––––––––

I’m done. I’ve gone from standing outside the stadium roasting my ass off to standing inside the stadium still roasting my ass off. I’ve guzzled beer after beer at ten bucks a pop hoping it will provide me with some kind of relief but it’s done no good. I’m pretty sure the alcohol is just seeping out of my sweat glands seconds after I drink it.

I’m hot. I’m tired. I’m currently squished between hundreds of people not far from the stage, and even though I feel like I’ve been walking around in sky high heels for the last several hours, there’s nowhere for me to sit to get any kind of relief.

The opening act left the stage a few minutes ago. Some guy/girl group that I’d never heard of. They weren’t awful, but they weren’t good enough to make me forget how miserable I was either.

Thankfully the sun has almost fully set and while it’s still warm, without the blazing heat bearing down on me I’m finally starting to cool off a little.

The crowd around us buzzes waiting for the second act to take the stage. Meanwhile, I check my cell phone for the hundredth time wondering how much longer they could possibly take. At this rate we’re going to be here all night. I don’t relish the idea.

“Here.” I look up from my phone just in time to see Sandy peek through the crowd, holding out a beer to me.

“You’ve been gone forever,” I comment, sliding my phone into the back pocket of my shorts. I take a long guzzle of the cold liquid the second it’s in my hand.

“The lines are ridiculous.” She shakes her head. “I’m remembering why I don’t come to huge concerts like this.”

“Yeah, you and me both.”

“There’s at least twenty people back there that threatened to kick my ass on my way back here. They didn’t want to let me by them. Like one person is going to make any kind of difference as to how close they get to the stage.” She rolls her blue eyes, taking a drink of her own beer.

“Yeah, I experienced that earlier.” When it had been my turn to do the beer run I almost couldn’t get back to the group.

“Insanity.” She shakes her head, taking another long pull of her beer. “At least they’re twenty-four ounces, otherwise we’d be doing more beer runs than anything else.” She gestures to the can in her hand.

I nod, glancing around when the lights suddenly dim and the song blaring from the speakers cuts out. The crowd erupts in applause moments later as the second band takes the stage.

“Who is this, anyway?” I ask Sandy as we both turn our attention toward the stage, catching sight of my sister and her three friends two rows in front of us.

“Hudson James,” she yells over the opening chords of the guitar.

“Never heard of him.”

“He sings that Tequila Haze song that’s on the radio a lot.”

“Gotcha.” I nod my head, having heard the song a couple times recently.

“Holy shit. That man is fine!” I watch my cousin openly gawk before I follow her line of sight.

The second I locate the man she’s talking about, everything goes fuzzy. He steps up to the microphone and smiles out at the audience.

I’d know that smile anywhere.

Hudson?

“How we doin’ tonight, Nashville?” His voice rings out over the crowd and screams erupt around me, coming from every direction. I can’t move. Can’t react. Stuck in some kind of trance.

I convince myself I’m seeing things. Certainly that’s not my Hudson. Not that he was ever mine, but you know what I mean.

I squint harder, thinking maybe there’s something wrong with my eyes and that being in the heat all day is somehow messing with me.

I blink slow, reopening my eyes just as he starts to sing the opening line of his first song. The instant his voice washes over me I feel like I’ve been transported to some alternate universe. He’s incredible. Goose bumps break out all over my skin.

His sexy rasp fills the air and I know with complete certainty that I’m not the only one that can feel it. The magic. The knowledge that you’re witnessing something truly special.

I had wondered for years what happened to Hudson. Did he still play in Nashville? Was he married? Was he happy? Did he ever think of me?

And now I have my answer. Well, at least one of my answers.

It feels like only seconds have passed when the first song comes to an end. I haven’t moved an inch. I’m stuck in the exact same place I was when he first walked out on that stage, trying to process that it’s really him standing in front of me.

