“What?” he asks, tilting his head to the side slightly.
“He knows your last name. Are you a regular?”
Though it’s my first time at this resort on Hilton Head Island, the extravagance of this place doesn’t seem like somewhere you would come to grab a drink after work. Maybe he’s vacationing here as well and has spent a lot of time at the bar. If that’s the case, he’s probably not someone I should be talking to. The last thing I need is to spend my time with another alcoholic.
“No.” He shakes his head. “I started a tab earlier, so he probably read my name on my credit card.”
I sigh in relief, then chastise myself for jumping to conclusions. Not every man has a problem with alcohol.
The bartender delivers our drinks, and Hudson raises his glass. “To Sawyer,” he says with a devilish twinkle in his eye. “May you mold the youth and not sleep with them while doing so.”
I smack his arm and glance around, making sure no one is paying attention. “Not funny!” I hiss through my laughter, lifting my drink and taking a sip.
“C’mon… It’s a little funny.”
Rolling my eyes, I take another sip and side-eye him. “Keep it up, and we won’t make it to that dance floor.”
With a playful smirk, he raises his hands in mock surrender. “All right, all right, I’ll behave. So tell me, what brings you to the island?”
“A graduation present from my sister.”
“Nice. Is she the woman who ran out a few minutes ago?”
“That’d be her. Her husband has no sense of direction. She came here with me for the weekend to hang out and do a little sister bonding. He’s picking her up so they can fly out tomorrow morning for their anniversary trip. I’m sure she’s walking around the hotel trying to explain to him how to find the bar.”
Hudson laughs, and the carefree sound has me smiling.
“What brings you here?” I ask.
“Vacation,” he says simply. “I have some life decisions to make, and what better place to think about them than at a killer resort on the beach? All life decisions should be made with the sun rising and the waves crashing.”
“It’s my first time at the beach,” I admit sheepishly.
“Really?” His eyes widen in surprise.
“Yep. I grew up on a farm in Tennessee, which is obviously nowhere near the ocean. My parents are homebodies and perfectly content to simply work on the farm. I always dreamed of going to the beach, of sinking my toes into the soft sand and swimming in the ocean, maybe swimming with some dolphins.” I shrug. “But once I graduated from high school, life happened, and it took me a little longer than I hoped to actually get to the beach.”
Hudson smiles. “Well, you’re here now. Is it everything you dreamed of?”
“Maybe,” I mutter, downing my drink.
“What do you mean, maybe?” He quirks a brow, silently imploring me to explain.
“I haven’t actually been in the water yet,” I confess.
“But you said you’ve been here for a couple of days.”
“I know, and we’ve seen the beach. We just haven’t been in the water yet.”
“What are you waiting for?”
“I don’t know. We’ve been hanging out at the pool. I’m going to go…eventually.”
“Let’s go now.”
“What?” I shriek, shaking my head. “No way.”
Hudson’s brows hit his forehead. “You’re scared.”
“No,” I splutter. “I’m going to go. I’m here until Saturday. But it’ll be in the daylight… not when it’s dark out. There can be sharks or jellyfish in the water. The tidal waves could drown us. We can get sea lice.”
“You’re totally fucking scared.” He grins like a Cheshire cat.
“I am not.” I glare. “I’ve just been enjoying the pool and cabanas. Besides—”
“Found him!” Lisa says, cutting me off as she pulls her husband up to the bar and blocks my view of Hudson. “You got another drink and didn’t get me one?” She pouts.
“Actually, Hudson got it for me.”
“Who?” she asks, confused.
“That would be me,” Hudson says, turning the attention on him.
“Oh, shit,” Scott gasps. “You’re Hudson Matthews.”
“Who?” my sister and I both ask.
Scott shakes his head. “The QB?”
“The what?” I ask, still having no idea what language he’s speaking.
Hudson stands and reaches out for my hand, and when I eye it, not giving him mine, he laughs. “Don’t worry, I’m not going to drag you into the ocean. I just want to dance with you.” He shoots me a sexy wink, and even though I want to argue that he hasn’t earned that dance, I give in and place my hand in his.
With a cocky smirk, he guides me onto the dance floor. I glance back at my sister, who’s staring at us in shock, while Scott whispers something into her ear. When I look back at Hudson, he pulls me into his arms as “Anyone” by Justin Bieber comes on.