42. Chapter 41
Chapter 41
Hudson
When I emerge from the tent after changing my clothes and checking on Paige, who’s been out for at least two hours, the fire is burning low in the pit, and it’s just Hutch and Hales left still sitting around it. The twins have likely gone to their own tent for the night, and Ginger and her boys left with Hank and Wren about an hour ago.
“Where’s Finn?” I ask, picking up and draining the rest of my beer as I look around.
Hutch tips his head in the direction of the water. “Think she went that way,” he says, poking at the dwindling fire with a long branch he’s smoothed out for a fire stirrer.
Hales gives me a small smile, her mug of spiked hot cocoa held between both hands. She looks younger than her thirty years, with her messy blond hair tied up in a lopsided bun and a blanket draped over her shoulders. We’re all sleepy and more than relaxed after a day in the sun, followed by some alcohol and a little weed we all smoked after Hank—the dad of the group—took Wrenley, Ginger, and the boys home .
I haven’t had much time to talk to Hales one-on-one since she got back from her trip a few days ago. “You have a good time in LA?”
She laughs lightly, staring down into her mug, then looks back up at me. “Yeah. The girls loved it. Thanks for the hookup with the team,” she says.
“No problem. Noah said you guys had a blast,” I say, picking up a blanket and draping it over my arm. He’d called me the other day to let me know how it went. “He said you’re welcome to tickets to a game any time.”
“Yeah, he was great,” she says, her voice sounding wistful. Hales has always been sweet. Comes with being the baby of the family.
“I’m glad they pulled out that win there at the end. It would have sucked to travel all that way to LA to watch them lose,” I say, throwing away my empty beer bottle.
“Yeah, me too,” she says and then stretches, standing up. “Well, I’m gonna hit the sack.”
After saying goodnight to both my brother and sister, I head off in the direction of the lake. The trail down is dark, with just enough moonlight shifting through the trees to see, before the shimmering lake comes into view.
Even in summer, at this elevation, it’s cool at this time of night. So, I’m glad I grabbed a blanket from one of the chairs around the fire pit. I’m sure Finn is still in her swimsuit top and jean shorts, with nothing more than flip-flops on her feet. It’s fine when we’re around the fire, but she’ll be freezing down here.
I spot her sitting on the dock in the exact spot we said ‘I do,’ with her feet tucked up underneath her, leaning back on her hands. I wonder if I’ll ever see this dock and not think of that day. I wonder if she feels the same?
She’s undone her braids, and her hair falls in a curtain over her back. A smile lights my face, because as I approach, I can see she’s wearing the hoodie I was just looking for in the tent. It looks better on her, anyway. Besides being naked and underneath me, it’s one of my favorite looks on her. God, that’s a strange but delicious thought after imagining it for so many years and having it a reality now.
She doesn’t turn to look at me or move an inch, until I drop down on the dock next to her. Then, her head automatically finds my shoulder.
“How come you’re out here all alone, pretty girl?” I ask, wrapping an arm around her and hugging her close to my side.
“I love it out here,” she says, sighing longingly.
“Yeah, me too,” I say, pulling her closer still. But it’s not close enough. “Come here.” I give her a tug and she lifts her bottom up and over my thigh to sit between my outstretched legs.
She leans back into me and lets out a sigh. I take the opportunity to bury my nose in her hair and inhale her sweet scent before pressing a kiss to the side of her head. I pull the blanket around us, wrapping my arms around her middle.
“I think the boys had fun with Paige today, don’t you?” she asks.
I nod and hum my agreement near her ear. Paige really took to Jordan, since he sort of matched her energy. Tate was more reserved, but once he warmed up to her, all three of them were inseparable for the rest of the evening. They played round after round of Uno after we ate dinner, and then swam in the lake again. Hutch had all three of them rolling in laughter with one of his scary campfire stories turned ridiculous anecdote.
We sit together in silence, listening to the crickets and the breeze through the trees. It feels so nice having her against me, so right. When she turns her head to look at me, I feel her gaze on every part of my body. I let my eyes roam over her face as she watches me.
“What is it?” I ask her, knowing she has something on her mind. She gets a tiny crease between her eyes when she is thinking too hard about something.
“Are you really gonna build a house?” she asks quietly .
After dinner, Hutch asked if I’d had a chance to look over the plans he’d sent me. I’ve actually narrowed it down to two that I like, and with a few adjustments, it could be pretty great.