I can’t tear my eyes away from him. He’s just as gorgeous as I remember. No, scratch that. He’s even more so. Age has only made him more irresistible. Of course, the way his faded jeans hang on his hips and his white tee clings to his incredible body doesn’t hurt matters at all. My eyes drink him in, ounce by delicious ounce, jumping slightly when the band starts another song. The recognition is instant.

Tequila Haze.

It isn’t until he starts singing again that reality starts to seep back in. I’ve been listening to Hudson on the radio for weeks and had no idea it was him. While it’s a great song, I hadn’t taken the time to listen to the words until now. I mean, really listen.

I close my eyes for the briefest moment, allowing the words to take me back to five years ago when Hudson and I danced all night doing shots of tequila. And how we drank from the same bottle as we walked on the beach. And then what came after. I’ve never looked at tequila the same again.

And that’s when everything shifts.

No?

He wouldn’t have...

My mind rushes with the possibility and I focus harder on the words.

“I lost myself in a bottle of tequila and a blue eyed girl.”

My heart starts thudding harder in my chest, thundering so loud I can hear it over everything else around me.

“She took me by the hand and led me to the dance floor. My heart beating faster than it ever had before. She smiled up at me through that tequila haze...”

My eyes come back into focus and the world seems to have slowed down around me. The crowd’s cheering, swaying, and singing along but in my world there’s only Hudson and me.

Emotion clogs tight in my throat and I find my hand wrapped tightly around my cousin’s wrist, having not even realized I put it there until Sandy nudges me with her shoulder.

“You okay?” she asks when my slow gaze meets hers.

“I think so,” I say slowly, mouthing around the words. “I know him,” I say more to myself than her as I turn my gaze back up to the stage.

“You know who?” she questions, her mouth close to my ear.

“Him,” I say, my gaze locked on Hudson just as his eyes sweep the audience and somehow find mine out of the thousands in the crowd.

His face lights in recognition and after a couple beats, where I’m sure he’s wondering the same thing I am—if he’s seeing things—a full blown smile spreads across his handsome face. I’m several feet back from the stage but even from here I swear I can see his dimple peak out beneath his facial hair. It’s slightly longer than I remember but even sexier.

A whoosh runs through my entire body making me feel instantly off balance. I close my eyes, take a deep breath, and reopen them.

“Him,” I say again as Hudson moves to the other side of the stage, his gaze coming back to me again and again over the next several moments.

“Hudson James?” Sandy questions, her eyes following where mine are.

“Hudson.” I smile around his name in confirmation.

“I’m sorry. I’m confused. You’re telling me you know Hudson James?” she practically screams in my ear over the music and noise of the crowd.

“That, my dear cousin, is exactly what I’m telling you.” I give her a knowing look, turning my attention back to Hudson.

—-

Hudson’s set passes in a blur. It’s like one minute he’s standing in front of the microphone and I’m trying to remember how to breathe and the next he’s thanking everyone before running off the stage, red faced and shirt wet with sweat.

Starr turns and reaches for me as the crowd starts to thin, trying to get in bathroom breaks and beer runs before the headliner comes on. I take her hand, allowing her to pull me up to where her and her friends have managed to squeeze all the way up to the stage.

“What did you think of Hudson James?” Starr asks just as Sandy steps up beside me. “He was incredible, wasn’t he?” she gushes without giving anyone else the chance to answer.

“Lennon knows him,” Sandy announces and my sister instantly starts laughing.

“Yeah, right.” She shakes her head, thinking that Sandy is messing with her. “Wait, do you really?” she chokes out when she sees the seriousness on my face.

“I did. A long time ago anyway.”

“How? How do you know him?”

“Starr...” I start to tell her we can talk about it later when a hand wraps around my bicep and turns me to the left.

“Well, holy shit, it is you.” Colton smiles wide when he takes in my face, the action reaching his eyes. “When Hud told me he saw you in the crowd I thought he was seeing things.”

