by Gemma Brooks
I smiled. “Yes, will do.”
I ran back to the kitchen. Their ticket was third in line. It was going to be a while. I dreaded my walk to their table.
“It’s just going to be a little while longer,” I told them.
“Are you serious?” I heard the mom say to the dad.
I wanted to tell them this wasn’t McDonald’s and that if they wanted to go to a sit down restaurant, order six meals, and expect their food to be ready in five minutes, they were at the wrong establishment. Instead, I bit my tongue and walked away.
“Ma’am, you haven’t taken my order yet,” the middle aged man called after me.
I ran up to his table and whipped out my pen and paper. “So whatcha having tonight?”
“Is the beef stroganoff any good?” he asked. “I’m not a huge mushroom person.”
I wanted to tell him not to order it if he didn’t like mushrooms, but we were trained to say that everything was good. We weren’t allowed to tell people what to order. That had gotten us in trouble too many times, and Marge did not like to give away free food.
“It’s good, but there are mushrooms in the sauce, sir,” I said. “We have a really good fried chicken dinner. It comes with a roll and two sides.”
I pointed to the menu to show him where it was.
“I hate chicken,” he said.
“Okay, can I recommend our baked cavatelli?” I suggested. “It comes with garlic bread.”
“Yeah, whatever, I guess,” he said as he closed his menu and shoved it towards me.
I tried to wrap my head around all of it. The last few weeks I’d been waited on hand and foot, pampered, and treated like a queen. I’d thrown it all away and come back to wait tables for minimal tips and to be treated like shit from people like him. I couldn’t make a smart decision to safe my life.
I spun around and put his order in immediately. The last thing I wanted was for him to short my tip because the food took too long. People like that, especially the out of towners, were notorious for doing that.
As I put in the order, Sarah noticed I wasn’t quite myself.
“You okay, Brynn?” she asked as she put her arm on my shoulder.
My eyes were a little teary, but I tried to smile to make them go away.
“Talk to me,” she said.
“I can’t wait tables the rest of my life, Sarah,” I said. I hoped she didn’t hate me for saying that. She was in her thirties and had waited tables most of her adult life. She wasn’t going anywhere. This was her career.
“Rude customers?” she asked. “Don’t let them ruin your night.”
“Don’t you ever think about doing something else?” I asked her. “There are other options for us.”
“Yeah, but I’ve been here so long,” she said. “And this job plus child support pays all my bills. I don’t need a lot.”
“I should probably go check on my tables,” I said. “They’re impatient tonight and I need all the tips I can get.”
The bell dinged and the food was ready for the obnoxious family of six.
“Thank God,” I muttered as I loaded up my tray and ran everything out to them.
“It’s about time!” one of the snot-nosed little girls said to me with her hand on her hip. She was trying to be cute, but I didn’t have the energy. I sat down their food, refilled their drinks, and checked on the man from Milwaukee.
“Ma’am, what is taking so long with the cavatelli?” he asked. “Do you make the pasta by hand?”
“No,” I said. “Let me check on it for you.”
I staved off tears once again as I ran back to check on his dinner. He was next. It wasn’t going to be much longer.
“Brynn, there’s a guy out there requesting you,” Sarah said as she bit her lip. The twinkle in her eye said it all, and I instantly knew.
I straightened my apron and smoothed my hair as I walked back out to the floor. Behind an enormous bouquet of exotic florals sat Hudson Smith. He peeked his head out from around the ridiculous display and smiled with a bit of apprehension.
“Hudson,” I said. I was suddenly thrilled to see him, though I wasn’t going to let him know that.
“Brynn,” he said.
“I was not expecting to see you,” I said.
“I know,” he replied with a sexy smile.
“What are you doing here?” I asked.
“I’ve come to take you home,” he said. “You’re coming back home with me, Brynn. Where you belong.”
“Ma’am,” the Milwaukee guy yelled. “My cavatelli?”
“It’ll be ready soon,” I called back to him. He looked pissed, but I didn’t care. He didn’t get to talk to me that way.
“You don’t need to work,” Hudson said. “You don’t need to be here. You don’t need to be talked to like that.”
He glared at the cavatelli guy.
“Hudson, stop,” I said. “It’s okay. I’m used to it.”
“No, it’s not okay,” he said. “I’m going to get you out of here.”
