“Goodnight, Hudson,” I murmur softly.
He pulls me into his arms. “Goodnight, Allie.”
Breathing him in, I don’t want to let him go. He slides down toward my neck and places a gentle kiss on my skin. “Answer your phone.” He says it quickly and so low I don’t know if he actually said it or not. Letting me go, he winks and turns on his heel. I watch him walk down the hall, but then I wave goodbye at the camera and open my door, shutting it quickly behind me.
A few seconds later, my room phone by the couch rings. I rush over to the couch and answer it as I sit down. “Hello?”
“Hey, it’s me,” Hudson says.
“What’s going on?”
He chuckles. “You said you were going to tell me something later. It’s later now. What did your sister want?”
With a heavy sigh, I close my eyes. “Don’t get mad, okay?”
“Uh-oh. That’s not something I want to hear.”
“It’s not that bad. Well, I guess it is depending on how you look at it. Then again, you know how much I hated you at the beginning.”
The line goes silent for a second. “Are you saying you don’t hate me now?”
I roll my eyes. “You know I don’t, Hudson. We’ve had a breakthrough. You’re not as bad as I thought you were.”
He laughs. “That’s good to hear. What did you do? Ask your sister to come up with a way to get rid of me?” Biting my lip, I can’t even form a reply. I didn’t expect him to guess it that easily. My silence confirms it. “Wow, Allie. I’m impressed. You’re really handing me my ass on this show.”
Luckily, he doesn’t sound angry. “So, you’re not mad at me?”
“Hell no,” he replies with a laugh. “I’m just glad you didn’t want me to open the box. I could see it on your face. It gave me hope.”
Breathing a sigh of relief, I lay down on the couch. “Thanks, Hudson. You’re starting to grow on me. I just want all of this to be real. It’s hard to be ourselves in front of millions of viewers.”
“It is real, Allie. Who I am right now with you is who I’ve been my whole life. You have no idea how many times I’ve wished you could see it.”
Butterflies flutter in my stomach. I haven’t had those feelings in a very long time. “I do see it.”
“What are you doing right now?” he asks.
My curiosity peaks and I sit up. “Just sitting on the couch. Why?”
“I’m coming over.”
I gasp. “You can’t. Stan and Jean will be out there waiting for one of us to leave. The last thing I want is the world thinking we’re sneaking around.”
He laughs. “Well, aren’t we?”
“You know what I mean.” Everyone will think we’re sleeping together. Even if we were, it’s not something I want the world to know. It’s none of their business.
“I get it,” he replies, his voice playful, “your virtue’s at stake. Don’t worry, no one will see me. I have a plan.”
“Which is?” I ask, feeling excitement shoot through my veins. I really want to know what he’s up to.
“You’ll see. I’ll be there in a minute.” He hangs up and I set the phone down quickly before rushing to the door to look out the peephole so I can open the door fast. My first thought is that he’s going to be in a disguise. Hudson was a jokester in high school so anything’s possible. About five minutes passes and then another five more. I start to doubt that he’s even going to come.
The show’s about to start so I go back to the couch and sit down. I’m curious to see how the new couples will be paired up. As soon as I sit down, a knock sounds on the glass balcony door, scaring the complete and utter shit out of me. The curtains are pulled across so I can’t see who’s out there, but I have a good guess.
“Allie, it’s me.” I hurry to the door and slide the curtains out of the way. Hudson stands there with a big smile on his face.
I slide the glass door open. “Very Romeo and Juliet,” I tease.
Hudson chuckles and looks back over the railing. Luckily, we were just on the second floor so if he fell it wouldn’t have been far. “There was no other way. I climbed off my balcony and ran over so I’d only have to climb up one floor.”
Stepping out of the way, I let him into the room and close the curtains behind us. For all I know, someone recorded his little stunt on video and we’ll be watching it tomorrow night. Hudson sits down on one end of the couch and I take the other. “Took you long enough, didn’t it?” I joke again.
His brows lift. “Seriously? If I didn’t have to wait for the coast to be clear I would’ve been here in less than a minute. I’ve had plenty of practice climbing into buildings to rescue people.”
I can’t imagine doing what he does, being surrounded by fire all the time. It’s a dangerous job. “How many people have you saved?” I ask.
Looking up at the ceiling, he blows out a long breath. “Honestly, I don’t know. There were hundreds of people my team rescued when we flew to California last year to help with the wildfires. We also went to Australia to help out a few months ago. That was the worst I’ve ever seen.”
“You went there?” I gasp.
A solemn look takes over his face when he turns to me and nods. “That was devastating. We tried to help out as much as we could. I work with a great team of guys.” His lips
