Chapter 28
Chapter twenty-eight
Cullen
These last two weeks have been blissfully normal. No crazy notes, no vague texts or phone calls, no defaced photos… It’s been sort of surreal, and I can’t shake the feeling that it’s too quiet.
Since all this mess started, we’ve not gone more than a week without some sort of chaos happening or contact from Hud’s stalker. I know Hud said that it wasn’t Ella, but the silence speaks volumes. I should probably feel bad about that thought, but I’ve decided not to stress it too much.
We can thank Maria for that.
I’ve had four sessions and they’ve not been easy. She’s gotten me to admit to things that terrify me and things that have made me feel guilty. I’ve broken down in her office every single time, but each day after I’ve felt lighter.
Like Hud said, she picks at the wound, and it’s painful in the moment, but eventually it lets some of the poison out.
I’ve officially been diagnosed with PTSD, which explains my anger. That and the fact I haven’t slept properly in months. Put the two together and that was the perfect storm for my mental break.
Now that I’ve worked through some of my trauma, sleep has come a little easier, and the difference is immense.
What’s really been nice is getting to see what Hudson and my relationship is like without all the outside noise, and frankly, it’s been fucking amazing.
Hudson is so much more playful without all the stress and anxiety hanging over him.
I know he’s still worried about college and whoever could still be lurking in the shadows, but regardless, he’s finally living the life he had been denying himself.
His smile isn’t practiced anymore, now reaching his eyes and staying there.
I thought I’d already hit the depths of love with him. Turns out, it’s endless.
My mom teases me that I have constant hearts in my eyes when I look at Hud, and you know what? Fuck yeah, I do.
I’ll never be ashamed to admit that.
Tonight, Archer is throwing a belated graduation party, and I’m on my way to Hud’s house to pick him up. I’m looking forward to having a night to let loose and just hang with our friends, hopefully drama-free.
Hud is waiting for me on the porch when I pull into his driveway, looking like an absolute meal I want to devour.
His baby blue polo is hugging his chest that’s starting to fill out with muscle again, and his distressed dark wash jeans are hanging low on his hips, teasing me with what is underneath.
He jogs over to the car, getting in with a sexy grin on his face, but my focus is on the new haircut he didn’t tell me he was getting.
“You cut your hair?” I ask, my hand coming up to graze the shaved sides of his head.
“Yeah. I needed a change. Do you hate it?” He turns his head so I can see the back.
The textured hair that used to descend down the back of his head is now faded to his scalp. The top is no longer a mess of intentionally placed chaotic spikes, but a shorter fringe pushed over his forehead.
He looks incredible.
“You’re gorgeous.” I pull him to my lips by the back of his neck, kissing him until we are both breathless. “Let’s skip the party. I need to fuck you.”
Hud snorts and shoves me away playfully. “We aren’t flaking on Archer. Besides, my parents are home, and you’re not quiet.”
“That's rude. You’re the moaner.” I put the car in reverse and back out of Hud’s driveway.
“You just furthered my point,” he says, chuckling.
I link my hand with his and bring his knuckles to my lips. “What brought on the need for change?”
Hud shrugs. “This may sound cheesy, but I went into the river one way and came out completely changed. I guess I wanted my appearance to reflect that.”
“That’s not cheesy at all.”
Hud smiles before that sexy grin slips back over his lips. “I like that color green on you,” he practically purrs.
I glance down at my short-sleeved Henley, then back at him, eyebrow raised. “Oh yeah?”
“Mmhm.” His hand drags up my thigh and cups the bulge straining against my jeans.
“Didn’t you just say we couldn’t skip the party?”
“Yeah, but I never said we couldn’t be fashionably late.” He leans over the console and pops the button on my jeans, then moves on to my zipper. He kisses a line from my collarbone to the spot just under my ear that makes me rock hard.
“I don’t think I can do this and drive at the same time.” The urge to close my eyes and enjoy the sensation of Hud’s lips on my neck is strong, but I keep my focus on the road.
“Pull into the park,” he mumbles into my ear.
I turn at the last second, pulling into the dusky parking lot of the park.
I haven’t been back here since the night Hudson tried to break up with me, even going so far as to take an alternate route to Hudson’s house just to avoid having to pass by.
But Hud is demanding play time, so who am I to say no?
Fuck, I’m weak for him.
