AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I blink, my brain trying to process the voice and place the familiarity of it, but my heart is pounding so wildly in my chest, fear squeezing so tightly that I can’t even breathe over the erratic thrumming in my ears.
“It’s Hudson, Caroline! Goddamnit, I think you just punctured my kidney.”
Immediately, the stick falls from my hands, clattering onto the ground.
“Oh shit,” I say, rushing forward to try and help him, but it’s so dark I can’t see anything but his silhouette, and I collide with him instead. “I’m sorry!” I cry, my hands gliding along the expanse of his back as he’s doubled over. “You can’t just sneak up on me like that! God, I thought you were a murderer or a kidnapper or, I don’t know, someone robbing the rink.”
I feel his shoulders shake beneath my touch. “And you thought they would be after…sports equipment, Caroline?”
“Don’t be an asshole. You scared me, okay? It’s one in the morning! What are you even doing here anyway? I thought you were at the fundraiser.”
Hudson straightens to full height, the stupid lights finally flickering on above us, illuminating his handsome face in fluorescent light. His brow is still furrowed slightly from my hit, and he glances down at the hockey stick near our feet.
“Really?”
“It was the first thing I grabbed,” I cry in defense. “You’re lucky that I swung blindly, or I might’ve gotten your face instead, and I don’t think your ego could survive a hit like that.”
His chuckle vibrates down the hallway, and my stomach flutters.
Why is his laugh that… gravelly and sexy? How can a laugh possibly bethatsexy?
“Proud of you, Bubblegum, even if my kidney was the casualty in that hit. Always be prepared.” He steps closer before continuing. So close that I can smell the clean, musky scent of his cologne invading all of my senses. “You never know who’s lurking in the dark.”
With that, he brushes past me into the rink, wearing a wry smirk on his lips as he reaches up and loosens the tie around his neck. His shoulders visibly relax once it hangs open, like he’s been itching to be free of the fabric all night.
“And to answer your question, I’m here because Laura said that the alarm system hadn’t been armed yet, so I volunteered to come check it out. I wanted to make sure you were okay.”
I arch a brow. “You do realize I’m perfectly capable of handling myself, right?”
“Clearly.” His gaze darts back to the closed exit door of the rink, where he almost just died by way of a hockey stick. He heads toward the back office, sitting down at the table, where my books and papers are spread everywhere. “It’s late as shit. I didn’t want you doing something risky like taking the metro or something.”
“I lost track of time studying. I didn’t even look at my phone until right before you scared the hell out of me.”
My stomach growls obnoxiously, echoing around the empty rink, and Hudson’s lips turn upward into a smirk like my impending starvation is funny.
“Hungry?” he asks, leaning back in the chair and throwing his free arm around the empty one beside him.
“A little?”
“Liar.”
I shrug. “Alright, I’m starving. I planned to be done hours ago, but apparently, biology is captivating because time flew.”
Standing, he starts closing my notebooks silently until I speak. “Um, what are you doing?”
“Picking up your stuff. What does it look like I’m doing?”
“I see that you’re picking up my stuff, but why are you doing it?” I say, placing my hand over the pink biology notebook that looks small in his massive hands, forcing his gaze to flit to mine.
He leans in closer, eyes holding mine as he pulls the notebook from beneath my hand. “You’re hungry. I’m famished. So I’m taking you to eat.”
My eyebrows rise. “It’s after 1:00 a.m.”
“Your point? It’s a proven fact that tacos and cheap beer taste better in the middle of the night.”
Okay, he’s right about that. I can’t deny it. My stomach growls again on cue, and I sigh.
It does sound good…
