me. His lips found my pulse point and I took a jaded breath.

"I kinda feel bad for kicking your dad and Aurora out of the house once again," he said against my skin.

"Don't. They had a birthday party to go to anyway. The fact that was the same day as our three-month anniversary was pure luck," I replied and moved against him. Taking the hint he took a few steps back and I pushed the baking tray in the preheated oven. After closing it I turned to look at him and I couldn't help but laugh.

"Hey, don't laugh at me!" he said defensively.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," I said back, still laughing. His hands and face were covered with melted chocolate and flour. With vengeance, he pushed his hand into the empty bowl that used to hold the mixture and then he ran it over my face. I was left with my jaw hanging. "Now you're in for it," I yelled with a sideways grin and trapped him with my hands against the kitchen counter.

"In for what?" he asked with an innocent smile. At once my lips found his neck and I started sucking the skin, not caring if I broke it. I pulled back, once he let out a pained moan, only to move to another spot and repeat the whole thing.

When I felt happy with all the marks I had left, Alex wasn't able to stand without holding onto the kitchen counter.

"If my parents see these..." he muttered, his voice hoarse.

"You shouldn't have annoyed me," I replied and turned to the oven to check out the cookies. They probably needed a few more minutes.

"Yeah, like you didn't enjoy doing this," he said closing his eyes for a moment. "Damn, they are throbbing!" he exclaimed and I laughed. Bringing his one hand up he put it on the left side of his neck, where three hickeys were. I was sure the spots were burning up.

"They'll probably last for the next week or two". He just shook his head hearing me.

"You're unbelievable".

"I'm pretty sure they are done," I told him and turned off the oven, ignoring his note. "Come on," I added, opening up the door of the oven and then leaving the kitchen.

"Where are you going?" he asked and walked out behind me as I was taking off my shirt.

"We're both dirty. Let's take a bath," I said looking over my shoulder and winking at him.

Even though his legs were still a little bit wobbly, he wasted no time and took off his shirt too. We threw them in the washing machine and filled up the bathtub with water and soap.

Alex and I hadn't yet done anything more than taste each other. And honestly, I wasn't in much of a hurry to do anything more. I did think about having sex with him, but at the end of the day, nothing would change when we did it. At this point, both of us wanted to spend time together, even if we spend it baking cookies.

There was also the matter of the fact that Alex had never before been with another guy. I knew pretty much all the ins and outs of it even though the only guy I had had actual sex with was Caleb, but still. I was more experienced in the matter than Alex.

... Was Alex a top or a bottom?

I shook my head to stop myself from going further down that rabbit hole and looked at Alex through all the bubbles. His eyes were half-lidded and he was taking deep breaths. Had those hickeys hurt that much? He sat up, giving me a full view of my marks on his skin. At once, my eyes got wider.

"What?" he asked a little bit scared.

"Those look bad. Like something-attacked-you kind of bad," I noted, covering my face with my palm. "I'm sorry, Cliff," I said and watched as his face got all red.

"Well, if anyone asks I'm so dragging you down," he said with a huff.

"Who are you going to tell? The only people who know about me are my friends," I told him and barked a laugh. He threw some water at me and then came closer to blow a kiss on my lips.

"You're awful," he whispered and kissed me again, "the worst," his lips traveled down to my collar bone, "I can't stand you". His one hand moved underwater to grab my growing member. "I can't..."

"I love you," I sighed and my head fell back.

"I love you too, you idiot," he said against my lips.

After showering quickly, we got out and got dressed. I had given him a shirt, seeing as his was still in the washing machine. After they finished, I put them in the dryer and with Alex, we went to the kitchen to clean up.

I put on our playlist and we started cleaning up all the stuff. Alex, who was washing all the things that weren't supposed to be put into the dishwasher, sang along to almost every song. I joined him a few times, mostly during the choruses.

I wasn't exactly confident in my own voice. I knew it was better than some others, but I also knew that I didn't have the voice of an angel. I didn't have Alex's voice. That's why I was a painter.

We were currently listening to a song by Troye Sivan, one of my recommendations, called "Talk Me Down". Each word Troye sang Alex repeated simultaneously, moving closer to me as he did so. As he sang the last chorus he was standing next to me and he rested his forehead against mine.

"I love this song," he said, closing his eyes. "You can hear the sadness in his voice... and I love that," he added.

Just then, the door opened and Aurora ran inside, happily looking for Philip. Alex took a few steps back and we both turned to my father who walked inside. He came in the kitchen, took a cookie from the plate on the table, gave a hard look at Alex's neck, snorted and left.

"At least, he didn't comment on it," I said with a shrug and a half-smile. Alex shook his head, still not believing what I had done to him.

"Did you also get burned while baking?" Aurora asked Alex, reaching to take one cookie.

"What?" Alex asked back and I almost laughed.

"Hunter used to have burns like that from baking things," she answered and I received a glare from Alex.

"Yeah, I got burnt," he said to her through gritted teeth.

"What was I supposed to tell her? The truth?" I told him, moving my shoulders after she left.

"Burnt by baking, though?" he pressed.

"It was the first thing that came to my mind," I exclaimed, grabbing a cookie and giving half of it to him.

"Damn, they are good," he said, changing the subject, as he tasted the chocolate cookie. I laughed happily and blew a kiss on his temple.

"Alex..." Aurora said coming into the kitchen again. "Could you sing me another song so I can sleep?" he asked him. He smiled down at her.

"Of course, I can," he answered and taking her by the hands we went to her room.

She fell in her bed, got under the covers and found a cozy spot and then she looked up at us. Alex had grown the habit of always bringing his guitar every time he came over. So instead of picking up her ukulele, he went to my room and brought his guitar. Aurora fell asleep before Alex could reach the second chorus of whatever song he was singing. After we slowly got out and closed her door I turned to him.

"What song was that?" I asked him, headed towards my room.

"One I wrote..." At that, I froze.

"One you wrote?" I repeated.

"Yeah, I wrote it one night when I couldn't sleep".

"Alex that song is beautiful. Have you thought of putting out your own music?" I replied.

"Yeah, but I don't want to do it while I'm on my own. After I get signed to a record label, sure I will," he answered with a smile. As we walked towards my room, Alex stopped in front of where we had pinned the painting from Mrs. Grayson's show. "I still can't believe you kept it," he said.

After the art show, Mrs. Grayson had told me there were six requests to buy my painting. I had refused all of them, even though they all had offered more money than I would have even imagined. I didn't have a problem with selling my paintings, but with this particular one, I did have. This painting was Alex's painting. If anyone should have it, it should be him.

Since he couldn't take it home, we kept it here for now, at least until he moved out of his parent's place. When I had first told him what had happened with the offers he had been so shocked he barely spoke. It wasn't the fact that I had been offered the money. It was the fact that I refused it for him. He only calmed down after I assured him the offers wouldn't stop at this one painting.

One woman who made an offer had been shocked to hear my age and see my talent. She even said to Mrs. Grayson that the door to her gallery was open to my paintings forever. For now, that idea was more than enough to turn me into a thankful mess. The fact that I had been so lucky to get recognized by the age of seventeen was just crazy to me.

"No matter what happens with my parents after I tell them about you, I will never stop being in love with you," he said.