Chapter 4 #2
“So, you are going back over there, right? That man is fine and you must see it through. You never know, G, you might’ve met your husband. I’m praying a Christmas miracle over you.”
“See, that’s how I know you need help. Because I literally just met the man and you’re talking about a damn husband. Seek help, serious help.”
She laughed and shrugged. “I tell it how I see it, and even if he isn’t your future husband, he looks like he can have you climbing more than the walls. You need some… bad.” The bad was aggressive and slightly higher pitched than the other part of her statement.
I waved her off, then looked out of the kitchen window. The weather was picking up and the snow was everywhere. Though it was beautiful, it made traveling conditions and anything outdoors hell.
“So, you bought Booger that mini cow he’s been begging for.,” she said as more of a statement than a question.
“You know I did. The kid is extremely convincing. You must have seen her when you went to check on your horse.”
She nodded, a smile at the mere mention of her thoroughbred creasing her lips. “Fed its lil fat ass too. It’s cute and all, but you know it’ll be our responsibility because he’ll be over it in weeks.”
“I hope not. I’m hoping I’m raising a lil Dr. Dolittle. He already loves animals… let’s see if he can talk to them by the time he’s in his teens.”
That earned a laugh from my sister, which I expected, even though I was serious. My baby loved animals, but he didn’t like caring for them. That meant he’d do all the petting, feeding, and smiling but he avoided cleaning and anything remotely close like the plague.
“You really cooked this?” I asked, looking at the pasta dish that looked like a private chef made it.
He laughed. “I told you I could fuck with some pasta, and maybe a steak, but everything else I’on have the patience.”
I giggled, sipping from the white wine he’d poured for me.
Earlier, I did everything I needed to do at home, checked in on my kid, then right when I was about to lay in my bed and get a little sleep, my phone rang.
Turned out Hudson had bullied my number out of Versai and he was calling to make sure I didn’t stand him up.
We were seated at the island next to one another, my legs together between his. He looked at me like I was the last meal he’d ever eat. Every few seconds he’d lick those lips, sending a frenzy through my body. He was fine and he knew it.
“You gonna stay here with me tonight too?” he asked while we ate.
“I don’t know about that.”
“Why not?”
“Because last night it was late. What’s the reason tonight?” I continued to eat my food. “You know you’re really good at this.”
“No reason necessary. I want you to stay and you want to stay, simple as that, Greene with an e.”
I laughed nervously. “You’re so smooth and intentional. I bet this works on all the women back home, huh?”
“I’m neither of those things with the women back home.”
“Why not?”
“Because I don’t care to get to know them or spend more than the allotted amount of time with them. It’s almost nearly about one thing before we part and go our separate ways.”
I nodded, hating I’d even asked.
“Don’t overthink it, Greene. If I wanted just that one thing from you, then we wouldn’t be here. You don’t have to believe me, but you’re different. Shit, this space we’re in right here is different.”
“How?”
“Because I want more than to get between your pretty browns and I feel like I’ve more than shown you that much.” He leaned into my space like he was about to whisper something into my ear but instead kissed the space below it.
I couldn’t fight the smile still on my lips by the time he pulled back. “Oh really?”
“But like I said, don’t get it twisted. I still wanna get in between here, but on your time.” His hand gripped my inner thigh.
“My time. I like the sound of that.”
“I’m glad you do, even though that sounded like you’re up to something. I’ll roll with it, long as you promise me you’ll stay the night.”
“I’ll think about it if you give me a Coca-Cola.”
He chuckled, giving my thigh a tight squeeze. He was on his feet moments later, moving toward the refrigerator. When he had the can in hand, he went to the sink and rinsed it off before returning to his seat and setting the Coke in front of me.
I was about to grab and open it, but he did before I could.
“Probably a lil movie action and you telling me more about yourself.”
I shook my head. “What more could you want to learn about me, Hudson?
“Plenty of shit, beautiful. You only let me get the surface shit. I want more and I wanna give you more too.”
Once again, I was smiling. I didn’t know what it was, but every word from his lips seemed so poetic, like they were carefully put together. He then leaned in, gripping my neck with his massive hand. His lips mashed against mine not a second later. I felt like I was melting against him.
