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He raises one eyebrow. “And yet, I’m still going to drive you. There’s no way you should be behind a wheel right now.”
“Good point.” Turning to Gwen, I say, “Do you mind telling Keenan I’m taking the day off to sleep?”
“Will do.”
“Oh, and what about you?” I say to Hudson. “What will you do all day?”
“Tomorrow’s my big tour so I’m going to practice for that.”
“You sure you don’t need help?” I ask.
“He’s got it, Allie,” Gwen says. “He’s been on enough tours now to know the routine. Now go get some rest.”
I give her a wide-mouthed grin again and try to give her another hug, but she shakes her head. “Tomorrow.”
“Right,” I say, snapping my fingers. “I stink.”
I start for the exit, with Hudson right behind me, his hand resting gently on my lower back. Oh wow, that’s definitely something a real boyfriend would do, isn’t it? I turn back to Gwen to see if she sees it too, and clearly she does because she’s giving me a huge smile and double thumbs up.
Hudson notices the exchange and narrows his eyes a little. “What?”
“What what?” I ask.
“What are you two doing there with the grinning and the thumbs up?”
Gwen, whose brain is clearly functioning better than mine, says, “Oh, we’re just excited about karaoke night this Wednesday. Did Allie tell you about it?”
“No, she didn’t, but that sounds fun.”
“It’s the best. You have to come,” Gwen says. “Allie here does the world’s worst version of ‘9 to 5’ by Dolly Parton.”
My head snaps back. “Hey, it’s not as bad as you singing ‘You’re So Vain.’”
“I gave that song up, thank you very much,” she quips.
Turning to Hudson, I say, “Yeah, now she and Ty do a cringe-worthy performance of ‘The Power of Love’ by Celine Dion.”
Hudson chuckles. “Well, in that case, I’ll be there.”
“He’s in!” Gwen says, then she turns back to Hudson. “Do you sing?”
He gives her a cocky look. “Do I sing? Come on. That’s like asking Allie’s father if he uses confusing food-related analogies.”
Gwen and I both laugh, then I say, “What’re you going to sing?”
“I don’t know. If Allie likes to sing Dolly, I might drag her up on stage for a little ‘Islands in the Stream.’”
“You’d be my Kenny Rogers?”
“I’d be happy to be your Kenny,” he says.
My entire body warms at the thought, my heart flutters, and I’m suddenly giddy. Is this really going to happen? Like all of it? The dating and the falling in love and the whole having a life with someone? Someone pinch me please, because this is all too good to be true.
The entire ride back to my place is a blur for me. My mind is pretty much incapable of thought and I’m not even processing what’s happening. When we pull up in front of my house, Hudson smiles at me. “You really did it.”
I smile back, so happy I could cry. “Thank you. If you hadn’t said what you did about decoding language, I never would’ve figured it out.”
“You would have. I know it,” he says.
