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"At least they'd be reasonably good-looking," Jude said. "If they looked like her, that is. Or their Aunt Mel."
"I hear no lie in that statement," I said. "They wouldn't want my goofy looks."
"You said it," Jude agreed. "To be fair, no one would want mine either."
"No one would want your what?" Mel asked, coming up behind him and putting an arm around his shoulders.
"Used nose hairs," Jude replied immediately.
I grimaced. How in heck did he have that in his mind to respond so quickly with it? No, I didn't really want to know the answer to that.
I nodded, playing along. "You're right about that. On the other hand, some people will buy anything if it came from someone famous."
Jude pretended to look genuinely interested. He propped one elbow on the bar and rested his cheek on his hand."So what you're saying is, there's an actual market for my nose hairs?"
Mel batted him on the shoulder. "You two are gross. I don't want to know what you were talking about, if it was anything like that. I should have known, with you two."
"You really should," I agreed teasingly. "You've been hanging around us for long enough." We'd both known Jude for most of our lives. And we still liked him. Miraculously, he liked us too. Who knows why, but he was stuck with us both now.
Poor guy.
"I really didn't learn, did I," she said with mock sadness. "I should have moved over to California when I had the chance."
"When did you have the chance?" I asked. Why was I just hearing about this now? Did it have something to do with her ex? No, she was talking about it with a smile on her face not the stabby look she got when she mentioned him.
"It wasn't a specific time, but I could have gone," she said. "I still might."
Jude grabbed her wrists and pulled them around his neck and over his chest. "Only if I go too. I'm not letting you go a second time." He didn't even seem to like to let her out of his sight for very long. Not in a possessive, stalker way, but like a guy in love he couldn't quite believe they were back together after so long.
She nuzzled her face into his neck. "I don't want to go without you. I love you."
"I love you too," he told her. He turned his face and kissed her cheek.
"If you're going to start making out, I'm leaving," I said.
Jude shrugged and kissed her mouth. "Suit yourself," he said between kisses.
I made a face at them and slipped off my stool to walk back to the other guys. My mind was twisting and turning like a roller-coaster. I needed to sit down with Hayley and talk to her. I needed to tell her how I felt. I needed to hear how she felt. I had a lot of questions and I hoped she had the answers. Questions a lot more important than the actual street value of a rock star's nose hairs.
As important a question as that was.
20
Axel
I didn't see her again until we got to the airport. Traveling with so many people meant separate transport, and Roman trying to hustle us through check-in as quickly as he could. Even in a crowded airport, it was difficult to miss so many guys walking together in a group, plus the women and our entourage. We stopped a few times to talk and take selfies, but finally managed to get through check-in and the security scan, and into the departure lounge.
I'd been sitting down with a cup of coffee for about ten minutes when Hayley came in, laptop bag on a strap over her shoulder. She looked tired, more so than usual. We were all tired by now. We'd sleep a lot of the way to Sydney. I couldn't help wondering if it was the tour that made her tired or something else.
She glanced around, I presumed for a table but none were vacant. Looking frustrated but resigned, she settled into a chair a few feet away from me and started to take her laptop out of her bag.
I exchanged looks with Jude, then slipped out of my chair and walked over to sit beside her.
"Hey," I said lightly. "Good to see you made it in time."
She paused, laptop halfway out of her bag. "Hey. Wouldn't want to miss the flight."
"No, I hear it's a long walk." I grinned. She smelled so good I could have happily sat there and inhaled it for hours. She looked even better, although parts of her ponytail had worked loose and her hair was sticking out a bit at the side. As far as I could tell, she wore no make-up, not even mascara.
