Chapter 21 #2
While Hudson watched Derrick unload the bag, I still couldn’t turn my attention away.
He had his sweatshirt sleeves rolled up to his elbows, exposing his forearms that rested on his sweatpants-clad legs.
It felt weird, seeing him like this, like we were at some sort of sleepover.
Which, in a way, it kind of was—if the sleepover meant no sleep at all.
Hudson looked up and caught me studying him, and if it weren’t for the lowlight of the basement, my blush would’ve been painfully obvious.
“You want to play, Gemma?” Simon asked, saving me from trying to blabber out an excuse for my staring problem. “It’s not that hard. I can switch the mode to easy.”
Hudson patted the empty space between him and the arm of the couch. “You can take my controller. Simon’s probably ready for a break from me.”
“I am,” Simon said with a nod. “And plus, I’ll be able to protect her a whole lot better than you. You shot me more than you hit the zombies.”
I rounded the coffee table and sat down on the plush sofa, my knees knocking together underneath my skirt.
The black controller was warm as I held it, replacing the same spots Hudson’s hands had been holding before.
I stared at the multi-colored buttons and the little joysticks.
He scooted closer to me to point at the controls, explaining.
“This one is to reload,” Hudson said, pointing at the red button.
“The green is to jump, and the joysticks move you around.”
“Got it,” I said, giving the joystick a little swirl.
“This button—” His hand came around on the other side of mine and pressed down against my fingers, causing me to click a button on the backside of the controller. “—is to shoot.”
I drew my lower lip between my teeth as I gave a nod, holding perfectly still underneath his touch. His fingers were soft and warm. “Got it.” My voice was considerably less strong. “I’m going to crush your high score.”
Derrick coughed. “Won’t be hard.”
We quickly found out that I sucked at shooting zombies, even more than Hudson did.
I had a few things I could blame my absolute failure on.
I’d never played a videogame in my life.
The assault of all the colors and movements on my senses was even scarier than the idea of a zombie attack.
Another excuse could’ve been because Simon moved fast through the level, too fast for me to keep up with.
The last reason? The one I’d never admit aloud?
When Hudson leaned against the sofa to watch us play, his shoulder pressed into mine, and there was no stopping the torrent of thoughts that came with the small touch.
Is he doing this on purpose? Is he really not aware of me?
Should I move away? Should I lean closer?
It was no wonder that I died, screen flashing red with defeat.
Hudson leaned closer. “Harder than it looks, huh?”
“It looked pretty hard,” I returned, giving the joysticks a sad roll.
Tee came around the side of the sofa and knelt in front of me, beginning to unload their supplies onto the coffee table.
It was a nailfile, a buffer, and a bottle of mauve-colored polish—at least it looked mauve in the low light.
“Give me your hand,” Tee said, holding theirs out and waiting for me to offer mine.
“It’s on whatever list you have, isn’t it?
” Tee glanced at Hudson. “At least, he said it was.”
Had Hudson memorized my rebellion list? Painting my nails seemed bland in comparison to pulling an all-nighter, and it’d disappeared into the back of my brain. Hudson, though…he’d remembered.
“I give the best manicures around,” they assured me, taking my hand and laying it flat on my knee. “And we can take it off before you leave if you want. But we should check it off your list.”
“Yeah,” I said finally, wiggling my fingers, giving Tee the perfect angle to file them however they wished. “That sounds good.”
“And then, a little later, we’ve got a scary movie to watch,” Derrick added as he took the controller from me, plopping down on the other side of Hudson. “I know we already checked it off, but we should make Hudson squirm again, yeah?”
When I’d made the rebellion list, I never would’ve dreamed I’d have so many people to check things off with. After spending so much of my time keeping to myself, keeping my head down, the thought of experiencing all this with others made me feel so light.
Hudson leaned against the couch once more, and instead of letting his shoulder brush mine again, he maneuvered so his arm lined the back of the sofa, an action that seemed totally nonchalant and innocent, but one that ultimately brought him closer.
It made me think of how Derrick and Tee stood on the porch, his arm slung around them.
I found myself smiling at the scene in front of me.
Simon and Derrick beginning their zombie campaign, already nagging each other about which weapon to choose.
Tee, shaking the bottle of polish and uncapping it.
Hudson at my side, there for me no matter what.
In that moment, I thought Tee was right—it was fate.