I hear her gasp, feel her body quiver. She swallows loudly. “I think I just fucking came,” she says, her voice thick with arousal.
That may be my favorite thing to ever come out of her mouth.
I sit up, pulling her with me, and tug her shirt off, mentally thanking the gods she’s not wearing any panties. I gently lay her back down, trailing kisses from her chin, down her neck, and to her chest. I spend a minute at her breasts, sucking on each nipple before continuing my kisses all the way to her cleanly-shaven mound.
I inhale. Mmmm, damn.
Containing my groan, I look up at her before I go any further. She’s watching me. “Well?”
“YES!” she shrieks.
I laugh and part her lips with my tongue. She moans and presses into my face as I swirl my tongue around her folds and begin sucking lightly on her clit.
She’s writhing beneath me, bucking her hips like she can’t get enough, and I don’t blame her—I can’t get enough either. Nothing has ever been this good before. My heart is pounding against my chest and I’m trying with every ounce of restraint I possess to not come all over my bed sheets.
“Hudson…”
I chuckle around her and move downward to her opening. I push my tongue in and out quickly a few times, feeling her muscles starting to contract.
“Fuckfuckfuck. I’m gonna come.”
She tries to pull away, so I grab her hips and hold her steady. I suck hard on her clit and her hands fly to my head in an instant, nails digging into my scalp as she bucks up. She inhales a strangled gasp and freezes for just a millisecond before falling heavily back down on the bed, gasping for air.
Don’t you dare fucking blow your load now, Hudson!
I take a calming breath of my own before giving her a few gentle strokes and kissing my way back up to her mouth.
“Hi.” I smirk at her.
“Hi.” She reaches up, wiping my mouth with her hand, and then surprises me by kissing me right on the lips.
I groan and press into her, my dick straining against her lower stomach. She can feel me, knows I’m about to explode.
“Wanna get laid again?”
I nod vigorously, not even bothering to laugh at the way she phrases her question, and roll off her to grab the condom.
Rae parts for me as I settle between her legs. I line myself up and slip inside my little slice of heaven with ease. We both sigh, and I try not to fall apart. She wraps her arms around my neck and pulls me down for a chaste kiss. I grab her hands and bring them above her head, holding them there as I thrust into her slowly, maintaining eye contact with every push.
My chest tightens at the look on her face. Even though we haven’t spoken the words out loud yet, I can see the love in her eyes. It’s so intense that it’s making it hard to breathe—or that could be from the sex.
It’s in this moment that I realize the difference between the sex we had last night and what’s happening right now. Right now, we’re showing one another how we feel with our bodies. Last night was all about a release for us both—not that it didn’t mean anything, I just know this is a defining moment in our relationship.
I continue my slow pace, grinding harder and harder with each thrust. Even though we’ve been going slow, I’m close. So fucking close. My balls tighten up.
“Rae,” I gasp out.
“I know, Hudson, I know,” she says, her green eyes shining brighter than I’ve ever seen. “I’m right there with you.”
Something about the way she says it that lets me know she’s not only talking about our orgasms, but about us, our feelings, our love for each other.
With our gazes locked tightly on one another, we give in…to it all.
RAE
Last night was everything I thought it was going to be—awkward, sweet, fun.
This morning was everything I had hoped it would be—amazing, beautiful, meaningful.
Hudson scored major bonus points for not trying to make me shower with him because that shit is weird to me. I also thought he was going to have some comments about me not wearing panties—because I refuse to put on my ones from yesterday after showering—with my skirt, but he’s been a total gentleman…so far.
“Rae? Is that a yes? Or a no? Or maybe even a maybe?” Hudson asks.
“What?” I can feel my face heat. I didn’t hear a word he just spoke, too busy living inside my own bubble.
“Your birthday weekend…me, you, Joey, the beach.”
“Umm…yes?”
He squints at me. “Even though that totally came out as a question, I’m taking it as an affirmative.”
