Chapter 4
HUDSON
Ifelt a strain in my back when I turned the wheel to make a left.
The close-combat scene we’d filmed this morning was well-rehearsed, but the choreography was complex, so it’d taken a dozen takes to get it right.
Filming was due to wrap at the end of the week, so things were hectic on set.
Still, I’d carved out twenty minutes between takes because Serena’s smile was worth blowing off a producer on a movie that was almost done anyway.
My phone rang through the speakers, and Maddie’s name lit up the dash.
I hit the answer button on the console display. “Hey, Maddie.”
“Hi, Hudson! I hope you’re hungry. I’m near your set, and I have that leftover pork from the other day, all heated up and ready to go.”
I winced, feeling bad that she’d gone to all that trouble for nothing. “Actually, I’m heading over to Serena’s set right now. She’s got a short break between scenes.”
“Oh. Right. Of course.” Her voice stayed bright, but I could hear the soft disappointment underneath. “I figured since you had a little downtime during all the hecticness, we might grab something quick. Like old times.”
“Maybe another day.”
“Sure.” There was a short pause. “Since you’re going to see Serena, could you let her know again how sorry I am for overstepping yesterday?”
“About that…” I rubbed the back of my neck. “I get where you were coming from, but I wish you’d have mentioned you planned to come to the party. Then Serena wouldn’t have been caught off guard.”
Maddie let out a soft laugh that sounded embarrassed. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to crash or anything. You know how it was growing up, where we didn’t need an invite. I figured it was the same here since we’re besties. Back home, it was so easy. LA feels so big sometimes.”
I grimaced, feeling guilty for not anticipating this.
She was right about how things were in North Liberty.
Everyone had an open-door policy, where if you knew about the party, then the invitation was implied.
I’d just lived in LA for so long that it hadn’t dawned on me she’d assume it was the same here.
“I get where you’re coming from.” My hands tightened on the wheel. “But check with me first next time if it’s something at her house, okay? She’s protective when it comes to Avery.”
“Totally. I promise.” She sounded sincere. “Tell Serena I said hi, and to give Avery another happy birthday from me.”
“Will do.”
I ended the call feeling relieved that I had the chance to keep my promise to Serena before I saw her.
Twenty minutes later, I was pulling onto the studio lot.
Flashing my visitor pass to the guard at the gate was more of a formality, and I was quickly winding through the maze of sound stages until I found the one where Serena was shooting her current chick flick.
The guard there recognized me and waved me through with a grin.
I spotted her trailer tucked behind a row of production trucks.
She was sitting on the steps in a light robe over her costume, scrolling her phone, looking beautiful and tired all at once.
Her black hair was pulled back in a complicated updo, her blue eyes were focused on the screen, and her stage makeup had worn off just enough for me to tell her skin was paler than usual.
The second she saw me, her shoulders straightened.
“Surprise.” I held up the bag as a peace offering. “Two of your favorite tacos.”
Her eyes widened. “Carnitas?”
“Would I bring you anything else?”
Serena’s eyes lit up, but then her lips puffed out in an adorable pout. “Only two? You’re cruel, Holt.”
“I know how you are about eating on filming days.” I leaned in closer, my voice dropping as I admitted, “I may have also grabbed a couple of pounds of the meat and all the fixings. You can have as many as you want when you get home tonight. No judgment. I’ll even make them for you.”
Her pout melted into an appreciative smile. She took the bag, opened it, and breathed in the smell with a happy sigh. “You’re dangerous.”
I stepped between her knees, my hands settling on her waist as I bent to kiss her.
I took my sweet time, exploring her mouth with my tongue when her lips parted.
Even though I didn’t care who saw us kissing, I appreciated that the studio lots were relatively safe from prying eyes.
The crew members, cast, production staff, and vendors were all bound by NDAs, and the last thing they wanted was to be blackballed in the industry for selling a photo.
When I ended the kiss, she straightened and tugged on my hand. “Come on, let’s eat before these get cold.”
I followed her into the trailer, grabbing a couple of bottles of water from the fridge before joining her, where she’d already pulled the tacos from the bag and spread them out on the table.
We just ate in comfortable silence, the carnitas as perfect as always. Serena closed her eyes on the first bite and let out a soft, happy hum that hardened my dick. It was too damn close to the sounds she made when she came.
“Remind me to buy you these more often.”
She flashed me a sheepish smile, her tongue darting out to swipe a drop of salsa from her bottom lip. “My mouth won’t argue, but my hips probably will.”
I reached over to squeeze her hand, my thumb brushing over her knuckles. “You’re sexy as fuck, no matter what you eat, baby.”
“You know how it is.” She shrugged. “As my agent loves to remind me, the camera puts on ten pounds.”
It sucked how much she needed to pay attention to her diet and exercise, especially while filming. Hollywood was a fuck of a lot harder for women than men.
“Next time he says shit like that, tell him to go to hell.”
She laughed as she unwrapped her other taco. “I’ll definitely do that.”
I loved these stolen moments when the two of us were tucked away from prying eyes, pretending for a little while that the rest of the world didn’t exist.
But the quiet didn’t last.
When Serena was done eating, she wiped her fingers on a napkin and met my gaze. “So…about last night.”
“Yeah, I figured you’d want to talk.”
She looked away, gathering the wrappers and stuffing them into the empty bag. Her voice was low as she explained, “Maddie showing up at Avery’s party was not okay.”
I set my half-eaten taco down, reaching across the small table to take her hand. “I get that she crossed a boundary. And I talked to her on the drive over so that she knows parties are different here than back home. She won't just show up to your place like that again.”
Serena’s fingers tightened around mine, and her eyes narrowed. “What does that mean?”
“Just that she’s not used to needing an invitation,” I explained.
“Because she’s your best friend, right.” She pressed her lips together in a firm line. “Got it.”
I cringed at the description. “I wouldn’t call Maddie my best friend. We’d barely seen each other in years before she came out here after the breakup.”
Pulling her hand free from mine, Serena leaned back. “Well, that’s what she calls you all the time.”
“I know, but she’s always said shit like that.” At her doubtful look, I added, “She didn’t have a lot of other friends growing up, so she kind of latched onto me.”
“I’m sure she did,” she mumbled, some of the tension easing from her shoulders. “I know you think she’s just being nice or needs more time to adjust, but it’s starting to feel like she’s inserting herself everywhere. And I'm really tired of pretending it doesn’t bother me.”
Reaching for her hand again, I searched for the right thing to say. I knew she had a point, but I also saw my childhood friend struggling to find her footing in a city that could be brutal.
“I hear you,” I murmured. “And I’ll make sure she gives you more space.”
“That’s a start, I guess,” she sighed as she looked down at our joined hands.
I wished I could pull her onto my lap and kiss the tension away until she melted, but our schedules didn’t have enough time for that today.
So I just leaned across the table and pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead, then her temple, and finally the corner of her mouth until I coaxed a reluctant smile out of her.
“I hate when there’s any weirdness between us. How about we stay at your place tonight, eat way too many tacos, and forget the rest of the world exists. Sound good?”
She nodded against my cheek, but I felt the tension lingering in her shoulders. “Yeah. Really good.”
Someone knocked on the trailer door, calling that she had five minutes until they needed her back on set. I let her go reluctantly, stealing a final kiss before she got up.
I hated that our time was up, but I felt a fuck of a lot better after talking through the shit with Maddie so we were on the same page. The last thing I wanted was for my friend to fuck up my relationship.