“Hey! It still works!” he laughed as he typed in his password. “Looks like the miracles are on our side today.”
“You call my bruised and battered body a miracle?” Jude asked with fake incredulity.
“Absolutely,” Nally teased him with a mock lascivious eyebrow wiggle. Or maybe it wasn’t as mock as all that.
A moment later, Jude’s heart dropped to his gut. Quentin had left a whole mess of DMs across several of Nally’s platforms.
“You might be bruised, but at least you’re still alive,” Nally said, still focused on his computer and not seeing the change in Jude’s expression. “Which, oh, is more than I might be able to say for my laptop.”
“You just said it was working,” Jude said.
Nally must have heard the tension in his voice. He glanced up at Jude with a frown of concern. “It turned on, but the screen’s all messed up. What’s wrong?”
Jude took a deep breath. They’d long since passed the point where he could hide things from Nally. “Quentin has left a bunch of messages,” he said in as measured a voice as he could manage.
“What did he say?” Nally shut his laptop and shifted to sit on the bed, wedged up tightly against Jude so he could look at Jude’s phone, too.
“Nothing new or earth-shattering,” Jude said, tilting the phone toward Nally.
He had Instagram opened, and Quentin’s messages were short.
“I should have told you I was coming to see you record at St. Luke’s. I’m sorry.”
“I love you so much and I know we’re supposed to be together.”
“You didn’t have to call the police on me. It was that asshole you hang out with, wasn’t it. Jude the Obscure?”
“He knows who you are,” Nally said, glancing worriedly up at Jude.
“Darling, everyone knows who I am,” Jude said in his social media voice, trying to make light of the situation.
Nally wasn’t buying it. He stared back at Jude with a flat look. “This is not something we can joke about. We have to take it seriously.”
“I’m tired of taking things seriously,” Jude sighed, putting his phone down. “I’m tired of worrying about every move I make and every word that comes out of my mouth.”
They both knew he was talking about more than a social media stalker.
“So am I,” Nally sighed, flopping back against the pillows with his shoulder pressed to Jude’s.
They sat there for a moment, staring at the telly, which was still droning on with another antiques program that neither of them were watching. Nally leaned his head toward Jude, resting it on his shoulder. Jude leaned into him, resting his head against Nally’s.
It was another sweet moment that Jude loved, but after everything they’d been through already in the last forty-eight hours, anything cozy and comfortable was going to put him to sleep.
“I need a shower before bed,” he said, straightening and swinging his legs over the side of the bed. “I haven’t had a proper, warm shower with real soap in so long that I’ve probably started growing mold.”
Nally laughed. “You go first, but save some hot water for me. I’m desperate for a wash, too.”
Jude nodded, then dragged his tired arse into the bathroom. Since they’d arrived later in the day without a reservation, they’d had to take whatever room was available. That happened to be an accessible room with a walk-in shower instead of a tub. Jude didn’t mind at all, though. He turned on the water to warm it up, then quickly took off his clothes and tossed them into a heap in the corner.
The warm water that splashed over him once he stepped into the spray was one of the best things he’d ever felt. It was so good that he moaned and turned his face up to catch the spray. His body was sore from his fall, his shoulder especially, but the water felt so good and the bath soap he pumped into his palm smelled so wonderful that he didn’t care.
“I decided I couldn’t wait,” Nally’s voice sounded from behind him a minute later.
Jude turned, eyes widening in surprise, to find a naked Nally not only walking into the bathroom, but straight into the shower with him.
“Fuck off, this is my shower,” Jude laughed, playfully hogging the spray.
“It’s big enough for both of us,” Nally insisted, his exhausted expression shifting to a smile. “Now, get out of the way.”
