Trace + Olivia Series Boxed Set (165 page)

I finished my lunch and pushed the uneaten portion over to Jude. I’d discovered the guy was a bottomless pit. He never seemed to get full.

“So,” I smiled at Rowan, “graduation is in a month, and then your wedding is soon after. Are you ready?”

She took a deep breath. “I’m ready to be married, but not for the wedding itself. I feel so unprepared, and big parties aren’t my thing anyway. We’re trying to keep it small. But…that isn’t working out so well.”

“You have nothing to be worried about,” I assured her. “Everyone that meets you loves you. I wish you could see how amazing you are.”

“Yeah,” she groaned, biting into the sandwich she’d brought from home, “maybe one day I’ll view myself differently. I’m working on it.”

I was beginning to think we were all always ‘working’ on something to better ourselves. We all had our faults, and most of us were well aware of them, even if we tended to ignore them. 

I knew if I was a better friend I’d offer to help her out more with the wedding. But between finals and now a job, it left very little free time, and what time I had I wanted to spend with Jude. I was probably the most selfish person on the planet. 

“Hey,” Jude rubbed my neck in a soothing manner, “why do you have that angry look on your face?”

“No reason,” I forced a smile.

Jude didn’t believe me, of course, but chose to ignore it. “Are you ready for your last week of shadowing me?” He asked. “I’ll try to make it good for you,” he joked with a wink. He knew something had upset me and was trying to make me feel better. 

“I’m ready to be done with my paper,” I grumbled. I’d been struggling immensely to get it right. The day in the library where Jude and I went to get ice cream wasn’t the first time I’d had to walk away from my laptop out of frustration. I needed it to be perfect and my words kept falling flat. “But I’m going to miss watching you work and interact with the patients. You’re quite remarkable.”

Jude grinned, then turned to Rowan. “She just likes to look at my ass in my scrubs.”

“Do not!”

“Your cheeks are getting red, Tate. And I think,” he leaned closer, “…yep, your nose just got a little longer.”

My hand shot up to grab my nose, an involuntary reaction. “I’m not Pinocchio.”

“Oh, I know you’re definitely not Pinocchio,” he nuzzled my neck, and then peppered light kisses along my chin and jaw.

“Ew,” Rowan wrinkled her nose. “You guys are gross.”

“You wanted this to happen,” I admonished her. “It’s too late to change your mind now.”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” she muttered. “I’m getting what I deserve. The disgusting public displays are worth it to see you guys happy,” she cracked a smile. 

“Are you happy with me?” Jude asked, playing with a strand of my hair. 

I nodded. “Very happy.”

We stared at each other for a moment before Rowan interrupted us. “I don’t know which is worse, the PDA or staring lovingly into each other’s eyes.”

I picked up a leftover carrot and tossed it at her. It hit its mark, landing in her hair. She fished it out and dropped it on the table. 

“No more complaining,” I laughed at her.

She smiled and wadded up her trash. “See you guys later.” She turned on her heel and her hair swished around her shoulders as she headed for the door. 

“Well,” Jude continued to play with my hair, “we better get to class.”

I nodded with a small smile. “Yeah, class.” 

After spending pretty much every moment with him the last week, it was weird to spend so much time apart. But class was necessary, and after this week I’d see him even less. 

Oh God. I’d turned into one of those clingy girls that never wanted to part from her boyfriend. Damn. What an about-face from who I’d been before. It was strange—especially after spending so long hating him—but once I saw that Jude wasn’t the cause of all my problems it became impossible not to fall for him. 

We tossed our trash in the closest trashcan and then he took my hand. His was warm and steady, clasping my smaller one. Even when he wasn’t trying he made me feel protected. 

Instead of going separate ways, he walked me to class. Even in high school I’d never had a boy to walk me to class. It seemed Jude was making up for both of our lost time.

On the way we passed the spot where the guy had hit Jude, which led to our first kiss. That was the beginning of the end for me. Although, I thought he probably already had me before then.

Jude released my hand when we reached the building my next class was held in. “See you soon.” He lowered his head and lightly brushed his lips against mine. It wasn’t even a real kiss, but my body didn’t seem to know that. My fingers clasped his shirt and I leaned into him, letting out a soft moan. Jude made me crazy in the best possible way.

