“Was there a girl?” Delilah singsongs.
Turning to face them, I lean back on the counter and nod.
Delilah continues with a smirk, “Did you wake up in your own bed?”
I shake my head wordlessly.
It’s not a surprise to anyone; I’ve always dated around after getting my cock wet for the first time at fifteen.
“Did she—”
“That’s quite enough, thank you,” Mum interrupts a laughing Grey. “Hudson, save some of the granules so I can make some more gravy in a bit. I’m going to take Noah and Faith’s dinners round later. Did Dad tell you Mollie’s under the weather? They’re not sure if it’s a chest infection because…”
Conversation flows easily as we plate up dinner, serving and sharing from the dishes spread out over the table.
I groan as the first bite of roast beef coated in gravy and a smearing of mash potatoes hits the pit of my stomach.
“Good?” Mum asks, her green eyes sparkling with unbidden delight.
“So good,” I say thickly through a mouthful of softly boiled carrots. “Thanks, Mum.”
After dinner, I scoff down two servings of homemade apple pie with lashings of double cream and then lean back in my seat, stomach full.
Pushing his chair back with ascreechagainst the flooring, Dad reaches up to grab one of the dark glass bottles kept safely on the top of the fridge.
“What are you doing?” Mum asks, wiping the corners of her mouth with a napkin. “Are we celebrating?”
Dad nods, now pulling out six crystal champagne flutes from one of the cupboards. “Hudson has some news.”
Six sets of eyes focus on me around the dinner table.
“I’ve got a new job… I start tomorrow.”
Mum is the first to jump out of her seat, throw her arm around my broad shoulders and hug me to her side. “I’m so proud of you!”
I don’t think it crosses my family’s mind to be anything but proud of me.
No one mentions the fact this will be my fourth gig in only a few months. Even when I came home each Sunday and told them I’d quit for one reason or another, no one made a fuss, Mum had simply given me a kiss and told me the right thing would come along when I least expected it and to keep on trying.
After everything our family has been through – Mum’s fight against breast cancer, Grey’s skiing accident which ended his competition swimming career, and the day-to-day struggles of life – I know it’s not a job, or money, or material things which matter in the end.
The champagne corkpopswith a bang, followed by the fizzle of bubbles as Dad pours us each a glass and hands them out.
He raises his glass. “To Hudson.”
Chapter 4
Hudson
I’m up bright and early on Monday morning, ready for my first day at my new job.
“Ah!” My boss, Michael, strides towards me, before I’ve even figured out where I should store my gym bag. “Just the man I wanted to see! Follow me and we’ll get your ID pass and locker all set up, and then I’ll introduce you to some of the team.”
Like the new kid on his first day at a new school, I trail behind Michael, heading through the main area of the already busy gym and pass the set of doors which lead to the studio rooms.
I try not to look in room number five as we pass by.
And fail.
