Chapter 20
Hudson
“Hey, baby. I missed you.”
“I missed you too, Hudson.”
I laid in the bed with soft music playing in the background as Chloe walked slowly to my bed in white lace underwear and a see-through bra. She wore a white, silk robe that was opened down the middle, exposing her curves. The ceiling fan spun slowly above us, blowing her hair like a soft wind as she stepped closer to me, on beat with the song. I waited anxiously to feel her body pressed against mine. It had been a while since I felt her, but I dreamed about her every night. The scent of her body, the softness of her flesh while it was on top of mine.
The moonlight rippled through the window above my bed, highlighting every perfect inch on her body. She climbed on to the bed like a tigress slowly inching towards its victim, but I didn’t struggle to get free. I wanted to be devoured by her, whole. Chloe crawled her way closer to me. Her scent danced in my nose as she made a trail from my abs, past my chest, and circled my nipples with her tongue.
I gripped the pillows, squeezing them as she went higher and ended at my lips. Her breasts were against my chest as I slid my hands onto her backside, grabbing a hold of each cheek while she straddled me as if she was performing to the beat of the song. I reached for her shoulders and pulled her robe off. As soon as it fell, she grabbed my finger and pulled it into her mouth, sucking on it softly while she looked deeply into my eyes. I put my hand in the middle of her chest and moved it down to her abdomen while she moved rhythmically on top of me, her hips rotating clockwise.
“Yes, Chloe. Yes. I missed you, baby. Don’t stop.”
* * *
I woke up alone. She was gone. I was getting sick of being trapped in the world of my dreams, a world where Chloe wasn’t real. I groaned, then flopped my head onto the pillow. Chloe was trapped in my mind and I loathed it. I could hardly go a day without becoming immersed in a daydream about us living happily ever after. But instead, it had been two months and we had barely seen each other, let alone held a conversation. I had agreed with Simon that I would not continue things with Chloe, and he agreed not to fire us both. Since then, Chloe did a good job avoiding me on set, and any time she had to give me some pertinent information, she usually left it on a note inside of my trailer and was gone before I even noticed she was there.
I got out of the bed and hopped in the shower, feeling like my heart was shattered in pieces. I still hadn’t told her, or anybody else, what Simon was pulling on me. He had been sending me e-mails, text messages, and calling my phone, telling me to stay away from Chloe or we were fired. And when we were on set, he would take special care to be as close to Chloe as possible, and make sure I saw them together. He was being vicious, but at the end of the day, I probably deserved it.
It didn’t stop me from trying to make things right, though. Except no matter how hard I tried to get a moment to explain things to Chloe, she didn’t want anything to do with me. I couldn’t blame her. From the outside looking in, it just seemed like I was an asshole, and without being able to explain myself, she had no reason to think otherwise.
We were almost done shooting the movie, but we still had a couple of weeks to go. After I got dressed, I drove straight to the movie set. I had barely been there a minute when my door opened, and I saw Ariel on the other side of the door.
“Hey, Hudson,” Ariel said as she walked into my trailer. “Do you mind if I come in?”
“I guess not?” I said with a shrug. “It’s not like I have a choice, do I?”
“I’m not the bad guy here, Hudson. In fact, we’re both in similar situations.”
I turned from the bar and raised an eyebrow out her. “What does that mean?”
Ariel sighed. “When I first started working for Simon, he made me promises about being an assistant director, or maybe even helming my own movie. All I had to do was… show him how much I wanted it.”
I huffed. “What a douchebag. I hope you didn’t…”
“I didn’t. And I’ve been languishing as his assistant ever since. The only reason he didn’t fire me was because I threatened to go straight to the press with my story. And the only reason I didn’t quit is I have a kid to take care of. So… I’m stuck. And I’m telling you, Hudson. If you don’t just let this play out, you’re going to be worse off than I am. He’s going to destroy your career before it even has a chance to start.”
“Ariel, I’m sorry. I didn’t know.” I watched her, and I could see the pain in her face. She was genuinely miserable. “But what do I do? I’m really supposed to let him just manipulate all of us? Then he’ll get away with everything.”
“Welcome to Hollywood, kid. Simon wants you on set in twenty. And for both our sakes, please. Just stay away from Chloe.” She gave my arm a squeeze and then walked out.
Ariel closed the door behind her, and for the first time in my life, I felt helpless. My hands were tied and there was nothing I could do to free myself from the hold Simon had on me.
I sat down on the bed as memories of Chloe penetrated my imagination. Just then, there was a knock on my door. It opened before I could even respond. Chloe paused, slid a basket of muffins in the trailer, and closed the door behind her on her way out.
“Chloe! Chloe, wait!”
I got up and ran after her, flinging my door open as I jumped down the three small steps. She didn’t stop until I ran in front of her.
“What, Hudson? What do you want?”
“I want to talk to you. I haven’t spoken to you in months unless we are forced to. I just need two minutes.”
She folded her arms over her chest. “We have nothing to talk about, Hudson. My life has been slowly getting back to normal without you in it, so I want to leave it the way it is. Like I said before, you do you, but I’m moving on.”
I have to fight back a frustrated sigh. “Chloe, there is no one else. I mean, you haven’t even given me the chance to talk to you about what happened that night that you came over to my house. I’ve tried to talk and every time you push me away.”
“Oh, so you’re telling me that there is a logical explanation as to why you came home drunk, smelling like the entire Lakers cheerleading squad? Is that what you are going to tell me? What happened? Did you trip and fall into a pool of liquor and then use a perfume-soaked towel to dry off? Is that what happened, Hudson?”
“No. I mean, there is just more to it than what you saw or smelled.” I wanted to tell her, but I knew the consequences. I would tell Chloe and I was sure that she would go to somebody else, and after that, both of our careers would be over because Simon would rip us to shreds. “Just know that there is nobody else in my life. There is not, and there was not. It is just complicated right now. It is hard to explain.”
She scoffed at me. “Yeah, sure, Hudson. You wanted your time to talk to me and then when I give it to you, you just spew out more bullshit. Listen, I don’t have time for any more of your games, ok? So, please, you keep away from me, so I can focus on my life and you can focus on yours. Thank you.”
“Chloe…”
“That. Is. Enough. Stop wasting your time.”
I stood still, watching her walk away from me with a head full of unanswered questions. I couldn’t lose her over this and somehow, I had to get the truth out there to her. She had to know that I cared about her deeply and it was more than just a fling.