Free Blitzed (The Alpha Ballers #3) by Lucy Snow Page B

blankets. And the light coming into the room was different.

    I sat up in bed, slowly, letting the covers fall off me. I looked around, saw the trophies and football photos. It was like being in a high school boy’s room, except the kid in some of the photos was also in his mid-20’s in other photos.

    And they were all Hudson Asher.

    That’s where I was. I was in Hudson Asher’s bedroom.  

    Shit. SHIT.

    Last night came flooding back to me, and I didn’t know what to do. What had I done?

    I looked down, relieved that my dress was still on, though not in the best shape - dresses like these were not meant for sleeping in. Still, it was better on than off.

    On any other night, though…if I were in Hudson Asher’s bed, I wouldn’t want to keep my dress on…

    I looked to the other side of the bed. I’d been hogging the blankets all night, but it didn’t look like it had mattered - there was no sign of Hudson anywhere. I wondered where he had slept. I thought about calling out to him, but as I started to, my breath caught in my throat and nothing came out.

    The party, seeing Hudson there. Steve getting too handsy too quickly. Hudson saving me, talking to me, and taking me home. All of it came back.

    I didn’t quite remember what we had talked about, but Hudson was there in my memories, towering over me and looking out for me. I felt a rush of gratitude for him wash over me.

    And that ride home, on his motorcycle! Even despite my slight intoxication, that had been thrilling. And not just because of the bike itself, and the wind racing by as we rode down the dark streets near Foxboro; mostly because it gave me the opportunity to press myself up against Hudson’s amazing body.

    It had felt perfect to me, comfortable and right and safe and smoldering at the same time. I had never experienced anything like that with a man before; I didn’t even know what to do next.

    When he took the helmet off my head, I wanted nothing more than to jump into his arms and kiss him. With the help of the alcohol, I almost had, but managed to stop myself just in time, though I wasn’t quite sure why.

    And when he carried me to bed? Ugh, that was the hottest thing ever, straight out of a movie. I had wanted to invite him in with me, but I knew that might get awkward, and I had been so tired…

    But last night in Hudson’s bed had done me a world of good, and despite how much I had had last night I didn’t feel too hungover. I got up out of bed, a little bit unsteady on my feet at first, walking around the room and looking at the photos of Hudson through the years, wearing football gear in each of them.

    The smile on his face in each photo was the same - the kind of smile that pulled his entire face into it, the rare kind of smile that showed true happiness. It was clear from these photos that football was what Hudson Asher was meant to do.

    I ran my fingers lightly over the trophies, each of them calling out some other amazing stat or season that he’d had. Some people might throw these away after a few years, or pack them up, but Hudson clearly enjoyed going through them and reliving those memories.

    I went to the bathroom, checking myself out in the mirror. I looked much like I had expected to after crying a little bit and falling asleep without getting rid of my makeup.  

    When I was done using the bathroom I crept back out into the bedroom and got very quiet. Off in the distance I could hear some commotion, and I decided to head in that direction.

    It took a little bit of sleuthing - the condo was bigger than I thought, and there were a few rooms in between where I started and where the sound was coming from. Along the way, I stopped for a minute in each room, looking at the art on the walls, the family photos propped up on end tables. The photos were all of people smiling - the art was all landscapes or abstract stuff.  

    It had never occurred to me that the team prankster Hudson Asher would also collect art. It