Hudson stepped through the door, looking dapper in a black button-up with the sleeves rolled to his elbows under a dark patterned vest and a bow tie. A fucking bow tie. One of his curls hung over his forehead.
His cheeks pinkened. “I changed at Ollie’s.” He quickly removed his shoes.
“You look amazing,” I finally said, shaking my head to clear the stupor.
His shoulders relaxed as he stepped into my open arms. I loved seeing a confident Hudson, and it made me so happy he could be that way around me. He’d lost a lot of that confidence in the late stages of his marriage.
Hudson placed a hand on my hip and leaned in for a lingering kiss. I felt it all the way to my toes, which curled in my socks.
“You do too. I can’t believe you’re busting out your league trophy night best for our date.” He kissed a spot right under my chin.
I hummed and inhaled the spicy scent of his shampoo. “Only the best for you.”
“Dinner smells delicious.” He walked over to give General Ledger ear scritches while I went to check on the food.
“Thanks. It’s Mom’s recipe. How’d it go today?” I slid the apron back on and wiped my clammy palms on it. Warmth blanketed my back as Hudson sidled up and hooked his chin over my shoulder, watching me as I stirred. I picked up my taster spoon, scooped sauce on it, and then blew on it before feeding it to him.
“I’m only allowing this blatant spoon reuse since we’ve already swapped spit.” He let out a satisfied moan. “Bless your mom’s recipe.”
“My execution of it isn’t half-bad either.”
“Eh.” He wavered his flat hand from side to side, then chuckled as he kissed behind my ear. I pinched his hip before he darted away. I soaked up the simple domesticity of our usual teasing with some kisses thrown in. My fears of things being awkward between us dissolved at that moment.
“Today was good. Ollie was insufferable though. He wouldn’t shut up about taking credit for setting us up.”
I laughed. It was gonna be hell at work tomorrow but totally worth it. “His meddling might’ve fast-tracked things, but I’d like to think we would’ve gotten here eventually.”
Hudson held my stare as he leaned against the counter next to me. The smile he gave made my heart skip a beat.
“He also offered to take me to a sex shop for supplies. Said something about a training set?”
I choked on air. I’d Googled enough to know what a training set was but had no idea if either of us was interested in that. My ex hadn’t been interested in anal sex, and I would never push someone to go beyond their boundaries, so it hadn’t been something I’d dedicated much brain power to beyond the occasional “that seems hot.” Hands and mouths would be enough.
Am I seriously standing in our kitchen and thinking about the various ways I can have sex with Hudson? Judging by the twitch in my dick, I sure as hell was.
“Did you go to the sex shop?”
Hudson snorted. “With Ollie? No way.” He bit his bottom lip. “I was kind of thinking that would be something fun for us to do together. Sometime.”
The idea of checking out the toys and gear at a sex shop with Hudson sent my blood rushing south. I needed to hold it together through dinner.
“Pretty sure he considered it his duty to teach me about sex with penis-havers. It was an illuminating afternoon.” He pulled plates out of the cupboard.
“So, are you more or less interested in it after his ‘education’?” I asked while filling the pot with water.
“Despite Ollie’s meddling…more. Especially seeing you all dressed up and wearing my mise en place apron.” He stepped behind me again, slid his hand between my shirt and the apron, and flicked his thumb across my nipple.
I dropped my head onto his shoulder. I loved this flirty side of Hudson. I thought I’d met all sides of my favorite person, but I’d never been happier to be wrong.
“On that topic, should we talk about the sex stuff? Since it’s new to both of us? At least, I assume it is.”
“I like it when you’re all reasonable. And yeah, only touched my dick so far.” He kissed the back of my neck. His warm laughter soothed some of my remaining nerves.
After I left the pot to boil, I turned to him since the conversation deserved to be face-to-face. “I want you, Hudson, and I’m happy with whatever we want to do at whatever pace works for us. If we want to keep watching each other jerk off for a while, that works for me. If we want more, I’m good with that too.” More than good. Ecstatic even.
He bit his lip and then smiled. “I liked waking up with you.”
I kissed his cheek when he reached around me to grab General Ledger’s wet food bowl from the drying rack. “Me too. Best night’s sleep I’ve had in ages.”