Colton looks almost exactly as I remember. Well, a little more filled out and the man bun is nowhere in sight. His once long locks are now trimmed short and spiked a little in the front. 

“Surprise.” I hold my hands out in mock excitement.

“I gotta be honest, I never thought I’d see you again.”

“I gotta be honest, neither did I.” We both smile, my cousin, sister, and her friends all watching the interaction with unmasked curiosity.

“Anyway, Hudson sent me out to get you. He’s backstage.”

“Wait, you’re here to take me backstage?” I blurt in surprise, my heart instantly kicking up speed as a nervous knot forms in the pit of my stomach.

“Yep.” He nods his confirmation.

“I can’t go back stage...” I start, but his words cut me off.

“That’s what this is for.” He slides one of the two backstage passes from his neck and drops it around mine. “Come on. We don’t have a lot of time. Hudson has an interview scheduled in like five minutes.”

“Wait, you got any more of those?” my sister calls out seconds after Colton turns.

“Next time, ladies,” he promises, his eyes tracing quickly over the five women before he maneuvers me in front of him, guiding me through the crowd toward the side of the stage, his hands on my shoulders.

He releases me when we reach a security gate where we are stopped by a large guard wearing black cargos and a tight black tee. The man scans both of our badges with a handheld device before allowing us to continue through with nothing more than a curt nod.

“So, how are you? How’s everything? How’s Emma?” Colton asks me in quick succession as he leads me through one of the tunnels I believe football players use to enter and exit the field. Not that I’d know for sure. I’m not much for watching football, having never really understood the sport.

“Good. Everything’s good. Emma’s married now,” I respond on a shaky exhale, my nerves so shot I feel like I’m seconds away from barfing all over the place.

“Married?” Colton questions, thinking over this for a moment.

“Six months ago.” I chuckle at his expression. Talking about Emma I can do. Anything to keep me from thinking about where I’m currently headed, or rather who I’m headed to. “Trust me, I was just as surprised.” I shake my head, finally finishing my thought.

“And you? Are you married?” he asks, throwing me a sideways glance.

“That would be a no.” I grimace.

“Kids?”

“Nope.”

“Well that’s a relief,” he mutters under his breath but I catch every word.

“Come again?” I press.

He throws me a knowing smile but before he can explain why the hell he said what he said, my focus goes somewhere else completely.

“Lennon Claire.” Hudson’s smooth voice washes over me and I swear every inch of my skin prickles.

I turn, my words getting lost in my throat when Hudson stops directly in front of me. Without any warning he pulls me into his arms, hugging me so tight you would think we were old friends and not two people who slept together one night a life time ago.

“Hudson,” I force out as he steps back, his eyes taking me in from head to toe.

“You never called.” He smirks, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

“I, uh, yeah. I lost your number,” I spit out the first excuse I can think of, feeling the heat instantly flood my face.

“You lost my number,” he says slowly, studying me.

“Yeah. You know me, I’m always losing things. Well, I guess you don’t know that about me. Anyway, you were incredible out there. I mean truly. So good.” I shake my head, trying to stop myself from rambling.

“Thanks.” His lips tip up and that damn dimple makes an appearance, doing funny things to my chest. I look away, realizing that Colton is no longer next to me.

“I didn’t know you were playing tonight,” I quickly continue. “In fact, I didn’t even know you were still playing,” I admit, because I feel like I need to keep talking for some reason. “Hudson James? I thought your last name was Demasi.”

Five years ago I was all cool and calm. Tonight I feel like I’m gonna vibrate out of my own skin from the nervous energy coursing through me.

“You remember my last name.” He smirks.

“You remembered mine.”

“Good point.” He chuckles low in his throat before answering the name question. “James is my middle name. I got signed about a year ago. My debut album dropped two weeks ago,” he offers several answers in one quick go.

“That’s incredible, Hudson. Truly. You definitely deserve it. When you said you were a musician I had no idea.” I bite my bottom lip to keep myself from saying more.

