Small Town Girl by Gemma Brooks

couldn’t stay away,” he said as he
walked towards me and met me halfway. “I’ve been thinking about last night all
day.”
    I blushed and hung my head, averting my
eyes from his intense gaze.
    The moment he was within arm’s reach of
me, he pulled me close into him. I was powerless under his touch. He had some
sort of unspoken control over me.
    He leaned down and placed his mouth onto
mine, kissing me with his soft, tender lips. Under the moonlight and the clear,
Iowan sky above, I was in sheer heaven.
    “Come back with me tonight,” he said. “To
my place.”
    I opened my mouth to respond, but
instantly the thought of Luke flashed through my mind. I thought about how
upset he was earlier and how he hadn’t talked to me for four days over
something that didn’t even happen. Now that something had happened, I was
almost positive I’d blown any chance I’d had with Luke…and possibly our
friendship.
    “What?” Hudson asked, sensing my
hesitation.
    “My friend, Luke,” I said. “I told him I
slept with you. He’s mad at me for it.”
    “What is he in love with you or
something?” Hudson’s face cringed as he took a step back and ran his fingers
through his hair.
    “I don’t know,” I said. “I don’t think
so? He’s just being weird right now.”
    “He’s not going to come after me with his
pitchfork is he?” Hudson laughed. His joke wasn’t funny.
    I rolled my eyes.
    “No, he’s not like that,” I said. “I’m
just pretty sure he’s not going to get over it. He’s never been this way
before.”
    “Sounds like he’s jealous.” Hudson
shrugged, and I could tell he was silently pleased about it.
    I stood in front of him with my arms
folded, looking away. I couldn’t look at him. He was being so flippant about
something that meant so much to me.
    “I threw away my best friend for a little
fling with you,” I said. “I know what we have means nothing to you, but what
Luke and I have…what we had…our friendship…meant everything to me.”
    “Hey, now,” Hudson said as he reached for
my arm and pulled me back into his warm embrace. “Why would you think you mean
nothing to me?”
    “Because,” I said as I was finally able
to look him in the face. “You’re…you. And I’m…me. I’m no one. You’re hopping on
a plane in a couple days, and I’m never going to see you again. I’ll just be
another notch on your belt.”
    “Oh, please,” he huffed. “If you only
knew. I wish you’d stop treating me like I’m some womanizer. I told you last
night I can count the women I’ve slept with on both hands. Not a lot of guys
can say that – famous or not.”
    I wanted to believe him, but I just
couldn’t. Not yet.
    “I honestly think you’re one of the most
genuine girls I’ve ever met,” he said. “And you’re naturally beautiful.”
    He placed his soft palm on the side of my
cheek, then traced his finger down the side of my nose and over my lips.
    “You’re a work of art, Brynn,” he said.
“Truly. There’s just something about you. I’m just drawn to you.”
    The sensation of his fingertips across my
lips tickled my stomach as I longed for him to kiss me again. I was growing
weaker and weaker in his presence and there wasn’t a damn thing I could do
about it. The things he said to me were things no man had ever said to me
before.
    “I don’t understand it,” I said. “I don’t
understand what you see in me.”
    “And that’s exactly why I like you,” he
said with a smirk.
    He leaned down, head cocked, and kissed
my mouth again. I reached my arms up and rested them on his broad shoulders.
Nothing else mattered but him and me.
    “You’re coming home with me tonight,” he
whispered between soft pecks.

 
 

CHAPTER 4

 
 
 
    I woke up Wednesday morning in a soft
jersey t-shirt that clearly wasn’t my size and in a bed that was much bigger
than mine. My head was pounding and as my eyes adjusted, I realized I was back
in Hudson’s hotel