AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Oh,” he breathes, his cheeks flaming. His skin nearly matches his hair now and it shouldn’t be so fucking endearing, but it is. But then again, Jude’s always had a hold over me. Whether it was hate or infatuation, I’ve spent far too much time obsessing over him.
And here we are again.
Seems things never change.
Quickly, he moves away from the guy on the couch, the guy who is far too handsome for his own good, and walks toward me, looking bashful.
“Hi, um…” He turns around and addresses the room full of people. “Hi, Alec. Um, you know Lucas and Ollie, of course.” He laughs awkwardly and then gestures to the handsome man who he was plastered against just seconds ago and then the guy next to him who looks like a total geek.
Not to be rude, but it takes one to know one.
“Alec, this is Wesley and his boyfriend, Simon. They’re visiting from out of town.”
He shifts awkwardly on his feet and then sighs. “Sorry, guys, just….” He grabs on to my hand and leads me toward his room. His touch alone makes my entire body erupt in flames. I can feel the zing of it down to my toes and up to the top of my head. He’s making me crazy.
As soon as we’re tucked inside his bedroom, he locks the door and faces me. His arms fold across his chest and then fall to his sides immediately after, like he’s not sure what to do with them while around me. Is he mad I’m here? Is he happy? Relieved?
“What are you doing here?” he asks, his voice nearly breathless.
I open my mouth to tell him, to lay into him for not responding to my messages when I realize I sound like a jealous fool. I feel like one too, showing up here out of the blue, interrupting his plans with his friends. Fuck, I’m pathetic.
“Did you need something?” he asks, a trembling hand moving up to his throat.
I watch it intently and wet my lips. “Do I make you nervous?” I ask, and he shakes his head and then nods right after.
“Maybe. A little.” He sighs and then collapses onto the bed, his hands folded in his lap. “No, it’s me. I’m the one who’s making this weird.” Those blue eyes peer up at me, and I feel my heart constrict. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry I didn’t respond to your messages, and I’m sorry I snuck out this morning and didn’t say goodbye.” His hands move to clasp on to the comforter. “It wasn’t you. I really liked what we did. I really fucking liked it.”
I shift on my feet and slide my clenched hands into my pockets. “But?”
He swallows and glances away. “No buts. Just…I just needed some time to process it.”
I get it, I do. I shouldn’t have just stormed in here. I should have waited for him to contact me, but here I am, and I don’t want to fucking leave.
“Do you want me to go?” I force out.
He eyes me, his leg starting to bounce. “No. I want…do you want to stay for a bit until Wes and Simon leave?”
I don’t want to stay at all. Socializing with guys like that makes me nervous, although Simon might be okay. Shit. What can I say? No, come home with me instead? I can’t do that, not when it seems like those two guys out there showed up from out of town just to see their friends. So I simply nod and watch as Jude stands up and stops right in front of me, his hands pressing against my chest.
My heart thunders. I feel my entire body erupt in tingles as he brushes his fingers across my shoulders and around my neck, enveloping me in a hug. My hands splay across his back and pull him into me, my face pressed into his hair.
He sighs against me, the breath from his mouth tickling my skin.
“I’m so glad you’re here.”
He whispers it, soft words breaking against my neck. I pull him closer, feeling him tremble slightly before he slowly pulls away. His eyes fall to my lips, and he wets his own before swallowing roughly and moving to the door.
“Okay, yeah, let’s go mingle and then you and I can talk after.”
I nod, reaching out and grabbing on to his hand, threading my fingers through his. He glances at where our bodies meet and smiles softly at me. I have no words to explain what I’m doing. I don’t hold hands, especially not with Jude. That was never the plan. But I do it anyways. I hold his hand the entire night. I want everyone in this house to know who he belongs to. It’s a barbaric, silly thing but I do it nonetheless. And everyone seems to get the hint. Jude doesn’t plaster himself to anyone else but me. My hands are on him until we’re saying goodbye to Simon and Wesley. It’s so damn late, nearly one in the morning when they finally decide to leave, and yet I’m wide awake. Just being near Jude has my adrenaline spiking.
When Ollie and Lucas disappear into their rooms, Jude’s suddenly bashful again. He runs a hand through his hair, making it stick up adorably.
“Do you want to come back to my place?” I ask, and he nods.
I link my fingers with his once more and pull him into me, unable to keep my hands to myself. It’s a problem, a real issue.
I walk him to my truck and open the door for him. He slides in, and I shut him in before jogging to the driver’s side.