The car is barely in park when Hud pulls my dick from my jeans and practically inhales me. My hands fly to his head, a little sad that I don’t have his locks to grab onto anymore.
That sadness disappears when Hud swirls his tongue around the head of my cock, then takes me deep in one smooth movement.
“Hell yeah, that’s so good, baby.”
Hud bobs his head a few more times before he comes up grinning, chin slick with spit.
“Get naked,” he demands, yanking his shirt over his head.
“You actually want to fuck here? What if we get caught?”
I used to be the reckless one, but with everything that has happened, I’ve been forced to be more mindful of unforeseen events.
“Walk on the wild side with me, Cull.”
He’s already butt naked, cock hard and flushed, pre-come leaking from the tip.
My eyes flick down, and I can’t help as I lick my lips.
“Damn. Fuck. Okay, you win.”
I rip off my shirt and shimmy my jeans down my thighs. Hud straddles me, our cocks brushing each other. My head falls back, a moan tearing out of me.
“I thought you said I was the moaner,” Hud teases. He licks my Adam’s apple before nipping my lips.
“Shut up,” I mutter, smiling into a bruising kiss.
Hud wraps his hand around both of our cocks and starts stroking, his warm grip pulling another moan from my chest.
My fingers scramble for the button to recline the seat, the chair slowly leaning back when I make contact.
Hud grabs his jeans from where they rest in the passenger seat and fishes out a small, clear packet from the pocket. He waves it in my face for a second before I realize what it is.
“You have pocket lube?” I snort, somehow both surprised and not that Hud magicked up on-the-go lube.
“I did a little shopping today after I got my haircut.” The moonlight is just enough to show the blue sparkle in Hudson’s eyes, his playful grin disarming.
“Oh yeah?” My lips make contact with his neck, Hud’s head tilting to the side so I can taste every inch of his skin.
“Yeah,” he rasps. “I thought the small packets of lube might come in handy.”
“You were right.”
“I bought something else,” he tells me, voice a little shaky.
“And what was that?” I breathe into his ear.
Hud sits up on his knees, grabbing my hand and bringing it around his waist. Together, our hands move down his toned ass until my fingers brush something firm nestled between his cheeks.
My breath hitches, my smile delighted. “Wait. Is that a butt plug?”
Hud nods, his cheeks flushed in the pale moonlight. “Yeah. I thought it could be fun.”
“Oh, fuck, baby.” My lips crash into his, so fucking turned on I feel like I may explode right now.
My fingers grasp the base of the plug and tug ever so slightly. Hud groans into my mouth, trying to grind down on the toy.
“Were you planning on wearing this all night?” I ask between frantic kisses.
Hud's lips trail down my jaw and back to my mouth, his hands roaming my chest. “Didn’t really have a plan,” he admits. “Just knew I wanted you to fuck me at some point tonight and I wanted to be ready.”
I move the toy slowly, listening to the way his breath breaks.
“Fuck, I need to be inside you.”
Hud’s nod is wild, lost to sensation and pleasure.
I gently pull the plug out and bring it into the moonlight. “Fancy,” I tease, waving the silver metal between us. “Aww, it even has a pink jeweled heart on the end.”
“Shut up,” Hud laughs, taking it from my hand and tossing it aside.
He snags the packet of lube lying on the console and rips it open with his teeth, then drizzles it over my eager cock.
“The store in town didn’t have the best selection.
It was either that or the XXL silicone anal stretcher. You can guess why this one won out.”
My laugh dies into a groan as Hud carefully sinks down on my dick. My hands grasp his hips, helping him to ease onto my lap.
Hud wastes no time riding me. His arms curl around my neck, his nose buried in the side of my face. His pants are hot against my skin, the humidity from our breaths fogging up the car windows.
“Hell yes, baby. Take what you want from me,” I encourage as Hudson bucks in my lap.
The car rocks from our movements, and I have a split second of panic that we are going to get caught.
That is, until Hudson latches onto my neck and sucks, heat flaring where his mouth lingers, making me forget my damn name.
“Mine,” Hud growls, licking the tender spot on my skin.
I grab the shorter tuft of hair on the top of Hudson’s head and yank it to the side, copying the mark he just left on me.
Hud clenches around me as I suck, the sensation pushing me dangerously close to the edge.
“I’m right there, baby,” I grunt into his neck. Hud picks up his pace like he’s trying to beat his personal record of how fast he can make me come.