He chuckled and removed my fingers from his shirt. He kissed the tops of both of my hands before releasing them. 

“Keep reacting to me like that,” he leaned forward, growling low in my ear, “and I’ll take you right here, right now.”

Oh God. A few weeks ago I would’ve slapped him and run away for saying such a thing, but right now…I was tempted to take him up on it.

“You’re not protesting, I like that,” he kissed the skin below my ear, “that’s progress.”

My blood roared in my ears. “Jude,” I panted his name.

“Later,” he said promisingly as he pulled away.

Immediately, I missed the warmth of his body. 

I watched him walk away, a part of me in disbelief that he was mine.

“It’ll never last.” My head whipped toward the sound of the voice and found a gorgeous girl standing beside me. She had glossy, wavy black hair, dark eyes, and golden sun-kissed skin. “He’ll fuck you and leave you just like the rest. It’s what he does. And let’s face it,” she looked me up and down with a sneer on her lips, “when he does settle down it won’t be with someone like you.”

Knowing she’d made her point, she flounced away before I could reply. I was tempted to run after and claw her eyes out, but I reigned in my anger. She was just a jealous bitch and nothing to me. 

But that didn’t stop the sting of her words or the pain I felt because of them.

Was she right? Would he leave me?

I’d avoided relationships for this very reason—I couldn’t bear the thought of having my heart broken—but I was in too deep now to turn tail and run.

But she made me wonder, would we get a fairytale ending, driving off into the sunset like those old movies, or were we destined to go up in flames?

“SOMETHING’S BOTHERING YOU,” JUDE commented as we walked to his truck.

“Just thinking about my paper.” Lie. I was still obsessing over what that girl told me. I couldn’t seem to get the words to stop playing on repeat inside my head. 

“Oh,” Jude shrugged, “stop worrying so much about it. You’ll get it right.”

I forced a smile, trying my hardest to make it believable, and said, “I hope you’re right.” I had to play along the best I could. There was no way I was telling him what she told me.

Before either of us could say anything else my feet went out from under me and I was down on the ground.

Jude surprised me by not laughing. Instead he quickly bent down to make sure I was okay. “Tatum, are you hurt?” He asked, eyeing the knees of my now scuffed jeans. My hands were red and scratched from the concrete but I was otherwise unharmed.

“Oops, sorry.” I looked up in time to see the girl from earlier breeze past us, laughing with her friends. “I didn’t see you there.”

Jude helped me up and didn’t release his hold on me. “Brooke,” Jude called after her. His chest heaved violently with barely contained anger. “Apologize.”

Brooke paused, her glossy hair bouncing around her shoulders. “Why don’t you call me when you’re done playing house and then I’ll apologize? All. Night. Long.” The meaning in her words was clear. 

Jude’s hold on my hands tightened as he tried to restrain himself from going after her.

With a satisfied smirk she flounced away with her friends.

Jude finally released me and I rubbed my hands on my jeans to displace the gravel clinging to the palms. 

“I’ve never wanted to hit a woman until now,” Jude growled, a muscle in his jaw twitching. “She had no right to talk to you like that.” Intense brown eyes met mine.

I dipped my head and muttered, “It’s fine.”

“No,” he lifted my chin, “it’s most definitely not fine.”

I shook my head. “This was bound happen,” I sighed. “People aren’t pleased to see the campus playboy settle down. I expected it.” Not to this degree, but he didn’t need to know about that.

Two confrontations with Brooke—at least I knew her name now—sounded a bit fishy to me. Was she really that desperate that she was purposely seeking me out? Were people that pathetic? 

“Here, let me see your hands.”

I reluctantly held out my hands for him to inspect. 

“Good, nothing’s cut. Just a few scrapes. They’ll be tender though.” He met my eyes once more. “God, Tate, I’m so sorry.”

I shrugged. “It wasn’t your fault.”

“Yeah, it was.”

I suppose, in a way, he was responsible, but I didn’t see it that way. “She’s just jealous,” I replied. “It’s not a big deal.” I tried my best to play it off. I didn’t want him to see how much it affected me. 

Jude put a guiding hand against my waist and we started towards his truck. He hadn’t changed into his scrubs yet. I wouldn’t tell him, but he was right, I loved the way he wore those scrubs. 

