"So are you? Full of yourself?"
Hudson met Derek's eyes—dark brown, amused, waiting for Hudson to say something charming or clever or flirtatious. This was the part where Hudson was supposed to lean in, play along, see where this went.
Instead, all he could think was that Derek's eyes were the wrong color, and none of it felt right because?—
Because he wasn't Shaw.
"You okay?" Derek asked, tilting his head.
"Actually," Hudson said, "I should probably?—"
"There you are!" Taylor appeared at the table like she'd been summoned, sliding into the booth next to Hudson with fresh drinks. "Sorry, didn't mean to interrupt. I'm Taylor. Hudson's sister."
"Derek." He shook her hand, looking amused. "I was just getting to know your brother."
"Oh good. He needs more friends." Taylor shot Hudson a look that very clearly said don't you dare bail on this. "How's it going?"
"Great," Derek said at the same time Hudson said, "Fine."
Taylor's grin widened. "Fantastic. Well, I'll just—" She got up.
"You know what?" Hudson said, catching her arm. "Can I talk to you for a second?"
"Now?"
"Yeah. Now."
Taylor obviously caught the edge in Hudson’s voice. "Uh, sure. Excuse us," she said to Derek, who raised his eyebrow and nodded.
Hudson pulled her toward the bathrooms. He eyed the crowded bar behind her—the music, the bodies, the sultry looks. "I don't think I'm ready for this."
"Ready for what? Talking to people?"
"Ready for—" Hudson gestured vaguely at the bar. "This. I don’t know. It’s weird."
Taylor softened. "Okay. So what do you need?"
Hudson rubbed the back of his neck. “To stop comparing every guy in here to someone who’s three thousand miles away?”
“I’m not sure that’s something I can fix.”
“Yeah.” He exhaled. “Maybe this was a bad idea. I should go home."
"Or," Taylor said, "maybe stop treating this like a pass-fall exam." She bumped his shoulder. “You came here. You talked to a guy. He wasn’t your type—still counts."
"Does it? Because I still don't know if I'm actually into men or if Elliot broke my brain."
Taylor's mouth twitched. "Broke your brain or broke your?—"
"Don't." Hudson pointed at her. "Finish that sentence and I'm leaving."
Taylor laughed. “Fiiine, grumpy.”
Hudson leaned back against the wall, closing his eyes for a second.
“You're not going to figure it out by hiding out here." Taylor gave him a look. "Come on. Let's get you another drink. Worst case, you go home exactly as confused as when you got here. Best case, you actually enjoy yourself for five minutes."
Hudson snorted. "That's your pep talk?"
