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He trusted in me, even when I didn’t trust him to make the right decision.
Somehow, it only makes me love him more.
24
HUDSON
The only way I stopped myself from driving to Caroline’s sorority house was that I didn’t want to draw any attention to the fact that the photo is of her. The last thing I want is for the media to discover that she’s the girl in the photo.
Imagine if they knew we’d been seeing each other in secret for months.
They’d camp outside the damn sorority house just to get a shot of her.
I’ve spent the last couple of hours fixing shit around my house that wasn’t even really broken to begin with, puttering around with things to keep my mind busy until I decided to get in the pool and swim laps. It seems to be the only thing that is truly giving me a minute of reprieve, and it’s nights like tonight when I’m thankful for it being heated. It’s cold as fuck, but the water itself is seventy, making this my favorite part of the house.
My phone died before I even got home from Coach’s office from the sheer amount of notifications, and I didn’t bother to charge it. The guys know where I’m at, and there’s no one else besides my girl that I even want to talk to right now. When she’s ready.
Pushing myself, I swim faster, harder, until my muscles burn with exertion. Only when my arms shake and my chest burns do I come up and suck a deep breath, groaning as I prop myself against the side of the pool.
A throat clears, and I whip around, my brow furrowing. What the hell?
Caroline’s standing near the edge of the pool, her arms crossed over her chest as she runs her hands up her arms to keep the chill away.
“Hi, Romeo.”
I can’t stop the smile that spreads on my face, even if I fucking wanted to. The best thing I ever did was fall in love with this woman. And give her the code to my house.
“Bubblegum,” I say, eyebrows raised. “Whatcha doin’?”
She pops her shoulder. “Just enjoying the view.”
“Uh-huh. I see.” Pulling myself from the pool, I make my way over to her, water dripping off me. “Just wanted to watch me swim? Sure that’s it?”
Her eyes widen when she realizes exactly what’s about to happen, and she starts to scramble backward, tripping over her own feet to get away from me.
“Don’t. You. Dare.” She screeches the moment my arms close around her waist, and I haul her against my soaked body, drenching her.
Not that I was going to listen. I pick her up, kicking and laughing, and I jump off the edge of the pool into the deep water, then kick us to the surface.
The moment she sucks in a breath, she squeals, “Oh, I am so getting you back for that.”
I smirk, my arms still around her waist, holding her close as I tread water to keep us up.
“Worth it.”
Her eyes roll, but the grin on her lips never leaves. Slowly, she loops her arms around my neck, her legs locking around my waist as she holds on while I swim us over to where my feet can touch the concrete bottom.
For the first time in days, I feel completely at peace. I feel so goddamn relieved to have her in my arms again, regardless of what it means for us. She’s here… but there is still so much for us to work through.
“You okay, Bubblegum?”
My eyes flit down to the droplets of water that cling to her sweet lips, wanting to lick away those little rivulets.
She nods, her fingers dragging over the buzzed hair at my nape. “I’m more than okay now. I was so afraid earlier. When I realized that I might not get the chance to apologize to you. For pushing you away when I got scared. For running when the only thing I should’ve done is stay. All of these feelings… they’re big, and they’re scary, Hudson.”
Her voice is a whisper, soft and low, as her blue eyes shine with unshed tears. “I’ve never been in love before, not until you. And realizing that I had fallen in love with you somewhere along the way was like a shock to my system. It snuck up on me until it consumed me whole. But Iamin love with you, Hudson Rome. Irrevocably. And even though it took me a little while to realize that… it doesn’t make the feeling any less fierce.”
“Say it again,” I croak, squeezing her to me tighter.
