“Oh my gosh, the best day of my life!” Christopher exclaims and then proceeds to tell me about every single moment. It’s totally adorable, and my love for Jude grows with every excited word. He did this for this kid out of the goodness of his heart that I love so much. Christopher finishes his almost three-minute tale with a yawn.
His mom smiles. “He needs to rest. Please thank Jude again. He’s still giving the tour to Christopher’s nurse, but I needed to get this little guy home.”
“I will. Have a great night.” I watch them go and continue down the hall. I wonder if he’s still in the training room or if he’s back in the locker room. As I try to decide whether I should turn around and head back to the lounge, I hear a female voice. It’s squealing. The sound is coming out of the open door just ahead of me on the left. It’s the weight room.
I freeze. I don’t know why, but I can’t move. And then I hear a slightly whiny, very flirty “Come on, Jude.” Now I’m really not able to move. It’s like I’m made of stone.
The only thing that moves is my head as I turn toward the open door. I can see into the room, just a little bit, and I feel like I should look away, but I can’t. I see a wall and the edge of some kind of weight machine. I can also see Jude’s shoulder and part of his back. He’s wearing the red Under Armour shirt he wears under his equipment. His hands are on his hips, and his posture seems tense.
“I didn’t invite you tonight for this,” Jude explains sternly. “I was just being polite because you helped me out with Christopher.”
“Oh,” the woman says, sounding startled. It’s got to be Kina because Christopher’s mom said Jude was still with her. But clearly she wants a tour of more than the arena. I watch as her hand lands on his shoulder. “Well, you have my number. In case anything changes.”
He takes a step back, causing her hand to drop, and crosses his arms. “It won’t change. Hope you had a good time at the game. I’ll just get someone to escort you out.”
He turns toward the door and sees me standing there. He looks shocked. I’m finally able to make my feet move, and I walk swiftly by the entrance to the door that leads to the parking lot. He darts into the hall, I think to stop me. “Zoey, wait! It’s not what you think.”
I smile at him. “Yeah, it is exactly what I think.”
I turn to the security guard at the door. “I think Jude needs your help making sure his guest makes it back up to the concourse.”
Jude realizes I was going to get the security guard and nods at him. “Yes. Please.”
Kina steps out into the hall, looking a bit peeved. Oh, well. She ignores me completely and gives Jude her best flirty smile. “I meant what I said.”
“So did I,” he responds firmly.
The security guard steps in between Jude and Kina. “Right this way, ma’am.”
“I’m not a ma’am!” Kina replies, horrified, but she follows him to the door that leads outside.
Jude walks over to me. “I just want you to know that—”
I grab his face in my hands and kiss him before he can finish the sentence. It’s way too deep and passionate for a public kiss, but I don’t care. He doesn’t seem to mind at first either, as he wraps his arms around my waist and pulls me closer, his tongue moving over mine. But then he breaks the kiss first and glances nervously down the hallway, moving his hand to shift the growing hard-on I felt pressing against my stomach. “Jesus, Zoey, I have to get changed and shower in front of a bunch of guys now.”
“Sorry,” I reply with a smile that says “not sorry.”
He grins back at me. “You’re going to pay for that later.”
“I hope so,” I reply, and we walk down the hall back toward the dressing room and lounge. “I hope I pay for it for a long, long time.”
“You will.” He leans over and kisses me quickly. “I promise.”
Epilogue
Zoey
Seven Months Later
I smile and have to talk myself out of doing a victory fist pump because the doctor’s waiting room is kind of packed. So instead I text Jude.
Sold another place! Boom!
His response is instantaneous, which means he’s out of the team’s practice.
Aren’t you the sexy real estate rock star. Let’s celebrate! I’ll take you to lunch.
The Thunder have a week off before they start playoffs and he’s kind of been using his free time to follow me around like a puppy. Not that I mind. I like spending time with him, which is why I haven’t really been trying to find him a new place to buy. I know he doesn’t really want one, and I don’t want him out of my house. Living with him has been perfection.