Dread races through me because truth be told, I’m terrified of big bodies of water. Okay, that’s a lie. I love going to Lake Q on nights I can’t sleep and watching the water, and the lake seems big from the safety of the rocks. It’s just…my nightmare. Even though I know it’s only a dream, it keeps me far, far away from the ocean.
But I just agreed to go to one…for Hudson.
He has no idea of my fear. I’ve never told him about my horrible dream because I haven’t had one since I started seeing him—officially—and I haven’t thought about it in weeks. I never expected it to come back and bite me in the ass.
There is a small part of me that is thrilled to go to the beach because it means a weekend away from this town. There’s also a tiny part of me that realizes how major it is that I’m willing to face this for Hudson, on my birthday of all days. There’s a huge part of me that’s fucking scared—with good reason—as all get out.
“Hey,” Hudson says, walking over and cupping my face in his hands. “We don’t have to. You just talked so fondly of the water before and I know how much you love Lake Q. I thought it would be nice to have a little mini vacay for your birthday. We won’t be swimming or anything because it’ll be mid-October and probably too cold, but at least we’ll be going somewhere and it will only cost us gas. I have full access to my grandparents’ old beach house. The new owners are awesome about letting us use it.”
I grab his hands and pull them from my face. “I know. I was just worried about getting off work for a second but then remembered Clyde still owes me for working my birthday last year,” I lie.
I don’t know why I lie…or maybe I do.
I’m not ready to tell Hudson yet. I should be, but I’m not. I need to mentally prepare myself for all of that and right now, that’s not happening.
He stares at me—hard—for a second and I hold my breath, worried he’s going to see through my bullshit. He either does and lets it go or doesn’t and moves on. Either is fine by me at this point.
“Okay. Two weeks. Your birthday. Talk with your boss. We can go up on Saturday morning and come back Sunday night.”
I fake a smile and give him a thumbs-up.
He gives me a real smile and my heart starts to hurt, because this is so not going to end well.
“Well, as delicious as the coffee and cereal was—which you’re welcome for because obviously my culinary skills are impeccable—I need to hit the shop,” he announces.
“So eager to get rid of me,” I tease, giving him a flirty smile.
He smirks, and I just know something dirty is about to leave his mouth. “I’d love nothing more than to bend you over that stool you’re sitting on, and I’m probably going to be sporting a semi all day just thinking about the fact that you’re not wearing any panties right now, but I gotta run.”
I laugh. So much for him being a gentleman.
“Perry!” I shout as my cousin plunks down on a stool at Clyde’s.
“Well, if it isn’t my ex-girlfriend. How are you, sugar? Ready for another round?” He waggles his brows at me.
I called him first thing in the morning the night after I met Joey—even before I called Maura, but we vowed to never tell her that—so I could tell him what Hudson thought we were to each other. Now he won’t stop making fun of Hudson.
“Ew!” I shiver to drive my point home. “Knock that shit off. It
gives me the creeps.”
“But it’s still funny as fuck. I cannot believe he actually thought that,” Perry says, still laughing about it.
“True.” I lean against the bar, resting my head on my hands. “So, what are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be out, I don’t know, looking for a job or something?”
“Hey! I’m getting close! Maybe. Why don’t you have an interview yet?”
“Jerk.”
Though I still haven’t had a single firm call me back since my phone interview, I’m not as upset as I feel I should be, and I have Hudson to thank for that. He’s managed to make me see Wakefield in a whole new light, making me not want to leave as much now.
“Why are you smiling?” Perry asks. He leans in across the bar. “Did you forget to take your crazy pills again this morning, Rae? Tsk, tsk,” he mock-whispers.
“Ohmygod! Go bug someone else,” I yell, attempting to swat him with my wipe-down rag.
He jumps down from the stool, his hands raised in the air. “I’m going, I’m going. Love you, crazy!” he shouts, turning away and heading back to his friend Colt, who is laughing at his antics.
