Always Closer

by Amelia Harlow

  An email notification popped up on my laptop, it was from Bill about the catering job. The subject was titled “Cooper Wines”. It was for an event taking place at Hudson’s winery. A wave of anxiety and excitement shot over me. I was so nervous about seeing him again, I wouldn’t know what to say. I wasn’t sure if he was mad at me or if he’d just lost interest. I was feeling very confused and unsure about how to handle everything, however, the only thing that I could think of when I went to bed that night was Hudson. I thought about our day at the beach, how good he looked, and how good it felt to kiss him. I could feel myself getting excited as I thought about his body, and how it felt to be pressed against him under that shower, his muscles so big and strong. I thought about how it felt to have him hardening against me, and how it sent waves of excitement pulsing through my body. I wanted to go back to that moment and start over. If I hadn’t snapped at him maybe we would have been spending the night together, and instead of imagining all of this, I could have had the real thing.

  On Saturday morning I felt nervous about the day ahead. I still hadn’t heard from Hudson, and I began to worry that he might completely ignore me at the event or ask me to leave. There was no way of knowing how this was going to play out but I had to at least try and see what was going on with him. The event at the winery was a wedding, and therefore quite formal. I wanted to look my best, so I put on more makeup than usual, and styled my hair. Normally I just tie it up in a really simple bun or pony tail, but I felt like I needed to make an effort. I wanted Hudson to notice me. The clothes unfortunately weren’t the sexiest, but they were flattering enough. Simple black skirt with a white blouse. Not the wow factor image I would have liked, but it would have to do.

  This was the first time I had been to Hudson’s winery, or house, apparently he lived on the estate. I drove through the front gates which were large and black, supported by stone walls on either side. The driveway was very long and I could see the house and winery off in the distance. When I reached the winery, I pulled the car into the parking area and went to meet the rest of the staff who I could see wandering back and forth between the restaurants catering vans and the house. There were a few people from the restaurant I recognised, but a lot must have been from other businesses around town. There was no sign of Hudson, and I was growing increasingly nervous. I followed the other waiters and waitresses into the kitchen.

  ‘You okay darling?’ Asked an older woman as she locked her eyes on me and continued to chop the tomatoes in front of her without even looking at them.

  ‘Hi, I’m Mae, from Murano’s. I’m here to help with catering today.’

  ‘Ah yes, you can just head on out to the garden, the others are setting up out there at the moment.’

  ‘Okay, thanks.’ I made my way out to the garden hoping not to bump into Hudson just yet.

  The garden was beautiful. It was set on top of a hill that rolled down into the vineyard and had sweeping views over the valley. It was absolutely gorgeous. I spun around and looked up at the house which was incredible and had a sense of grandness to it. A balcony appeared to run the entire way around the second storey, collecting views from every corner of the valley.

  ‘Mae!’ I heard a voice shout out towards me.

  It startled me and made me jump, and I nearly tripped over a pot plant. The voice began to laugh. It was Jake from the restaurant.

  ‘Are you trying to kill me?’ I asked.

  ‘Sorry,’ he said, still laughing. He was a few years younger than me and very playful, always the one making practical jokes and getting in trouble at work.

  ‘We’re just setting the tables over here if you want to give us a hand?’ He gestured in the direction

  ‘Sure.’

  ‘Don’t you know Hudson Cooper?’ asked Jake.

  ‘What?’

  I wasn’t aware anyone knew anything about me, other than Bec of course.

  ‘I’ve seen him come into the restaurant a few times and chat to you. Are you friends?’ he asked.

  ‘Is he around?’ I asked a little too excitedly.

  ‘Oh, I see… maybe more than friends?’ he teased.

  ‘What? No. Why are you asking anyway?’

  ‘Just thinking you might have the hookup and can get us a few complimentary bottles for later?’

  ‘Jake, really? You’re a big boy, if you want something just ask for it yourself.’ I was quite short with him.

  ‘Okay, okay. No biggie,’ he said.

  I walked away and continued working on another table.

