Rylie
“Camping. I don’t know…” Aunt Becky trails off.
I know she’s torn between controlling me and getting me out of her hair. She and Randy could never have kids. I think almost two months of having me live here, she realizes she dodged a bullet. I’m not easy by any means.
“I’ll make her take her medicine,” Hudson assures her.
I blush when he winks at me. This morning, I slipped out of the basement and snuck into the shower because I needed relief. After last night, my mind has been buzzing like mad.
My brother.
I can’t make sense of it.
Last night was…nice.
The way he touched me felt so intimate. Like a spell I didn’t want to break. In the dark, it’s easy to be brave. In the bright light of the day, I melt under his intense stares.
“Fine. Be careful. No drinking, Huds. If you guys float down the river, be careful. I don’t want a call saying my niece and nephew drowned in the Niangua.” She purses her lips and then waves us along. “You’re burning daylight. Go.”
A couple of hours later and we’re in the car headed to the river. It’s nearly a two-hour drive and we should arrive later this afternoon with plenty of time to enjoy the sunshine. Hudson turns on a playlist of the songs I’ve been sending him. I’m overly giddy of the fact he’s taken the time to collect the songs. We listen to Radiohead and I Google campsites. Hudson tells me about his friend Nick and some of the other baseball players. But mostly, we talk about Mom and Dad. It’s therapeutic. I don’t like talking to Aunt Becky even though Mom was her older sister. I’m not sure Hudson talks to Amy about them much either. It’s like something we can bond over. Our loss. Our memories. Our family.
“Did Amy not want to come with us?” I ask, my eyes on him.
His Aviators hide his eyes, but I can tell he’s tense about the question. “She wasn’t invited.”
“Oh.”
He reaches forward and turns down the music. “I told her I wanted to focus on you. We’ve been through some shit, Ry. I just think we deserve this time to work through things.”
Emotion clogs my throat. All I can do is nod. “Thank you for doing this.”
He flashes me a brilliant smile that makes my heart rate pick up. “We’re going to have fun.”
Happiness blooms inside of me like a sweet-smelling rose. I admire this new bloom as we cruise the road singing along to songs. Two hours pass quickly and soon we’re loading our gear into a raft. I wanted a canoe because they look badass, but Hudson asked me to trust him.
And since I do, I agreed to do the raft instead.
After watching three different couples capsize in their canoes while we cruise on past, I’m glad I listened. Hudson and I have been able to just sit back and enjoy the ride.
“It’s hot today,” I complain, but I refuse to take off my tank top. Now that Hudson has pointed out how skinny he thinks I am, I’m self-conscious to be seen in a swimsuit.
“Here, let me help you cool off.” He smirks before leaning over the side and scooping up cold river water into his hand. I scream when he hurtles a whole handful at me, soaking my shirt. Yanking off my sunglasses, I swipe at the water on my face with the back of my hand.
“Asshole,” I bite out.
He laughs and then sits up before peeling off his T-shirt. I quickly put my sunglasses back on so I don’t get caught appreciating his physique. Baseball has been good to him. He plays third base and his shoulders are broad. His biceps are large and defined. And abs. Hudson has countable abs. Unaware of my staring, he sits up on his knees and uses the paddle to guide us over to a sandy bank. His ass is defined too and his navy-blue trunks hang low enough that I can see a sliver of his ass crack. When we near the beachy area, he climbs out and splashes into the water before dragging the raft with me and all our gear in it onto the beach as if it weighs nothing.
“We can rest here and eat. And swim since you’re so hot,” he teases. He places his hands on his tapered hips and stares downstream. I sneak in a peek at his V. The trail of hair from his belly button that disappears into his trunks is fascinating and beautiful. The outline of is cock is thick and proud in his trunks. It’s not erect, but it’s big.
“Swim first or eat first?” His jaw clenches and I know I’ve been caught staring.
Heat floods through me, making me blush. “Swim.” I definitely need to cool off because I’m pretty sure I’m drooling.
Sick. Sick. Sick. Sick.
He saunters past me, tossing his glasses into the raft, and wades out into the river. Then, he turns and stares back at me, his glittering green eyes on full display. “Well, what are you waiting for?”
To grow boobs and hips and thighs.
