“Nope.” She beams. “I really appreciate everything, Hudson.”
“Actually, you wanna grab us two Diet Cokes from the fridge?” Natalia peeks at me from over her shoulder, grinning.
“Didn’t realize I signed up to be your server,” I scoff playfully.
“Oh? But you’re such a good boy,” she croons, winking. “I’m sure you don’t mind.”
I don’t like the way my cock springs to life at the sultry tone in her voice or the suggestive look on her face, and by the mousey noise Ellie lets out, it makes her uncomfortable.
I huff, putting on a show of annoyance, but I know Nat has caught the heat in my stare, because the smile on her cheeks is utterly triumphant. I scowl before turning, leaving the room and heading straight toward the kitchen to grab the drinks like I was asked.
Natalia Ford has been a thorn in my side since I met her two years ago. She’s always around. Whether it be tagging along with Ellie on outings with her mother or constantly causing a ruckus around the rink, she’s never far outside of my periphery. Beautiful and deadly—a ruthless fucking temptation.
She’s a distraction to my players—primarily because she wants to be.
She’s a phenomenal skater and a fierce competitor. I know much of the extra ice time she attempts to steal from my guys is because of her own dedication to her sport, but she sure as fuck has no problem flirting them off the ice with the sway of her hips and the batting of her massive brown eyes.
The same fucking look she gave me just now, and here I am, doing whatever she wants like the rest of them.
I know Natalia is into me—she makes no notion to hide it. I can’t pretend I’m not attracted to her as well. She’s beautiful. I’m sure most people she encounters are attracted to her. The issue is the urge to act on that attraction, especially now that my proximity to her will increase tenfold.
She won’t be living here, but she might as well be. She and Ellie are all but attached at the hip, and the idea of both going to bed together right on the other side of my wall is a bit of a debilitating realization.
The blatant lust Natalia tosses in my direction is impossible to ignore—as is the way my chest flutters when I make Ellie smile, or the way I can feel her laugh vibrate in my bones each time I hear it.
I can’t make sense of this budding desire; it’s an unease I’ve never felt before, made only stronger by having them under my roof. Call me a fucking masochist, because despite them both being entirely off-limits, I have a feeling I won’t mind the proximity at all.
CHAPTER THREE
ELLIE
One Month Later
I exhalea long sigh of relief as I unlock the front door and slip inside the cool, quiet house. My Thursday evening study session was cancelled at the last minute, and after a half hour of attempting to focus in the library by myself, I decided my Advanced Anatomy homework would have to wait until tomorrow.
When I’m studying in a group setting—learning through conversation and visual aid—I have no problem focusing on the task at hand, but when I’m doing so alone, my ADHD causes me to get distracted by my environment far too easily. Even with noise-cancelling headphones and my deep focus playlist, it’s difficult for me to pay attention.
If even one thing is out of place, or if there are people moving in my periphery or a flickering light, I can’t concentrate. When I’m at home, I can control the lighting, the noise, theorganization of the space around me, so it’s where I get the most done.
Though, my living situation serves its own kind of distraction.
The first time I laid eyes on Hudson Grant, I thought he was a Westgate hockey player. He was thirty-five then—young for the head coach of a Division I university athletic team. With his tall, broad, toned body, his electric blue eyes, and full head of dark hair—the kind that looks soft and thick, exactly what you want to run your fingers through—he perfectly resembled one of the athletes. He was also clean-shaven at the time, so it wasn’t difficult to mistake him for a student himself. Even after discovering he was sixteen years my senior and a faculty member, it was difficult to let the budding crush fade. I loved to watch him on the ice, loved watching how steady and commanding he was with his players. He’s a force.
Then, he married my mother.
I wish I could understand why, what he saw in her. I figured my mother was attracted to him because he was good looking, of course, but also because he was younger than her. I don’t like to think too deeply about my mother’s motives, but I’d assume she goes after younger men because it makes her feel better about herself. I’d assume she got bored with marriage, and the validation from Hudson’s admiration was no longer enough, so she set her sights on my boyfriend instead.
After she married Hudson, I mostly stayed away. I moved into the dorms at the start of my freshman year—housing expenses paid for, since what my mother had saved to cover my tuition over the course of my childhood was being supplemented because of Hudson’s faculty status. I could only live in the dorms for the first two years of undergrad, and then my plan was to move in with my mother and Hudson so I could continue havingmy tuition covered—a requirement of the policy was to either reside on campus or in residence with a faculty member.
I was sure my crush on Hudson would diminish by the time I was supposed to move in with them, especially as I began dating Bodhi. The small amount of time I did spend around Hudson still erupted butterflies in my stomach, sparks of heat in my veins, and I felt guilty about it. I had a boyfriend, and he was technically my step-father. So, I kept as much distance as I could manage.
Then, I caught my mother fucking Bodhi.
I haven’t spoken to my mom in nearly a year, not since I walked in on the two of them together after stopping at my mom’s house to grab something. I can’t even remember what it was. After I saw them, his hips between hers, my mother’s legs in the air, hearing the same heavy breath Bodhi would let out when he was inside me—I shudder at the memory—I took off, body coiling with rage, coated in disgust. I ran straight for Hudson.
I immediately told him everything, and when I broke down in his arms, I think it was the first time we touched. I remember the way he smelled, how steady he felt when he wrapped me in a hug, apologized, and said it would be okay. He’d just found out his wife was cheating on him with one of his players, and my comfort was his top priority.
My mother didn’t try as hard as I thought she would to apologize or justify the situation. She called a few times, and after ignoring her completely for about a week, I sent her a text telling her not to contact me again. She told me to take the time I needed, and I’ve not heard from her since.
