Kept

She finished her glass. "Bottle’s in the fridge. Mind refilling me? I already ordered pizza."

I took the glass from her and obliged, walking over to the kitchen, and pulling the bottle out of the fridge. "So, I had an interesting shift at the library."

Alexis sat up, and looked over the back of the couch. "The library was interesting? Isn't that like an oxymoron or something?"

I rolled my eyes at her. "I think some kid was talking about Hudson on the phone. It was really weird, but then he came up to me, and told me to watch my back. I mean, I know Hudson is a powerful guy, but what would that have to do with some college kid?"

Alexis shrugged. "I don't know. You think he’s some low level dealer?"

I brought the wine back over to her, and sipped my own glass. "I mean, I guess I could be. I don't know. I don’t want to put us in danger. And I can handle myself, but, Alexis, I don’t want you to get hurt. Maybe I should just call things off with Hudson. Maybe you were right all along."

She shook her head. "I've got to show you something. Come with me."

She walked into her bedroom, and I dutifully followed. Sitting down on her bed, she opened up her nightstand drawer to reveal a handgun. "You don't need to worry about me, Calla. But if people are watching you, you need to be careful, and you should tell Hudson about this."

I was shocked at the fact that my best friend owned a gun, kept it in our home, and I had no idea. But that was Alexis, small but mighty. "I'm not going to tell him. It was just some stupid guy trying to scare me. And that's not going to happen."

The doorbell rang, signifying that the pizza had arrived.

Alexis walked past me, but put her hand on my arm right before going to the door. "Just be careful, okay?"

I nodded. "I wouldn't want you to have to shoot anybody."

She smiled, but only for a moment. "I wouldn't want to either."

Twenty-Three

Hudson made arrangements to pick me up himself for dinner. He showed up in a silver Mercedes with sunglasses on, and the dark T-shirt and jeans. The T-shirt was so tight against his broad chest that it pulled a little. It was hot. But I was surprised that he wasn’t in a suit. He opened the door for me, and I waved to Alexis as she stood surveying me from our balcony. She just nodded in response. We hadn't spoken as much over the past couple days, since our argument over Hudson, but I could tell that she was getting over it. Alexis wasn’t good at holding a grudge, and she knew that if anything happened to her as a result of our relationship, she had enough money to get out of it. Essentially, she was safe. Our conversations had still been shorter than usual, but at least she was talking to me. She had even offered advice on my outfit when Hudson mentioned that we were going to a casual dinner. I also had jeans on, and an embellished tank top with a blazer. I left my hair down. It lay in curls as it fell along my shoulders. Hudson greeted me with a kiss on the cheek once I was inside the car.

“So, where are we going?” I was buzzing with excitement. Everything was always such an adventure with him; we could be going to a local dive bar, or we could be crossing state borders just for the best Mexican food. Hudson had no limits.

“We’re going to the harbor to have a romantic dinner. Just the two of us, somewhere quiet.”

He still sounded formal, even on a casual date. “I love the harbor. You know how much I love the ocean.”

“I do, don't I? I mean this isn’t France,

but the landscape is still pretty great. You belong in it.”

I blushed slightly as he took off. Hudson managed the streets with ease, even though he was going about thirty miles over the speed limit. We were at the harbor in less than ten minutes. He parked in an empty parking lot, and I wondered why there were no other cars around. It wasn’t until we approached the dock with two security guards that I understood why. We were totally alone. Hudson has rented the whole dock. I saw a table set for two just before the water. It was perfect.

“That for us?”

“Do you even have to ask? I thought we might need a little exclusivity tonight.”

He placed his fingers between my own and squeezed my hand. “Why's that?”

He stopped for a second, and pulled me back close to him so that our bodies were in full contact. “Because tonight I'm going to tell you everything. The real me, what I do. Everything.” He breathed against my jaw line, and placed a sweet kiss on my cheek. “You deserve everything, Calla, and I'm going to give it to you.”

He kissed me on the lips, and then pulled me towards the dock. The security guards moved aside so we could sit down. A waiter walked over with a tray of hamburgers, hot dogs and French fries. All of my favorite harbor foods from street vendors. I didn't even have to ask how he knew. I just smiled at him.

There was a milkshake sitting in front of me; no wineglasses or formalities this evening. It was just us. Maybe Hudson would finally be honest with me; maybe I would finally learn all his secrets like he claimed.

I slipped my milkshake, and took a hamburger off of the tray in front of me. After a big bite, he started to laugh. “What?” I asked, as I wiped some extra ketchup from my lip.

“I’ve just never seen you so calm before.”

“Well, that makes two of us. I mean, except maybe for the beach, and the picnic. But, besides that, you're always on guard, you have a wall up.”