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Pulling it from the case, he slides the strap over his bare chest before climbing back into bed. He props up against the headboard and settles the guitar in his lap.
“I’ve been working on this for a while and I think I’ve finally got it right.”
“Is this something for the new album?” I ask, pulling the blanket into my lap.
“Maybe.” He shrugs. “I didn’t write it for anything specific. Like I said, you inspire me.” He slides his fingers gently across the strings, making sure the guitar is in tune before he starts.
“I’m still working out a few things so don’t judge me too harshly.” He grins, strumming out a few chords on the guitar.
It’s only a few seconds before I’m completely transfixed. The way his fingers move across the instrument so effortlessly, it’s like he was born to play it.
But then he starts to sing and I swear the whole world shifts beneath me.
I’ve seen him on stage, witnessed his power to enchant an entire audience, felt the goose bumps prick my skin at his incredible voice. But even through all that, nothing compares to this very moment.
His voice is a soft rasp, his eyes close as he loses himself to the song. I hold on to each word as it comes, my heart beating faster and faster until I feel like I can’t pull in a breath.
“I knew I loved you from that moment. From the first time your smile slid across your face. You were all I ever wanted. And I didn’t even know your name.”
Tears prick the back of my eyes and as hard as I try to fight them back, I can’t stop them from sliding down my cheeks in quick succession as Hudson continues to sing, his voice making my entire body stand to attention.
“You were the girl I never knew I needed. The one I hadn’t even realized I was looking for. And when your hand reached out and slid across my face, I knew that I’d never be able to walk away.”
He sings about loving someone so completely that he fears losing himself. About needing someone so much it terrifies him. And I realize in that moment he’s telling me he feels exactly the same way I do.
Scared. Vulnerable. Without control.
“Say you’ll stay. Say you’ll stay. Say you’ll stay.” He repeats the last chorus, growing softer and softer each time until his fingers go still against the guitar and his eyes slowly open.
“You’re crying.” It’s the first thing he says when our gazes lock. His voice a combination of concern and confusion.
“It was incredible,” I choke out in explanation.
“It’s about you.” He confirms what I already knew. “I’ve been adding to it little by little over the past few weeks. Anytime I think of you I sit down with my guitar and I swear the music just pours out of me. I’ve written a few different songs recently, but this one means the most. It’s the one I worked on at night while everyone else slept and I couldn’t think of anything but you. What you were doing. What you were thinking about. If you were sleeping or if like me, you were lying awake thinking of me.”
“If you’re trying to get me to cry harder, it’s working,” I tell him, emotion so thick in my chest it’s a wonder I can still speak.
“I need you to understand what you mean to me, Lennon. This isn’t just some passing thing. You’re it. You’re the one I want. I need you to know that and trust in me. Trust in us. I will always put you first, no matter what that means.”
“Stop talking.” I push up on my knees and crawl toward him, straddling his legs as I remove his guitar and gently set it on the floor.
“Lennon,” he starts but I press my fingers over his mouth.
“I said, stop talking.” I shake my head, scooting further up his lap until my face is hovering inches from his. “I can’t tell you how I feel in the form of a song. I can’t create something that wraps all my feelings into one and makes you feel every word of what I say. What I can do is tell you that I love you. I love you in a way I didn’t know was possible. In a way that scares the hell out of me. Yet fills me so full I feel like I might burst. I won’t lie and say I’m not scared of what the future holds. Because I am scared. But I’m also willing to fight for you with everything that I have. Because you, Hudson Demasi, are someone worth fighting for.” I move my hand from his lips and replace it with my mouth, showing him with my body what I hope I already convinced him with my words.
