Page 55 of Alpha & Omega

“Well, when you put it like that… thanks.”

We talked a bit more about his interests until Harley asked about how his best friend Oliver was. “Have you two… talked yet?”

Hudson’s palms were face down on the wood surface of the table, sliding them around, unable to look at his dad. “Not yet. It’s… hard.”

“Well, take your time.”

Harley’s son looked at me, smiling shyly. “I have a thing for my best friend.”

“Oh, yes, I’m familiar with that scenario. Two of my crew—I guess you could call them my brothers—were in foster care together and ended up on the streets until they stumbled onto me. But they both crushed on each other foryearsand never told each other.”

Hudson’s dark brown eyes grew wide. “W-what happened? Did they get together? Did they stop being friends?”

“Oh, they would never stop being friends, even if one didn’t feel the same. I truly believe they would’ve stuck it out with each other, no matter what. So, if you’re worried about that, and if Oliver is your best friend, I’m sure that won’t change. But yes, they admitted their feelings, and they’ve been in love and together ever since. It turned out they both felt the same way, but the two dipshits never told each other.” I chuckled and shook my head fondly. “They’re amazing young men.”

“So… how’d they finally tell each other?”

“Honestly, I don’t know the full story. They never told me, and I didn’t ask. The only thing I witnessed was one day earlier this spring, Pippin just went up to Nacho and kissed him in front of all of us, which, honestly, isn’t like Pippin at all. But we were all skating when it happened, and that was that.”

Harley smiled at me and pulled me close. “See, I think you should tell him. I bet you’d be surprised.”

“Okay… I’ll try. But he’s straight…”

“Do you know that for sure? Has he had a girlfriend?” I asked.

“He dated a girl once, but no, now that you mention it, he doesn’t really talk about girls all that much.”

“I think your dad is right. You might be surprised.”

I finished my coffee and stood. “Look, I better run. But why don’t you two stop by the skatepark on Sunday at around eleven or so? We’re usually out there skating. If it’s raining, we’ll be at the Old Town Mall. I’ll text you if we change venues. We can teach you both to skate, but only if you want.”

“Yeah, that’d be cool. Can we go, Dad?”

“I don’t see why not.”

I shook Hudson’s hand again. “I’m happy to have met you finally,” I said.

“Yeah, me, too.”

Harley stood and walked me to the door. “Thanks for that,” he said.

“For what? He’s a great kid.”

“He’s the best. But… it means so much that you two like each other.”

I grabbed the loops of his shorts and pulled him to me. “He’s easy to like. And he’s got a dad I kinda really like, too.”

“Just kinda?”

I smirked, hovering my lips over his. “More than kinda. A lot more.”

My stomach strangely fluttered when I saw Harley and Hudson walking toward us. This was when they officially met my family. I hoped everyone liked him and his son. We had a rocky middle there, and my crew was protective of me.

Hudson was decked out in a brand-new helmet and carried knee and elbow pads, along with a brand-new board. I inwardly chuckled at Harley being such a dad. We rarely wore protective gear, used to falling all the time. The only time we wore them was when we were working on more difficult tricks that risked serious injury.

I quickly stubbed out my cigarette when they reached us. Harley and I gave each other a small hug and kiss. Then I shook Hudson’s hand.

“Looking good, Hudson.”

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