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I sat on the bed closest to the window, claiming it as my own. I drew my knees up and rested my head on top.
Out of the corner of my eye I saw Jude remove his beanie and toss it on the other bed. He ruffled his brown hair and turned to look at me. I couldn’t read his expression to know whether he was happy about our sleeping arrangements or not.
“I’ll sleep on the couch,” he told me.
While that would certainly make me feel better, I didn’t want Jude to be uncomfortable for the whole vacation. After all, this was his break too, and I wasn’t that mean of a person.
“No,” I shook my head, and his eyes widened in surprise, “that would be silly.”
He looked like he was going to argue, but the sight of the comfy bed deterred him. He jumped on the one beside me and bounced up and down a few times before settling. “Hey, roomie,” he grinned. “I don’t sleep with any clothes on, in case you were wondering,” he waggled his brows.
And now I regretted my decision not to let him sleep on the couch. This was going to be the longest week of my life.
“Don’t worry, I’ll leave my boxers on to shield your sensitive eyes,” he continued, his lips turned up in a wry smile.
“You better,” I groaned, rolling onto my back and crooking my arm over my eyes.
I hadn’t gotten much sleep last night, worried over my decision to leave my mom alone for a week, and hadn’t slept in the car. So I was exhausted.
“Tired?” Jude asked, no doubt catching my eyes threatening to drift closed.
“Mhmm,” I hummed, counting sheep—it was something I’d always done since I was a child before I went to sleep.
“Me too,” he yawned.
???
We got up an hour later and ate a late lunch. Everyone wanted to head to the beach, and I cringed at the thought of Jude checking me out in my bikini.
I changed in the bathroom connected to the room we shared. I knew he was just on the other side of the door changing too and for some reason that thought made my heart speed up.
I adjusted the straps of my white bikini with yellow daisies on it to make sure nothing came popping out. The last thing I wanted was to give Jude or any of the other beachgoers a show.
Thankfully, I’d been smart enough to bring a pullover with me so I wouldn’t be completely exposed. Only, I’d left it in the other room…where Jude was…which meant he’d watch me
walk out of here all awkward-like as I tried to hide my body from him. It wasn’t that I was shy or had body image issues, I just didn’t like being stared at.
To stall for time, I braided my hair to the side, letting it hang down. I added a bit of waterproof mascara to my lashes and pale pink gloss to my lips.
I sighed, knowing I couldn’t hide in the bathroom forever.
I knocked on the door before I opened it. I didn’t want to get an eyeful.
“I’m decent,” Jude chuckled. “Took you long enough,” he grumbled, reclining on the bed. His eyes instantly widened, zeroing in on my chest and then to the soft swell of my hips. I held my head high and willed my cheeks not to flush.
“Yeah, well, I’m a girl. With as many as you’ve been with you should know it takes us a while to get ready,” I retorted.
“Not that long,” he winked, tossing his beanie up and then catching it.
“Oh, ew!” I wrinkled my nose once I got his meaning.
I opened my suitcase and searched through it for the heather gray pullover I wanted. It was more like a sweatshirt, but I thought I would need it.
When I turned around from putting on the sweatshirt, it was obvious Jude had been looking at my butt. I narrowed my eyes and he chuckled in response. He wasn’t at all ashamed at having been caught.
“You ready?” He asked.
“Hold on,” I held up a finger as I gathered more stuff in my beach bag. I pulled a pair of shorts out of my suitcase and put those on as well. They didn’t cover that much skin, but they did cover more than the bikini bottoms and I didn’t like the way Jude was looking at my long legs…like he wanted to lick them or something.