When we finally parted, I was all smiles, and I hated it.
“Now finish eating while I wash these dishes.” He leaned in and pressed his lips against my temple, then rounded the counter to clean up. The entire time he did, I watched, and honestly, I was in awe. He had manners, cooked, and cleaned. There was something about him.
“You seem good at cooking, you do dishes, and you’re not too bad on the conversation. What exactly is wrong with you, Hudson?”
He glanced up from the pot he was cleaning and looked directly at me before he smirked. “Shit, probably the obvious mommy issues and my inability to deal with folks like that.”
“Well. Since we’re being honest, I don’t have any of those, but I do have extreme trust issues and I tend to bond better with animals than actual people. Per my father, I have less patience for people.”
He laughed. “I could see that.”
“Of course it isn’t far off, because unlike people, animals don’t deceive. They may be mischievous at times, but that’s usually from upbringing and lack of structure.”
“Damn that’s fucked up, but I get it.”
“Can I ask you something and not kill the mood?”
“Shoot.” He glanced in my direction briefly before getting back to the task at hand.
“Do you miss football? Like right now, does some part of you wish you were there?”
It took him a minute before he began to speak.
“To be honest with you, I don’t miss it the way I thought I would.
Some niggas dream of going to the league and being famous, I never did.
I dreamt of not worrying about money or ever needing a soul.
I dreamt of a freedom that football afforded.
So I guess I miss when it was less of a job and more of a hobby? ”
I nodded. “Understood.”
“Then, even If I did miss it, I don’t know how to go back and trust being on that field.
I don’t know how to exist in the space that almost killed me around people who should have had my best interest at heart.
Trust fucked up. I mean, do you think there is more to me than football?
Especially since I’ve given it more than ten years of my life. ”
“And that’s understandable. You have to give yourself time. Of course you won’t get over this and forget, but you’ll be aware.” I finished my food and held my bowl out for him to grab.
He grabbed it and immediately began washing it. I watched him the entire time. He was thorough and almost meticulous which made me smile, because that reminded me of my mother. She had a similar meticulousness.
“You know, if you don’t go back to football, you definitely have a future in hospitality.”
He chuckled. “You got jokes.”
“Plenty, but that isn’t one of them. You could open a restaurant or a franchise. I mean, I can tell by the care you put into that pasta, there is more to you and cooking than you care to say.”
“Meaning?”
“You asked me if I thought there was more to you than football. My answer is yes, especially because I didn’t meet you under the pretense of being a pro athlete. I instead met you as yourself.”
We maintained eye contact for several seconds before he licked his lips and focused on the task at hand.
When he was finished, he moved around the counter toward me. Once he was next to me, he extended his hand for mine. “What movie do you wanna watch, beautiful?”
“I wasn’t the one who brought up a movie. You were, so pick your movie, Hudson.”
“Bet.” In one swift motion he was seated and pulling my body down onto him. His body was hard, but so welcoming.
I maneuvered some, making myself comfortable in his lap to no avail. “How about we watch whatever this movie is in the bedroom? This sofa isn’t the most comfortable.”
He laughed. “Yeah, you right. This motherfucker is anti-sleep for real.”
I joined the laughter as we got on our feet, moving in the direction of his bedroom. I could feel his eyes, then the statement from his lips had me giggling.
“That thang thicker than a motherfucker back there.”
“Scratch the hospitality part, your mouth is flip.” I pulled my hoodie off and tossed it onto the sofa on the side of the bed. I was wearing only a tank top and jeans before I sat down on the bed to take my boots off.
“Maybe it is, but I got a feeling you like it flip, G.” He leaned down and aided me in removing my boots. He then dropped them on the floor as I scooted to the top of the bed to get comfortable.
I laughed. “You got a feeling, huh?”
“Yep, a feeling. Now tell me I’m wrong, baby.”
I watched him remove his shirt before grabbing the TV remote from the table under the TV. Then he cut the lights out and his muscular frame moved toward the bed. I felt a dip in the bed, then his arm pulling me into him.
“You comfortable now?”
“Yes.”