He lowers his brows. “Once I’vehadyou? You mean once we’ve fucked?”
I nod once.
A wolfish smile creeps across his face. “That’s nothavingyou, Reagan. To me,havingyou means you’re mine, body, heart, and soul. It means we belong to each other.”
My eyes fill with tears. “I don’t want to lose you to this election.”
“Reagan?” a male voice calls into the bathroom.
My eyes widen in horror. It’s Tom, and I’m making out with my opponent in here. Jude puts a finger to his lips and nods.
“What?” I call out in an aggravated tone. “I’m peeing.”
“Oh. Why is it taking so long?”
“Tom,go away. There are teenage girls in here.”
I hear the door closing, and Jude lowers my feet to the floor.
“Go get him out of here,” Jude whispers. “I’ll stay here for the next thirty seconds.”
He gives me a quick, soft kiss, and our eyes meet for a second before I rush out of the bathroom.
That was risky. And now Jude’s stuck in a high school girl’s bathroom while I get Tom out of here.
“Tom,” I say, running to catch up with him, “I realized you’re exactly right about those changes to my stump speech. Can I run through the new version with you on the way to our next stop?”
“About time,” he mutters.
We’re walking out the front doors of the school when I turn to look at the bathroom door we came out of. Jude walks out, his head down. I exhale with relief.
It’s only a matter of time before we get caught. Lexi will keep my secret, but the next person to bust us might not be so loyal. We should stop this madness until after the election.
But I can’t. Jude means too much to me. I’ll have to keep risking my career for these stolen moments which aren’t nearly enough, but for now, are all we have.
Chapter 21
Campaigning is lonely.
It’s hard to imagine that’s reality when you’re surrounded by thousands of people every day. But even in the biggest crowds, there’s emptiness.
Seeing Reagan yesterday stirred up so many feelings. I couldn’t let her walk out of the high school without getting her alone. It had been too long since I’d seen her, and since Tom entered the picture, there’s been distance between us.
He watched her like a hawk as she sat by my side. Carl always keeps his eyes on me, but not with the same intensity. Tom wasn’t staring at her out of duty, but with want in his mind. It’s the same look I have when I’m with her.
Sitting in my bunk and staring at the ceiling, I can’t get the image of Reagan and Tom together out of my mind. They have a past—no matter how sordid—and I wonder how much of what brought them together in the first place may be pulling them back together now.
Carl pulls back the curtain and sticks his face in my personal space. “Let’s go over the schedule for this week.”
I turn my head and glare at him. “I could’ve been sleeping,” I say before rolling out of the bunk.
He laughs while he spreads out papers across the table. “I knew you weren’t. There’s too much going on to nap.”
I slide into the booth, set my phone facedown, and glance out the windows, watching the rows upon rows of corn sweep by. “Maybe I’m exhausted.”
He ignores me and shoves a piece of paper in front of me, tapping his finger against it. “We have a debate in three days in Peoria,” he reminds me, like I could forget. “I think this will be the one that puts the nail in Ms. Preston’s coffin.”
I push the paper toward him. “I’m ready.”
