18. Hudson
18
HUDSON
I f I thought not seeing Mila for three days after coming back from Hawaii was torture, this misery was ten-fold. Ever since I broke up with her and never looked back, I regretted the decision every damn day. I missed her so much. It feels like all the light in my life was gone.
What the fuck was I thinking to not stand up for Mila—for us and our relationship—when I should have? I’m so angry at myself for letting this happen. I hated that I made Nelson upset, but feel even worse to break Mila’s heart. Mila makes me happy, and that should have been enough to not be a fucking idiot. Now that she’s no longer in my life, I don’t know what to do. I hadn’t tried to contact her. Every time I was about to hit send to a text message, I deleted it and when I pulled her number up to call her, I just canceled it, changing my mind. Who knows if she’d even take my call.
My phone rang, pulling me out of my thoughts. For a split second, I got excited, hoping it was Mila. I glanced at the phone screen, then my lips pulled into a frown. The caller ID read: Nelson . I haven’t spoken to him since the day he caught Mila and I together—in our state of undress, nonetheless.
“Hey man, what’s up?” I answered, trying to mask the bitterness in my voice, hoping I didn’t sound fake to him.
“Hey, Hudson, nothing much. Umm…so I wanted to talk to you about what happened last week,” Nelson started.
“Okay,” I responded, not sure where our conversation was headed.
“What you did—with my daughter, no less—was wrong.” His voice was low. “I can’t believe you’re sleeping with Mila,” he said, anger laced in his tone.
“I’m sorry?—”
“I’m not done,” he interrupted, voice stern.
I swallowed the lump in my throat. “Okay.”
“Catching my best friend and my daughter fucking is something that’s ingrained in my head now. What were you fucking thinking?” he asked.
I was ready to confess my feelings for Mila to her father. “I’m sorry, Nelson. Mila and I didn’t plan to get together, but we did. I like your daughter—hell, I love her—more than any other woman I’ve been with. I want to be with Mila, but I also didn’t want to betray you?—”
“But you did. It was like you punched and knocked the wind out of me,” Nelson said, his words filled with disappointment and pain.
“I’ll fight to be with Mila, that’s if she wants to take me back. If you can’t accept it now, then I hope you’ll accept it later,” I told him. “You’re important to me and to Mila. We’d hate to not have you in our lives.”
There was a long pause, then a loud sigh.
“If you and Mila are really serious about being together, I’ll do my best to accept it,” he told me, making me grin that he was going to try to consent to my relationship with Mila. “I went to see Mila yesterday and she’s still upset with us. You should try to talk to her if you really want to make it work.”
His advice surprised me. It was baby steps to reconciling our friendship.
“I’m serious about Mila and I…I’ll call her. Thanks, man,” I said.
Nelson cleared his throat, pausing for a moment. “So…do you want to hit the green tomorrow with me and some of the other guys?” he asked, extending an olive branch.
“Yeah, that sounds like fun,” I told him, a small smile creeping upon my face.
“Great, I’ll text you the place we’re going to play at. Let’s meet up at nine o’clock,” he said.
“I’ll see you then,” I said.
“See you tomorrow,” he said, then hung up the call.
I let out a deep sigh, feeling a like a weight was lifted off my shoulders after my conversation with my best friend.
I pulled out my phone and didn’t hesitate to call Mila. The phone rang once and was sent to voicemail. I frowned.
“Hi, Mila, it’s Hudson. Can you call me please? I think we should talk. Okay, bye.” I left a voice message, then texted her.
HUDSON
Hi, Mila. I tried calling you, but I guess you’re busy, so I left a message. Please call me.
MILA
You made it clear that you don’t want to be with me. Just leave me alone.
She responded. Not with what I wanted to hear, but at least she responded. I tried calling her again, but it went straight to voicemail.
HUDSON
Please, Mila, can we talk? I need to hear your voice.
I waited for her to respond, but after fifteen minutes, she didn’t. I texted a few more times, but still nothing. Did she block me?
“This is fucking ridiculous,” I muttered.
I got up and went into my bedroom, going through my closet and pulling out dark wash jeans and a dress shirt. In effort to make myself to feel better, I decided to go out tonight. I wasn’t going to ask Nelson or any of our guy friends to come out with me. I’m doing this for me, in an attempt to not think about how I messed up something that was so good in my life. I threw what we had away and don’t think I’d ever get it back.
