“Come on up.” Hudson swipes a card to open the gate.
He leads the way up the stairs to a spacious, secret garden hidden from the street and riverfront promenade below. The view is spectacular.
“This is one of my favorite spaces. It’s going to be reserved for our residents’ exclusive use. But since I’m the only one living here at the moment, we’ll open it up for the event.”
Cookie immediately hops up on one of the outdoor couches and rolls onto her back. Tongue out, belly basking in the sun, she is completely blissed out. I can’t blame her. This is a pretty sweet spot to hang. I plop down beside her to scratch her belly.
“Whoa, I think she approves.” Xander whistles, coming up the stairs to join us.
“Who wouldn’t love it here.” I sigh. “It’s pretty dreamy.”
“I think we’ve figured out everything we’ll need for the website and streaming.” Jackson waves from the stairs. “We should be good to go. Don’t forget we’re taping tomorrow, Em. Xander is gonna pop in for the session.”
Emily reads a message on her phone. “I hate to cut this short, but I have to call someone back about an assignment.”
“Rome gig?” Jackson looks hopeful.
“You’re flying to Rome for a story?” I ask. “How lucky are you?”
Emily shrugs. “Maybe. I’ve been asked to do a piece on a self-help guru. I’m just not sure it’s a good fit. Celebrities aren’t my usual beat.”
“I’ll give you a lift!” Angie says. “I’m headed back into town now. I want to hear all about it. You know, they have some really interesting dog breeds in Italy …”
Emily takes Angie up on her offer, and Jackson follows closely on their heels, anxious to get back to coding.
Xander checks his watch. “I gotta hustle too. I have two more appointments this afternoon.”
“Can I ride with you?” Kenna asks. “I’ve got to get back to the diner for the next shift.”
“What, nobody wants to ride back with me?” I ask.
“Actually, Georgia, I was hoping you could stick around for a few more minutes,” Hudson says.
Xander and Kenna both catch my eye.
“You good, G?” Xander asks.
“It’s okay, you guys can go. I’m just gonna sit here for a little bit longer and bask in the bougie vibes,” I say.
“I hope you’ll come back sometime soon,” Hudson says to Kenna and Xander. “Not just for this event. I’d love to have you all over for drinks sometime.” He shakes Xander’s hand.
“Let me know if you need anything from me,” Hudson says as he walks them to the stairs. “Anything at all.” I love the way he moves. He really is lithe like a cat.
And then it strikes me that we’re alone on this rooftop. There’s something strangely intimate about it, even though we’re here in broad daylight. It’s like we’re on our own private island. The only people in the world. He walks back toward me, not appearing to be in any particular rush.
I want to say something, but I can’t think what to say. I feel like I need a keyboard. My brain can’t seem to make my mouth form coherent sentences right now.
This turns out to be fine because when Hudson joins me on the sofa, he isn’t interested in speaking to me.
“I’d like to introduce you to someone, Cookie.” Hudson strokes Cookie gently. She rewards him with a big, slobbery tongue bath.
I’m jealous. Watching his hands move over her ribs and torso, I’m wishing it was me he was stroking. I’m wishing it was me licking his neck, his jaws, his soft lips. The lower one is slightly fuller than the upper one, I notice. Too late, I realize I’m staring.
Hudson holds out a hand. I notice that his eyes look just like a satellite photo of the world. Flecks of brown and green swimming in a vast, blue ocean. I could get lost in that world if I’m not careful.
“Are you positive you want to do this?” I manage to ask. “I’m not sure it’s safe.”
“I’m pretty certain it’s not,” he agrees as he pulls me up and into his arms, “but I’m still sure I want to do it.”
