Soundtrack for this chapter
DNA—Little Mix
Wanted—Hunter Hayes
Like Real People Do—Hozier

9

A few minutes later I returned to the kitchen and saw Jude sitting there with two glasses of champagne poured out. He held one up to me.

"Cheers."

I smiled at him, and he returned it.

"So, what's on the menu tonight?" he asked.

"I've got some pasta in the cupboard, and I have leftover marinara sauce in the fridge from a few nights ago. How's that?"

"I think in our desperate time of need, that's just fine."

Dinner came together quickly, and within twenty minutes, Jude and I were sitting at my kitchen island twirling pasta and working on finishing the bottle of champagne he had popped open. As we ate, I couldn't help but stop and think about the entirety of the past weekend.

Meeting Jude on Friday, spending three hours just talking to him and getting to know him, flashing to Saturday and thinking I would probably never see him again, and finally bringing myself to that exact moment, where we were rounding out an entire day of being in each other's company. Though I had really only known him for two days, in my head I was giving Romeo and Juliet a run for their money.

There was something different about Jude. I wasn't sure what it was, but when I was with him, it was almost like I forgot everything else; it was similar to the feeling I got when I was dancing. I forgot that I was going to have to get up and go to work the next day. I forgot that my family, and everything I loved, was half a world away. I forgot that I was still trying to get over the ending of my last relationship and the ending of the perfect life I had planned out for myself.

But maybe it hadn't ended...maybe it was just being modified.

Jude was telling me a story about a time he was little and his family had a dog named Jake. He told me about how they went everywhere together, and that even though his family has had plenty of dogs since Jake, he was never able to build a bond with one of them like he had with his first dog.

Jude had this way about him, when telling a story, that just sucked me in. I don't think I could explain it, but when he talked, I wanted to listen. My mind didn't wander, and I wasn't left thinking about what I could say next or how I was going to reply, and the words and thoughts that constantly invaded my mind seemed to cease whenever he was talking.

Perhaps that's why he was such a good actor; people can't take their eyes off the screen because they're so engrossed in the words falling from his lips.   

When Jude finished his story, I drained the rest of my glass of champagne and looked at our empty plates. "Is it safe to say you enjoyed my cooking?"

"I'm not dead, so I'd say you did a great job."

"Ha-ha. You've got a lot of good one liners, you know that?"

Jude let out a low chuckle. "I think I get those from my dad." For a moment, it seemed like a trace of some deeply held emotion flashed across Jude's face, but it was gone in an instant. "Here, let me grab your plate," he said.

Jude stood up, stacked my plate on top of his, and took them over to the sink. After he dropped them in the basin, he turned back and looked at me closely. His brow furrowed, and he reached forward and tucked a piece of hair behind my ear. "There, now I can see your face."

His words melted in my ears, and I could feel them etch into my brain. Or maybe it was the champagne. My head was feeling a little light, and when I saw that the bottle was empty, I realized we finished it faster than intended. I picked up my glass and his to put them in the sink, but as I turned out of my chair and stood up, I slightly stumbled into Jude.

"Right, let me take those." He grabbed the flutes from my hands and placed them gently in the sink. "I think we may have finished that bottle a little too quickly." The corners of his lips turned up slightly, and he placed his hands lightly on my shoulders to steady me. I hadn't noticed until he did so that I was slightly rocking back and forth, something I did when I was starting to feel the alcohol seeping into my bloodstream.

Standing there in my kitchen, with Jude's hands on my shoulders, and his eyes searching mine, and his dark hair and facial scruff making him look incredibly handsome, and my head swirling with champagne bubbles and mixed emotions, and sparks radiating from his touch down my arms and into my fingertips, it felt like the clocks stopped ticking and the earth stopped rotating.

Jude's eyes stayed locked on mine, and there were so many things I wanted to say and so many things I hoped my eyes would communicate to him, but I couldn't part my lips to say them, and Jude couldn't actually read my mind, try as he might.

His hands slowly slipped up my shoulders and found a resting place on either side of my neck, where I could feel his body heat radiating into me. His thumbs brushed against my jawline, and the sparks he ignited when he touched my skin spread throughout my body. He bent his head down and rested his forehead against mine, his hands never leaving my skin.

I closed my eyes, and I willed to stay in that moment. A moment where he was so close to me, and it was so still that all I could feel was our heartbeats syncing up, both picking up speed with every millimeter he moved closer to me. A moment that felt perfect.

When he made the final movement towards me, and I tilted my head to allow his lips to find mine, I felt more right in my body and in my current place than I had ever felt before. Any concerns I had melted away the moment his lips touched mine. Any doubts I had swimming in my head faded away into blackness. Any reservations I was feeling about if what I was doing was right floated away like the bubbles of the effervescent champagne we had sipped.    

When Jude kissed me, it wasn't anything aggressive. It wasn't hard or excessively needy, or rigid or stiff. It was gentle, and it was tender, and the way he placed his hands on me and applied light pressure to my lips with his own was different than any other kiss I'd ever received.

When he pulled back from me, he did so only slightly, looking me in the eyes for a lingering moment. He wrapped his arms around me and pulled me into his chest. I was greeted with notes of cedarwood and patchouli, and I inhaled his scent like it was the last breath I was going to take. I wanted that moment to be etched into my memory with all of my senses. We stood there, with Jude's arms wrapped around my frame and his chin resting on my head. He was the first one to speak.

"I hope that was okay for me to do."

"It wasn't okay. It was perfect."

His chest vibrated against mine as a soft laugh fell from his lips.

As I pulled myself away from him, I turned and found myself looking at Lily with a shit eating grin spread across her face.

A/N: Thanks so much for reading! I appreciate every one of you who takes the time to read my work :) if you liked this chapter, please tap that star to vote or leave me a little note! ⭐️