The Hunter Version 1

him and waved. Ben ignored them all and focused simply on getting to the bottom of the stairs.
“Max! You ruined everything! I had it all planned out, and you ruined it all! Couldn't you have just waited a few hours?!” Claire screamed at him, stomping her foot.
“You've been spying on us as well, huh? I didn't ruin anything, Claire. I wasn't aware there was anything going on in the first place,” Max huffed.
“The hell you didn't! I wanted to tell him about the island on his birthday! I wanted to be the one to tell him, Max!” Claire spat, trying to wiggle free of her two companions.
“She's been planning this for a long time, Max. Seriously, you didn't know?” Toby called.
Max shook his head and glanced down at Ben.
“When's your birthday?” He whispered.
“Today. I am 22.” Ben whispered back.
“You're older than I thought.”
“Yeah, I'm older than I thought too. I thought I was maybe 18 or 19.” Ben admitted with a soft laugh.
“I'm older,” Toby proclaimed as Claire huffed and puffed, trying to calm down.
“Only by a year, nothing to be proud of,” Kain snapped and let go of Claire.
“Max, come here for a second,” Claire sighed, her face red.
“I'm not exactly sure I trust you.”
“Fine then, Ben, come here.” She growled, pointing to the floor right in front of her.
Ben hesitantly made his way over to her and paused just out of arm's reach. Claire stepped forward and dragged him closer and tossed him to Toby.
“You aren't allowed to see him for the rest of the day, Max! I'm going to take him shopping for his birthday. I'll give him the first present.” Claire declared.
Max and Ben smartly said nothing about the fact that Max had already sort of given Ben a gift. Max blew Ben a kiss as he was dragged away and waved good bye.
“Who are you?” Ben's father asked.
Max simply gave a shrug. He'd tell him later, when Ben was back. It would be unfortunate if he got kicked out of the house when he had at last gotten to see Ben again. He would trust Ben with Claire, but other than her, he was not planning on letting Ben out of his sight again any time soon.
“So,” Max said, turning to Ben's father with an overly cheerful smile, “tell me about your son William.”

By the time Ben was brought back to the house, he was exhausted. Claire had spent all sorts of money getting him clothes butter suited for camping on an island, camping gear, a few other odds and ends. Toby presented Ben with a new, heavy duty fishing rod and they had both laughed when he did. It was clear to Ben that he would not be getting much of a choice as far as whether or not he wished to visit Max's island and based on the amount of gear and food Claire was buying, it looked like they planned for him to stay awhile.
Max waited for Ben just outside the front doors, laying on the steps and staring up at the sky until Toby dropped Ben off. Ben had only been given the fishing pole to take home, as Claire did not want her gifts tainted by William's bugs. Max stood and beamed at Ben, who sluggishly stumbled up to the man. He had not gotten much sleep and was in pain in places he had not know could hurt, but Max's smile was refreshing, like a cool breeze on a hot day. Max wrapped an arm around Ben's waist and pulled him in for a kiss.
“Come on, you need to talk to your father.” Max murmured as Toby drove off.
“Now?” Ben frowned and Max nodded.
“He's been waiting all day, and I did not want to say anything,” Max shrugged.
Max led Ben up the stairs as if he owned the place and opened the doors. A house worker shot Max a seductive smile, but he blatantly ignored her and made his way toward the library.