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Jude
Ribbonsof dark hair fanned out around Tali’s peaceful face. Her pink lips were parted, breathing softly. A sliver of light spilled in through a crack in the curtains, creating a stripe in the middle of Tali’s body, while the rest was cast in shadow.
I’d been awake for a while, listening to Tali breathe and murmur, even though I’d barely gotten any sleep. We’d woken throughout the night, reaching for each other, fucking into oblivion, only to find that still wasn’t enough. The sleep I’d finally gotten had been out of necessity. I hadn’t been able to keep my eyes open, and Tali had been boneless and limp.
The clock on my nightstand said it was almost noon. We both had to get to work in a couple hours, but a big part of me dreaded her waking up. She’d look at me, remember the night before, and run. If I could freeze this moment, with her sleeping in my bed like it was the only place she wanted to be...I guess I wouldn’t. If I got to have Tali again, I wantedher.The ups and downs and complications. She wasn’t simple, but simple wasn’t my thing.
God, we had so much shit to talk through, but I was using the entirety of my optimistic reserves to hope for the best.
Tali curled into me, sighing and flinging her arm across my stomach.
“Mmmm...Jude.”
That sure as hell didn’t sound like regret.
“Stripes...you were singing to me again.”
Her lips curved into a smile while her eyes stayed closed. “I wasn’t.”
“Lines on my chaos map are starting to look like stripes these days,” I sang.
Her eyelids fluttered open, rich chocolate greeting me. “I still love that song.” She grazed my cheek with her fingertips. “I don’t mind waking up to you singing to me.”
Gripping her hip, I pulled her into my arms. “Whenever you want. I’ll write you a good morning song. It’ll be about sharing pastries and coffee and smashing the patriarchy while listening to The Beatles.”
She let out a throaty giggle. “My good morning song is going to be about all the things that happened on tour?”
Cupping her jaw, our eyes connecting, I decided to shoot my shot. “I’m calling this a fresh start. At least, that’s what I’m hoping it is. Fresh starts need fresh songs. And I’m really fucking hoping you waking up next to me is going to be a regular thing. ’Cause I have to tell you, baby, I know I’m going to have a hard time sleeping without you.”
Her breathing stuttered, making my heart clench. She started to say something, then stopped, clamping her lips shut. Her eyes traveled over my shoulder, then she flew up, tossing the covers aside, scrambling for her clothes.
“Jude, it’s Sunday!”
She yanked on her shirt, crawling around on the floor to find her shorts. If I hadn’t been completely confused, I’d have stopped to acknowledge how insanely hot she looked in that position. As it was, I pulled on my jeans and crossed the room, picking up her shorts and handing them to her.
“What’s going on?” I asked.
“My parents. They call Sunday mornings before they go to church and my phone is in my room.”
“Shit. Well…let’s go.”
I was shirtless, she was shoeless, but that didn’t stop us from running down the quiet hotel hallway and racing up the flight of stairs to her floor. By the time she jammed her key card into her door, we were laughing and falling into her room.
“I feel like a kid,” she said.
“Pretty sure I’m having déjà vu.” My arms wrapped around her waist from behind, pulling her against my chest. “We made it with a few minutes to spare.”
When I started to push my hand under her shirt, I thought she’d stop me, but she leaned her head back against my shoulder and brought her arms up to curl around my neck. I slid my palms up to her breasts, kneading them, and rocked my hardening cock against her ass.
“I’m about to speak to my parents, Jude.” That didn’t stop her from pressing her hips into me and letting out a soft moan.
“Isn’t it like six in the morning in New York?” I dragged my lips behind her ear, making her nipples pebble in my hands.
“They’re early birds. Church starts at eight.” Her phone vibrated on the table next to her perfectly made bed, and she broke out of my arms, diving for it. Before she answered, she turned back to me, smiling, and pointing to her bed. “Stay, please.” She sat in the armchair next to the bed, tucking her legs under her.
I relaxed against her headboard, my feet crossed at the ankles, listening to her greet her parents. She put the phone on speaker so I could hear both sides of the conversation, and her parents’ New York accents brought me back to a time where I’d thought they were going to be my parents. It had been a long time since we talked, but I’d recognized their voices anywhere.
“Are you eating well, Natalia Marie?” her mom asked.
