Page 30 of Paper Horses

The row of paper horses spanned out as I picked them up, the paper worn and faded, but the shapes still there.

“Keep them closed!” I warned Hudson as I brought him through the door of the apartment he shared with his roommate.

“What are you up to?” he asked with a deep chuckle as his lashes fluttered behind my hand. I was on my toes, trying to keep him from peeking.

“Surprising you.”

“Are you naked?”

I hissed through my teeth. “No, how would I be naked when you just saw me dressed not two minutes ago?”

“It was worth the ask. Not that I won’t have you naked soon.”

“Hudson!”

His laugh was a rich, hearty sound that sent my stomach swirling.

When I had him through the door, I kicked it closed and dragged him further into the living room. His roommate had let me in earlier that day when I knew Hudson would be in class, and he promised to be scarce the rest of the day.

“Ready?” I asked, excitement bubbling inside of me.

He grabbed my waist. “To taste you, honey.”

This time my stomach tumbled because Hudson’s mouth was like magic, and whenever he used my nickname, I knew what was coming…me.

“I’m serious.”

“So am I,” he said, his fingers sliding into my pants.

“You’re going to ruin this if you don’t stop that.”

“How can making you come ruin anything?”

I smacked his arm, my hand slipping to find his eyes open and locked on mine. He pulled me to him, kissing me and leaving me dizzy. As he drew away, he had a mischievous grin on his face that faltered as his eyes rose.

“Olivia?” he asked, his eyes taking in the room. Paper horses I’d spent hours making streamed across the room. Four strands in different colors. And in the center of the room, a cake I’d made him, doing my best to follow the recipe our chef had sent me. It was thick and gritty, but the horse I’d drawn on it was one of the best I’d done.

He looked back at me, emotions splayed across his features.

“Happy birthday,” I said with a big smile.

“You did all this?”

I nodded as he released me and inspected the cake. “And you baked? And…shit, Olivia, this horse is beautiful.” I’d been drawing since starting college, keeping a journal I left at school and far from home because my father would only have belittled me for it and punished Gabe for my foolishness. Horses were my favorite, and Hudson had kept every horse I’d ever drawn him.

“And…” He reached up and touched a line of brown paper horses before turning his eyes back to me. “Made these?”

Another nod, and he rushed to me, lifting me and spinning me as I giggled.

“Best birthday ever,” he said, kissing me. “I’m going to keep those paper horses forever, and when we own our horse farm and have a slew of little Olivias running under our feet, I will have them hanging in our house to remind me of how amazing you are.”

“A slew?” I asked. “That sounds like a lot of kids.”

He set me down and took my face in his hands. “Then we’ll have dogs. A dozen dogs running through the fields and the house.”

I laughed, throwing my arms around his neck.

“I love you, Olivia. So much that it kills me to think of how long I went without you in my life.”