I was about to grab and open it, but he did before I could.
“Probably a lil movie action and you telling me more about yourself.”
I shook my head. “What more could you want to learn about me, Hudson?
“Plenty of shit, beautiful. You only let me get the surface shit. I want more and I wanna give you more too.”
Once again, I was smiling. I didn’t know what it was, but every word from his lips seemed so poetic, like they were carefully put together. He then leaned in, gripping my neck with his massive hand. His lips mashed against mine not a second later. I felt like I was melting against him.
When we finally parted, I was all smiles, and I hated it.
“Now finish eating while I wash these dishes.” He leaned in and pressed his lips against my temple, then rounded the counter to clean up. The entire time he did, I watched, and honestly, I was in awe. He had manners, cooked, and cleaned. There was something about him.
“You seem good at cooking, you do dishes, and you’re not too bad on the conversation. What exactly is wrong with you, Hudson?”
He glanced up from the pot he was cleaning and looked directly at me before he smirked. “Shit, probably the obvious mommy issues and my inability to deal with folks like that.”
“Well. Since we’re being honest, I don’t have any of those, but I do have extreme trust issues and I tend to bond better with animals than actual people. Per my father, I have less patience for people.”
He laughed. “I could see that.”
“Of course it isn’t far off, because unlike people, animals don’t deceive. They may be mischievous at times, but that’s usually from upbringing and lack of structure.”
“Damn that’s fucked up, but I get it.”
“Can I ask you something and not kill the mood?”
“Shoot.” He glanced in my direction briefly before getting back to the task at hand.
“Do you miss football? Like right now, does some part of you wish you were there?”
It took him a minute before he began to speak. “To be honest with you, I don’t miss it the way I thought I would. Some niggas dream of going to the league and being famous, I never did. I dreamt of not worrying about money or ever needing a soul. I dreamt of a freedom that football afforded. So I guess I miss when it was less of a job and more of a hobby?”
I nodded. “Understood.”
“Then, even If I did miss it, I don’t know how to go back and trust being on that field. I don’t know how to exist in the space that almost killed me around people who should have had my best interest at heart. Trust fucked up. I mean, do you think there is more to me than football? Especially since I’ve given it more than ten years of my life.”
“And that’s understandable. You have to give yourself time. Of course you won’t get over this and forget, but you’ll be aware.” I finished my food and held my bowl out for him to grab.
He grabbed it and immediately began washing it. I watched him the entire time. He was thorough and almost meticulous which made me smile, because that reminded me of my mother. She had a similar meticulousness.
“You know, if you don’t go back to football, you definitely have a future in hospitality.”
He chuckled. “You got jokes.”
“Plenty, but that isn’t one of them. You could open a restaurant or a franchise. I mean, I can tell by the care you put into that pasta, there is more to you and cooking than you care to say.”
“Meaning?”
“You asked me if I thought there was more to you than football. My answer is yes, especially because I didn’t meet you under the pretense of being a pro athlete. I instead met you as yourself.”
We maintained eye contact for several seconds before he licked his lips and focused on the task at hand.
When he was finished, he moved around the counter toward me. Once he was next to me, he extended his hand for mine. “What movie do you wanna watch, beautiful?”
“I wasn’t the one who brought up a movie. You were, so pick your movie, Hudson.”
“Bet.” In one swift motion he was seated and pulling my body down onto him. His body was hard, but so welcoming.