I roll my eyes at them, knowing Perry will be getting a taste of karma momentarily, because Clarissa is their waitress today.
“Yo! How you doin’, girl?” Benny calls out, walking behind the bar and getting to work.
“Hey! What up, Big Ben?” I say, giving him a high-five and returning to the task at hand: pouring beers.
We automatically fall into a pattern, working around one another for an hour or more.
“I see you’ve requested off three days for your birthday. Big plans?” he asks once there’s a lull.
A blush creeps up my face at his suggestion. “Hudson’s taking me somewhere.”
“Oh yeah? Where to? Vegas? ’Cause you two need to make that shit legal real quick. I ain’t ever seen two people better suited, and I’ve only been around you two a few times.”
I laugh his comment off, ignoring the way my heart flutters. “Nah. We’re waiting for our six-month anniversary for that one.”
He nods. “Good plan.”
Clearing my throat, I tell him, “It’s the beach, Benny. Hudson’s taking me to the beach.”
The bear of a bartender stops midstride, almost dropping the glass he’s holding.
“Shit, Rae. Are you… I mean… Wow.” He whistles. “Are you sure?”
“As I’ll ever be.”
“You…you sure that’s a good idea? I mean…the date, the place. Will you be okay?”
I love that Benny is concerned for me. It warms my heart to know he cares so much, but I need to grow up, face my fears.
“I’m scared shitless,” I say on a sigh. “But…I have to do it. I mean I really have to. I just have this feeling this is going to be something big for me. I have see what that is, you know?”
“I get it, but hell, kid…I worry. Only if you’re sure you’ll be okay.”
“I really don’t know if I will be, but I promise to be extra careful. Deal?”
We shake on it and Benny pulls me into a brief hug. “You’re brave, kiddo. I admire that. It’s gonna be fine, I’m sure of it.”
That makes one of us.
24
Rae
“You really don’t need to be here for this, Dad.”
He gives me a don’t go there look, letting me know he’s staying.
We’re waiting on Hudson to arrive with Joey in tow for our weekend getaway.
I turn to my sister. “Haley, you definitely don’t have to here.”
“What? And miss Dad meeting your boyfriend? Nope, not happening.” There’s a twinkle in her eye because she knows something my dad doesn’t—she knows about Joey. “You’re going to love him, Dad. You two have so much in common.”
I flip her off before my dad turns back to me.
“This is the same guy that fixed your car, right?” I nod. “Well, he gets bonus points for that already.”
Good, because he’s going to need them.
The last two weeks have been nothing short of amazing. I’ve spent all my free time with Hudson. I’ve played make-believe with Joey for countless hours and watched an insane amount of Adventure Time. My favorite moments have been at night when I’m wrapped in Hudson’s arms, falling asleep and falling even more in love with him and Joey.
Now here I am, waiting for him to meet my father and unknowingly help me face my biggest fear. You’d think I’d be more nervous for him to meet my father, but I have it all bass-ackward. The beach terrifies me more.
The doorbell rings and we all freeze.
“I’ll get it!” Haley and I shout at the same time.
We take off racing toward the door, reverting to our childhood years and shoving one another the entire way.
She beats me—barely.
“Hudson! Hello, hello. Come on in!” Haley says, moving out of way.
He looks at me over her shoulder, fear written all over his face. Joey follows him inside.
“I’m Haley, Rae’s sister.” She shakes Hudson’s hand.
“Nice to meet you. I’ve heard great things,” he says with small smile, because I tell him almost daily how crazy my sister is.
Haley bends down and sticks her hand out to Joey next. “And you must be Joey. Such a pleasure to meet you.”
Joey stands tall and takes Haley’s hand, shaking it once before dropping it. “Hi.” Then she spots me and makes a beeline into my waiting arms. “Rae! I am so excited to go to the beach! Dad says that even though we can’t swim, we can still stick our feet in. Right, Daddy?”
“That’s right, bug.”
“Daddy?” my father says, standing in the kitchen doorway. He’s rocking his “dad stance” too.