  A few hours later the wedding guests were arriving and filtering through to the ceremony area which was beautifully decorated. White chairs were positioned on either side of the aisle which lead down to a beautiful floral altar. A small child began running straight towards me, screaming. The mother was running out behind him, struggling in her heels and dress to keep up any decent pace.

  ‘Can you please grab him!’ she yelled, as she chased him.

  Before he had a chance to run into the table behind me that was stacked with glasses, I scooped him up in my arms and waited for the crying to start as I carried him back to his mum. He was just talking baby language and pointing at everything, and to my surprise, there was no crying.

  ‘Thank you so much!’ The woman said as she stretched out her arms and I handed him back to her.

  ‘Not a problem.’

  The boy waved at me as he was carried away by his mother. I waved back at him, watching his chubby cheeks grow bigger as he smiled. There was no sign of Hudson around, and I assumed if he had seen me he was probably going to try and avoid me anyway. It was very easy to start feeling insecure when I thought about it too much, and being in the presence of his estate wasn’t helping. Everything was so perfect and grand. The Topiary trees were perfectly sculpted into round balls of lush green and the water feature had an amazing array of koi fish in it. Every detail had been meticulously tended to, and seemingly no expense spared on the creation of this place.

  From where I was standing I could see through the entrance of the large barn, which appeared to be the winery. Large wooden barrels lined the sides of the barn and large industrial lights hung from the ceiling. It was definitely a beautiful place for a wedding. I continued to set the tables, looking up every so often in hope of seeing Hudson. When the guests started filtering in we began serving some drinks, and my tray was emptied by their eager hands before I could even make it very far into the crowd. I carried on back and forth for a good hour or so, hoping to see Hudson at some point, but that didn’t happen.

  The sound of the Bridal Chorus began to flow across the garden from the string quartet. I was in the kitchen at this point, so I edged my way out to the garden. We all looked up to catch a glimpse of the bride who was now exiting the house in her white gown, the train flowing out behind her. I imagined what it would feel like to know you have someone so completely. It must be the greatest feeling in the world. It sure looked like it was from the smile stretched across her face. I hurried back into the kitchen to help prepare for the reception. After the ceremony the guests began to fill the tables and I carried the drinks around to them.

  ‘Champagne sir?’ I asked.

  ‘Yes please!’ said the man, who grabbed four glasses and began to knock them back with serious speed.

  ‘What is wrong with you!’ Murmured his wife, as she slapped him on the upper arm. He giggled to himself and didn’t seem to take much notice of her. The rest of the table looked a little awkward about it, but continued their conversations, their eyes casually wandering back to the bickering couple.

  The next drink I offered was to a very handsome man who took only one glass and said, ‘Sorry about him,’ he leant in a little closer, ‘try and avoid serving him if you can, he doesn’t know when to stop.’

  ‘I’ll see what I can do,’ I said, as I moved to the next table.

  When I reached the next table, I looked back over my shoulder at the handsome man. I had a feeling that he was
watching me as I walked away, and was curious to know if my feeling was correct. He smiled at me when our eyes met and I quickly diverted mine back to the table and guests I was serving. All the guests were very attractive people, and I began to imagine if Hudson were here, how many of these women would be throwing themselves at him. It seemed most people in town knew who he was, and from what I had heard, most women wanted him. My thoughts made me feel very uneasy. I needed to find him as soon as possible and apologise in person.

  My feet were starting to get sore from the heels I was wearing. I hadn’t worn heels much since I left Alex and I had clearly lost my tolerance to uncomfortable footwear. I moved aside, towards the barn, to adjust the strap and loosen it a little. I’d bent down and while I was adjusting the strap I felt someone brush against me. There was no one close by so it startled me. I snapped around and saw the handsome man standing behind me.

  ‘Sorry,’ he said, ‘I was just on my way back from the bathroom, I didn’t see you there.’

  The sun had gone down, so perhaps there was some truth to his statement, but the way he looked into my eyes made me feel uneasy.

  ‘Don’t let me stop you.’ He gestured to the heel I was adjusting.

