Page 6 of Accidental Abduction

The words Reid had uttered about girls being into masked men came to mind, and I started planning in my head. “When?”

“That’s exactly what the problem is.” She crossed her arms over her chest, tapping her foot as she glared at me. “I’m not going to tell you when you need to be spontaneous. That defeats the entire purpose. You should just do it.”

“How am I supposed to know when a good time is to plan something like this? Am I just going to show up one day and tell you to run? What else do I wear? Do I tie you up and take you into the woods or something?” Gripping my hair, I roughly ran my fingers through the damp strands, trying not to let this overwhelm me. What she was asking for theoretically sounded reasonable, but what happened if it didn’t go as planned? She’d just use this as another thing to be upset about.

Viv looked defeated as she sat next to me on the couch, pulling her leg beneath her and placing her hand on my shoulder. “I’ve loved you for a long time, Hudson. But maybe it’s time we acknowledged we want different things. Things I don’t think you can give me.”

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

“Maybe we should go to the party separately, try hanging out with other people. See if someone else might be a better fit.”

What the fuck? “It sounds like you’re breaking up with meandyou want to come pick guys up at my bar during a party that I planned because you wanted one.”

“Is that such a bad idea? We both aren’t happy.”

“Since when am I not happy? Don’t throw this shit on me. I bend over backward to make time for you when my schedule allows it.” But sometimes I had to change plans because I was needed at the bar. And she was pissed when it happened and regularly gave methe silent treatment. But I always tried to make it up to her. Clearly that wasn’t enough.

“I’ll return your costume to the shop. If you aren’t excited at the idea of doing something that would make me happy, we clearly need to hit the pause button. I want to stay friends. I still care about you, but I just need to see if something different fulfills what I want in a partner. We’re getting older and I don’t want to waste time on something that will fall apart if you don’t put in more effort.”

“So, this is it? You’re breaking up with me because I don’t initiate spontaneous sex with you?” While it’d been the initial draw in our relationship, it seemed insane for her to break up with me because she thought our sex life had gotten stale. We’d both invested four years into being a couple. She wasn’t just some fuck toy to me.

“There are other things, too. Can you honestly tell me we’re looking for the same future together?” she asked, sounding exasperated.

She was acting like I didn’t do anything for our relationship. Like every nice thing I planned for her on my days off, or going on outings with her vapid friends and their equally douchey boyfriends wasn’t doing what she wanted. But of course, I was the one being unreasonable.

“This isn’t working out for me in more than just one area. Maybe we need to take some time. I don’t want to force you to want me. If things don’t work out, we can check in with each other in a few months and see if this is worth rekindling.”

It seemed like she was talking in circles. She wanted me to be more spontaneous, but only because I wanted to, and then she wanted to keep me on the hook if things didn’t go how she wanted with dating other guys.

“Maybe you’re right. I’m gonna head out. Guess I’ll…see you later.”

Her eyes flashed with something that looked an awful lot like panic, but if she didn’t want me here, I’d leave. Before she roped me back in because whenever we fought like this, the problem wasalways me. I’d clearly let her down according to her, over something that in the scheme of things seemed pretty damn superficial.

She took a breath and masked her expression. “Don’t be mad, baby. I’m doing this for us.”

Viv inched forward, kissing just below the corner of my mouth. Where I’d once felt a spark when she touched me, felt flat. In the past, I would have turned and kissed her back, but I needed to get out of here and clear my head. She tried to hug me as I left, but my arms hung limply at my sides.

“This isn’t goodbye. This is just us evaluating what we really want in life and deciding if what we have is worth coming back to. You know this is what’s best for us, don’t you, baby?” she asked, stroking the skin on my cheek and lifting an eyebrow. I’d seen this look many times when she was trying to get someone to do something they didn’t want to. “I’ll come find you at the party if you’ll save a dance for me.”

Looked like I had a shitload of soul searching to do before this party. I could either try to prove her wrong, and plan something to win her back, or I could get really drunk and pass out in my office after spending all night as Reid’s wingman.

Either way, I was fucked.

Hudson

“I don’t want tosay I told you so, but I fucking told you, dude.”

Glaring at my best friend as I wiped down the glasses lined up on the bar, I regretted confiding in him about what had gone down with Viv at her place. “Shut the fuck up, asshole.”

“Hey, you’re the one who confided in me. I didn’t ask to get pulled into your relationship drama.”

“Didn’t stop you from giving your opinion.”

“And what did I fucking tell you? I told you not to settle for some spoiled brat who doesn’t appreciate you.”

His words stung, but a part of me felt like the future I envisioned was falling right out from under me.

“Shit. Man, I don’t like that look on your face. What are you doing?” Reid had known me for almost twenty years, so he knew when I set my mind to accomplishing something.

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