“So you’re in Nashville for a...” He eyes the front of my shirt, quirking an eyebrow. “Bachelorette party?” he finishes the statement.

“My sister’s,” I confirm.

“Starr.”

“You remember my sister’s name?”

“Kind of hard not to. Starr. With two Rs,” he repeats what I told him that night at the bar.

“Right.” I laugh to myself. “She’s forcing us to wear these shirts all weekend. It’s kind of ridiculous.”

“Not at all.” He smirks. “I think they’re nice.”

“You just like them because you can pretty much see right through them,” I counter.

“There she is.” He chuckles.

I lose myself in his eyes, in his smile, in the way he’s looking at me like I’m the sweetest damn thing he’s ever seen. It’s all too much and yet not enough.

I’m instantly transported back to the last time I was in Nashville, watching him kiss that girl like he hadn’t been in my bed days before. It’s irrational of me, just like it was the night it happened, but it doesn’t take away the sting I still feel when I think about it.

“How long are you in town for?” his question breaks into my thoughts.

“Oh. Uh. We leave Sunday morning.”

“Perfect. Have dinner with me tomorrow night.” His request catches me a little off guard.

“I can’t.” I hitch my finger toward my shirt. “Maid of honor duties and all.”

“What’s your plan?”

“My sister is determined to drink at least one drink at every bar on the main strip. Money says I’ll be carrying her back to the hotel by nine.”

“So meet me after.”

“I shouldn’t. I don’t really know how late we’ll go. Maybe Starr will be sensible for once in her life and prove me wrong.” I shrug, realizing that I just gave two conflicting answers.

“Then meet me for lunch before you go out.”

“Hudson,” I start to object.

“Come on. It’s lunch. We’ll catch up. I’ll have you back to your sister with plenty of time for your night of debauchery.” He holds his hands up in a pretty please gesture.

I chew on my bottom lip, knowing I probably shouldn’t say yes but also really, really wanting to. Before I can answer a tall blonde appears at the mouth of the hall not far from where we’re standing.

“Hudson, there you are. Come on, everyone’s waiting.” She crosses toward us, her cell phone pressed to her ear. “Yeah, I got him. Give me five.” She stops two feet from where we’re standing and ends the call.

I can’t help but look her over. She’s tall, thin, dressed in a tight pencil skirt, and ruffled cream blouse, her hair pulled back in a low ponytail. I’d guess she’s in her late thirties and even though her expression says she just sucked on a lemon, it’s clear she’s very pretty.

“What the hell are you doing out here? Patrick is in there waiting.”

“Relax, J. A couple minutes isn’t going to kill him.” Hudson shakes his head.

“No, but that doesn’t mean he won’t kill me,” she clips, her eyes finally landing on me like she’s just now noticing I’m standing here.

“Who’s this?” She swivels toward me, her eyes giving me a long once over.

“J, this is Lennon. Lennon, my PR Manager Jane. J for short.”

“It’s nice to meet you, J,” I start but she immediately cuts me off.

“Yeah, yeah, you too.” Her tone is clipped and laced with frustration but it’s clear it has very little to do with me. “Seriously, Hudson, we have to go. It took me weeks to arrange this interview.”

“I’m coming.” He nods his head toward the hall she appeared from, gesturing for her to give him a second.

“You have one minute, Hudson. Or I swear to god I will drag you there by force,” she warns, spinning on her high heels before quickly stomping away.

“Ignore her. High strung as they come but if you can get her to calm down a little she’s actually not so bad.”

“I get it,” I say, even though I really don’t. “I guess I should let you get to it.”

“I’m not going anywhere until you agree to have lunch with me tomorrow.”

“Hudson.” I blow out a slow breath, trying to remind myself of all the reasons I shouldn’t.

“Come on. It’s just lunch.” He takes a step toward me and I instantly get a waft of his scent. Deep musk with a hint of sweat. The combination leaves me feeling a little light headed and a lot turned on. “Besides, you kind of owe me one after leaving me hanging the way you did.”