As much as I love living with Finnley, Paige is eventually going to need a bigger room and a yard to run around in. Plus, she’s still on my back for that puppy she wants all of a sudden. And there’s the whole problem of Finn not actually being my wife, which means, at some point, this friends with benefits thing will end, and I’ll need a place of my own to make it through that.
The thought makes me sick to my stomach. Hopefully we’ll find a way to make our friendship work. In just a couple of weeks, this new normal has become so comfortable, and I’ll hate to see it end. It’s like it was always supposed to be this way between us.
“I think so,” I say, brushing her hair off her shoulder.
“Soon?” she asks, and her voice is laced with sadness.
“It’ll take a while to build, but yeah. I think they’ll get started as soon as I decide on a location.”
I can tell she wants to say something else, but I sense her hesitancy in the way she stiffens the slightest bit.
“Will you take me with you, to look at them?” She turns her head to meet my eyes and there is definitely sadness in them. “I know it’s your house, and your decision. I know I don’t have any say in what you build or where, but I’d like to go along. If that’s ok?”
Something warm blooms in my chest when she mentions not having a say in it. Does she want that? If this thing between us was real, if we were really married and in a relationship, she would most definitely have a say.
I’m tempted to ask her, but she’s never expressed wanting more than what we have, and I’m not sure I should bring it up. I don’t want to ruin our friendship, but if I’m honest with myself, I’m not sure I see anything else at this point than just being with her, truly having her as my wife .
“Of course, you can,” I say. Even though it won’t be her house, having her input means a lot. She’s always understood me and she sees things that I don’t. I’ve always been her voice of reason and she’s always been the one to show me things from a different angle or perspective. I tell myself that’s all this is, but deep down, I wish she were moving into a new house with us.
She smiles softly and nods. “Ok, thanks.”
I take her hand and thread my fingers through hers, resting them on her thigh. Goosebumps break out across her skin.
“Are you cold?” I ask, running my other hand up her other thigh.
She shakes her head and guides my hand further up her leg, so my fingers brush just under the material of her cutoffs. “Did everyone go to bed?” she whispers, looking out over the water.
“I think so,” I say close to her ear, continuing the slow circles on the soft skin of her inner thigh.
She shivers again and turns her head, taking my face in her hand to capture my mouth in a tender kiss. Her tongue slips past my lips and I let out a groan. She tastes so good; I’ll never get over it. And she feels so good between my legs, I never want this to end.
“Put your hands on me, Huddy,” she whispers against my lips.
“Here?” I ask, before she slides her tongue against mine again.
“Right here,” she breathes with a nod, unsnapping the button on her shorts and dragging down her zipper.
Bringing her lips back to mine with one hand, I work the other into the front of her shorts and swimsuit bottoms, finding her slick heat. She moans into my mouth and drops her knees open. When I dip my fingers down to the wetness already gathered at her entrance and drag them up to her clit, she sighs and leans back into me.
“Take off your top,” I say between kisses, still working her over with my hand in her pants .
She sits up a some and quickly unties the laces of her bikini top from around her neck, then lifts the back of the zippered hoodie she’s wearing so I can untie the ones around her ribs. Once I’ve got it free, I toss the emerald-green fabric to the side and grab a handful of her chest, moaning when I feel her nipple peak against the skin of my palm.
She’s so perfect and it takes very little time to have her built up and writhing, hips rocking against my fingers as she chases her release. One of her hands buries itself in the hair at the nape of my neck when she turns to take my mouth again. In no time, she’s coming apart on my fingers with a soft cry.
I pull my hand from between her legs and wipe the slickness on the inside of her thigh, loving the way she shivers when I do.
She sighs deeply and reaches back to feel the bulge currently trying to punch its way through the front of my sweats. “Your turn,” she says, sweetly, turning and crawling to her knees. She palms my length through my pants with one hand, while pushing me down on my back with the other.
I drop back, but keep my upper body propped up on my elbows so I can watch her. She smiles up at me through long lashes. We’re out in the open, but it’s past midnight. Even if someone was awake, given how dark it is and the distance from where everyone is camped, it would be hard to make out much.
I lift my hips for her, and she pulls my sweats down just enough to free my aching length. She gives me a couple of long, slow pumps. My head drops back, and I swear I see a million stars above when she wraps her sweet mouth around me.
I’m completely lost for this woman.