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Chapter twenty-one

Daphne

“Hold the freaking phone,” Liv yelps through the speaker. “He was right there? He heard you tell Finn? Shit, Daph.”

I nod, rubbing the sleep from my eyes. I didn’t want to get up for my Saturday running class today. After last night, I needed sleep. “Everything.”

Although, I have no idea if he’s conveniently forgotten the part about me being a virgin or if he didn’t want to bring it up while I was practically crying into his lap, confessing that I’m carrying his baby. Or there might be a chance he blacked out after the pregnant part and heard nothing else.

“If there was ever a time where I thought you were god’s favorite, it isn’t last night. He saw an opportunity and ran with it.” Liv snorts.

“Please, I’ve never been god’s favorite. Even less so now, with the whole teenage pregnancy and out of wedlock,” I joke, but it’s really something that my Grandma Goose would’ve clutched her pearls over and prayed in Sunday service for me. God rest her sassy soul.

The echo of Liv’s car filters through the speaker. “Driving is boring, you know,” she says changing the subject. She promised she’d come to my first doctor’s appointment with me, and even when I insisted I’d be fine alone, she wouldn’t take no for an answer, so she’s driving all the way here. I’m not gonna cry. Okay, maybe I will, because I don’t know what I’d do without her. Jeez, these hormones are wild. “I should’ve taken a bus. That way, I could at least read or pretend to study.”

“I told you I’d be okay.”

“And I told you there’s no way you’re doing this by yourself.”

“I’m—”

Knock knock.

The sound startles me, and I freeze mid-sentence. “Uh, hang on,” I say to Liv, placing the phone in my holder on my bedside table, moving toward the door. Who would be knocking this early? I press my eye to the peephole, and my breath catches. Hudson. Standing there, holding something.

What is he doing here? “Oh my god, Liv. It’s Hudson,” I whisper-shout.

“What? I can’t hear you,” she shouts, unaware that I’m trying to be quiet.

“Shhhh,” I hiss, my palms sweating. “Don’t say a thing.”

I crack the door open, peeking out cautiously. “Hudson? What’s going on?”

“Hey.” Clearing his throat, his free hand rubs the back of his neck. I’ve noticed he does that a lot around me. “Uh, I brought you something.”

He lifts two cups in a holder, his finger flexing around the handle.

I blink, staring at the cups. “What? Why?”

One of his broad shoulders raises. “I just thought… You know what, can I…come in?” he asks as he scans the hallway.

I hesitate, my brain scrambling to catch up. The sight of him standing here at all is throwing me. “Okay,” I say finally, opening the door wider. “Come in.”

He steps inside, and that’s when I realize I’m in nothing but my oversized sleep shirt. Bare legs. No bra. A surge of heat rushes to my face, and my arms instinctively wrap around myself. Before I can move, Hudson’s gaze flickers downward and then immediately back up. His jaw tightens, and he blinks hard, fixing his eyes firmly on the floor.

“Uh, sorry,” he mumbles. “Didn’t mean to, um, just barge in when you’re, uh, sleeping.”

I dart to the chair where my long cardigan is, grabbing it and slipping it on as casually as I can manage. My pulse is racing, and I can feel the heat in my cheeks spreading to my ears.

“No, it’s fine,” I say quickly, pulling the fabric tight around me. “I just wasn’t expecting anyone.”

As he risks a glance at me, his face is a little pink. “Yeah, I probably should’ve texted or something.” He shifts the cups in his hands. “Which reminds me, I need your number, if that’s okay.”

“You’re fine, really,” I say again, softer this time, though my cheeks are still burning. I mean, the guy has seen me a lot less dressed, so I’m not sure why we’re both embarrassed, but there we go, both blushing like rosy tomatoes. “Sure, do you have your phone? I can put it in now.”

Hudson nods, his lips pressing together, holding out one cup. I take it while he reaches into his back pocket and pulls out his phone. Once I’ve typed in my number, I send a text to myself, then pass it back.

“It’s hot milk, by the way,” he begins, gesturing to the takeout cup in my hand. “I, uh, wasn’t sure if you were still drinking caffeine or not, or if you even like coffee, but I read last night that it’s, like, kind of a gray area, you know? Some people say it’s fine in moderation, but then others are all ‘no, don’t risk it,’ and I didn’t want to risk it, so… Just to be safe.”

I stare at him, completely taken aback because he’s googling things about pregnancy? I haven’t googled anything… Should I? My fingers wrap around the warm cup. “Hot milk,” I repeat.

“Yeah.” He looks at the other cup in his hand. “And this one’s…also hot milk. Because I wasn’t sure if you’d want one or two, or if you even drink dairy at all, so I figured I’d also get oat milk… Better safe than sorry?” Like he realizes how ridiculous all of this is, he winces.

But I don’t think it’s ridiculous. In fact, as soon as my nose begins to tingle, I internally panic that I’m going to burst into tears for said hot milk bought for me by the hot football player. Oh my god, please don’t cry. Stay down, baby hormones.

Liv’s voice cuts through the room. “Wow. Okay. That’s the most adorable thing I’ve ever heard.”

Hudson spins around to find my phone resting in the holder.

“Oh,” I say, rushing to the phone, swiping at my cheeks just in case before holding up the device. “Liv’s driving here for an appointment I have later. She’s just on speaker.”

