Chapter 14 Hudson
All I had to say was one more word.
Together.
We aren’t together.
But I choked.
And of course, to make matters worse, Mira thinks she and I slept together—another clarification I’ll have to make if she ever lets me get a word in. Until then I get to sit here and watch Derrick parade his half-naked body in front of Mira like he’s in a goddamn bodybuilding competition.
“Come on in, the water’s fine,” he shouts as Mira takes a seat on the edge of the riverbank.
She’s applying sunscreen to her arms and legs, leaving a radiant sheen over her pale skin that sparkles in the sunlight.
Her life vest is still strapped around her as if she’s afraid of falling in.
But after the verbal beatdown she gave me, I’m the one who feels like I’ve drowned.
“Enjoying the view?” Vanessa asks, coming up from behind me.
“God,” I say, jumping, “it’s dangerous to sneak up on people like that!”
“I think you should be more concerned with Derrick trying to steal your girl than what’s lurking in the woods,” she replies playfully, her gaze following mine towards Mira.
“She’s not . . .” I stammer.
“Oh my God. I was right,” she coos, smacking me in the chest. “You do like her.”
“Shhh,” I hiss, gently placing my hands on her shoulders and moving her further away from the group to avoid any wandering ears.
If Vanessa, a woman I’ve only met a handful of times, can tell that I am a lovesick wreck, Katherine’s going to catch on.
I consider doing damage control, lying my way out of the situation, but if Finn has taught me anything about his sister it’s that she is loyal, trustworthy, and gifted with a surprising ability to hold her liquor.
“I met her at Finn’s. And we’ve been friendly,” I confess.
“Friendly?” Her question is a challenge I instantly fail.
“We may have fooled around a bit on Monday.”
“You little slut!” Vanessa squeals, placing a hand over her mouth.
“It’s not like that. Katherine and I . . .”
“Are broken up?” she says, finishing my thought.
“Did she tell you?” I ask, unbelieving.
With how tightly Katherine’s been holding onto the threads of our relationship, I have a hard time believing she would let anyone know that we’re not together—even someone like Vanessa.
“Katherine is not hard to read,” she replies. “She hasn’t posted a single photo of you guys together on her story or feed in weeks. And my brother might have mentioned you do more flirting than working. And since I know you’re not the type of guy who would cheat, I put the pieces together.”
“That gossip,” I squawk, pretending to be appalled.
“Finn looks like a hard-ass, but he loves the drama,” Vanessa laughs.
“So, I’m assuming Adrian knows?”
“Not yet. I wanted to confirm my hypothesis first, but we’ve had a bet going and I can’t wait to gloat.”
“What was the bet?”
“The usual. Back rubs and pick of the TV selection for the week. It’s going to be Gilmore Girls all day every day.”
“Do me a favor and keep it between the two of you,” I say nervously.
She holds up her hands innocently. “I’m not one to blast other people’s personal drama, but why would it matter?”
“I don’t think Katherine would take it too well.”
“Oh, so are you and Mira sneaking off in secret? Hot.”
“Not exactly.”
Vanessa crosses her arms over her chest. “What does that mean?”
I drag my hand through my hair, regretfully.
I’ve had a million chances to tell Mira the truth.
The night she casually asked me if I’d ever be a participant on The Bachelor, I could have made a joke that the reason my relationship ended was because my ex thought it would be a good idea to bring strangers into our relationship.
Or when she asked if I ever took a night off after seeing me four in a row, I could have told her that being at Finn’s and serving college students was better than a second spent in my apartment with Katherine.
“I may have omitted a few of the messier details of my life.”
“Wait. So what? Mira thinks you’re with Katherine?”
I nod my head.
“This explains the bus.”
“The bus?”
“Mira said she disliked you, which I found weird, because you’re great.”
“Thanks,” I reply, happy to have an ally.
“But she didn’t know you worked for Elite.
Or anything about you. I couldn’t figure out how you two knew each other.
And then I saw you being all gooey-eyed on the boat.
I thought maybe the whole rooming situation put her off—” She stops mid-thought.
The pieces fall into place. “Holy Shit, Hudson. You’re sharing a room with both of them! ”
“I know,” I say. “It’s an actual nightmare. If Dante ever wanted inspiration for an additional circle, he need look no further.”
“Fuck,” Vanessa says, drawing out the word. “You have to tell her.”
“Who?”
“Mira. Duh,” she says, smacking my forehead.
“I’m pretty sure I fucked that up already,” I say solemnly. “She hates me.”
