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Tali
Jude bent over,unrolling a cable along the stage. I stood to the side, partially blocked by a speaker, ostensibly using my phone, but actually watching the way the muscles in Jude’s back stretched the cotton of his T-shirt. My feelings for him may have been complicated but my attraction to him was as basic as it came. He was a beautiful man, and he’d taken care of his body, honing it into a tautly muscled work of art.
“Holy hell, that man,” Michaela said from behind me.
I sighed. “I know. Why do men get better with age? It’s so unfair.”
She moved next to me, giving me major side-eye. “Says the gorgeous woman who doesn’t look a day over twenty-five.”
“That is patently false, but thank you.” I bumped her shoulder. “What are you doing with your day off tomorrow?”
“Sleep. Pasta. Shopping. Isn’t that what one does in Milan?”
“That sounds about right.” I looked down at my phone—another text from Tino with the address of the restaurant we were meeting at tomorrow. “One of my good friends lives in Italy. We’re having dinner tomorrow night. You should come.”
Michaela’s eyebrows raised. “Really? If there’s pasta, I’m in. Thanks.” She tipped her chin in Jude’s direction. “Are you inviting him?”
“I’m considering it, but this particular friend was around for the entire implosion of our relationship and he’s not a fan. I haven’t told him Jude’s on tour.”
Tino would kill me. He had never wanted Jude and me together, and once we broke up, he’d never failed to voice his disdain for him. They’d been friends once, before my arrival in the picture, but that ended the night Jude went to bed with Claudia. Tino wouldn’t accept any explanation. He wrote Jude off right then and there.
I could forgive, but I’d been inside the implosion when it happened. I wasn’t sure Tino would ever forgive Jude, despite all the time and distance. He was a loyal friend to me, but when it came down to it, he’d also been let down by Jude.
Tino had been mourning Ben, just as we all were, and Jude hadn’t been there for him. Even that first night, when we were all in the same house, Jude had pulled away, completely isolating himself. And as far as I knew, he’d never, not once, reached out to Tino after that.
If he had, Tino hadn’t told me, which wouldn’t have been surprising either. He’d taken great care to exorcise any thought or memory of Jude once he was out of our lives.
“Stop thinking so much, girl. Just ask him. It’ll be more fun for me if he’s there,” Michaela said.
“So you can ogle him?”
She smirked, lifting her walkie-talkie from her waistband. “Damn straight.” Then she was off, barking orders to someone on the crew.
I wandered onto the stage, dodging a couple crew members, saying hi to others. By the time I made it to Jude, he was waiting for me with a smile on his face.
“Hey, Stripes.”
“Hey, Jude.”
“What’s up?”
“I did some research.”
He cocked his head. “Oh yeah? Care to share?”
I pulled out my phone, showing him the map I’d found. “There’s a park with basketball courts two blocks from our hotel. I think we should finally play our game tomorrow.”
“Uh…” Jude rubbed the back of his neck, looking both uncomfortable and disappointed. “I’m sorry. I’d really fucking love to, but I have plans tomorrow.”
When he offered nothing else, my heart sank into my stomach, and I nodded, already retreating. “That’s fine. We’ll find another park. My parents would probably be disappointed if I spent my day in the motherland playing basketball anyway.” I took a step back, then another. “Have a good show tonight.”
Jude caught my wrist with rough fingers, holding me gently. “I really do want to, Tali. Any other day, you’d find me waiting for you on the court.”
“You can let go. It’s fine.”
He held me for another breath, then two, before letting my wrist fall. His eyes darted between mine before they settled. “How about Paris?”
“What about Paris?”