“I had to beg Marge for my job back,” I said with an eye roll. “She told me never to leave her hanging ever again. I’m supposed to work the next two days.”
Hudson shook his head. “Plans change.”
“I have to keep my word,” I said.
I heard the ding of the bell and began to walk off, but Hudson grabbed me gently by the wrist.
“Let me get that guy’s food,” I mumbled as I nodded to the customer who’d been shooting daggers our way. “I’ll be right back.”
My feet couldn’t carry me fast enough to the kitchen where a plate of steaming pasta and garlic bread sat under the heat lamp. I rushed them out to the grumpy man who didn’t seem pleased at all.
“This looks like mush,” he said with a scowl. “I can’t eat this.”
He shoved the dish away and it nearly fell off the other side of the booth. Hudson was watching the entire thing.
“Do you want me to put in another order for you? Our meatloaf is good,” I said. “It’s homemade. Secret family recipe.”
The man glared up at me. “I can’t eat meatloaf. I don’t eat dog shit.”
“Do you even want to try your pasta?” I said. “I’ve had it before. I promise it’s good.”
The man covered his face with his hands, dragging and pulling on his lose skin until I could see the undersides of his bloodshot eye balls. He was about to snap at me, I could feel it. He stood up and walked over to me as I took several steps backwards. I couldn’t believe he was going to yell at me because he didn’t like how the food looked.
I closed my eyes and waited for him to start up, but all I heard was a thud. I opened my eyes to see the grumpy man lying on the floor rubbing his jaw and Hudson standing next to me rubbing his clenched fist. Hudson had punched the guy who was about to get in my face.
The entire restaurant erupted into a fit of applause, even the crazy family of six, as the Milwaukee man scrambled to get on his feet and get the hell out of there. By then he had to have known he was acting inappropriately. He about assaulted me. If he had an ounce of intelligence, he wasn’t going to go the cops about any of that.
“Hey, isn’t that Hudson Smith?” someone called out.
“Yeah,” another person replied. “What’s he doing in town?”
“Uh, oh,” I said with a laugh. “You’ve been spotted.”
“Let’s get out of here,” Hudson said, ignoring everyone around us. Amidst all the chaos and bullshit, it was still just him and me.
I thought about my promise to Marge. She’d given me a second chance, and with her, there were never any third chances. I glanced over at Sarah, who was smiling in the corner, watching Hudson wrap his arms around me. I thought about Luke, and Piper, and my mom, and everything that had changed, including myself. I couldn’t work another minute in that hell hole, and I couldn’t stay another day in Rock River.
“Let’s go,” I said with a smile as I untied my apron and flung it over the back of
a counter stool. I waved bye to Sarah as Hudson and I ran out the door and hopped into my car. We high tailed it to my apartment where we ran up the stairs and took refuge in my living room. Heaving and out of breath, we both fell down in a fit of laughter.
“That was insane,” I said. “I’ve never seen that place get so nuts before!”
I sprawled out on the floor, giggling over what had just happened, as Hudson crawled over towards me, placing his hand on my hip and pulling me closer.
“You made the right choice, Brynn,” he said. “Leaving with me.”
“I hope so,” I said. I knew I’d never be entirely sure about any of my choices.
“I’ll make sure you never regret it,” he promised. “I just want to make you happy. I’ll do whatever it takes.”
He leaned down and placed his perfect, soft lips against mine, and I was once again putty in his hands.
CHAPTER 19
“I can’t keep my hands off of you,” he breathed into my ear as his hand slipped up my shirt. “I can’t get you out of my head. I’m constantly thinking about you.”
I smiled, not knowing what to say. A small part of me didn’t believe it was possible for him to be so smitten with me.
He nuzzled my ear then nibbled my ear lobe before working his way down my neck, trailing soft kisses the entire way.
“I had to come out here,” he said. “I had to see you. I had to convince you to come back.”
“I see that,” I whispered.
“I don’t think you realize how much I like you,” he breathed. “You’re different from anyone else I’ve ever known, Brynn.”
“As are you,” I giggled. He was much better with words than I ever could be.
His hand slipped down and unbuckled my pants, slipping under the waistband of my panties. His fingers slipped between my slit as he began to massage me hungrily.
