He dropped his pack on the porch and tried the door. Unlocked, as promised in the briefing.
Inside was basic: two cots, a wood stove, a small table. Dusty but functional.
Shaw brought in their packs, setting them against the wall. "I'll get firewood."
Hudson nodded, already pulling out their rations. The familiar routine had shifted. Everything felt different this time.
The first time they'd been alone overnight, they'd barely known each other. Hudson had been so focused on proving himself, on not showing weakness, that he'd barely registered Shaw as anything more than competition.
Now Hudson knew Shaw’s bottom lip was soft between his teeth. Could replay the sound he made when he came—rough and unguarded and nothing like the rest of him. Understood what it felt like to want someone and not be able to do a damn thing about it.
Shaw returned with an armload of wood. Within minutes, he had a fire going in the stove, warmth starting to fill the small space. He sat at the table across from Hudson, and they ate their rations without a word. The sun dipped below the trees, light fading from the windows.
"So," Hudson said finally, because the quiet was getting to him. "When did you figure it out? That you're into guys?"
Shaw laid down his spork. "Why do you want to know?"
"Just curious."
"Curious." Shaw eyed him.
"Yeah,curious. Is that a problem?"
His brows pinched together as he poked at the crackling fire. "I was fifteen. There was a guy at school."
"And that was it?" Hudson couldn't hide the surprise in his voice. At fifteen that would have been a pretty big deal, he imagined. Hell, it was a pretty big deal even at twenty-three.
"Yes. No reason to deny it."
"Very pragmatic."
"That's me." Shaw’s mouth twitched. "You really never been with a guy before?"
Hudson's face heated. "Is it that obvious?"
"No, actually." His wicked grin hit somewhere below Hudson’s sternum. "For someone with no experience, you pick things up pretty fast."
"Are you complimenting me or making fun of me?"
"Can't it be both?"
"Asshole," Hudson laughed. "And no. Never been with a guy before. Always girls."
"How many?"
Hudson shot him a look. "Why is that relevant?"
"Just curious." Shaw gave him that same look Hudson had used earlier, and yeah, okay, fair enough.
"Hooked up with some girls during high school, had a girlfriend, Julie, before coming here. It was good."
Shaw watched him with that intense focus that made Hudson feel stripped bare. "But?"
"But nothing. That's what I'm saying—there was no 'but.' I liked it. I liked them. And then you happened and now I'm as attracted to you as I ever was to any of them. So I don't know what that makes me."
"Someone who knows what they want," Shaw said, like it was obvious.
Hudson swallowed. The fire reflected in Shaws’s amber green eyes and he couldn’t look away. The pull felt almost unbearable now they were alone. Really alone.
