Finding Seventeen (On Hold)

Spell it Out

I waited for Hudson to call as I sat on the front porch to give Ryder and Jodie some privacy. They insisted that I stay, but  I insisted that it I just needed some air. In the end it was me who won.  I figured out real quick that my life would be much different than it was living in New Orleans. I was used to being by myself. I didn't know what to do not being able to do what I wanted whenever I wanted. This was a brand new concept for me. 

As I continued to wait for the call, a call pulled up, I didn't recognize it until out stepped Kypton. The driver waved as he pulled out of the driveway. 

Kypton strolled up to the porch and stood a seat next to me on the porch swing. 

"Who was that?" I pointed as the car drove away. 

"Oh, that was my new buddy Austin. I met him at a party last week." 

I shook my head, "Aren't you a little too old to be going to parties?" 

He chuckled slightly. "I can't pass up a beach party. It was actually surprisingly a lot of people in there late twenties." 

"So you thought it would be a good idea to crash." I'd been to clubs at my age, but I hadn't been to a beach party since I was like twenty-two.. 

"Hey, I didn't crash. I was at the bar and some random chick invited me." 

"Makes sense, always chasing tail." 

He let out a sigh. " I think you have the wrong idea about me." 

"I'm not so sure I do." 

He didn't try to defend himself. He just sat there and stared ahead. I locked my arm into his. He wasn't always a good friend to back then. I still felt that connection we'd had back then. I felt so comfortable around him, "Thanks for being there for me back then. I'm sorry I just took off." 

"I understood why you did what you did, but I just wish you would have stayed in touch." 

"Looking back now, I wish I would have. I just had to cut ties with everyone. The only person that knew where I was was Ryder." 

He nodded his head. "Yeah, he kept me updated on how you were doing." 

"Why would he do that?" 

"I asked him about you every chance I got." 

I was surprised in his interest in my well being."Why?" 

"That is a crazy question Jules, even for you. Ryder even knew how much I cared about you." 

I just laid my head on his shoulder. " We were good friends huh?" 

"The best."  After that we didn't say much. We sat on the porch and watched the time pass. In a way it was nice to be home again. It was so nice and peaceful. I was used to living in a loft apartment above a busy street in New Orleans. New Orleans is known for its music, culture, and more than anything for it's nightlife. Only thing that happened in Long Beach were teenagers cruising up and down the strip and occasionally beach parties.  Living here was probably going to be the opposite of the life I had been living. I wasn't sure if that would be a good or a bad thing

I was barely even aware of the footsteps that approached as I continued to relax into Kypton. Before I knew it Hudson was standing before me watching us. His presence caused me to sit up straight, taking my head off Kypton's shoulder. By the reaction of Kypton, I believed he'd been woken from sleep when I sat up. He looked over at me, and then he noticed Hudson. 

I stood up, followed by Kypton. I assessed Hudson's appearance. Today was the first day I'd seen him out of his uniform. He looked very different to me. You could tell that he'd put effort into his appearance. He wore a nice pair of dark wash boot cut jeans, square toed brown boots, and long sleeve eggplant colored button up shirt rolled to the elbow. The first two buttons were undone, he looked very handsome with his freshly shaved face and was supporting a short boxed beard that only ran along his jaw line and then connected with a mustache. The more I looked at him the more his appearance appealed to me and the more he looked back the more attracted to him I was. He smiled at me as if he knew exactly what was going on in my head. For a few moments we didn't speak a word to one another, at least not until Kypton cleared his throat.