Vanessa shakes her head. “I very much doubt that. No one gets that defensive over someone they don’t care about. Trust me. You can still salvage this.”
“I just want her to talk to me. She’s freezing me out.”
“Wait until she comes to you. Or better yet, do something nice for her. A girl always loves a grand romantic gesture.”
“Like what?”
“I’m sure you’ll figure something out,” she winks, finding Adrian and wrapping an arm around him and whispering in his ear. I’m not even mad that she’s gossiping about me. Because it means I still have a chance.
Before I can brainstorm my options, my mother appears at my side, digging her sharp nails into my arm, making me jump. “Can you do something about this sun? I’m sweltering out here.”
I have to control my response. It’s not like I can change the rotation of the Earth on her whim.
“There’s not really much I can do,” I reply.
“Maybe hurry this along then? I’d really love to get back to civilization in this lifetime.”
“Let me check out what’s going on,” I say, just as eager to get out of here as she is.
I find the adventure guides congregating around the far end of the boat.
Bo is setting out aluminum trays of premade food on foldout tables.
The baked beans look burnt, the potato salad is an artificial yellow, the coleslaw is watery, and a tray of congealed Mac and cheese is reheating in the sun.
When he unveils a tray of pre-formed burgers, I can still see the freezer burn along the edges.
“I think that meat’s gone bad,” I say, noting the discoloration.
“Someone put all the ice in the beer coolers,” Tonya says, aiming the blame at Bo, as she strikes a match and lights the grill. The grates are covered in a thick layer of blackened char and I can’t imagine they’ve been cleaned in a decade.
“Hudson here teaching you the proper way to make a fire?” Grant says, taking a swig of his beer.
“Just trying to ensure none of the guests get food poisoning.”
“Don’t let this one give you a hard time. We can’t all be purebred wilderness leaders.”
“Wilderness leader, eh? Are you in the forest service?” Bo asks with genuine interest. Uttering the words “Elite Elevation” to a guy like this is like feeding a gremlin after midnight, but it doesn’t stop Grant from doing it anyways.
“Hudson works for Elite Elevation,” he says with a shit-eating grin, and I regret not going through with putting Nair in his shampoo when he was sixteen. “His dad is the owner. Elder Elite if you will. And little Hayes here is going to be taking over next week.”
Bo stares at me as if I’m the messiah about to guide him to the promised land. “Working there is like my dream, man,” he says shakily. “Do you have any openings? I’d be happy to email my resumé.”
I consider letting him down gently until I realize I might be able to use this to my advantage.
“One of the things we admire at Elite is ingenuity and problem-solving, especially on location. I’d love to get your insight on a solution to our problem here.”
“Our problem?” Bo asks, confused.
“Well, the food doesn’t look very appetizing, if I’m being honest. This is a wedding party, as you know, and there’s a certain level of expectation.
Don’t you think it might be best to head back to the resort?
Where there is an actual café with food that hasn’t been sitting in the hot weather for hours without ice? ”
Bo contemplates this for a moment, and I think he’s coming around to the idea of returning right up to the moment Tonya tosses the burgers on the metal rack, causing flames to flare up around them.
“I’ll cook ’em for longer. They’ll be fine,” she says, as Bo gives us a sympathetic smile. And we both know it’s too late. There’s nothing to do now but endure.
Twenty minutes later an eager line forms in front of the tables as ravenous hands reach for paper plates.
Little do they know that there is nothing very tasty waiting for them.
I wait for Mira to get in line, before jumping in myself.
If she doesn’t want to talk to me, fine, but the least I can do is save her from an evening of food poisoning.
Adrian is ahead of her, placing a blackened burger on his plate. “Maybe I could salvage it with ketchup.”
“I don’t see any condiments,” Vanessa adds, not even bothering to pick up a plate.
“I might have some,” Mira announces, reaching into the side pocket of her backpack, pulling out packets of hot sauce and honey mustard.
“Do wedding clients typically need sauces?” Adrian asks.
“Not yet, but they’ve come in handy for me a time or two when all there is to eat is a plain turkey sandwich,” she replies, as Adrian takes the assortment from her.
“I doubt drenching it in sauce is going to be enough to save this meal,” I say, causing Mira’s eyes to dart towards me.
“Maybe I’ll just stick to the sides,” Adrian says. “There’s no way to fuck up baked beans, right?” he says, shoveling a forkful of gelatinous brown sludge into his mouth with a disgusted grimace before putting it back onto his plate. “Oof. I was wrong.”