by B. Love
“Who you been out with because you’re clearly drunk.”
“I’m not drunk.” Holding her head to the side, she smiled as she corrected him with, “I’m a little tipsy, but I’m not drunk.”
Her smile turned into a chuckle at the sight of his serious expression.
“Why are you so late, Reina?”
“Hudson!” she yelled, snatching a few pieces of tissue from the roll. “I didn’t know I had to run my every move by you and let you know if I was going to miss my damn curfew. I’m a grown woman.”
He chuckled and flicked his nostril before crossing his arms over his chest. “You’re the one who suggested we come in at one out of respect for each other. Now you don’t want to abide by the boundary you put in place?”
With a roll of her eyes, Reina flushed the toilet and stood. Instead of pulling her pants back up, she stepped out of them and kept only her red bra and panty set on. Turning her back to him, she washed her hands and tried to come up with an excuse that would actually make sense. She couldn’t very well tell him that she was avoiding him because of the fucked up choice she made to lie to him. And now, she was trying her hardest to create a problem just to avoid the one she was having within herself.
“I lost track of time, Hudson,” she offered, drying her hands off. “Get off my back about it. It’s the first time it’s ever happened. Leave me alone.”
“Did I do something to you?”
Turning to face him, she looked away quickly, unable to take the concerned look in his eyes. “No.”
“Then why in the fuck are you taking your frustrations out on me?”
No longer able to front, her shoulders dropped as she covered her face with the palms of her hands. Willing herself not to cry or blurt out the truth, Reina inhaled a deep breath. Cupping her cheeks, she looked into his eyes as she mumbled, “I’m sorry, Huddy. Today… yesterday… was supposed to be a special time for us. But I… got a lot on my mind that I really don’t want to put on you. And it fucked with me.”
Dropping her hands, she slowly walked over to him. “I wanted to be gone when you came back so we wouldn’t have to talk about it. My mood was super jacked up and I didn’t want to take it out on you like I’m doing now. I’m really sorry.”
“Sorry don’t mean shit to me. Get your ass in the bed so I can punish that pussy.”
Releasing a squeal, Reina scurried over to the bed, struggling to unhook her bra in the process. When she finally did get it off, she tossed it onto the carpeted floor and climbed into bed. Before she could lay down flat, Hudson was coming behind her and removing her panties. Expecting him to take her from behind, Reina was surprised when he flipped her over and laid her flat on her back.
There was no kissing. No soft touches. Hudson meant business. His serious expression only turned her on more as she watched him remove his clothes.
“Hudson,” she called, opening and closing her legs.
Her tipsy state had her horny as hell. Pussy dripping all damn ready, she was ready for whatever punishment he wanted to inflict.
Making his way between her legs, Hudson lifted her arms over her head and put them under the headboard. He pressed her knees into the bed and entered her with one swift stroke. Instantly, her legs began to close, but he opened them right back up.
“Keep them legs open,” he ordered, filling her with strokes that teased her opening and her G-spot.
Had he went deep, Reina would have been able to handle that. But the pressure that was building from the head of his dick was unbearable. If he didn’t release her soon, she would squirt, and Hudson knew she hated that shit.
“I don’t want to,” she whined, trying to push him away.
“You gon do it though.” His hand smacked hers away. “Move.”
Gripping the headboard, Reina squeezed her eyes shut and tried to pay attention to anything other than how good he was making her feel. When her body began to heat and tingle, she tried yet again to push him out of her unsuccessfully by closing her legs against him.
“You are so fuckin’ hardheaded, Reina. Keep this shit open.”
Crying out, she spread her legs and succumbed to the feeling that was overtaking her. When her body began to quake, the clear liquid poured out of her. Trembling lips released uncontrollable moans. Hudson continued to stroke her, not once letting up.
“Pleeeassseee,” she whined, squeezing her legs against him.
Hudson spread her legs wide and pressed against her tightened spot faster, causing yet another stream of clear liquid to flow from her. Her bucking against him didn’t throw his rhythm off whatsoever.
“You done?” he gritted as she whimpered. “Or you got some more?”
As if her body wanted to answer for her, her pussy gripped him tighter. But she pushed at his chest, fearful of how tender her body would become if she squirted again.
“I’m done,” she submitted, digging her nails into his sides.
“You gon’ behave? And learn how to communicate?”
“Yes, babe.”
It took a few strokes for Hudson to be convinced, but eventually, he wrapped her legs around him and began to enter her deeply. And slowly. And the constant whimpering and moaning turned into trembling lips and Reina gasping for air. Cupping his cheeks, she pulled his lips down to hers. Wishing she could convey to him silently what she was too cowardly to say to him vocally.
Since she couldn’t, she allowed herself to connect with him in the most intimate way possible, praying that when he found out the truth it wouldn’t destroy him just as much as carrying this lie was destroying her.
Chapter 9
Hudson
At this point, Hudson had absolutely no clue what to do. The past week had been… odd. Reina was hot and cold. One moment she’d be her normal, sweet self… giving him all the affection and attention he could want and need. The next, she’d be distant and lashing out just to quickly apologize and run off so he wouldn’t see her cry. He’d been trying his hardest to let her work through whatever it was she was going through because quite frankly, Hudson had not even the slightest idea what the problem was.
