Page 85 of The Sweetest Cruelty: Hudson
“Who does he think he is?”
“A control freak?” I added.
“Alyingcontrol freak,” Harper rasped.
I casually moved position to half shield Harper and laughed at the end of Mia’s story. I could feel Nash and another boy, Sam, watching me the entire time.
“You know it’s rude to stare,” I said lightly, adopting an amused tone.
“Where you’re concerned, baby, it would be rudenotto stare. Your body is unreal,” Sam replied, his eyes lingering on my braless breasts. I had gone for the black lace dress I had bought whilst shopping with Harper. It was tight with spaghetti straps and fell just beneath my bottom.
“Don’t let Gage hear you say that,” Nash snorted, necking his beer.
Worried that Harper would hear his comment and think there was something more between me and her brother, I turned to speak, but both she and Nick were gone.
Great. I’d been abandoned. My father’s comment about us sticking together rattled around my head.
“You ready for another?” Nash said, nodding at the empty cup in my hand. There was a poser table next to our group with an ice bucket and what appeared to be abottle of cheap fizz. It was what the girls were drinking. Nash made a move to grab it, but I shook my head.
“No, I’m good thanks.”
He shrugged and leaned back. “So, you and Gage are the talk of the school,” Nash said, nudging me with his elbow. I noticed how his biceps strained against his black tee.
“There’s nothing to talk about,” I replied.
He frowned, momentarily distracted, and then drew his phone out of his jeans. Glancing down, he swiped the screen and then glanced around the room before his eyes came back to mine, “Are you sure?”
My sixth sense kicked in as he nodded towards the corner of the room where the pool table was.
As I turned to glance where he’d motioned, my eyes locked on Hudson.
Fuck. He was there.
I turned back to Nash, stating. “Yes. We aren’t together.”
Nash thumbed his chin with the same hand he clutched his beer in.
“Doesheknow that?” he said, his eyes dancing with mischief as he shoved his phone away.
Taking a deep breath, I sneaked another look.
The boy who had given me my first proper kiss and then blanked me for a week was watching me. I could see him from the corner of my eye as a girl called Angela filled my solo cup with some of the fizz. It dragged my gaze back as I stared down at the clear liquid hitting the remnants of vodka and Coke. I muttered a thank you, but wasn’t sure I’d drink it. I wasn’t stupid. I hadn’t intended to drink at all, and mixing alcohol was not a good idea.
Sod it. After attempting to convince Nash that nothing was going on between Hudson and me, I gave in and took a sip from my cup. Dutch courage and all that. The bubbles went up my nose, and then I turned towards Hudson. I had nothing to hide; he was the one who’d gone AWOL.
My skin prickled as his dark gaze roamed lazily over my body, from the top of my head to my bare feet in my toe-post sandals. He took ineverythingwith an unapologetic expression, like he had every right to undress me with his eyes. And that was what he was doing. I may as well have stood naked before him.
I heard Nash chuckle from beside me.
“Yeah, nothing’s going on there, right?” number sixty-nine snarked.
Ignoring him, I watched Hudson’s brother Micah, who was sitting on the sofa with a girl on his lap. Micah raised his head and followed his brother’s line of sight to me. Those dark brown eyes captured mine, and his perfect white teeth shone against his satin-like black skin.
Part of me regretted wearing the dress Harper had picked out, as it left little to the imagination.
I was also braless, another gutsy move for me and my nipples were currently pebbled against the material.
Feeling ballsy, I raised an eyebrow and saluted Hudson with my cup.
