Page 19 of Secret Hudson

HUDSON

I’m not sure if it was the mention of Paul’s name or some other issue I’m unaware of, but something is definitely making Royce uneasy. In case it’s the Paul thing, which is likely, actually, I figure I’m best off to just move the conversation along to something else in hopes of seeing that sexy grin of his return.

“This place is suspiciously quiet. Where is everyone?”

Royce clears his throat. “Lunch. Ava’s on a mission to fatten up Derek, so she’s taking him on a tour of the burger joints around here. The other two went with them. I figured we could just order something in when you got here. Unless you’d rather go meet up with everyone for greasy fries and fake-beef burgers.”

Considering the temperature outdoors is something I’ve never felt outside of my freezer, I’m not at all opposed to staying in. Not to mention, spending time alone with Royce has pretty much dominated my thoughts since the last time I saw him.

“Ordering in sounds perfect. What are our choices?”

Royce stands up and I follow. “Also, why is Ava trying to fatten up Derek? Is he up for slaughter? The sacrificial band member for Thanksgiving? What?”

Finally. He laughs. “No. We only do that for Halloween. And then we prefer to use a groupie or roadie. Depending on the moon.” He reaches the kitchen and begins to flip through a folder clearly marked with the hotel’s logo. “Truth is, Derek’s been pretty stressed lately and he’s losing weight because of it.Feeding him fried food is Ava’s way of being nurturing. Meanwhile, we have plenty of non-fried choices available to us. Here. Have a look.” He slides the menu across the counter to me.

“Wow.” Judging by the prices, they’ll be serving us gold plated food no matter what we order. “This may turn out to be the most expensive lunch I’ve ever eaten. Maybe we should go hit a burger joint. That’s really more my budget.”

Royce grins. “It’s weird, right? Ordering a twenty-five-dollar side salad. Blows my fucking mind too. Even now. And I’ve had a lot of overpriced salads. But you learn to roll with it. Besides. This is your budget now. You’re supposed to be one with the band. Get the inside scoop. This is it. This is the strange and glorious world we live in.”

I eye the menu skeptically. “If you say so.” Twenty-four hours ago, ordering a meal off this menu would have meant having my power shut off, so it will take some serious effort to learn to roll with it. And what if I do? What if I get so used to spending money like it’s straight from the monopoly set, I forget what it means to live in the real world. Well, my real world anyway. Because the truth is, two months from now, I’m headed straight back there.

I’m still busy crunching the numbers for a cup of soup and a side of fries on my mental calculator when I feel a hand on mine. Royce is standing beside me. His carefree grin is gone, and it’s been replaced with a serious, but kind smile that tells me he knows exactly where I’m coming from.

“Let’s get a pizza.” He uses his free hand to pick up the phone. “What’s your favorite?”

Is it possible to fall for guy over something so trivial? Maybe it is. And maybe knowing exactly how to make a guyearning eleven bucks an hour at his mother’s art and coffee shop feel comfortable in his new life of luxury isn’t so trivial after all.

“You’re going to think it’s gross. Besides, I doubt they’ll even have it.” I close the hotel menu and turn my palm up to hold his hand in mine.

Royce cocks his brow at me curiously. “Why? What do you eat on your pizza? Something nasty like anchovies?”

I laugh. “Close. Tuna.”

He throws himself backwards dramatically. “What??”

“It’s true. I like tuna on my pizza. Well, tuna and corn, to be specific. Hope this doesn’t change anything between us.”

“I don’t know. I’m not sure I can look at you the same way now.” He sounds uncomfortably serious for someone who better be fucking kidding.

“Wow. We faltered at pizza already. And things seemed so promising.” I tap my finger on the counter, waiting for the awkward ‘are we joking or are we not’ moment to morph into something else.

“They really did. I better see for myself if anything is really different now.” I feel a tug at my hand as he brings me toward him, turning me to face him full on. “Yeah. Things have definitely changed. Before, I was able to remind myself to take my time. Take it slow.” He takes a step toward me. “Now, I’m pretty sure that’ll be fucking impossible.” He’s barely finished speaking when his lips first graze mine softly. Then, as soon as our mouths lock, something inside me begins to stir. Something wild and untamed. Something I didn’t know I had within me, and whatever it is, I’m not sure setting it free will be safe for either of us in the long run. But it’s too late.

Royce’s tongue is rolling over mine. His arms are wrapped around me tightly and my hands are roaming his body like they’re searching for buried fucking treasure. Except I won’t need the X to find it.

CHAPTER NINE

ROYCE

It isn’t easy, but eventually I manage to find a local pizza place willing to throw some corn and tuna onto one of their pies.

Then, to see the effort through to the end, I actually take a bite of Hudson’s weird-ass concoction myself.

“And?” He’s waiting and watching for my reaction. I expected to have to force it down, but much to my own shock...I like it.

“This is...not bad. Not bad at all.” I take a second bite. “So, you never told me how you came up with this combination anyway.”

“You’re serious. You really like it?”

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