  He was looking me up and down, and then moved in a bit closer to me as he looked around at our surroundings.

  ‘Are you just going to stand around and watch me or get back to the party?’ I asked.

  ‘Ooo, a little bit feisty are we?’ He took a step towards me, so close that our bodies were almost touching.

  The smell of alcohol on his breath was very strong and I turned my head away to avoid breathing in his scent.

  ‘Excuse me, can you please leave me alone now?’ I asked politely, not wanting to cause any confrontation.

  ‘I don’t think I’ll do that,’ he said, as he ran his index finger down the front of my shirt and leaned in closer.

  I pulled away, but didn’t make a sound or really react at all. I was stunned and didn’t know what to do. Still frozen, I couldn’t move as he moved in closer, this time breathing heavily on my neck as his words fell out of his mouth.

  ‘I’ve had my eye on you all night,’ he said, as he ran his hand up my thigh.

  I hurriedly stepped backwards and away from him, but I just backed into the wall of the barn. I moved to step around him and walk away but this time he grabbed my wrist. Before he could lean in again and spill his breath over me, the sound of heavy and quickly approaching footsteps caught his attention.

  ‘Hey!’ Shouted a familiar and booming voice.

  The man’s hand let go of mine as he spun around towards the voice.

  Before I could realise what was happening, Hudson’s body was between the man and I.

  ‘Are you all right?’ His words were hurried and concerned.

  I nodded a few times as I gazed into the eyes I had been missing.

  As soon as Hudson could see I was okay, he turned back to the man.

  ‘What’s going on here?’ he said, with power in his voice as he stepped towards the man.

  ‘Nothing. None of your business anyway.’ The man straightened his jacket up, and with it his posture, puffing out his chest and trying to act tough. He sneered as he went to walk away.

  ‘It didn’t look like nothing from where I was standing, and it is my business.’ Hudson’s voice was stern, yet calm as he stepped in front of the man to prevent him from leaving.

  ‘Fuck off out of my face!’ The man was getting more agitated.

  ‘Watch your mouth,’ said Hudson.

  ‘Who the fuck do you think you are anyway? This doesn’t concern you. If I say nothing’s happening here, then nothing’s happening here, so fuck off.’

  ‘Listen here. It does concern me.’ Hudson moved a little closer to the man. ‘It concerns me when a member of my staff appears to be getting harassed by a guest on my estate.’

  ‘Whatever, I wasn’t doing anything,’ he said, and went to walk away again.

  Hudson grabbed him by his upper arm. ‘We’re not done here.’

  ‘Get your fucking hands off me!’ he growled.

  Hudson waved over a man that he must have known well and had seen the whole thing unfold. The man casually walked over, his body looking bulky and rigid with muscles.

  ‘What the fuck is this?’ said the man, who had touched me.

  ‘You’ll be escorted off the property and a cab will be here shortly to take you home,’ said Hudson in a calm tone.

  ‘This is bullshit! I’m at a wedding!’

  ‘This isn’t up for discussion,’ said Hudson, as he handed him over.

  Hudson turned to me. ‘I’m so sorry, are you sure you’re all right?’ He rested his hand on my arm just below my shoulder as he gently rubbed it.

  It felt like I hadn’t heard his voice in so long, and I couldn’t help but smile. ‘Yeah. Yeah I’m okay. Thank you, thanks, I-’

  He cut me off, shaking his head and looking back at the man. ‘That guy. I’m so sorry.’ Hudson was genuinely apologetic and clearly felt very bad about what he had just seen. The man was still arguing as he was being escorted off the property.

  ‘Oh it’s okay, really.’

  I was just so happy to see Hudson and be talking to him, that I really didn’t care at all about what had just happened.

  ‘Are you sure?’ he asked.

  ‘Yeah, yeah, look it’s fine, it happens from time to time. Some men simply think they can have whatever they want.’ I shrugged

  ‘That’s not fine though,’ said Hudson, with concern in his voice.

  ‘Well no, it’s not.’ I tried to correct myself, ‘But unfortunately there’s not much I can do about it. I’m just really glad you were here this time.’

