This One is For You

Chapter Twenty-Six

Hudson

"Good news, Hudson." Deanna's heels click on the hardwood in her LA office. I look up from the leather chair I sunk myself into half an hour ago. "They want to do it. You ready?"

"Yes." I jump up, going in to give her a hug. "This is awesome!"

And for the first time since I got that damned phone call that shattered my heart, I feel a sliver of happiness.

"We need to get started ASAP. With the success of your EP, we need to piggy back off of it into the full album. There's an LA branch out here if you'd want to stay... I know Atlanta isn't really where you want to be right now. Mark said it's fine if you'd like to work out here. He can travel and there's another great producer he said he trusts, too."

"That's okay." I sigh, raking a hand through my hair that's gotten unruly long, almost touching my shoulders now. "I need to get back to ATL. Rylie needs me, whether she'll admit it or not. I haven't seen her in two months. With it being summer break now... I was thinking she might want to stay with me some."

"Okay. Whatever you want. I can arrange plane tickets for the day after your last show."

I nod. Giving her a weak smile. Weak smiles are about all I can manage these days. Between the liquor and the smoke and sleepless nights, I'm a shell of my former self. The only saving grace has been music. It's the only time I even feel real.

I leave Deanna's office and stop at the bar before I go back to the hotel room I'm crashing in as we end the tour here in LA.

As the liquor sloshes in my veins, bringing me to a state of sedation— I can't help but let my mind wander there. There being a place I can't afford to go sober.

A place of long, silky blonde hair. Big, brown eyes that turn golden when the sun hits them just right. Curves that I could trace with my eyes closed because I took the time to study each one. A perfect, sexy body that no one will ever be able to compete with. A soothing, kind voice when she's talking and a powerhouse of a voice when she's singing... or moaning my name. Fuck.

Soft hands that rubbed my head and soothed me to sleep. A laugh that lit up my world. A shyness that made me want to show her the world and a feistiness that was so intoxicating I wanted to hole her up in my apartment and never stop making love to her.

Josie. My Josie. Dammit.

It was a rainy January night. She'd just started back to school and I was busy tweaking the songs on my EP. We hadn't seen much of each other, and I had the night set up right.

"Hudson?" She called, entering my unlocked apartment.

"Hey, princess." I greeted her from my living room where I'd set up candles and a picnic on the coffee table. "You look gorgeous."

"I'm in leggings!" She laughed, as if that meant anything. She'd look good in a fucking potato sack. "Hudson, this is... amazing. What's the occasion?"

"I've missed you. I got used to seeing you over Christmas break."

"I know. I've missed you, too."

Josie sat beside me on the couch. She snuggled up to my side and I poured us a glass of white wine. I thought the shit was nasty, but she said she felt classy when we drank it together.

We sat there for hours. I wasn't sure how we had so much to talk about even after knowing each other so well then, but I wasn't complaining.

Conversation with her flowed naturally. It always had. She made my chest feel all the warm, fuzzy shit most guys my age flee from. I ran closer. Like a moth to a flame.