Moans and sighs escaped my mouth as his fingers worked their magic. His hot mouth covered my neck as I arched my back. We were still lying on the hard floor of my apartment, but I didn’t care. When I closed my eyes, all that mattered was that Hudson’s hands were all over my body once again.
He slipped my pants and panties down and began unzipping his jeans. I ripped off my t-shirt and unhooked my bra, flinging them as far away as possible. I stared up into his eyes and saw something I’d never seen before. He was hungry for me, and he wasn’t going to stop until he got what he wanted.
Hudson grabbed me by the hips as he positioned himself between my thighs. He pulled me closer to him, my back sliding against the hardwood floor beneath me. He pulled a rubber from his pocket and wasted no time putting it on and placing his cock right at my entrance. He wasn’t going to wait another second. There would be no teasing this time. Just us. Connected.
As he shoved himself inside of me, a release washed over my body. Our hips moved in tandem, thrust for thrust, as we made love. Three days apart had been three days too many, and I hadn’t realized how much I missed his touch until that moment, on the floor of my apartment in Rock River.
As we were one, Hudson’s eyes never left mine. I reached my hand up and stroked the side of his face, tracing the outline of his lips before he kissed mine on his way down. I’d never felt so connected to anyone before and certainly sex with other guys was never this passionate.
Hudson buried his face in my neck once again as he continued plunging himself deep into me. I loved the way our skin felt when it touched. It was almost electric and otherworldly.
Without any sort of warning, he slowly pulled himself out of me and walked over to the sofa, motioning for me to follow him. He sat down, legs spread, and patted his lap. I sauntered over to him, straddling his lap like he wanted, and placed myself upon his still-throbbing cock. As I slid down, shivers went down my spine. I tossed my head back as I began to rock on him, up and down, back and forth. His hand reached down and rubbed my clit as I worked my hips and grinded harder and faster.
I didn’t want it to end, but I could feel it coming. My orgasm was just seconds away, and I couldn’t fight it. Hudson’s hand on my lower back, guiding my movements, was all it took to send me over the edge.
I screamed out one final time before it took over me and I was spent. The look on Hudson’s face told me he had come as well. The man had self-control and amazing timing, I had to give him that.
I leaned forward, placing my bare chest against his, and listened to the thumping of his heart as I tried to catch my breath. Minutes later, I stood up to go get cleaned up and changed and returned to find Hudson lying on my couch, shirtless and jeans zipped.
“Here,” he said as he patted his chest.
I walked over and laid on top of him, stretched out and snuggled up to his warm body.
“It drove me wild thinking you were done with me,” he said. “I’ve never felt those kinds of feelings before. I didn’t know what to do.”
“Really?” I asked.
“Not knowing if I’d ever have you again,” he said. “It brought out a different side of me.”
My heart fluttered with his words.
“I have to show you something,” he said. “I don’t know if this is the right timing, but I just want you to see it.”
He pulled his phone from his pocket and pulled up a video, handing it to me to watch.
It was Hadley, I could see that right away.
“Hi, Brynn!” she said in her thick, southern accent. She waved a single, lithe arm as if to say “hello” and her beauty queen pageant smile was flashing big and bright. “Hudson has told me so much about you. I’m really sorry about what happened with you and Hudson last weekend. I know the pictures from Friday make things look bad, but I promise you, there is nothing going on between us. We’ve been friends for a very long time. He is like a big brother to me. I really hope I get to meet you sometime, okay? If you still want to talk to me, Hudson has my number. Take care! Mwah!”
She seemed likeable and believable, I had to admit. And I did feel a little better about the entire thing. If she was in love with him or hooking up with him, I was quite sure she wouldn’t have done that.
“So you’re coming home with me tomorrow, right?” he asked as he studied my face.
I bit my lip and nodded. I couldn’t say no. In his presence, I was powerless.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Gemma Brooks is a sucker for a good love story that’s peppered with plenty of drama. Writing since she was old enough to pick up a pen and graduating from college with a degree in English, Gemma’s hunger for crafting stories has always been nothing short of insatiable.
When she’s not hiding behind her laptop feverishly typing up scene after scene like a mad woman, you can find her drinking tea lattes from a local coffee shop, shopping for a new perfume or lux candle, working on her tan, or searching for the perfect shade of red lipstick (which she still has yet to find).
For updates and information on Gemma’s release schedule, please “like” her page on Facebook. Serial installments will be released every 2-3 weeks!
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