Page 122 of Theoretically Straight

“I love you, too,” I say back, matching his volume. There’s a sizable surge of adrenaline as the words leave my lips, but not in a bad way. It’s comparable to how it feels at the start of a rollercoaster, creeping up the lift hill. Frightening but exciting.

Maybe I can do this after all.

“This way, Mr. Briggs,” iPad Guy says, impatiently waving me forward.

Caleb lets my hands go and waves one last time before making his way towards the rest of our crew. I take a deep breath and follow iPad Guy to the set.

“Okay, let’s get you mic-ed up,” iPad Guy says, waving another crew member over towards us. “You’ll be in this chair here on the right.”

I simply nod and step towards the chair. My chair. The chair that’s adjacent to Hudson’s chair. The chair where Hudson will be sitting in just a couple of minutes to interview me in front of all these cameras.

Breathe in. Breathe out.

While the new crew member works on attaching a small microphone to my jacket, iPad Guy continues with his instructions. “Okay, so Mr. Helter is on his way now. He’s going to brief you on the questions he’ll be asking so that you’re not caught off guard, but they should probably resemble the questions from the email you received last week.”

I nod again. I’ve read that email so many times at this point I could recite it backward and forwards. But that’s not going to help if I just black out, is it?

“As you know, this shoot won’t be live, but we’re hoping to get this in no more than two takes, so just try to relax, all right?”

“That feel okay?” the microphone crew member asks.

“Mhm,” is all I can say to both of them. I’m starting to feel dizzy, and suddenly, my throat is dry. Why didn’t I think to bring something to drink?

“Can we get a water here, please?” iPad Guy barks at someone else, and before I even have time to thank him, a tiny bottle of water is pressed into my open hand. I lift it up to take a sip with trembling hands. Shit.

“Okay, everyone, three minutes!”

Breathe in. Breathe out.

Caleb.I spot him in an instant because he’s already watching me. He smiles calmly as our eyes meet across the parking lot. “You got this,” he mouths to me.

I take another calming breath and try to believe him.

“You must be Theo!”

The all-too-familiar voice of Hudson Helter immediately grabs my attention. I spin around, carefully placing the water bottle on the ground beside my chair before finally meeting Hudson’s gaze. “Y-Yes, hi, that’s me!”

Hudson is grinning ear-to-ear—a genuine, friendly smile that warms me to my core. His jet-black hair is styled straight up in his trademark fauxhawk, piercing blue eyes taking me in as I stare up at him reverently.

While preparing for tonight, I had read dozens of other fans’ descriptions of meeting Hudson in person, so in theory, I knew he was outgoing, sincere, and good-natured. I already couldn’t wait to meet him, but now I was even more excited knowing he was such a great person off-screen, too.

What I had not prepared for, however, was the fluttering in my stomach and instant heat rising to my cheeks the second we made eye contact.

Caleb was right. Hudson is hot. Very hot. Even hotter in person than on camera.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you!” Hudson continues, reaching out to shake my hand.

I shake it eagerly. “I–uh, wow–the pleasure is all mine,” I stammer, desperate not to sound as cringe as I feel. The Triple H fanboy in me is screaming. “I’m a huge fan. Obviously. I mean, I guess that wasn’t necessarily obvious, but yeah, I’ve been a fan for…ages. Me and all my friends, we’re huge fans,” I say, pointing over to where Caleb and the others are standing. “They’re all here, too.”

“Excellent!” Hudson says before spinning around to wave at them. The crew eagerly returns his wave, and I’m pretty sure I faintly hear them squealing with delight when Hudson turns back to me. “I’m excited about this episode! I’ll mention this once we start rolling, too, but I’m genuinely impressed by the footage you captured on TikTok back in September.”

“Thanks,” I croak before taking another gulp of water.

Hudson goes to sit in his chair and motions for me to do the same. “Here, have a seat and get comfortable. Did you get a chance to look over the questions we emailed you?”

“Yes, sir,” I reply without thinking.

Hudson scrunches his nose. “Please, none of that,” he says with a chuckle. “I know we’re in the south, but you don’t have to call me ‘sir’ or anything. It’ll just make me feel old.”

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