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My toes scrunch against his black and white rug. The big windows are dark, with the city lights glittering out there, and our faint reflections shift in the glass.
I look small. Nervous, perched on the sofa arm.
My dress looks awesome though, rippling down my body like a waterfall. Thrift stores forever!
“You look ready to flee,” Jude observes, walking over to press a bottle of ginger ale into my hand. “There. That should help with your stomach.”
“Thanks.” The sip fizzes against my tongue, both fiery and sweet, but the truth is, I don’t feel queasy anymore. Every minute I spend with Jude in this new reality, this world where we make out and tease each other and nothing blows up, I feel more and more settled.
This is… right.
This is how things are meant to be.
Me and him. Jude and I. In each other’s apartments, sipping drinks, chatting idly; leaving parties together and sharing a ride home.
What took us so long? Am I really that blind? That stubborn?
“So does this truce mean that you’ll finally clean your desk?” My heart pitter-patters as Jude draws closer. He swigs from his own ginger ale, the pale column of his throat shifting as he swallows, and I can’t tear my eyes away from him. Can’t even blink.
He’s so freakinghandsome.Tall and dark-haired and lean and broad-shouldered, with those inky blue eyes and thatdevilish smile. It’s a miracle that I resisted him for so long—a feat of extreme human endurance.
“Maybe.” He sets his bottle on the coffee table, then slides his hands into his pockets, watching me steadily. “Maybe I’ll find new ways to torture you.”
A shiver ripples down my spine.
And he sees it.
He seeseverything.
But Jude smiles, slow and teasing. I lean over and place my own bottle down with a soft thump, nerves squirming in my belly.
This is it. I—I don’t know whatitis, exactly, but we’ve definitely been building to something, and after how kind and thoughtful Jude was earlier… maybe I’m finally ready to do this. To trust him.
Maybe I can be brave too.
“Do you want to stop fighting all the time, Violet?” He watches me steadily.
I lift one shoulder, chewing on my bottom lip. The truth is, I’m not sure about that. Ilikefighting with Jude. It shocks me awake; makes me feel alive. Bantering back and forth with Jude Jenkins feels like bungee jumping. It’s a non-stop thrill.
But do I want it to get in the way ofthis? Of us?
Nope, I do not.
My feet jiggle on the rug. “Depends on the context, I suppose.”
Jude grins. “Atta girl.”
And… what he said earlier was true. Maybe I like bickering at work, maybe I like tormenting each other during normal conversations, but there’s a deep, secret part of me that wants to surrender to this man sometimes. To stop fighting, stopresisting, stop constantly trying to prove something.
What would that be like? How would it feel?
My heart skitters at the thought.
“We can keep tussling if you like.” Jude tilts his head. “Or you can let me be in charge for once.”
The apartment is silent except for the muffled sounds of traffic outside. It’s comfortably warm in here, but goosebumps raise on my bare arms.
I wet my lips. “Okay.”