“Oh, cool.” His face drops slightly, and he looks down at his feet. “You know what, I was kind of hoping you’d let me take you to the appointment, or at least go with you.”

“Y-you remembered it was today?”

He smiles sheepishly. “I know I shouldn’t have listened to that conversation, but yeah, I remembered…when I replayed the whole thing in my head at 3 a.m.”

Liv’s delighted laughter crackles through the phone. “Oh my god, are you hearing this? This is just the cutest thing ever.”

With my cheeks heating, I glare at the phone. “Liv, maybe...not right now?”

“What? I’m just saying.” Her voice is unapologetic, and I can practically hear her smirking. “Let the man be adorable. He brought you two types of milk, for crying out loud.”

“Olivia!” I hiss.

“Does he even like oat milk? Hudson, do you even drink oat milk or any kind of hot milk?”

“Uhh.” He flushes again, and I’d never imagine him being so shy. “I haven’t tried oat milk before, and judging by the smell, I never will.”

“See, Daphne? The man isn’t even going to drink the milk!”

“Okay, I get it, Liv. Can you stop?” I whisper-shout. I know exactly how adorable this is, he is, and if she keeps bringing it up, I’m going to cry. I really don’t want to cry.

Hudson clears his throat, his lips twitching upward in a small, self-conscious smile. “So, the appointment? I just figured if you wanted someone else there...I’m around. I’d like to be…around. If you’d like that too. I’ve got no clue what I’m doing yet, but uh…” His hazel eyes close as he looks up to the ceiling, muttering something about being cooler. But the sincerity in his voice makes my throat tight. I can’t quite meet his gaze, so I take a long sip of the milk instead.

I want him there, of course I do. I just didn’t expect him to want to be there, let alone remember it was today. He overheard a conversation once, and suddenly it’s in his diary. What breed of man is this? None I’ve ever been with. Most previous boyfriends, not that he has that title, couldn’t even remember my birthday.

Liv’s voice cuts through again. “Okay, I’m saying this as your best friend: let him come. You’re nervous. You need the distraction.”

“I’m not—” I start to protest, but the truth lodges in my throat. I am nervous. More than I’ve let myself admit. I’ve been a nervous mess since all of this started.

Hudson shifts again, gaining my attention. “Look, I don’t want to push. If you’re good with Liv, that’s great. I just...wanted to offer.”

As much as I want to pretend I’ve got this under control, the thought of having him there is actually nice.

“Okay.” The word slips out before I can second-guess it. “You can come. I’d like that.”

His eyebrows lift, like he wasn’t expecting me to agree, but then a slow, warm smile spreads across his face, and my heart nose dives at the sight. Man, he’s pretty. “Yeah?”

“Yeah,” I say, swallowing hard. “But don’t blame me if it’s boring. Or awkward. Or both.”

“I think I’ll survive.” His grin widens as he takes a sip of his milk, then winces, looking at the cup like it’s offended him.

Liv’s voice cuts in one last time. “God, you two are killing me.”

I pick up my phone with an awkward smile, my thumb hovering over the screen. “Okay, drive safe, Liv. See you later.” My goodbye comes out rushed as I quickly hang up, setting the phone down a little too fast. I glance at Hudson, feeling sheepish. “Sorry about her.”

He chuckles. “At least this time she’s not threatening to murder me with an axe.”

“It’s still early.”

He laughs again, and I stare at him, warmth blooming in my chest despite the whirlwind of emotions I’ve been carrying lately. “You didn’t have to do this,” I say, sipping the milk. “But…thank you.”

As he studies me for a second, his head tilts, making his hair flop a little, those hazel eyes boring into me. “You’re gonna have to stop saying I don’t have to do things here. I do have to, and more than that, I’m going to because I want to,” he says simply. How is he so even keeled when I feel like I’m fumbling around in the dark?

“How are you so calm?”

Amusement lights up his eyes. “Calm? Trust me, I’m not as put-together as I look,” he says. “I wasn’t calm last night… I went to see my friend, Jay, who, by the way, won’t tell anyone anything. But I had my freakout, and I’m not a guy to back out of something, even if I know I can’t control everything.”

I chew on that, swirling the milk around in my cup. Control is how I live my life, yet he’s letting it go with such ease. I wish I could just go with it. “That sounds…annoyingly wise.”

His laugh is warm, a low rumble that makes me feel something in a way I’m not ready to unpack. “Things I’ve never been called before, but I’ll take it.”

I want to ask how he does it, how he keeps standing when the weight of the world feels like it’s pressing down. But I squash the questions for now, and instead, I just shake my head with a wry smile.

“Everything will work out,” he says.

“You make it sound so simple.”

I glance up at him as he steps a little closer. It’s quiet for a moment as we take each other in, and something about it reminds me of the first night we met. That easy, playful aura of his is still there, but underneath it, there’s something steady, something solid that makes me feel…safe.

His Adam’s apple bobs on a deep swallow, and his voice is low when he finally speaks. “It’s not simple. There’s so much we need to figure out. But you’re tougher than you think, Daphne. And if you’re not, well…” He smirks. “That’s what I’m here for.”

My heart squeezes.

And for the first time in days, I don’t feel like I’m drowning.