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Charlie
In all the family dinners I have never had butterflies, but this is the first night I’ll be bringing a date. The thought makes me stupid giddy and I laugh at myself. Checking my hair and makeup one last time, I come out to find Hudson pacing my living room, looking worried.
“What’s wrong?”
He stops and looks at me, and his tension-truck face relaxes into a smile. “Wow, you look beautiful.”
“Thank you.” I giggle with a blush that I feel down to my feet. Only this man could rule my body the way he does.
“You looked so tense, is everything okay?” I ask him, coming up to run my hands up his chest in hopes of making him feel a bit more calm.
“Believe it or not, I’ve never been to a family dinner and I’m right nervous. Embarrassing really.”
I can’t help but laugh a bit at his schoolboy expression and I kiss his lips to show him how thankful I am.
“No need to be nervous, Hudson. You know almost everyone, and they all already love you. Plus, I’ll be there, and I promise if it gets too stuffy, we can bail.”
My phone dings with a text message and to my surprise it’s Marcus’ mom, Nora. Her and Declan are back in town for a short visit and are excited to see me and are thrilled to meet Hudson. My face must give me away because he asks who it was and why I look “like that.” It makes me laugh and I tell him my pseudo parents are coming tonight.
“What?” He’s back to looking nervous.
“Marcus’ parents took me in when things went south with my father and have always been like parents to me. I can tell by the look on your face this isn’t helping you relax, but Nora and Declan are super cool. I mean, come on they owned and ran a record store for years and so many amazing bands went through it. They retired early and have been traveling ever since. They are totally your kind of people. Declan sings and writes his own music, so you’ll have plenty to talk about.”
He swallows audibly and I think I’ve said the wrong thing.
“If you even want to talk. Play the strong silent type if you want. No one will judge you.”
“I’m pretty sure I’ll be on display for full judgment but thank you for trying, my love.” He smiles and finds my lips with his. “Shall we make our way to the restaurant then?”
I nod and we walk the two blocks to the Snack Shack. Lyla’s closed everything down to the public and we have to knock. When she comes to the door, we’re both greeted with a hug which I think helps Hudson feel a bit more welcome. We make our way to the roof which surprises me since it’s never been open, but walking onto the platform, I’m stunned to find the place totally transformed.
“What do you think?” Lyla asks, biting her thumbnail. “After Willow’s shop remodel, we kind of decided to expand a bit. You guys are the first to see it.”
“Lyla, it’s gorgeous. I love it.” I mean every word. It’s simple, with twinkling lights strung along overhead and a few super long tables pushed together with long tablecloths lining them. The one in the center is set up for us with plates and glasses arranged perfectly. Large bowls and tin foil-covered dishes are in the center all the way down.
“Thank you.” She relaxes with my compliment and asks us if we can help bring a couple more dishes upstairs. In the kitchen we run into Cole and we all grab dishes and pitchers and take them to the roof. Everything is set up perfectly, and we sit and chat for a few minutes. Cole and Hudson talk about London and I’m reminded of his rich family that none of us knew about until after he got together with Lyla.
“Hey, sorry we’re late,” Marcus says, leading the train of people who all come up wide-eyed as they take in the new rooftop. Harmony and Grace come up next followed by Nora and Declan. Harmony runs around giving everyone a hug, including Hudson who she decides to sit on for a while. Lyla and Cole go around and pour premade mixed drinks into everyone’s glasses and gives Harmony some lemonade. Willow comes up cussing about how awesome the place looks and finally Mason also joins us. Everyone gets comfortable and we settle into a great conversation about music. Declan and Hudson hit if off just like I knew they would, and Nora keeps grabbing my arm and pulling me in to tell me something new. Mostly it’s been about how hot she thinks Hudson is, but she’s mentioned things about how he reminds her of Declan and she’s told me a million times already tonight that she’s so happy for me taking a chance on not just him but touring.
“No matter what it’ll be a great adventure,” she said.
I know she’s right; I feel it. I go on to tell her some tour dates and how the boys pushed back a few appearances for me. I know it cost them a lot and Ryan was sure to be a royal pain about it, but he said he was happy to have me aboard so I’ll take the win.
“When do you guys ship off?” Declan asks the both of us, but Hudson answers, no longer the nervous Nelly he was before we got here.
“Tomorrow night. We decided to head out when we can just sleep through most of the drive to Austin. Ryan said now that we have Charlotte, if she ever wants to stop for a hotel room, all we have to do is say so. I think she’s got the boys whipped before she even starts the tour.” He laughs and I can’t help but join in. The table of friends all smile and nod happily at me.
As always Lyla’s feast is amazing. She made smoked pulled pork and homemade mac and cheese, a million different topping choices, and all the best comfort food sides, so we stuff our faces for the next hour. With full bellies and feeling a bit tipsy from all the sangria being passed around, conversation starts to wind down and we all say our goodbyes. Nora and Declan walk with us since they’re going to stay in Hudson’s old apartment next to mine. Nora goes into a story about how I would sit in the record shelves and scare her customers. I defended myself, of course, explaining how I was usually just listening to music or reading and didn’t notice the people around me, but everyone still had a good laugh. We make it back to the apartments and I whisper to Hudson, asking if it would be okay with him if I invited them back to our apartment. A strange look comes over his face, but he nods.
“I’m going to grab a quick shower but would you two want to join Charlotte for a nightcap?”
“Sure, dear, we would love to,” Nora says and her loving husband wraps his arm around her and kisses her cheek. I love that she blushes and they’ve been happily married all this time.
As we all pile into my place, Hudson leaving me with a kiss as he heads back to our room. Nora, always the mom, gets us drinks, and I sit with Declan on my couch.
“He seems like a good one. I like him for you, Charlie.”
“Thanks,” I say, appreciating his approval.
