Epilogue
LEO
The lanes on each side of me were quiet as I dragged the heel of my right shoe against the floor three times—a new part of my routine before beginning the approach.
Pop music played over the speakers, which drowned out the chatter.
All eyes were on me as the last person to play.
No pressure. There was only one frame left in the spring season—well, two if I could pull off a strike or spare.
I needed at least a spare to tie Gutterade with the Dewey Decimators in the final season rankings.
I needed the win. For me, for Hudson, for our team.
There weren’t any perks to winning beyond pride, our team name on the league trophy for the next three months, and free drinks at next week’s celebration between seasons.
Some teams never tried to win and only participated for the social aspect.
Gutterade had fun, but we wanted to win too.
Hudson and I had discovered our competitive sides through bowling, and our win was so close that I refused to let it slip my grasp.
Nabbing our first team win the same season Hudson and I got together would be the perfect icing on that bowling cake.
Ignoring the dozens of pairs of eyes on me, I visualized the congratulatory kiss Hudson would plant on me if I pulled it off.
When I pulled it off. With the promise of that prize, I took my first step and moved into my choreography.
My neon-green ball hugged the right gutter before curving and crashing into the center pin.
I balled my fists, ready to punch them in the air when all ten pins toppled over.
But two remained.
7-10 split.
Fuck .
I couldn’t remember the last time I’d pulled off a spare with a 7-10 split. Knocking over the two pins at opposite ends of the back row seemed an impossible feat. I squeezed my eyes closed and forced away the dread of a looming defeat as the pins reset and my ball worked its way back to me.
After forcing a breath and shaking myself off before my second turn, I turned around to grab my ball.
Hudson stood at the edge of the approach.
He looked sexy in his bowling gear. From shoes matching the ones he’d bought me right after we started dating to the dark jeans to the black-and-neon-green shirt and the rainbow pins we wore over our hearts for Pride month, we were a bowling dream team.
My shoulders dropped with his encouraging smile. I strode to claim an encouraging kiss and tasted beer on his tongue. When catcalls and whistles erupted around us, I pulled back to find Hudson’s cheeks as pink as I’d hoped. He not-so-secretly loved PDA, and I was happy to give it to him.
He cupped my neck. “You’ve got this. The librarians are quaking in their cardigans over there. If anyone on our team can pick up a 7-10 split, it’s you.”
“I appreciate your vote of confidence.” I needed his confidence to boost my own. If we lost, I could count on the librarians bringing us each a copy of Bowling for Dummies to the party next week.
“And if you screw it up, I’ll still love you.”
The world faded to only Hudson. He loves me? “You love me despite me always leaving my coffee spoon on the edge of the sink?”
His eyes widened as he likely clocked what he’d said. I hooked my finger in his belt loop and smiled until he relaxed.
“Despite that major character flaw, yes.” He kissed the corner of my mouth. “Now get us a spare so we have a chance at wiping the smug smiles off those book nerds’ faces.”
Hudson turned to walk back to his seat next to Ollie, and I stared after him. Hudson loved me. He loved me. The greatest person I knew loved me. The words filled me, lit me up, and buoyed me to win for him.
“Hey, Hudson? I love you too!” My words carried over the music and conversation. My last sight before turning to grab my ball was Hudson’s beaming smile and Ollie leaning in to give him a side hug.
“Save the lovey-dovey crap and lose already,” one of the Dewey Decimators called out.
“Got a book you gotta run home to?” Ollie teased back.
I’ve got this. I kicked my heel against the ground three times again. Step forward, arm swung back, then forward, release. The ball barreled toward the pin on the right, knocking it down with force. Come on, come on. It flew to the left and knocked the seven-pin over.
The spectators went wild. We were tied for first. I stared at the pinsetter. I did it. I picked up a 7-10 split. The spare in the tenth frame earned me one more roll, and as long as I didn’t lose it in the gutter, we would pull off a win.
I waited for my ball to spit out of the return and managed to send six more pins flying.
Before I knew it, too many arms to count wrapped around me from all directions as my teammates jumped and cheered. Familiar lips pressed against my neck.
“We won!” Ollie yelled in my ear.
The next moments were a blur of enjoying the moment with my team.
“Decimate that!” I called out to the librarians when we returned to the seating area.
Several of them playfully flipped me off before traipsing to the bar.
I grinned ear-to-ear as the other teams and league employees congratulated us. For the first time in our team’s history, we would get to wear the fake dahlia floral crowns of pride at the celebration next week.
The Decimators presented us with our rightfully earned victory beers as we ribbed each other. Hudson and I never left each other’s sides during all of it.
“It’s disgusting watching you two so happy.” Ollie scrunched his nose as he stared at us.
“It’ll be even more disgusting to watch you when you find someone to put up with you,” Hudson said. I loved that the two of them had grown even closer over the past few months.