Her birthday was right around the corner, and they were prepared for their trip to Paris.
Her brothers were spending at least two weekends with them a month.
She would be starting school in four months.
And he gave her everything she asked for.
With all of that in mind, Hudson believed whatever she was going through was truly something personal, but he still wanted to do whatever it took to fix it for her.
Earlier today, Hudson thought things were finally about to take a good turn for them. She surprised him with a puppy, and Hudson had to keep himself from crying. One night during their bedtime talks, Hudson mentioned never having any pets. His parents didn’t want him and his brother to have any responsibilities for as long as they could, because they knew how quickly their lives would transform when they turned sixteen.
Because of that, Hudson was never able to get the one thing he truly wanted – a dog. As an adult, he’d never thought to get one for himself. Instead, he couldn’t walk past a dog without petting it and making a new friend. For Reina to remember that…
After playing with the pitbull pup for a few hours, they left for lunch. Initially, Reina was excited about discussing their wedding plans, but towards the end of their conversation she suggested they hold off on making plans too soon. He asked her what was going on with her, and she assured him that she was okay. Still, Hudson knew that something was off with her.
When they made it back home, he asked if she wanted to go for a swim with him. One of the great things about having an indoor pool was that it allowed him to swim all year round. He did a few laps every morning and sometimes throughout the day when he had a lot on his mind. She declined, saying she needed to rest for a while.
As Hudson stripped down, the thought of her constant mood swings and drained energy made him wonder if she was pregnant. He
hadn’t pulled out once since he’d been back home, and he assumed she was on birth control instead of just asking. Putting on his swimming trunks, Hudson wondered how he needed to ask her. If he should even ask her at all. It would certainly explain why she’d been so hot and cold lately.
He made his way to their room, confused when he didn’t see her in the bed. The bathroom was open, and she wasn’t there either. As he passed the closet to leave, he thought he heard the sound of Reina sniffling. Opening the door, Hudson was surprised to see her sitting in the middle of the closet floor crying.
“Bae…” Hudson sat on the floor next to her. “I can’t fix it if you don’t tell me what’s wrong.”
She smiled bitterly, burying herself in his chest. “Can you just hold me?”
He did, with no hesitation. Because at this point, he didn’t know what else he could do to help her. Her tears continued to flow for a while. But eventually, her breathing returned to normal. Her whimpers silenced. And she allowed him to wipe her tears away.
“I’m sorry.” Reina lifted herself from his chest and looked into his eyes with a smile. “I feel like I’ve been apologizing to you every day for something since you proposed.” He smiled as he wiped away the last of her tears. “You sure you still want to marry me?”
“I would rather have a lifetime of good and bad days with you than an eternity of just good days with anyone else.”
Her bottom lip poked out, but it turned into a smile when Hudson kissed her. She snuggled back into his chest, whispering, “Times like this I wish I had a relationship with my mother. Sometimes I wish I could just… call her for help.”
Resting his head against the wall, Hudson closed his eyes and squeezed them tightly. Although he wanted to be her hero, there were somethings she would have to work out within herself. And in this instance, someone else.
He held her, in the closet, until she fell asleep. When she began to snore quietly, Hudson picked her up and carried her to bed. After removing her clothes, he kissed her sweetly, then left the room. There was no password required for her phone, so Hudson went inside and found her mother’s number. Out of the room, he called and invited her to stay for a week or so, hoping that time together, under his protection, would allow Reina the space to sort out whatever issues she had with her mother. And he could only pray that that led to Reina’s peace of mind.
Chapter 10
Reina
This was the first time ever that Hudson woke up before Reina. Even though he had to leave out early for work, she was still the first to wake up. She would write his love note on a sticky note and put it on the bathroom mirror, then get started with her morning routine which included cycling, dancing for at least an hour, and spending a little alone time with God and her thoughts.
But this morning… she was woken up by the feel of his kisses all over her face. Not even bothering to brush her teeth and wash her face first, Reina pulled him back into bed where they made slow, lazy love. Afterwards, he told her to get dressed because he had a surprise for her. Her curiosity was piqued, so she showered and took care of her hygiene as quickly as she could.
Things had been kind of tense between her and Hudson, and Reina kept telling herself to pull it together and be on her best behavior. Before now, she used to pride herself on being strong and emotionally stable. But when it came down to Hudson… it didn’t take much for her to crumble. Just the thought of hurting him or not being able to spend the rest of her life with him made her grow weak. Some days she wanted to leave without a trace. Other days she wanted to pour everything into their relationship while she still could.
Knowing that Tierra had died and Hudson had no idea that Reina had been hired to take her place was weighing on her heavily. Even though she’d stopped taking payments from Harold, this still had started out as a job. Whether she fell in love with him genuinely or not… it was based on a lie.
