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Did he remember? Hell, it was burned into his brain.
The water was calm, the air humid with the heat of July, and the party was going full tilt. Up the beach, a bonfire lit up the sky, and Hudson could see the sparks crackle against a sky full of stars. He grabbed up his cooler and stepped out of his boat. He’d taken two steps before a voice cut him short.
“Did you forget something?” The sarcasm was heavy, and he made a face before turning back to his date. “Sorry. Hands are full.” Amber hopped off the boat straight into the water, her boobs nearly falling out of the black bikini top that barely covered them. Not that he cared. He’d have them out in a few hours. It was the only reason he’d brought her. Amber put out, and he was in the mood to get laid.
Except that about five seconds after he got to the bonfire, he spotted her. At first, he wasn’t sure who the girl was, but he sure as hell liked what he saw. Long, tanned legs. Jean shorts that were loose but hung on hips just the way he liked. A simple white T-shirt. And all that hair. It hung in golden ropes halfway down her back.
She stood beside his buddy Nash, and something about the tilt of her head, or maybe the way the starlight lit up her hair like a halo, drew him to her. Who the hell was she?
Hudson set down his cooler, grabbed himself a beer, and tossed one to Amber before making some lame excuse to head over to Nash. It took him a bit—they were on the other side of the fire, and there were a lot of kids to wade through.
By the time he got to them, he felt strangely exhilarated. And when she turned to him, and shyly smiled up at him to say hello… He was gone. So. Fucking. Gone. It was a punch to the gut, those blue eyes.
He ignored Nash completely. Wild horses couldn’t drag him from this girl.
“Hey,” he said, voice a little hoarse. “I’m Hudson.”
Her lips were parted, and a blush stole over her cheeks. “I know,” she replied. The wind picked up and tugged the ends of her hair. Her long, delicate fingers tucked the strands behind her ear.
He wanted those fingers on him. Wanted that hair in his fists.
Hudson took a sip from his beer, calculating the fallout that would occur when he blew off Amber. Even though it was a dick move, he was going to blow off Amber. No way was he leaving this angel’s side.
“I’m Rebecca.”
He smiled at her then, liking the way her cheeks flushed even more.
“Rebecca,” he said slowly, with a wink. “Mind if I call you Becca?” She nodded but remained silent.
Nash snorted and, with a hard pat to Hudson’s shoulder, leaned close and whispered, “She’s not like Amber. Just so you know.” He took off and disappeared into the shadows, leaving the two of them alone. And that night, under a blanket of stars, surrounded by at least one hundred kids, Hudson felt as if he and Becca were the only two people in the entire world.
And in a way, they were, because after that night, and in spite of the fact he was barely seventeen, he knew she was the only girl for him. And she was. Until he broke what they had.
“Hudson?”
Jerked out of the memory, he yanked his head up and cleared his throat. Rebecca was looking at him, a strange expression on her face.
“I’m sorry,” he said slowly, voice so rough and low, he wasn’t sure she heard him.
“For what?” Her eyes were luminous, shiny, and full. Yet he saw the wariness there. The pain that still lingered.
Hudson had to take a moment. He needed to get this right.
“For everything. For being too young to know better. For leaving you like I did. For handling things badly. For throwing away the only good thing I had because I thought it was the only way. I know none of that makes sense to you, because there are things you don’t know. Things…” He exhaled and bowed his head. “Things no one knows. But I need you to understand, Becs.”
Hudson glanced back up. “When you say that you felt like dying. I get it. It killed me to leave.”
“Then why did you?” she asked, her voice quivering.
“It’s a long story.” He waited a heartbeat and then said something he was either going to regret, or something that had the potential to set him free of a past that haunted him. “Come back to my place, and I’ll tell you.”
Silence. Silence so big, it was loud. And crushing. It sucked the air from the room, and he had a hard time breathing. And hot. It was so damn hot.
“Okay,” she said abruptly, sliding past him and heading for the door. Stunned, he watched as she grabbed her coat and slipped her feet into
her boots. “Let’s go.” She was all business, and the fire in her eye was fierce. She swept by him without another word.
It took a full five seconds for Hudson to get his shit together. He didn’t bother with her brother. Or Nash. They’d figure things out. He followed her out into the cold air, and it pinched his nostrils as he struggled to get his breathing under control. She was by his truck, arms wrapped around her body for warmth, small puffs of air falling from her lips as she exhaled.