  Hudson looked deep into my eyes with sorrow.

  ‘Me too,’ he said.

  ‘You can take the rest of the night off, I’ll tell Bill you were here for the whole shift, it won’t be a problem.’

  My heart sank a little. I felt like he didn’t want to see me. He hadn’t replied to my texts and he was already shuffling me off his property.

  ‘I’m okay Hudson. Really, I’d rather just get back to work and forget about it.’

  There was a pause as he looked at me, and I could see he was thinking about whether or not to push the subject.

  ‘Okay, no problem, just let me know if you need anything.’

  ‘Will do. Thanks.’

  I walked back to the reception area. The food was now being served and I continued carrying plates to the tables all the way through to dessert.

  CHAPTER NINE

  I was moving some empty bottles of wine into the barn when Hudson came in.

  ‘Hey. Sorry… don’t mean to stalk you,’ he said, as his head poked out from behind one of the wine barrels.

  A little laugh fell out from my chest, and for a moment we just smiled at each other. He walked over to me and leant against a nearby wooden beam that stretched all the way to the high ceiling of the barn. With his arms folded, it looked as if his shirt would burst under the pressure of his muscles. He looked down at the floor and said my name as if he were going to ask me something serious.

  ‘I’m really sorry,’ he said in a serious tone.

  ‘I told you it’s fine, really, I’m okay, more okay than ever.’

  ‘No, I’m sorry that I haven’t called.’

  My heart sank again. I know how this conversation goes. He was about to say he had met someone else. My mind started racing and I busied myself with the bottles I was stacking away. Hudson walked over to me, took the bottle from my hand and placed it on the wooden bench.

  ‘Mae, I felt so bad about the other day, for pushing the subject with you. I wanted to call you but it really seemed like you needed some space, and I hadn’t heard from you so I just assumed you really didn’t want to hear from me.’

  ‘You didn’t get my message?’ I asked.

  He looked at me confused and shook his head.

  I took my phone fro
m my pocket and pulled up the message I had sent him, handing him the phone.

  ‘No, I never got this.’

  ‘Strange,’ I said.

  ‘I was down the coast a lot this week and there’s a few areas that don’t get great reception, so that could be it. I’m really sorry, if I’d known you were feeling like that I wouldn’t have hesitated to call you. I would have replied straight away. I hope you know that.’

  ‘Well I do now,’ I laughed.

  ‘You must have been thinking I was ignoring you all week. I’m so sorry, definitely was not the case.’ He moved closer to me, now leaning against the table.

  ‘I actually couldn’t get you out of my mind,’ he said, as he took my hands in his, ‘I surfed a lot this week, trying to clear my head and think about ways to make it up to you.’

  ‘You don’t have anything to make up for. I’m sorry for snapping at you. It’s just that part of me… that part…’ I didn’t know how to finish the sentence. I didn’t know how to tell him about Alex and everything in my past.

  ‘Hey, hey,’ said Hudson, before he swept the piece of hair from my face that was hanging across my eye and tucked it behind my ear, ‘we don’t have to talk about that, it’s all right.’

  My chin was lifted upwards by his hand until I was looking deep into his blue eyes. I looked down at his lips, and realised just how much I had been missing them. Hudson’s eyes were wandering between my eyes and my lips, as his face moved closer towards mine. The muffled sounds of the party could be heard from this back corner of the barn, the sounds of laughter, talking and clinking crystal filled the night. I let my face move towards Hudson’s and waited for the moment where I would kiss his sweet lips again. With our faces touching, I could feel his warm breath against my skin and his chest breathing deep against mine. The palm of his hand slid down the side of my face, and it felt like he was teasing me, holding his kiss back from me, until finally our lips were locked together, wet and warm. He breathed in deep and let out a pleasure filled moan as he pulled me close, right up against his body. His mouth slid across mine and his tongue moved gently inside my mouth. I moved my tongue against his and sucked on his bottom lip. The warmth of his tongue and the feeling of him inside my mouth was intoxicating.