hunterbrandon:
@ivyjhamilton
The fact that Hunter had flown back home without notice would be enough to put Ivy on her guard, although there was a slight chance that she would be happy about the surprise visit and not question it. Hunter sometimes did things like this, but neither of them were big on surprises and it seemed like the courteous thing to do was give her warning. In this instance, he didn’t have time, and his voicemail would have to serve as a heads up. When he got off the plane and turned his phone back on, there was no voicemail waiting for him or even a text. Although Hunter and Ivy were great at staying in contact despite their distance and busy schedules, they were far from co-dependent and sometimes returning a call fell to the bottom of the to-do list. He wasn’t sure whether he hoped she had heard the message or not.
He took a Lyft to Ivy’s house, knowing he wouldn’t be in town long enough to make it worth it to go get his own car from home. It seemed he would be taking a Lyft back to the airport, since he wasn’t sure whether Ivy would be in any mindset to drop him off. Had he driven his own car to the familiar spacious estate, he may have sat behind the wheel for too long. He hardly had the nerve to see her, let alone engage it what could only be a break-up conversation. But since he didn’t have his car, he had no choice but to exit the Lyft immediately and walk up to the door, pausing only to take one last deep breath before ringing the doorbell. The only thing that could make this ordeal worse would be Dane answering the door.
Her Juilliard audition was still several weeks away, but Ivy still felt like she was in crunch time to perfect her piece. She’d barely paid any attention to her phone that week, briefly registering that she had a voicemail waiting for her from Hunter, before dropping her phone back into her back because she had to get home and get back to work. She’d been working on her audition piece for months now, and it felt like there was still something holding her back from feeling like it was perfect. She went straight home from school, going to her room and changing, before retreating into the dance studio for the evening. Ivy briefly considered that maybe she should listen to Hunter’s voicemail before she got started, but if there was anyone who would understand her need to get to work, it would be him.
Ivy lost herself in practicing for a few hours, savoring being home alone with no staff or parents or her brother, when she heard the door bell ring throughout the house. She glanced at the video monitor on the wall by the door as she grabbed a towel to dab the sweat from her face, surprised to see Hunter’s face. A wide smile broke across her face and she went over, pressing the button on the intercom. “Hey stranger. I’ll be right there.” She left the studio, draping her towel over her neck and heading for the front door. She could only assume now that his voicemail had been him surprising her with a visit, and she was glad she hadn’t listened to it after all, happy that his appearance was a complete surprise instead. Keying in the security code, Ivy yanked open the door, wide smile still on her face. “I didn’t get so wrapped up in myself that I forgot you were visiting, right?” Not waiting for an answer, she pushed up onto her toes to press a lingering kiss to his lips, before stepping back to let him inside. “It’s good you’re here, I might have kept rehearsing all night without stopping.”