“You gotta set me up with someone first,” he said before being whisked away by another team.
“You about ready to get out of here? Because I have an idea of how we can celebrate,” I whispered into Hudson’s ear when people began filtering out.
Hudson had our stuff gathered before I’d dug my car keys from my pocket.
Thankfully, it was a quick ride because I wanted, needed , to show Hudson how much I loved him. The words had nearly spilled from my mouth many times, and I’d nearly worked up the nerve to say them. Of course my competitive boyfriend would say them first.
Hudson put our bowling shoes in their cubby to hang out until the new season started in a couple of weeks, put away his street shoes, then crowded into my space. “You mentioned something about celebrating?”
“I did. How about you get comfortable in bed after giving the princess a treat, and I’ll meet you there?”
Hudson’s eyes flared as he nodded. He leaned and gave me a heated kiss that sent flames licking across my skin before he pulled away.
“Sorry, Ledgie, but you’re relocating,” he said as he entered our bedroom.
I laughed as she ran from our bedroom, throwing a hiss over her shoulder, to my old room that we’d turned into our TikTok filming studio. It had a third cat tree. Most spoiled cat on the planet.
I hurried through a fast shower and prepped myself for what I had planned. When I exited our bathroom, I found Hudson sprawled naked on our bed. Shadows from the candles he’d lit danced on his pale skin and the white comforter. I wanted to rub my face against his round belly, so I did.
“You and my stomach.” He chuckled while sliding his fingers into my hair.
“It’s so snuggly.” I sat up and straddled his waist. “We got first place.”
He gripped my hip with one hand and stroked his hand up my thigh with his other. “We did. I gotta admit, I couldn’t have pulled that off. You did great.”
“Thanks. You know what helped?”
“What?”
“Thinking about my congratulatory kiss.”
“Is that right?”
I nodded. “But I also wanted something else.” I walked my fingers up his chest.
“What’s that?”
“You. In me.”
Hudson’s eyes flashed. “Are you sure you’re ready?”
I nodded. We’d dedicated a lot of time the past three months to getting used to each other’s bodies.
Sex with Hudson was unlike anything I’d ever experienced.
He could be as focused and meticulous with my body as he was in other parts of his life, but he also knew how to release his usually tightly held control.
He let himself have fun. And got messy . My favorite.
After weeks of frequent hand jobs, blowjobs, and discovering the wonders of frotting, we’d eventually gone to a Portland sex shop and picked up training kits.
Hudson quickly learned he didn’t enjoy anything bigger than a finger or two, but I wanted more.
Wanted everything. We’d been using the training kit on me, and I could easily take the size closest to Hudson.
But I wanted him. His warmth. The connection.
Also, shame on me for not exploring the wonders of my prostate before because damn .
Hudson’s fingers teased along my crack. “You sure you’re ready?”
I stared into his hazel eyes and cupped his cheek. “Yes. I’m ready.” I reached into the nightstand drawer and grabbed the lube. Since we’d had recent doctor check-ups, we’d planned to skip condoms whenever we decided to try this.
Hudson had become a pro at prepping me with his fingers, and within minutes, he had me panting, stretched, and ready.
I focused on the flush on Hudson’s cheeks and the love in his eyes as I lowered myself on him.
Love . My best friend, my favorite person, was in love with me.
The man I’d been lucky enough to meet when he stepped into Blu’s Balls & Bowling on a whim.
Both of us there to blow off some steam from our troubles.
Damp curls stuck to his face as dirty praise fell from his lips. Sex was the only time Hudson cursed, and it felt like a win each time he lost himself enough to do it.
“So fucking sexy. Connected with you like this.”
I groaned at Hudson’s words and picked up my pace. I wasn’t going to last and could tell by his grip on my hips that he wasn’t either. The possessive way he stared at me, telling me how much he loved me over and over, pushed my orgasm over the edge. He stuttered and followed me off the cliff.
“Love you so much.” I pulled him close as we rocked together through our aftershocks.
“Love you.” He kissed each part of my face he could reach.
I soaked up the intimacy of another first experience with Hudson. “We’re definitely doing that again.”
He chuckled against my neck. “Works for me.” After pulling out, he teased his finger at my hole and pushed his release back in.
“God, you love the mess.”
“Only with you.”
I hummed and tightened my arms around him. Hudson shifted to lie on my chest.
“So…”
“So?” he asked.
“You love me, huh?”
“I do, and I said it first.”
I pinched his hip. “That’s fine. You can win that round, but I love you more.
” And I vowed to myself to show him how much every day.
On our good days, our bad, and each one in between.
I wouldn’t repeat my mistakes and send our relationship into the gutter.
Because I knew Hudson was it for me. I’d rolled a strike in the game of love.
* * *
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