“I didn’t leave you hanging,” I argue.

“No?” He cocks his head to the side and studies me for a long moment, a small smile playing on his mouth. “That’s not how I remember it.”

“Well perhaps your memory isn’t that good,” I quip, having trouble fighting my own smile when his spreads into a full blown one. His entire face lights up.

“Lunch. We can work out the details later. Just say you’ll come.”

I feel my resolve waning, and even though I know I shouldn’t, I can’t seem to resist him. Especially with the way he’s looking at me.

“Fine.” Rolling my eyes I cave, not able to say no despite how badly I wish I could. “But you’re paying, Mr. Hot Shot Country Star.” I reach out and shove playfully against his hard chest.

He catches my wrist mid-air and turns it upward, dropping his lips to my palm the same way he did that night five years ago.

“It’s the least I can do.” He looks up at me and winks before straightening his stance. “I haven’t touched a drink and yet I can feel the familiar burn of Tequila,” he murmurs more to himself than to me. I instantly recognize it as a lyric from the song he started his set with.

“Tequila Haze?” I question. “It’s about our night together, isn’t it?” I ask, hoping I don’t sound too presumptuous.

He doesn’t confirm or deny but by the smile on his face I’d say I hit the nail on the head.

“Cell.” He holds his hand out.

It takes a second to realize what he’s asking for, but once I do I quickly pull the device out of my back pocket and drop it into his hand.

He swipes across the screen and a few seconds later his phone chirps in his pocket.

“There,” he says, ending the call. “Now I have your number. You know, in case you lose mine again.” He steps directly into me, reaching around to slide my cell phone back into my jeans. His breath is hot on the side of my neck, sending a full body tremor right through me.

“I told you that you were song worthy,” he says seconds before his lips kiss the soft spot beneath my ear. “Tomorrow,” he confirms, pulling back to meet my gaze.

“Tomorrow,” I barely get the word out, my heart beating so hard and fast I swear there’s no way he can’t hear it.

“Goodnight, Luscious Lennon.” He winks before spinning on his heel and quickly walking away.

I smile, not able to tear my eyes off of him until he turns at the end of the hall and disappears around the corner.

“You ready?” Colton reappears out of nowhere, causing me to jump at his voice. I’d still been staring at the spot I last saw Hudson at and hadn’t heard him approach.

“Hey. Crap you scared me.” I clench my chest.

“Sorry. I kinda snuck up on ya there, didn’t I? Hudson wanted me to take you back to your friends.”

“You don’t have to do that. I can find my way,” I say, giving him a friendly smile before turning.

“I want to,” he insists, matching my stride as I head back down the tunnel we entered through. “Everybody always gets so up in arms over going backstage but I gotta tell ya, nothing beats being out in the crowd.”

“Unless you’ve been out there for hours blistering in the sun.”

“Yeah, about that.” He presses his finger on my shoulder, watching the bright red skin turn white for a split second before going red again.

“Yeah, I’m aware.”

“It’s called sunscreen,” he teases.

“It’s called fair skin,” I retort. “This is after applying sunscreen nearly every hour.” I pull the small, near empty tube from my pocket, proving my point.

“Wow.” He laughs, shaking his head.

“Right.” I shove the tube back in my front pocket as we reach the gate. “Well, thanks for walking with me. I’m not sure how exactly I’m going to get back up there.” I gesture toward the people closest to the stage.

“Flash your backstage pass. They’ll think you’re someone worth moving for.” He winks when he catches my playfully offended expression.

“You know what, I think I just might do that.” I flip my ponytail as I step past him, turning after I pass the guard. “It was good seeing you again, Colton.” I give him a smile.

“It was good seeing you too, Lennon. Tell Emma I say hello.”

“Will do.” I throw up a half wave and quickly walk away without looking back.