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HUDSON

“Damn, you were on fire tonight.” Colton claps me on the back seconds after I exit the stage.

Grabbing the towel he offers, I wipe it across my sweat riddled forehead and along the back of my neck before tossing it over my shoulder.

“Thanks. It felt good.”

“Wouldn’t have anything to do with a certain someone being in the crowd tonight, would it?” he asks, already knowing the answer to that question.

I give him a look that tells him exactly that before turning and heading down the stairs and around to the back of the stage.

“Do you know what time the bus is heading out?” I ask him, grabbing a water from one of the large coolers set up for the artists, bands, and crew members.

“Probably in the next hour once everyone is loaded and ready to go.”

“Nice show, Hudson,” Anna says as she steps up next to me.

“Thanks.” I twist the cap off the water and kill the entire bottle in two drinks.

“So I was thinking I could ride with you tonight. We could get the opening verse down on the song you were helping me with.”

“Not tonight. I’m beat,” I say, reaching for another water.

“I’m going to go grab a bite to eat before we hit the road, you want anything?” Colton pulls my attention back to him.

“Yeah. Grab me whatever you get.”

“Anna?” Colton’s gaze shifts to her.

“I already ate. Thank you though.”

“No problem. I’ll meet you back at the bus in a few?”

“Okay, sounds good.” I nod, taking another long pull of water.

“So what’s your plan for tomorrow? I was thinking maybe we could do a little sightseeing while we’re out. I’ve actually never been to Knoxville before.”

“I don’t think I’ll be able to,” I say, not missing the confusion that crosses her face but also not wanting to get into all of it with her right now.

The argument with Lennon this afternoon really opened my eyes. I know she’s expressed uneasiness about my friendship with Anna before, but I don’t think I realized just how much it was bothering her until today. And of course there was the knowledge that she spent time with Travis and how tore up that made me feel.

She did nothing more than have a friendly conversation with another man and I instantly started a fight over it. How would I react if the roles were reversed and she was spending her days and nights with another man? I would fucking lose it.

I know she has more she wants to still say. I could tell by the way she exploded that it’s been building for a while. I think it’s about time I stop worrying about Anna’s feelings so much and start worrying about Lennon’s like I should have been all along. I finish the rest of my water, catching sight of Lennon making her way toward us.

“I’ll talk to you later, Anna, yeah?” I don’t wait for her to respond before taking off toward my girl.

“Oh my god, you were amazing,” Lennon squeals, launching herself into my arms the moment we reach each other.

Given the way this day started, I couldn’t be happier with how it’s ending. I’ve sensed a disconnect with Lennon for some time now. Like she’s pulling away even though I don’t think she’s aware of it herself. But today, after our argument, I felt some of that dissipate. Pulling her close, I bury my face into her hair and inhale her sweet scent.

“Seriously, so good.” She pulls back, her hands resting on my shoulders.

“It felt good.” I tip her chin up with the back of my hand, not able to resist the urge to taste her lips.

She instantly opens for me, a soft moan escaping her mouth as my tongue slides against hers. Fuck me. It’s only been a couple of hours and I already feel the need to bury myself deep inside of her again.

“Come to Tennessee with me,” I murmur against her lips.

“What?” She pulls back like she didn’t hear me.

“Tennessee, come with me.”

“When? Tonight?”

“You can ride on the bus with me. We could spend the day together tomorrow and I can arrange to have you brought back here by tomorrow evening. Unless you want to stay the whole weekend with me, in which case I could make that work too.” I smile, tucking a strand of her blonde hair that’s worked its way loose of her ponytail behind her ear.

“But Starr and Sandy,” she starts to object.

“Will be just fine without you and you know it,” I cut her off.

“It’s tempting.” She kneads her bottom lip between her teeth.

“Don’t feel obligated to stay here. You know as well as I do that your sister won’t care. In fact.” I reach around and snag her cell phone out of the back pocket of her jean shorts.

Punching in her code, I quickly pull up her contacts and click on Starr’s number.

“What are you doing?” she asks, reaching for her phone which I quickly pull out of her reach and hold to my ear.

“Shhh. I’m making a phone call,” I say, giving her a wide smile when she crosses her arms in front of her chest and taps her foot in mock impatience.

“Travis is getting ready to come on. Kiss your hot country star and get your ass back out here,” Starr rambles without so much as a hello.

“Well, she’s already kissed me but I’ll make sure she does it again.” I chuckle.

“Hudson James. You better announce yourself before you let a girl word vomit all over the place.” She laughs and it’s pretty clear she’s been partaking in the moonshine festivities.

“You didn’t really give me a chance,” I point out.

“Okay, good point. Now why are you calling me from my sister’s phone?”

“I’ve asked Lennon to come with me for the rest of the weekend but she’s feeling guilty about bailing on you.”

“Put her on the phone,” she demands in a way that sounds so much like Lennon it’s uncanny.

Pulling the phone away from my ear, I switch it to speaker.

“She’s on,” I tell Starr, smiling at Lennon who gives me the cutest evil eye I’ve ever seen.

Fuck, I don’t think there’s a thing about this girl that doesn’t make me rock hard in two seconds flat.

“Lennon Marie Claire. When a hot country star asks you to get on his big tour bus and go somewhere with him, you go. End of story.”

“But I came here with you and the girls.”

“And?” Starr cuts her off. “Do you want to go with Hudson?”

“Yes, but...”

“No buts, Lenny. You always prioritize everything over what you want. I’ve seen how hard of a time you’ve been having lately and you deserve this time with the man you love.” Lennon meets my gaze but I can’t quite read the look on her face. “Now go. I’ll make sure to spend the rest of the weekend getting good and wasted for you.”

“If you’re sure,” Lennon says, the smile on her face telling me exactly what I want to know.

“Oh my god.” Starr groans dramatically into the phone. “My man is getting ready to come on stage. Call me and let me know when to expect you back or tell me you’re not coming back and I’ll drive your car home. Either way works for me.”

“Thanks, Starr,” I say before Lennon has a chance to.

“Take care of my sister.”

“Always.” I smile when the line goes dead. “Guess it’s settled.” I pull Lennon back into my arms, laying a kiss to her mouth.

“I need to go to the hotel and get my bag,” she says after I’ve kissed her good and deep.

“I’ll go with you.”

“No, it’s literally right down the road. I can be there and back in twenty minutes.”

“Okay, I’ll come with you,” I repeat.

“Do you really think it’s a good idea to be walking around a venue where there’s thousands of fans who could mull you to death?”

“I highly doubt it would end that dramatically.” I chuckle. “Besides, there is a back entrance.”

“Oh, good point.” She laughs at herself, clearly having not thought of that. “Well, let’s go then, country star. We don’t have all night.”

“Actually, we do,” I say, raising and lowering my eyebrows in a playfully seductive manner.

“What am I going to do with you, Mr. Demasi?” she says, running a hand through my hair before trailing it down the side of my face.

“You know exactly what to do with me, Miss Claire.” I wink, allowing her to wiggle out of my grasp even though it’s the last thing I want her to do.