Page 41 of Texting My Hot Tutor

CHAPTER15

Della

“Can you believe it?” Hudson grins, jabbing the air as he paces up and down the living room. “Obviously, I need to make sure I don’t mess up the trial period. It’s two weeks…but it’s paid, Della. The thing is, what if I do mess it up, and then the factory won’t take me back?”

“You won’t,” I tell him, my heart feeling like it’s expanding as I sit up, Hudson’s happiness infectious. “You were going to do this as a job if mom and dad….”

He pauses, nodding, his smile faltering.

“It’s great news.”

I beam, jumping to my feet and walking over to him.

He returns my hug, embracing me tightly.

“When do you start?” I ask.

He takes a step back, running a hand through his messy hair. “Tomorrow. He wants me to shadow one of the other trainers for a couple of days, plus prove I’m willing to put in the work elsewhere in the gym.”

“That’s so, so awesome.”

“Thanks, sis.” He smiles widely. “I wouldn’t have gotten this job without you.”

“Yes, you would,” I say firmly.

He tilts his head at me in that perceptive Hudson way. “Uh, no… I wouldn’t. I wouldn’t have even known it existed without you.”

It’s like he’s looking through me, like he knows I’ve been waiting all day to get home from the restaurant so I can text with Eli. We sent a few throughout the day, little check-ins, but we haven’t spoken properly since last night.

Since I told him no, he couldn’t come around. Since I ignored the impulse deep within, yelling at me to tell him, yes, to tell him to come to me, to take me.

“Either way, it’s your achievement,” I say.

He glances at his phone when it buzzes on the table.

“Expecting a text?” I ask, knowing this is peak projection.

I felt my phone vibrate about ten minutes ago, but Hudson and I have been talking and I didn’t want to be rude…and I also didn’t want him to see the way my expression would shift, becoming affection-filled and obsessive the moment I see Elias’ name.

“I mentioned to Tina I might be able to meet up with her tonight.”

“Tina…as in, your high school girlfriend?”

He’s got a dreamy sort of smile on his face. “We’ve been talking.”

“I think that’s great,” I tell him. “I don’t think you ever should’ve broken up with her, honestly. But you know my feelings about that.”

He sighs, nodding. “That’s the thing, sis. When you’re young, you think you’re missing out on something. You think you have to date around, play the field…or maybe that was just me. But I’ve done it, dated a bunch of women, and it’s done nothing for me. It’s all just…I don’t know, quick, meaningless. Does that make sense?”

“Yes,” I say, far too quickly, thinking of Elias. “I’ve never wanted any of that.”

“My advice to you, if you find someone you really care about, someone you think maybe you want to settle down with…hold onto them.”

I almost reply directly to this, but my thoughts are brimming too fiercely with Elias, with how perfectly Hudson’s words apply to us.

“You’re not old, by the way,” I say, trying for a smile.

“Huh?”

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