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Tali
By the timewe pulled into the stadium in Austria, my original bus had been fixed, and it pulled in right alongside us. Tonight, I’d be sleeping on my quiet, all-girl bus again, but it didn’t matter. Those two nights I spent across from Jude and our morning wandering around Prague had been more than enough to crack my armor. Truthfully, it had been pretty damn weak to begin with. At least when it came to him.
“I’m going to miss my roommate,” Jude said as he sauntered out to the lounge where I sat, drinking my coffee. He paused at the kitchenette, pouring his own cup while he yawned.
There was something so intimate about all this. I’d never noticed it before when I traveled with Blue is the Color. But, for me, they’d always been like brothers. Seeing Jude with his messy hair and sleepy eyes, sweatpants riding so low on his hips, a hint of abdomen appearing when he raised his arms, made me feel like we’d just spent the night together. It was impossible not to remember the many,manynights and mornings we shared just like this. Maybe a little bit tired, but happy to wake up and see each other.
“Oh, is that what we are now? Roommates?” I asked, smiling over my mug.
He settled on the bench across from me, his own mug resting on his leg. “Not anymore, sadly.” He raised his mug to take a sip. “What’s the verdict?”
My head tilted to the side. “Verdict?”
“Mmhmm. Do I snore or what?”
His question brought on a slow smile. “I don’t know. There were some distinctly pig-like noises coming from your side of the bus.”
He laughed. “That had to be Hector. I’m quiet as a mouse.”
“Maybe. I guess there’s no way to prove it.”
Our eyes met, neither of us saying the obvious—that the way to prove it would be to sleep together again, only this time all alone. Some of the playfulness in the air wore away, replaced by a tinge of regret.
After a few moments, Jude smiled again. “You still talk in your sleep.”
“That can’t be true since I’ve never done that in my life.”
“You do.”
Crossing my legs, I leaned forward, elbows on my knees. “What did I say?”
“I heard ‘Damn it, Nick’ a few times.”
I sputtered with laughter. “No.” My cheeks heated, and I almost never blushed these days. “Really?”
Jude nodded eagerly, like he relished telling me this. “You did. You also sang.”
“Oh god, don’t tell me I sang a Hanson song or something.”
“No.” He didn’t say anything else.
“Worse than ‘Mmmbop’?”
“Nah.” He sipped his coffee, eyes moving to the window behind me.
“Jude, you brought it up. Now you have to tell me or else I’m going to obsess over this to my deathbed.”
“It’s not a big deal, Stripes. I just heard you singing ‘Compass’ the last couple nights.”
My eyes darted around the bus for a shovel so I could bury myself. It was bad enough Jude had heard me talking in my sleep, but it was far worse to know he’d heard me singing the song he wrote for me—about me.
“I suppose my unconscious mind is trying to work things out from the past.”
He lifted a shoulder, sunlight glinting off his hazel eyes as he met my gaze. “I’m pretty sure you’ve been the star of my unconscious mind since my conscious mind can’t seem to think about anything else.” He raised his mug to his lips. “I thought it was really fucking sweet.”
“And I’m completely mortified.” Hopping up from my seat, I rinsed my cup in the sink. “I need to get dressed for work.”
It was still early, but Jude and I were the last ones on the bus. The crew was already at work, setting up the stage for the show tonight. Jude didn’t have to go in until they got cables laid down, so he had another hour or two. And the truth was, my presence wasn’t urgent either. My orderly mind urged me to be there, run down my lists, tick every box, but I could have just as easily stayed on this bus talking to Jude.
