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“Whoa, hey.” I lifted my hands, taking no part in claiming this complete stranger. “She is not?—”
But Hudson motioned me silent. “So Ohrley bought her and her sister a ride to take them to Witt’s so she could finally meet you.”
I drew in a deep breath, beginning to catch on. “Wait.Thatwas the gift he said he was sending my way? Agirl?” Jesus. Of course, it had been. My friends, I’m telling you. Lately, some of them had made it their life mission to get me laid. The crazy weirdos.
Hudson winced with me before saying, “Yeah, except they never made it to Witt’s. A drunk driver ran into them, and the sister died on impact.”
“Oh God,” I breathed, bringing a fisted hand up to my mouth.
“And Oaklynn’s friend, Raina…” Hudson shook his head sadly. “I don’t know, man. We heard she coded once this morning, and they were able to resuscitate her, but who knows if she’s going to make it through the day.”
“Fuck.” Glancing around the front room, I realized Damien and Oaklynn were gone. He’d probably hustled her upstairs to their room.
“Oaklynn was right,” I croaked, beginning to rock myself on the couch. “I should’ve been here. I didn’t even want to go to Javonte’s. I would’ve rather been here with you guys. But he was expecting me, and?—”
“Union,” Hudson warned sternly, nudging my arm. “Don’t even go there. You had nothing to do with this.”
“Are you kidding me?” I blurted out a harsh, incredulous laugh. “You just said she was coming to seeme.”
“And you are not responsible for that in any way whatsoever. Fuck,I’mthe one who got her drunk so that she had to take a rideshare in the first place. Maybe she would’ve been able to avoid the crash if she’d been sober and driving herself. Or Parker could’ve made her stay here and forced you to come tousinstead. Or Keene could’ve kept that sister occupied just a few minutes longer. And Oaklynn could’ve stopped encouraging her to pursue you in the first place. There are so many stupid what-ifs floating around this house right now, the air is justthickwith guilt. I don’t want it coming off you too.”
“But—”
“I don’t care,” he cut in with a shake of his head. “I’m going to need you to just buck up and get over this one because—damn, Fos.” He shook his head with a wince. “Archer’s busy comforting Dimples, Alec has his hands full with Duggie, and Thane?—”
He was broken off by Parker’s shout from the kitchen, “I told you, I don’t want to fucking talk about it.”
Hudson tipped his head that way. “Well, we all know where Eisner is. Which leaves you withme. And to be quite frank, my leg is fucking killing me too much to help you through your issues right now.”
“I’ve already made him sit down three times this morning,” Faith told me as she reached over to help him massage his thigh.
It’d only been a month since he’d been struck by a vehicle in a hit-and-run, and his recovery hadn’t been the easiest.
“Dude…” Hissing out a pained breath, Hudson shook his head in misery. “She threatened to take sex away if I didn’t sit. So now I’m fuckingstayingon this couch.”
Unable to help myself, I smiled. “I hear you,” I murmured in reassurance. “And I’ll deal with my own issues, I swear. I’m good.”
He nodded gratefully, believing me. Then, he reached out to bump his fist into mine. “Thanks.” As soon as we knocked knuckles, however, he tipped his chin at me. “Bet you’re wondering how Faith and I actually get it on while I’m in this condition, though, aren’t you?”
My brow furrowed in bewilderment since that hadn’t even remotely been on my mind. “Not…really,” I admitted.
“Well, it’s like this,” he started, lifting his hands, completely willing to fill me in on all the details, despite my lack of interest.
“Seriously!” Faith shrieked, cutting him off there. “You don’t have to shareeverything, you know.”
“But I don’t,” he assured her with a gentle hand on her knee and a choirboy smile. “Just my absolute most favorite parts.”
“Dear Lord,” she groaned, slapping a palm to her brow in defeat.
“Hey,” I told her with a commiserating cringe. “You’re the one who fell for Mr. I-Don’t-Know-What-Private-Means.”
“Private?” Hudson echoed, playing along with a thoughtful tilt of the head. “Sounds like a French dish. I bet I could cook the shit out of that.”
Faith sighed and shook her head, even as she sent him a fond smile. “What am I going to do with you?”
“Well, I have plenty of ideas,” he replied, only to roll his eyes. “But apparently, I’m not allowed to mention them in front of Union because they’re…” Leaning toward her, he whispered suggestively, “Private.”
It was so obvious she loved his flirting ways; she practically shivered with excitement.
