Page 5 of Pieces

If I’m dreaming, don’t wake me up. This guy is all kinds of beautiful and charming. He pulls my hand up to his lips and presses a soft kiss right on the tip of my knuckles, and my knees damn near buckle at the contact.

His grin softens, and the sincerity in his expression makes my stomach flip. “First Gracie concert?”

I nod, unable to keep the smile off my face. “Yeah, for both me and Liv,” I say, pointing to her as she dances, pretending not to pay attention to us. “You?”

“Me too,” Hudson says. His mouth opens to say more, but then another song plays. “I Love You, I’m Sorry,”and his focus snaps to the stage.

Taking him in again as he turns his head to the music, I let myself stare now that he’s closer. The way he looms, effortlessly commanding the space around him, its magnetic. He must have almost a foot on me. I’d bet he’s around 6’5”, at least, and every inch feels significant. His broad shoulders fill the space, his presence large and yet gentle too. I feel small next to him, not in a way that makes me shrink, but in a way that makes me aware of every breath, every heartbeat, as if my body is responding to some primal force I didn’t know existed.

My throat tightens, and I force myself to look away, pretending to find something, anything, interesting about the floor.

God, has it suddenly gotten insanely hot in here?

Before I can spiral, I feel him shift behind me. It’s subtle, just the faintest movement, but it heightens my awareness. Then his fingers brush my shoulder as he moves my hair aside, and suddenly, I can’t breathe. My whole body lights up, every nerve ending firing at once.

He leans in, his voice low and warm right next to my ear. “This is my favorite song.”

A shiver shoots through me, and I swear the room tilts. I turn my head just enough to catch his eyes, and they’re locked on mine, steady, intent, way too close. My heart is racing, and I don’t even know if it’s from the music anymore.

I’m willing to bet he knows exactly the effect he’s having on me, and he’s enjoying every second of it.

Chapter three

Hudson

Iknowexactlytheeffect I’m having on her, and I’m loving every single second.

This girl is out-of-this-world beautiful, but it’s more than that. She’s trying so hard to act like she’s fine, like I don’t make her pulse race when I get too close. That her breath doesn’t hitch when I lean in, but I see it, how her bright blue eyes flicker away like she’s afraid I’ll catch her staring. When she bites her lip, nervous and unaware of how distracting it is, I have to hold back a groan. They’re plump and shiny and fucking perfect.

Or when her cheeks flush a shade of pink that matches her crop top, it’s magnetic. There’s something about her laugh, sharp, quick, unfiltered, that makes me glance her way. She doesn’t look like the kind of girl who cares who’s watching, and maybe that’s why I can’t look away.

The best part is she doesn’t even realize it, which only makes her more irresistible.

I don’t know what the hell is happening to me right now. It’s like my brain is short-circuiting, and my chest is tighter than it has any right to be. Maybe it’s the extra testosterone or the buzz of the concert, but I’m definitely feeling all sorts of things for this girl. The music is so loud, the guitar echoing around us, and we can’t talk properly. But even without words, there’s a charge in the air between us, something electric I can’t ignore.

Then, like a punch to the gut, my earlier statement to my friends comes back to me. I’m not about to assume Daphne wants to sleep with me. I’m not that pigheaded. But if she was into it? Hell, I’d be lying if I said I have the strength to tell her no. The whole no-sex thing started as a joke, a way to prove to myself and my friends that I had some self-control. God knows Jay didn’t think I did. And honestly? I needed it. A break from the chaos, the noise, the drama of girls who got way too attached way too fast. Three months of keeping my head down, focusing on football, school, and life—it sounded like a good plan. A reset. A chance to escape the whirlwind of past flings and get my shit together because life’s coming at me real fast.

But now, standing here with her, every resolve I had feels like it’s shattering into a million pieces. She’s standing just in front of me, twirling a lock of her long blonde hair around her finger, watching the stage, completely in her element, swaying to the beat like she’s part of the music itself. The lights flash and pulse, casting shadows that seem to dance along her skin, making her look even more surreal.

Her presence is intoxicating, and I’m losing myself in the way she moves, the way she’s so effortlessly beautiful.

“Oh my god,” she breathes, just loud enough for me to hear it, clasping her hand with the girl’s next to her as they both grin at each other. I hadn’t even realized the song had changed as Gracie plays “I Knew it, I Know You.”

This song is also one of my favorites. It’s the one I’d blast in my dorm after a tough practice. It was my escape. Now, watching her sing it for the first time, it feels like the song belongs to her, like she’s taken something that was mine and made it better.

I can’t really hear her, but I move to the side slightly so I can see her belt every word with her friend, and I still can’t look away. My internal monologue is a mess, some mix ofholy shit, she’s perfectanddon’t screw this up, man.

The song builds, the energy surrounding us rising with it, and she moves closer to me without even realizing. Her shoulder brushes my chest, and it’s like I’ve crossed some invisible line I can’t step back from. Not that I want to. She glances up at me, her cheeks flushed, her lips parting as though she’s about to say something. But she doesn’t. She’s glowing, and it’s not just the stage lights hitting her just right. It’s pure, unfiltered joy, and damn if it doesn’t make my chest feel like it’s going to burst.

I brush my fingers along her arm, trailing to her wrist. Her pulse quickens under my touch. Leaning forward again, she instantly leans in too. “C’mere,” I murmur, low and coaxing. Her bright eyes meet mine once more, and she watches me for a beat before nodding. A gentle tug, and she steps back into me without hesitation. I position her in front of my body, my hands finding her hips naturally. She fits perfectly against me, her back pressing into my chest.

Her head tilts slightly to the side, and the scent of her sweet shampoo hits my senses, making me dizzy as fuck. The song swells, and I lean down, close enough that my lips brush her ear. “You’re incredibly distracting and insanely beautiful, you know,” I murmur, keeping my tone playful but letting a hint of something deeper slip through.

She laughs, turning her head just enough that I catch the edge of her smile.

I chuckle too because, damn, I can’t help myself around her, my thumbs brushing small circles against her hips. As she pushes back into me, grazing her ass against the zipper of my jeans, I have to bite down hard on my lip to beg my body not to react to that little movement.

I don’t know what’ll happen next, but I’m not letting this girl disappear into the crowd. She feels way too good in my arms.

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