Chapter 4
Greene
Iwasn’t used to waking up in a man’s arms, so waking up with Hudson holding on to me for dear life was like something out of one of those cute ass chick flicks I watched on Sundays. It wasn’t until I started moving that he too got up.
“You boutta dip on me?” he asked, voice filled with sleep.
“Um, maybe. I need to get home and feed my son’s Christmas gift.” When Hudson was quiet for too long, I turned and looked at him before speaking. “What six-year-old wants his own mini cow?”
Hudson laughed. “Then after that?”
“Then absolutely noth—”
“Come back here and have lunch or dinner with me.” He stood to his full height, approaching the space behind me.
Being in his space felt so good, so necessary. Even my tendency to overthink couldn’t convince me to move. “You’re cooking?”
“If you want me to, yeah. I mean… I’m limited, baby. I’m an athlete. I know how to make extremely carb dense meals. Pasta, pasta, and more pasta.”
“Well as long as it’s meat with that pasta, I’ll be inclined to come back.”
“Inclined to come back. You tryna play me, shorty?” He stepped from behind me, moving toward the washroom.
When I say this man is fine, I meant just that.
His tattooed back had me licking my lips while curling my toes into the carpet beneath me.
Hudson was on the tall side, but nowhere near lanky or anything.
He had an athletic build. Shit, because he was an athlete.
“No, not at all. Also, I’ll bring these back. We forgot to put my clothes in the dryer.” I followed him to the washroom, hoping there was possibly a spare toothbrush in there.
When I entered, I heard him in the other half while my eyes marveled at the white toothbrushes in the plastic awaiting use next to the toothpaste.
By the time he came out of the other part of the washroom, he was washing his hands while I brushed my teeth. This man was perfect, so perfect that I marveled at the sight of him even though I knew I needed to be getting out of here.
“Your son, where is he?” he asked out of the blue once I finished brushing my teeth.
“With my father. We live on a family compound somewhat like this, so it’s a matter of a few feet.
I try to let him spend as much time as he needs with my father, especially now with it being the holidays and my mother being gone.
He’ll be back with me tomorrow and of course we’re doing all the cheesy holiday mess.
” I laughed at the thought before finally looking at my phone.
I knew for a fact Raev had blown me up, considering I read her message last night and kept it moving.
“Cheesy like what?” he asked, making me look up at him. He was now brushing his teeth and watching me like I was about to take off running or something.
“The days leading up, we put up the Christmas tree, decorate the outside, bake cookies for us to eat, and of course build that God awful gingerbread house that always falls before we finish. I hate it, but he loves it, so we do it every year. Then on Christmas we go to the Jubilee. He loves it. ” I rolled my eyes toward the ceiling at the thought.
Every year we put up the tree later, because the truth of the matter was, I didn’t want to.
This holiday had been my mother’s favorite, so spending yet another one without her was hard.
For a moment I just watched him, flexing his muscles not at all on purpose, but making the simplest part step of self-care sexy. Once he was finished, he just looked at me before his features contorted into a big smile.
“For a kid that type of shit is golden. You’re doing your shit, mama.” Something about the way he said that was somber.
“You didn’t have traditions as a kid? You know, things that you did as a family?”
He laughed dryly. “Nah, when we left here it was all about finding her happiness and me being the perfect quiet accessory to make her single mother ploy more enticing to some.”
I nodded, moving toward him. My hand was on the side of his arm, immediately feeling like I should comfort him or fly to wherever his mother was and beat her ass.
Shit, I hoped she wasn’t dead, either way I meant what I said.
“You are invited to join us. I mean it’s nothing fancy, and honestly, just him and me because while my father clutches a bottle of whiskey at the front window around that time my sister is usually God knows where. ”
He seemed confused, so I explained more.
“Christmas was my mother’s favorite holiday. She always went all out. It was a big deal for her, so it’s a little hard for all of us around this time. But there is no way you can tell that to a six-year-old, so I suck it up and enjoy the holiday.”
I guess it was his time to comfort me, because before I knew it, I was being pulled into a tight ass hug.
We talked for a while longer before I had to go and he made me promise to come back. He then walked me to my sister’s car, kissed me like he had known me my whole life, and watched me pull out of the driveway.
