My Surprise Mate

Chapter Seven

“Hey! Ava! Hold up!” Calls a voice from behind me. I turn to see who it is, and see the dark brown mop of hair and almost glowing blue eyes that are the signature of Hudson Carter. He’s wearing a different shirt now, a dark blue button up (with the buttons actually done up) with white stripes. The blue flatters him, complimenting his eyes perfectly. Part of me is exasperated, silently screaming to the universe “This guy again??” The other part of me is excited to see him, and wants to run to him and run my hands all over his body. I shake the thought off, once again having to remind myself I have a boyfriend. I seem to be doing that a lot with Hudson…

“Why can’t you leave me alone!” I sigh, rolling my eyes.

“As if you want me to,” Hudson smirks at me, knowingly. “Let me walk you home.”

“Do I have a choice?” I groan, but turn and start walking, making space for him beside me. He’s not entirely wrong. I want to want him to leave. But I don’t, not really. I think it’s sweet that he’s so persistent, and that he wants to make sure I get home safely.

“Not really.” Hudson smiles and runs his hands through his hair. We walk for a few minutes in comfortable silence, the air between us thick and electric.

“Look, Avalon, can we start over? I feel like there’s been this… tension between us since we first met on the beach that night. I want us to be able to be friends.” He says coldly, running his tongue over his teeth and averting his gaze. His brow is furrowed and he looks genuinely concerned.

“Yeah, we can be friends,” I say, smiling at him. A voice in my head tells me that I want more than that, that friends will never be enough, but I know that’s not rational. “I’m sorry I’ve been so… you know. I’m just not great with meeting new people.”

“Well lucky for you, I am super likeable. You’ll warm up to me real quick.” He shoulders me, very lightly, but it still throws me off balance a bit. I can feel his muscles through his shirt, even just in this one touch. The spot on my shoulder bristles with electricity afterwards. I glare at him and shove back, strong. He stumbles to the side, off the sidewalk.

“And you’re soo humble!” I laugh at him. He laughs too and shakes his head.

For the rest of the walk we make pleasant conversation. He tells me about his family and friends, and I tell him about mine.

“So you’ve known Finn and Miles for, like, ever?” I ask him.

“Pretty much, Nova and Hadley too. We’re all from the same… town I guess. It’s kind of a small town, everyone knows everyone.” He shrugs. “My dad is sort of the head honcho. He, uh, runs a pretty huge company there. Which I’ll inheret.” He says this last part quietly, almost to no one.

“Sounds like a lot of pressure.” I say to him, and lightly touch his shoulder.

“Yeah, sorta. But it’s in my blood. I’ve been working towards this my whole life.” He has determination in his eyes, and I admire his dedication and ambition.

“I’m the first one in my family to go to university. My family is so excited, my dad completely covered the house in Huskies gear. I’m grateful, but, I’m terrified that I won’t be able to do this. That I’ll have to go home and tell them I failed.” I kick the ground, focusing all my attention on a rock on the sidewalk. I can’t believe I just told Hudson that, how embarrassing. There goes my cool girl exterior.

Hudson looks down at me with an understanding look. The corner of his mouth curls slightly into a melancholy smile. His eyes drift downwards to my lips slightly, and we both stop walking, facing eachother. The air between us is so thick you could cut it with a knife. There’s a magnetic pull between us, both of our nerves standing on edge, drawing us closer. It takes everything in me to pull away.

“Well, we’re here. Maple Hall right?” Hudson smiles awkwardly and gestures past me to my building.

“Yeah, this is me.” My body begins to turn away from Hudson, but my eyes stay locked to his for another beat. I start walking away from him, my steps sounding to me like “Go. Back. Go. Back. Go. Back.” It’s impossible to ignore. I turn around, seeing his back as he walks away from me as well.

“Hudson?” I call, impulsively. I instantly regret it, he probably thinks I’m obsessed. He turns to me quickly, a glimmer in his eyes. He smiles, relieved, almost as if he was waiting for me to give him an excuse not to leave. His muscles tense as if he’s about to run towards me.

“Yeah?” He asks.

“Thanks for walking me home.” I say, leaving a lot in the air. For a moment, Hudson looks disappointed, but just for a moment. It’s so quick I almost convince myself I only imagined the look. The goofy smile he now has plastered onto his face doesn’t give anything away.

“Well of course. A girl’s gotta have her protector.” He gestures elaborately and bows, keeping eye contact the entire time.

“So you’re my ‘protector’?” I laugh, making air quotes around protector. Hudson looks at me intensely and walks towards me, silencing my laughter. My breath catches in my throat as he gets closer, now so close that I have to look up at him. Suddenly he drops to one knee dramatically. He bows his head and holds an imaginary sword in front of him.

“My queen, I pledge my life to you for the honour of being your royal guard.” There’s mischief laced through his voice and I chuckle at the sight of him, letting out the breath I’ve been holding. He looks up at me, his face suddenly very earnest. “As long as I live, no harm will come of you.” His words hang in the air for a while, neither of us knowing what to say. I know he’s joking, he must be, but something in the way he said it makes me think he might be serious.

As quickly as the thought enters my head, the mischievous glimmer in Hudson’s eyes returns. His smile returns to the goofy one that I have become accustomed to, rather than the soft, honest smile I saw just seconds ago. He laughs at me, winks and turns to leave. I can do nothing but watch him walk away for a while before I regain the ability to think, and finally convince myself to turn around and walk into my dorm.