My hand grasps Hudson’s cock where it’s thrusting against my sweat-slick abs, and I stroke, turning this into a competition of who can make who explode first.
Unfortunately for my ego, but fortunately for my pleasure, Hud’s ass is so tight that I’m popping off faster than a lit firework.
“I’m coming,” I gasp, my cum filling Hudson.
“I win.” Hud laughs through a moan, coming right as my orgasm finishes draining me.
His cum stripes my chest, his body shuddering with each pulse of his release.
Hudson slows to a stop, his chest heaving and sweat dripping from his temples. I cup his cheeks and bring his lips to mine, kissing him tenderly, my nose brushing his.
“I love you.”
“Mmm.”
It’s all he can get out right now, and it makes me smile.
“I think we should be fashionably late to things more often,” I joke, swiping away some of the moisture from Hudson’s brow.
“Hard pass. Being late gives me anxiety.”
Hud eases off my lap, climbs back into the passenger seat, and reaches for his clothes. I open the console and snag a few drive-thru napkins and clean the mess off my torso.
“But orgasms are great for your brain,” I explain. “You get a hit of dopamine along with all those other feel good-chemicals that flood your brain.”
Hud chuckles and shakes his head, smoothing out the wrinkles on his polo. “You listen to your dad too much.”
I shrug. “He has good knowledge of these things.”
Once I get my own clothes back on, I fix my seat and get us back on the road.
“Oh damn, I didn’t mean to leave such a big hickey.” Hud rubs the tender spot on my neck with his thumb, his smile not sorry about it at all.
“Yours is bigger.”
He pulls down the visor and looks in the mirror. “Damn, it looks like I got mauled by an algae eater.”
“Maybe a Hudson eater,” I joke.
Hud laughs and shakes his head, getting out of the car after I park on the curb in front of Archer’s house.
We walk hand in hand through the front door, scoping out the place and looking for our friends. As usual, we find them posted up in the kitchen avoiding the chaotic dancing in the living room.
“The party is finally here,” Archer hollers over the loud beat of the music thumping through the house. He claps my hand, pulling me into a quick hug before doing the same with Hud.
“Holy crap,” Hadley says, coming up to examine her brother’s neck. Hudson adjusts his collar trying to hide the purple bruise, his cheeks going red. “You let Cullen do that to you?”
“He started it,” I announce, proudly tilting my head to the side so everyone can see who owns me.
Matt and a couple of other guys from the soccer team come over, everyone gawking at our love marks.
Hud clears his throat. “That reminds me. I uh… need the bathroom.”
“Oh, ew,” Hadley complains, her nose scrunched.
I just smirk while Hud scurries away down the hallway, leaving me to fight off the Nosy Nancys myself.
“Geez, you guys act like you’ve never gotten a hickey before.” I roll my eyes and grab a plastic cup from the counter, filling it with whatever red concoction is chilling in the bowl.
Hadley cocks a brow, her hands on her hips.
Right. Hadley and I never gave each other hickeys, but I spot the small faded bruise just above the neckline of her dress, and return her raised eyebrow.
Hadley sees where my eyes have roamed, her hand flying up to cover the evidence of her own extracurricular activities. Her cheeks turn pink, then she spins on her heel, disappearing into the dancing crowd.
“Hickeys are tacky, dude,” Matt claims, frowning.
Hud comes back from the bathroom and takes my drink from my hand, downing a large gulp.
“That’s just because you can’t get a chick to give you one,” Hud teases, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand.
“Right,” Matt grumbles, snagging a beer bottle from the counter and walking away.
“Geez, who pissed in his cereal?” I ask Archer.
He shrugs. “Dunno. I think Katie turned him down earlier or something.” Archer downs his drink and motions for us to follow him.
“Alright fuckers. Two on Two beer pong. Who wants to be my partner and help me bury Achilles and Patroclus over here?” He tosses a thumb at Hud and me, laughing.
“Who?” I ask at the same time Hud says, “Oh, you’re on asswipe.”
“Read a book sometime, dude,” Archer says, rolling his eyes and chuckling.
Hud grabs a ping pong ball and bounces it on the table. I rack up our cups while Archer and Maggie set up their side.
“Ready to win?” Hudson puts an arm around my waist and kisses my cheek, my attention going to his blue eyes.
“With you? Always.”
Hud winks at me, then sinks his ball into the first cup. “Drink up, fuckers.”