I clear my throat and set Joey down. “Dad, this is Hudson, my boyfriend. Hudson, this is my father, Ted.” They exchange an awkward handshake. “And this is Joey, Hudson’s daughter.”
My dad looks at Joey and scrunches his nose up. Joey mimics him.
“You’re short,” my dad tells her.
Joey shrugs. “At least I’m not old.”
Hudson, Haley, and I are frozen, unsure how my father’s going to react.
Then, my Dad bursts into laughter and holds his fist out to her. Joey bumps it. “Nice job, kiddo.”
“Thanks. My dad says I get my smarts from him,” she says, pointing an accusing finger right at Hudson.
Hudson groans and I stifle a laugh, because damn. She just unknowingly threw Hudson under the bus.
“Thanks, bug,” he mutters.
“So, Hudson, Rae tells me you fixed her car for her. It is going to last longer this time, yes?”
“DAD!” I hiss. “That’s so not even kind of okay!”
Hudson gives a nervous chuckle. “I sure hope so, sir.”
“Right,” I interrupt before my dad can chime in with anything else. “We had better get going, huh? We have a nice little drive ahead of us and I’m sure Joey’s just dying to get there.”
“I am close to death. Can we go now, Daddy?” Joey says, her voice wispy and dramatic.
“We can.” Hudson grabs my bag and walks over to my dad. Using his free hand, he shakes my dad’s again. “It was great to meet you, Ted. I hope our next meeting is longer.”
“Looking forward to it.” Having just met my dad, Hudson has no idea of the meaning behind his words. My dad is going to grill his ass the next time they meet. Even though he’s a nice, easygoing guy, he’s extremely protective of Haley and me. There’s no doubt Hudson will be limping away from that encounter.
“It was great meeting you finally, Hudson. You should come over for dinner sometime. I’ll cook,” Haley offers.
“NO!” Dad and I yell at the same time.
Haley huffs and folds her arms over her chest, stomping her foot once. “You two are so rude!”
Hudson shakes his head and laughs. “Joe, say bye. We’re heading out since you’re dying and all.”
�
�Bye, Rae’s sister. Bye, Old Guy.”
We all laugh and Hudson throws an apologetic look over his shoulder to my father.
As we’re walking out the door, I catch my dad’s eye. He doesn’t look too happy with me right now. I give him my best I’m sorry look and he gives me a nod in return, letting me know we’ll discuss this later.
Oops?
We pull off into a gas station right on the edge of town. Hudson turns to face Joey and Rocky in the back seat.
“You need to pee?” he asks, eyeing Joey, daring her to say no.
She gets the hint and bobs her head up and down. She opens the door some before turning back to me. “Will you go with me, Rae?”
“Of course,” I say, unbuckling my seatbelt and getting out of the car with her.
“I’ll let Rocky out,” Hudson says, meeting us around the front.
“Sounds like a plan, Stan.”
Joey looks up at me with a serious expression. “His name isn’t Stan. It’s Hudson.”
I hear Not Stan laugh as we walk away and inside the gas station. Asshat.
We’re nearing the restrooms when a slimy guy in a shirt that’s way too small for his big gut slides in front of us, a creepy grin on his face.
“Damn, girl.” He whistles appreciatively. “You’re way too young to be a mama. You lookin’ for a daddy? Because I can be yours.”
I wrinkle my nose in disgust and move around him, ignoring his comment.
“Hey, lady. I’m talkin’ to you. Come here.”
He grabs for me and I instinctively throw Joey behind me. The man’s hand connects with my wrist and my other arms flies back on its own accord. My palm connects with the side of his face and he growls, stepping toward me.
“Little bitch!” he spits my way. “Don’t you ever—”
“Hey! Get the fuck away from them!”
Hudson comes barreling down the aisle and the man spins on his heel, taking off in an instant. He runs from the store, glancing back several times. Hudson rushes for me, wrapping me in his arms and hugging Joey close to him.
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