He opened the passenger door for me and I climbed inside.

He was quiet as we pulled out into traffic, but then he said, “We have time to stop and eat.”

I shrugged. I didn’t feel hungry. 

“If I recall correctly, I owe you a McFlurry,” he chuckled, reaching over to squeeze my knee. He was trying so hard to make me feel better.

“Only because I threw it at you.”

“Logistics,” he shrugged, pulling into the McDonald’s Drive-Thru line.

He ordered our food and parked the truck. I figured we were eating in the truck, but he hopped out, grabbing a blanket that he kept behind his seat.

I followed him to the back of the truck where he pulled down the tailgate. I saw what he was trying to do and took the blanket from him before he dropped our food. I folded it so it was thicker and then spread it out so we could both sit.

So far our April weather had been surprisingly warm. It was a nice change from cold, snowy, windy days. 

Jude handed me the bag and I dished out our food. Two McFlurries sat between us. Hopefully there would be no more McFlurry throwing—although, that would make an interesting sport. I could see it on the Olympics now.

“This is nice,” Jude said around a mouthful of cheeseburger.

I nodded in agreement, dipping a fry in ketchup.  

“Although,” he continued, “this does not count as our real date.”

“Huh?” I quirked a brow, eating another fry.

“You said I won the bet, which means we get to go on a date. This,” he pointed to the greasy fast food we ate, “is not a proper date.”

“It isn’t?” I asked. “What do you propose we do then?”

“Not sure yet,” he shrugged, his face growing serious, “I’ve got to think of something good.” He took a bite of his burger, staring out at the parking lot. “Are you free Saturday or Sunday?”

“I’m not doing anything.” Except staring at my computer trying to write this paper. I should’ve had it halfway done by now, and this week of shadowing should have been unnecessary, but I only had two paragraphs written and knowing me I’d delete them the next time I opened my word document.

“Perfect,” he grinned, bouncing with excitement like a little boy. 

We finished eating, and moved on to the McFlurries. 

“I have to say,” Jude started, “this tastes much better going into my mouth, than on my clothes. Do you have any idea how long it took me to lick those stains out of my scrubs?” He didn’t give me a chance to reply. “In fact, they didn’t come out at all. You, Tater Tot, owe me a new pair of scrubs. Should I tell you my size or do you have an idea? I mean, with as much as you stare at me you should know by—”

“Oh, shut up,” I laughed, tempted to flick ice cream in his hair just for the heck of it. 

“Alright,” he smiled, “I’ll be quiet, but only because you have this look in your eyes that spells trouble.” He licked ice cream from his top lip. “You know, you kind of remind me of a kitten. You look all cute and innocent, but you have claws.”

I lightly scratched his arm. “And don’t forget it.”

“Ms. O’Connor did you just scratch me?” He pretended to be shocked. “It’s like you’re staking a claim to tell all others to back off.”

“Maybe I am,” I smiled innocently.

“That’s so hot.” He leaned closer and pressed his forehead against mine. “But you don’t need to stake a claim, baby. I’m yours.”

Why did those words fill me with such relief?

I leaned my head on his shoulder, sucking the last remnants of Oreo McFlurry from the spoon. No one had ever made me feel as content as Jude did. He made me feel calm but I wasn’t afraid to let my fiery side out. With him, I could just be…me.

Jude finished his McFlurry and took the empty cup from my hands. “We’ve got to go or we’ll be late. Go ahead and get in the truck, I’m going to change in the bathroom here.”

I nodded as we both hopped off the tailgate. I grabbed the blanket and folded it as he threw away the trash and grabbed his bag from the truck.

I got in the truck and kicked off my flats, drawing my feet up to rest on the dash. 

It didn’t take Jude long to return. He tossed the bag behind his seat and we headed towards the nursing home. 

By now everyone at the nursing home—workers and patients alike—were aware of who I was and didn’t wonder why I was there.

Jude grabbed the chart from the receptionist and we headed through the building.

“Hey, Mr. Jenkins,” Jude chimed, walking into the room. I’d been shadowing him long enough to know that Mr. Jenkins was his favorite patient, although Jude took the time to know bits and pieces about each of the people he worked with. 

“Jude,” Mr. Jenkins grinned. “I was beginning to think you were never coming back.”