Reed didn’t say anything. Hudson's heart was pounding, waiting for judgment, disgust, something. The pause was long enough that he started counting his breaths to keep from speaking.
"You freaked out?" Hudson asked, unable to take the silence.
"About what? That you're into guys, or that you're into Shaw?"
"Both. I guess."
Reed's mouth twitched. "I mean, Shaw? Really?" He shook his head. "Of all the guys here, you're hooking up with the most uptight, stick-up-his-ass, never-smiles prick in our entire Selection class?"
Hudson snorted, relief washing over him. "Yeah. I know."
"I get that he's good-looking. In that whole brooding, tattooed, mysterious thing he's got going on. But his personality?" Reed made a face. "Guy's about as warm as a fucking ice cube."
"He's not that bad."
"He barely talks to anyone."
"He talks to me."
"Yeah?" Reed said with a shit-eating grin on his face. "Not sure how much talking he can do with your dick in his mouth."
Hudson nearly tripped over his own feet. "Man—that's just—no."
Reed laughed, and some of the tension drained from Hudson's shoulders.
Reed's expression sobered. "So... all that bonding over how hot Jessica Alba was in Sin City. Was that you bullshitting me?"
"Hell no." Hudson ran a hand through his hair. "I meant every word. Never touched a guy in my life before Shaw. It's always been girls.”
"And now?"
"No fucking clue, man." He exhaled. “This is all very new to me.”
Reed leaned back against the fence. "Look, I don’t care who you do. What I do care about is you getting caught and thrown out of here."
"I think Briggs knows.”
Reed’s eyes widened. “Are you serious?”
“I think so."
"Jesus, Hale. You're playing with fire." Reed's expression turned serious. "You know the regulations. What happens if the wrong person finds out."
"I know."
"Do you? Because from where I'm standing, you two hooked up in a storage room during free time. That's not exactly careful."
Hudson opened his mouth, then closed it. Reed was right. They'd been reckless, stupid, so caught up in wanting each other that they'd stopped thinking about the risks.
"It won't happen again."
Reed snorted. "Sure it won't. Look, I'm not judging. But you need to be smarter about this. Because if someone else had walked in instead of me? You'd both be fucked. And not in the fun way."
Hudson’s shoulders sagged. His breath came out in a rush. "Thank you. For not—you know."
"For not reporting you?" Reed raised an eyebrow. "Wow, Hale. What kind of asshole do you think I am?"
"I didn't know what to think."
