Page 50 of Crash and Burn

“Yeah, I’m okay. I think I’m ok. It’s late, huh? Maybe I should go before we do something that shouldn’t happen.”

I thought,that’s it, he doesn’t want to do anything with me.I think he could see the hurt on my face, so he spoke up again. “Just not right now, necessarily. Honestly, it’s hard for me to get my head around doing that…I’m trying though. I know I love being here with you and doing this.” He gestured to the space between us.

“Don’t overthink it, Hudson. It’s okay. Maybe you’re right. It’s getting late.” I got up off the couch, grabbing both of our mugs and taking them to the kitchen. When I turned around he was standing right in front of me. He slipped his arms around my waist, so I grabbed his forearms.

He leaned in for a kiss and suggested, “Have dinner with me tomorrow night?”

“Tomorrow?” I ask.

“Yeah. You said you were off tomorrow, right? So have dinner with me…at my house…” He was just staring down at me.

At his house? He’s inviting me to dinner at his house.I had only ever been to his house once, and it was to drop off his birthday cake. Him inviting me to his house for dinner was completely different. We had only ever met up at my house. The nerves in my stomach were knotted. I hadn’t seen Hudson in his space…the space he occupied with his wife. When I had dropped off the cake, I didn’t look around too much. I just wanted to get going on his birthday plans.What was his life like with her?

“Hey Amelia, where are you?,” he asked, looking worried.

I shook my head. “Nowhere. I would love to come to dinner at your place. Are you sure?”

“Mmmm…Yeah, I’m sure.” He leaned in again and gave me another kiss. I brought my arms up around his neck. When I let go of him, I said, “Come on. I’ll walk you to the door.”

When he was gone, I felt unsettled. I was incredibly nervous about spending time at his place and didn’t even think he realized what he asked me to do, but maybe he did. Maybe he was ready for this. I just didn’t know if I was.

Chapter 18

Hudson

I invited her over for dinner and didn’t really know what I was thinking. I mean, I knew what I was thinking, but I had no idea if I was ready to have another woman in my house. I screamed in my head,No, probably not. Fuck!

I paced the house to make sure it looked halfway decent. I didn’t even have a damn scented candle or anything. It smelled like cold, like appliances.Fuck again!I was hoping the smell of the food would start to warm the place up a bit. I don’t claim to be the best cook but there are a few things I can make, and Spaghetti Casserole is one of them. It’s pretty easy. My mom always made it for me growing up and it’s the only recipe of hers that I could remember how to make.

The record player we picked out for my birthday seemed like a romantic idea, so I pushed the power button and watched the dial light up. Since my birthday trip, I had bought a few more records and decided something bluesy and relaxing would be perfect. I put Elizabeth Moen on. Her voice is smooth and breathy but gritty at the same time. I didn’t know if Amelia had ever heard her music, but thought I’d introduce her to something new.

Standing in my living room, I looked around. It wasn’t bad and Amelia would be there any minute, so I jogged back to the kitchen and pulled out the casserole. The cheese was finally melted and damn, it smelled so good.

KNOCK KNOCK. Fuck!She’s here.I set the bowl on the stove and tossed the towel over my shoulder to answer the door, trying not to look nervous. So much for that because as soon as I opened the door, my jaw dropped and all I could manage was, “...Hey.”

She was wearing these flowing black pants that clung to her curves and an off-the-shoulder sweater. The string from her tank top peeked out from under it. Her curly hair was up on top of her head, and she wore these big hoop earrings. She was wearing makeup, and something looked different about her. She looked like she could pose for a magazine. What I’m saying is, she was fucking sexy. I was clearly staring too long, because she woke me out of my stupor with, “Hey…can I…uh, come in?”

“Shit! Yeah, come in. Please. Sorry. You look amazing, Amelia.” I leaned in and gave her a kiss on the cheek.

She blushed and said, “Thank you. It smells so good in here. What’d you make?”

“Aaah…my ma’s spaghetti casserole. Hopefully, I did it some justice.”

“Oh…you’ve never mentioned your mom before. Does she live around here?”

She was right, I hadn’t ever talked about my family. I had a rough upbringing, and I didn’t want to get into it, so I just said, “Yeah...my mom died when I was 17.”

“O Hudson, I’m so sorry.”

Amelia followed me to the kitchen as I kept talking. “It’s okay. She was my only family, so I moved in with Carter and his parents right away until I turned eighteen and then found a place of my own. So, yeah, Carter is literally my family, and…well, you know everyone else.” I was scooping spaghetti onto our plates when I picked up my head, I saw Amelia was just sitting at the table watching me and listening intently. I went on, “So…I have this casserole recipe and it was always my favorite.”

“What was your mom’s name?”

“Dahlia.”

“Oh my god…that’s beautiful, Hudson. I love that.”

“Yeah, there’s a photo of her over there on the shelf. She was a bit of a hippie.” I laughed and told her, “She had this dark auburn hair that no matterwhat, was always in two braids parted down the middle. You’ll see in that photo.” Amelia walked into the living room and picked up the framed photo of her.

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