By the time I made it home, it was well into the morning, and I saw my sister coming out of the barn with a bucket.
“Next time you buy us all a responsibility, tell me first please. G,” she muttered with a slight roll of her eyes.
“Uh yeah, my bad. I was coming to feed her.” My attention was snagged by the piece of mail I had just pulled from the mailbox.
It was addressed to me, which wasn’t out of the ordinary, but it was from Boris.
Confusion swept my features as I ripped into the envelope, wondering just what the hell he wanted.
It wasn’t long before I was staring at a check in the amount of twenty thousand dollars in my name.
My mouth went dry as I read the small card behind it.
I think about you every day, G. Here is a little something for all the time I’ve missed.
-B
I rolled my eyes toward the sky before I finally looked at my sister. She was going on and on about something, but I had tuned her out.
“You didn’t hear a word I said, did you?” she asked, hand now on her hip.
“Nope, I didn’t. I was too busy looking at this.” I held the check up for her to see.
“Well, I say it’s about damn time that good for nothing deadbeat did something for my nephew. Shit.” Funny enough, she was now sporting a mug at the thought.
I shook my head and continued toward my stairs. Then I remembered I had the key fob for her car. “Oh, and here.” I moved back toward her, holding it out.
“Wait, hold the hell up.” She snatched the key fob from me then stepped back. She was looking me up and down. “Bitch, where you been?”
“Minding my business,” I tossed over my shoulder, climbing the stairs to my front door.
I knew it would be only a matter of time before she followed me into the house, so I didn’t bother closing the door.
Instead I moved toward the kitchen, first plugging my phone into the charger.
It was dead and had been since last night.
I then moved to the coffee machine, getting ready to brew a fresh pot.
“So are you not gonna tell me where you were last night and whose big ass clothes you are wearing? Start talking, Greene.” Before I could even start talking, this fool leaned in and sniffed me. “And you smell like a man. The scent is expensive too.”
“Um… back your crazy ass up, please. And also, what does it matter to you? It’s not like you gave a shit about much of anything after Don walked in the door.”
She sucked her teeth and rolled her eyes. “You know it isn’t like that.”
“Mhmm.” I pursed my lips, turning around to grab a coffee mug.
“Okay maybe it is, but I gave you my car key instead of leaving you stranded. Plus, it isn’t like you called to check on me. Instead you sent a text message telling me I wasn’t shit.”
“Girl, bye. You most likely had a throat full of dick. You weren’t gonna answer the phone.”
Her mouth was wide open before she busted into a loud fit of laughter. “Oh my god.”
“Exactly and you didn’t deny it. Do you want a cup of coffee or not?”
“Yeah, what the heck? A third cup this morning won’t do any more harm than the second. Pour me up, and while you’re at it, tell me why you’re just now getting home and who you were with.”
I cut my eyes between her and the mug tree in the center of my island before I started speaking. “You don’t know him.”
“I don’t know him. I know every nigga from the Pointe almost to the Falls, hoe. Let me in on it.” She peered at me seriously, something flashing in her gaze. “Wait, Jonas’s son? The pro football player who was at Guuds last night.”
Confusion swept my features, because how did she know who he was when she had been long gone by the time Jonas introduced him. Damn, was I the only person unaware that this man was a pro football player? “How did you kn—”
“He’s Don’s cousin, remember? And plus, even though I didn’t physically tell you I was leaving, I knew who I was leaving you in the company of, especially since from the moment he walked in the door he couldn’t keep his eyes off you.
I mean, he literally didn’t even come outside to talk to Don like Duhani.
He stayed in there, my guess is gawking at you. ” She shrugged.
“Oh.”
“Don’t oh me. Was he at least good? I mean, he must have been for you to be walking in here at ten in the fucking morning, Greene.” I moved to set her cup of coffee in front of her.
I laughed at her enthusiasm. Then I commenced to giving her the rundown of my evening with Hudson.
I didn’t tell her all of what we talked about, but enough for her to get the gist of the evening and how we ended up Guuds Ranch.
The entire time she smiled and clutched her chest like the true hopeless romantic she was.
In her opinion everything I described was either sweet or pure intimacy.
My sister saw love in everything, even when to me shit was just basic reaction.