I changed into the clothes I picked out, rolling up the sleeves to my elbows and leaving the top two buttons of my dress shirt undone. After I finished getting ready, I grabbed my wallet, phone, and keys, then left to cruise a couple of bars and lounges in the city alone. I wasn’t going to hook up with someone, just wanted to drink and figure out what I needed to do to get Mila back. My first stop—Wicked Bar and Lounge.
I’m actually an investor for this establishment, and haven’t been by since it opened a couple months ago. My buddy, Lyle Williams, had this idea of opening up a swanky bar and lounge in the city, and he didn’t disappoint. From the look of it, with the amount of people here, it was a popular place to go.
I pulled my phone out, searching for Lyle’s contact information and called him.
“Hey, Hudson. How’s it going?” Lyle greeted, the muffled sound of people talking and music playing was in the background.
“Hey, Lyle, I’m good. I’m actually here in front of Wicked. Just wanted to check if you were here,” I said.
“Yeah, man. I’ll meet you by the front doors,” he said, then hung up.
I entered the lounge and immediately saw Lyle walking toward me. He was dressed in a black suit minus the tie.
He extended his hand, grinning wide.
“It’s good to see you, Hudson. It’s been a while,” Lyle greeted.
I grasped his hand and gave him a bro hug.
“Good to see you, too,” I said.
“What brings you by?” he asked. “Looking to meet some women?” Lyle chuckled.
I wanted to wallow in my misery of not being with Mila.
“No.” I chuckled. “I had a long week and needed to unwind,” I said, which was partially true.
“You caught me before I had to go. My wife and kids were expecting me home an hour ago,” he said, sighing.
“Well, do what you need to do. We’ll catch up next time,” I said.
We gave each other another bro hug and parted ways. I headed into one of the areas, pushing through the crowd of well-dressed people until I reached the bar. I scanned the room and it was a diverse crowd of all ages. I didn’t feel that out of place.
“What can I get you?” the bartender asked, raising his voice over the noise.
“An old fashioned, please,” I told him.
He nodded his head. “You got it.” It didn’t take long for him to make my drink and hand it to me.
I walked around the room, my eyes widening, surprised to see Mila here. I clenched my jaw, narrowing my eyes at the guy talking to my Mila, making her laugh. They were standing close to one another, flirting. Heat rose in my body, my hand tightening around my glass. Before it crushed in my hands, I set it down then stormed over to them.
Mila’s eyes locked with mine, her expression filled with shock. The guy turned to where Mila was looking as I closed the distance between us. I gripped his shoulder and jerked him away from her, making him stumble backward.
“Get lost,” I snarled.
“What the fuck, man!” The guy straightened and took a step forward.
I did the same and towered over him. “I said, get lost, motherfucker. You’re talking to my girl.” My voice was dark and lethal, my eyes focused on him and intense.
Like a puppy submitting to his master, he stepped back, then left.
I twisted around, facing Mila. She took my breath away at how beautiful she was. She glared at me, her brows furrowed, lips pressed to a thin line, then turned around, walking away.
I grasped her arm, stopping her.
“Mila,” I called out.
She spun around, shaking her arm to get out of my grip. “How dare you…you have no right, Hudson,” she snapped before lifting her hand and slapping me across my cheek.
I rubbed my cheek, surprised that she slapped me, but also a bit turned on.
“I didn’t like the way he was looking at you. He was eye-fucking you,” I growled.
“The moment you left me, you forfeited any hold you had on me,” she growled back.
“I know, but—” I started.
“I told you to leave me alone,” she interrupted.
“I’m not going to do that,” I said.
“You’re an asshole,” she gritted.
“I deserve that,” I said, smirking.
That must have set off a nerve. Her gaze was intense, her face turning red.
“You deserve worse,” she sneered, stepping back.
I wound my arms around her waist, pulling her against my body. She squirmed.
“Let me go, Hudson.”
Her feisty behavior was turning me on. Before she could push me away, I leaned down, crushing my lips on hers in a heated, passionate kiss, silencing her.
Her body stiffened, then she melted into me, kissing me back. This time, I’m not letting her go. I hope she’ll take me back.