Page 69 of When the Time Is Right
Cal: Where should we send the thank-you card for the velvet painting of Beep and Boop you gave us for the wedding? Your house or your boyfriend Hudson’s?I threw my phone down onto the bed without even replying.
It had been a long time since my temper had shown its steaming head, but she was back in full force. And it escalated when I circled back to Lauren’s call and could only assume Hudson had told her too.
Why was he trying to ruin this? I was barely coming to terms with the possibility that whatever we were doing wasn’t just a fling or a deep-seated morbid curiosity.
As soon as I was dressed in jean shorts and a tank top, assuming we’d go to Huey’s and play darts, I sat on the ramshackle Adirondack chair I’d stolen from the beach house on my porch, argued with myself, and waited for Hudson’s blabbermouth to get there. I wasn’t going to waste even one second before I let him have a piece of my mind.
Let me tell you, he had a lot of nerve pulling his stupid truck into my driveway while wearing a damn smile an acre wide. Before he was even out of his pickup, I was at the edge of my porch and my sanity.
“How dare you tell my family about us!”
“How dare I?” He seemed completely unfazed as he lifted a duffel bag out of his back seat. If he thought he was staying the night, he had another thing coming.
I was pissed.
He couldn’t be bothered though and walked right up to me, planted a kiss on my temple—which I tried and failed to dodge—and then strolled his happy ass past me and into my house. The nerve!
I stomped in behind him as he made his way into my kitchen and pulled one of my beers from my refrigerator.
Who did he think he was?
“Ahhh, that’s good,” he said after tipping the cold brew back.
“Hudson. I am mad.”
He nodded. “I can see that. It’s cute.”
“Cute?” I seethed. “Cute?! It’s anything but cute. Why did you tell everyone?”
He leaned against the counter, cool as a pain-in-the-ass cucumber, and crossed his legs at the ankle. “That’s easy. I didn’t.”
“Then can you explain why Lauren called and why Cal is sending me text messages calling you my boyfriend?”
“Oh, that. Yes. I told them. And, babe, I am your boyfriend.”
I was going to lose my mind. Could he not hear how he was talking out of both sides of his mouth?
“Drop the babe shit. Which is it? You did or you didn’t tell?”
So help me God if he didn’t wipe that smirk off his face.
“I didn’t tell everyone. I did tell Lauren and Cal.” He squinted and pointed the top of his beer at me. “And a few of the guys at work.”
“Why?”
“Baaaabe, that’s what guys do on jobsites. I was kinda proud to finally have some good stories to contribute. Don’t you want me to have fun at work?”
Ugh. Even worse. Now, I couldn’t show my face around his shop. At least not for the next few decades.
“That’s not what I meant, you meathead. Why did you tell Lauren and Cal? It was a secret.”
“Wasn’t my secret.”
“Don’t you think we should have talked about telling people first?”
Unrushed, he took another long drink. “That’s a wild thought, isn’t it? Us finally talking about this?”
I shot him a dirty glare.
Although he hadn’t technically been rushing me into anything, he certainly was eager all of a sudden when it came to defining us.
I put my hands behind my head, frustrated. “Okay, talk. What did you tell them this is?” I motioned to the empty space between us.
Finally, he put the bottle down and crooked a finger for me to come closer.
It was a trap and I didn’t budge.
“No way, Buster. I can’t talk to you when you’re that close. You’re too distracting.”
When I didn’t go to him, he strutted over but didn’t touch me. Looking down into my eyes, he answered calmly. “I told Lauren because she’s the mother of my child, and this is going on in Jack’s world, so she deserves to know. And I didn’t exactly plan on telling your brother, but he could tell I’d met someone. When I got to his place, I was riding high because Lauren had taken it so well and I was probably gloating a little about the state of his pool being ahead of schedule. But he sensed something was different with me and wouldn’t drop it. Lex, he’s been my best friend since I was fourteen. He can tell when I’m getting laid. I had to say something. It’s Bro Code.”
“Yeah, but he’s my bro. What about my code?”
“Your code is that I almost punched Cal in the face when he asked who my ‘slam piece’ was. The other part of your code is I restrained myself from burying my fist in your brother’s face, but only barely. Come on, babe. He knew. What was I supposed to do?”