After getting dressed in an oversized boyfriend t-shirt, leggings, and slides, Reina made her way downstairs with a smile. When she made it to the living room and saw her mother and brothers her smile faded. While she was happy to see them, she wasn’t expecting them to be there. Was this an early birthday present type of surprise? Because if it was, Reina didn’t need anything else beyond the trip they were about to go on.
“What’s going on?” she asked, looking at Hudson while she walked over to her brothers.
“I invited them to stay with us for a little while. The house is so big everyone will still have their own space. But this way, you and your mother can spend some time together, and I can get to know them a little better.”
Rocking from the tips of her toes to her heels, Reina smiled widely as she looked from her mother to Hudson. “Excuse me for a moment,” she almost squealed before skipping to the nearest bedroom.
Even with the tension between her and her mother, she hoped this would be an opportunity for them to get closer. She wished, desperately, that they had a bond like most mothers and daughters. The situation with Harold and Hudson wasn’t one that she felt comfortable talking about with her friends, but she would have liked to talk about it with Laditra since she already knew what was going on.
Reina was genuinely excited about her family being there, but the moment she closed the door behind her, her stomach began to bubble. She hadn’t eaten breakfast yet, but that didn’t keep her from feeling sick to her stomach. As quickly as she could, Reina cut the fan and water on before dropping to her knees and clutching the toilet as she emptied what little was left in her stomach from last night.
Something was off.
Something… was about to go terribly, terribly wrong.
Putting her back on the toilet, Reina sat there for a while before standing and splashing her face with water. She grabbed one of the extra toothbrushes from the closet and brushed her teeth, heading out after rinsing her mouth out with Listerine. Not wanting to seem ungrateful, she forced a smile and tried to shake the ill feelings that were consuming her.
As she entered the living room, Laditra walked over to her. Taking Reina’s hands into hers, Laditra smiled as she stared into her eyes.
“I know that we’ve had our share of ups and downs, but I want us to be closer. I don’t want to fight with you anymore, Ray. Can we please work on mending our relationship?”
Reina couldn’t tell if her mother was sincere or not. This was the first time Laditra had ever mentioned wanting to work things out before. Even though this was exactly what she wanted, Reina couldn’t be too sure. The last thing she wanted to do was get her hopes up just to have her mother spit in her face.
“Where is this coming from?”
“Your future husband.” Laditra looked back at Hudson with a smile, but he was too busy allowing Bentley to talk his ear off to pay them any attention. “He stressed to me how much it would mean to you for us to work on our bond. And that made me realize that I haven’t been the best mother to you. I want to change that.”
“Okay. I would like that then.”
“Good.” Laditra pulled Reina in for an embrace. And it was just as stiff as it normally was. Whispering loud enough for only Reina to hear, Laditra said, “I’m putting up with this happy family charade for now, but you owe me.”
With a chuckle, Reina shook her head and rolled her eyes as her arms stiffened around her mother. When Hudson looked her way, she forced a smile. How could she give her mother the benefit of the doubt knowing Laditra Givens was always on some bullshit?
Chapter 11
Hudson
Hudson smiled at the sight before him, willing his hardening shaft to simmer down. Rose never let anyone else in the house cook, so he had no idea what Reina had said to gain access to the kitchen. Not only had she gained access to the kitchen, but she’d sent the staff home hours ahead of time. They had the house all to themselves. And the fact that Reina was standing in the kitchen wearing nothing but a lavender lace lingerie set along with an apron that said kiss the cook made him very happy about tha
t.
Licking his lips, Hudson walked over to where Reina stood. He took her into his arms and kissed her deeply, not letting up until they both needed to breathe.
“What are you up to,” he asked as he released her.
“Well… with us leaving for Paris tomorrow, I wanted to do something special to show you in advance just how much I appreciate you and enjoy having you in my life. I would have taken you somewhere fancy but…”
“You know me well enough to know that this is the kind of shit I like,” Hudson added, making Reina smile and nod.
“Exactly.” She walked over to the island in the middle of the spacious kitchen and poured him a glass of white wine. After handing it to him, she planted a kiss to his cheek. “If you’d like to stay in here while I cook, you’re more than welcome to.”
And he did. Hudson sat down at the table in the corner of the kitchen and made himself comfortable. Reina cut on some music, and she sang, hummed, and danced around the kitchen while she cooked. He tried not to watch her every move, though he was sure she would make some type of pasta since that was his favorite.
Every once in a while, when a song came on that he liked, Hudson stood and danced with her. But for the most part, he gave her space, finding happiness just in being in her presence.
After Reina pulled two pans out of the oven, she left the kitchen for a while. When she came back, she grabbed Hudson’s hand and led him to the dining room, where she’d set the mood with candles, more wine, dimmed lights, music, and a bouquet of roses in the middle of the table. Hudson sat down and allowed a woman who wasn’t being paid for it to serve him for the first time.
First, they had salad and bread. They made small talk, mostly about their days. Then, she served him seafood baked macaroni and cheese along with stuffed salmon, during which they talked about the trip and what all they planned to do while in Paris. Last, she served him homemade cherry cheesecake pie with a sweet and salty pretzel crust that had Hudson going back for seconds.