Sunday in New York

December 1st, Saturday
3:05am

No, stop. Eric stop, let go of me. With all my strength I tried to pound my fists against his stone chest but at the same time I felt so weak. His fingers knotted in my hair and he began dragging me across the floor. Glass was shattering, I could feel it in my skin, digging further and deeper in.

He kicked me in the stomach, like he always would. I tried to scream for help but it was only coming out as a whisper. Eric stop! Please stop! He grabbed me by my shoulders...

"Avery, wake up, wake up, it's just a dream." A soft voice spoke to me. I gasped awake and realized that I was hitting Hudson as he held my shoulders.

"Hudson." I burst into tears, wrapping my arms around him. He sat back and pulled me into his lap, holding me close to him.

"It's okay, it's okay. You were having a bad dream. I'm right here." He cooed, gently stroking my hair.

"I was so scared." I sobbed, haunted by my dreams of the past. I buried my face into his chest.

"Were you dreaming of Eric again?" He softly asked.

I nodded and wiped my tears, trying to compose myself. "It feels so real." I sniffled.

He kissed the side of my head, "I know, you were fighting back. You've got some left hook." He chuckled.

"Oh no, did I hurt you?" I bit my lip, placing my hand on the side of his face.

"No." He smiled, kissing me again. "Lay down. Did you wanna talk about your dream?"

I shook my head and laid down as he covered us up again in the blankets, I sighed into my pillow. "I just wanna forget everything."

He wrapped his arms around me and pulled me close to him, "I know. For now let's just sleep, okay?"

I nodded and closed my eyes.

Later that day, 7:43pm

I thudded onto the ice for the millionth time this past hour. Laughing, Hudson pulled me back up to my feet. "I thought you'd be an easier student." He grinned.

"Well we can't all be pro skaters like you." I laughed, holding onto him as people of all ages skated past me. We were at the ice rink in front of the Rockefeller Center, he thought it would be a great idea for us to go skating but didn't bother to ask me if I knew how; which I don't.

"C'mon, let's go to the cafe, I'll buy you a hot chocolate." He chuckled, holding me and taking us back to the side. "You'd better get me a piece of cake too." I smirked.

"I think that's pushing it." He smiled, unlacing my skates for me.

"I think I deserve it, I fell like, six times. My butt hurts." I rolled my eyes and he laughed. So after we returned the skates we went into the Rock Center Cafe and were seated at a cosy table near the fireplace. He ordered a hot chocolate for each of us and a slice of chocolate cake for me.

"I like this. If we can do this, just you and me for the next fifty-plus years, it'll be good enough for me." I smiled.

"Hot chocolate and cake?" He smiled.

I nodded and continued gazing across the room out the window, seeing skaters in the distance. Hudson was quiet for a while, but when isn't he? He cleared his throat and caught my attention, making me turn back to him.

"Why are we waiting?" He asked, placing his hand on mine.

I furrowed my brow not immediately understanding what he was talking about but then it clicked. "Oh, the wedding you mean?"

He nodded. "I mean, so we're busy and we really only have time for each other in the evenings and weekends, but it's just one day. One day where we can put the world on hold and get married."

I smiled and nodded, "So, you're saying we shouldn't wait?"

He grinned, "That's exactly what I'm saying. I mean, you have your dress, it'll take me five minutes to buy a suit. We want a simple ceremony and we can have the reception later, maybe a week after."

I thought for a moment and laughed, "Alright, we'll do it. When were you thinking?"

"When do you want?" He smiled.

"Um...how 'bout New Years Eve? It'll be a great end to the year."

"And a great beginning. I love it, then New Years Eve." He leaned across the table and I leaned closer to kiss him.

"Hey...I've been meaning to ask you, what Jules brought up last night...how famous are you in the U.K?" I asked, sitting back in my chair as I recalled what Jules said last night at McGees:

"Check these out, straight from England. My mum sent them to me in the mail." Jules grinned as he came into the bar, tossing newspapers and magazines on the table.

"She sent you newspapers?" Amelia giggled, looking at one.

"Not just any paper though, my dear friend Hudson here has graced the front pages as well as the lifestyle and entertainment columns of them." He chuckled, sitting next to us.

"What? Why are you in the paper?" I smiled at Hudson, taking the Hello! magazine from the table and flipping through its pages. 'Holbrook Hudson, one of England's Most Eligible Bachelors has been snatched up by a young American beauty. It was revealed earlier this month that his involvement with the girl was getting serious and an insider recently revealed that the two are in fact engaged.'

I put down the magazine and looked at Hudson with astonishment. "Most eligible bachelor? Are you famous in England?"

Hudson broke my reverie and brought me back to the cafe. "Um, enough to grace the pages of the newspaper every now and then...and it's not so much from being a chef, but just because I'm wealthy..."

"Oh."

He licked his bottom lip and took a deep breath, "Are you okay?"

I nodded and laughed, "Yeah, it's just different for me...I hope you don't think I'm a gold-digger."

He threw his head back and laughed, "No! Never, you're the most independent person I know. You always try to take care of yourself, and I respect that."

I smiled and held his hand across the table, smiling sweetly at him. "Good, so December 31st it is."

"The second best day of our lives." He smiled.

"Second?" I raised an eyebrow and smiled.

"The first was when we met." He grinned, kissing my hand.

"Oh yes, how could I forget?" I bit my lip, giving him a coy smile.