Chapter Eleven
Ever
What the hell was I doing?
I stared at the clubhouse through my windshield like it might answer me, but it didn’t.
Same building it had always been. Same place it had been the handful of times I’d ever stepped foot inside years ago, usually with Penny, sometimes with Bell, always feeling just a little out of place, like I’d wandered into a world that wasn’t mine.
And yet, here I was.
I was parked out front with the engine still running. My hands gripped the steering wheel like I might suddenly change my mind and peel out of there before anyone noticed me.
“You are an idiot,” I muttered to the glass.
There were at least two places in Weston that could fix a tire. Probably more if I actually looked. I didn’t need Jude and I didn’t need to be at the clubhouse. I didn’t need to walk into the lion’s den just because he told me to.
But he had told me to, and I had come because apparently, all it took was one man with a backwards cap and a low voice telling me to do something, and I just… did it.
“You are such an idiot,” I whispered again.
I exhaled slowly, staring at my own reflection faintly in the glass.
I had Jesse.
Or… whatever Jesse was.
He was coming back tonight and he liked me.
And instead of leaning into that, I was sitting outside the Fallen Lords clubhouse waiting for Jude like—
A hard knock on my window made me jump. I let out a small yelp before I could stop it and turned my head.
Penny stood there, grinning like she’d just caught me doing something I shouldn’t be doing.
Which… yeah. Accurate.
I fumbled for the window button and rolled it down.
“Hey!” she said brightly.
“Hi,” I replied, still trying to get my heart to settle back into a normal rhythm.
We just… looked at each other for a second.
Her smile didn’t fade.
Mine probably looked like I wasn’t sure if I should be here. Which, again, accurate.
“Whatcha doing?” she asked.
Speak, Ever.
“I, uh—” I cleared my throat. “I had a flat yesterday.”
Penny nodded like that explained everything. “Okay.”
More details, Ever. Use your words.
“And Jude helped me change it,” I added, rushing slightly, “and then he told me to come here today at ten so he could fix it.”
She glanced down at my dashboard clock. “And now it’s ten,” she said.
I followed her gaze.
Yep.
Ten.
On the dot.
Penny laughed. “That explains why Jude was out of bed before eleven. Lately, he’s been drinking himself into a stupor and sleeping until noon.”
That… that didn’t sound like the Jude I had built in my head.
Not that I knew him well, but still.
“Oh,” I said, a little too soft. “Uh… I hope I didn’t keep him from… sleep.” God, I sounded lame.
“Hey!”
Penny turned before I could spiral any further and I followed her gaze.
Jude stood a few steps behind her, and just like that, every thought in my head went completely off track.
“Yeah, little brother?” Penny said, turning back to him.
“She’s here for me, not you.”
My brain stalled.
Penny’s brows shot up, and then a slow smirk spread across her face. “That’s a change,” she said. She looked at me, winked, then turned back to Jude. “Heard you were a knight in shining armor yesterday.”
Jude grunted something under his breath and started toward us.
He wore dark jeans again, a fitted T-shirt that did absolutely nothing to hide the way his shoulders filled it out, and his cut sat over it. The backwards cap was back, sunglasses pushed up on top of it for now, and there was something about the way he moved toward us that made my stomach flip.
“Don’t you have something to do?” he asked Penny.
She laughed. “Yeah, I need to get to the Social Club since Adley is puking her brains out thanks to the little baby she’s growing, but I saw Ever.”
“She’s here for me,” Jude said again.
Again.
Penny lifted her hands in surrender, that smirk still firmly in place. “She is all yours, little brother.” She leaned closer to me. “I have zero idea what is going on and I am more confused than you are.”
Then she straightened and headed toward her car, shaking her head the whole way.
I didn’t move and didn’t breathe.
Jude stopped next to my window and planted both hands on the roof of my car, leaning down so he was right there.
Close.
“Sleep okay?” he asked.
My brain completely short-circuited.
What?
He had never, not once, asked me something like that. This sexy man cared about how I slept?
“Uh,” I said, because words were apparently optional now, “sure.”
Which was technically true.
I had slept.
I had also dreamed about him… and Jesse. Then they had both turned into turtles.
So, whatever that meant.
“Follow me around back,” he said, straightening. “I cleared out one of the garage bays for you.”
I nodded dumbly because my brain was still stuck on the fact that Jude had run Penny off because I was there for him.
I shifted the car into reverse, backed out carefully, and then followed him as he walked in front of my car and around the side of the clubhouse.
And yes, I noticed him, because how could I not?
The way his shoulders moved under his cut. The way his jeans fit just right. The easy confidence in every step he took, like the ground belonged to him.
It wasn’t like I had anywhere else to look, so I might as well enjoy the view.
The back of the clubhouse opened up into a garage area with four large doors. Three were closed. The one all the way to the right was open.
He stepped inside and turned back to me. “Just pull in over the hoist.”
I nodded and eased the car forward, tires rolling slowly over the concrete.
He guided me with small hand motions, stepping back as I moved forward. “Little more.”
I inched ahead.
“Good. Stop.”
I put the car in park and turned it off.
And then I just… sat there.
“Uh, you gotta get out, Ever,” he called.
“Oh,” I whispered to myself. “Duh.”
I grabbed my purse and climbed out, shutting the door behind me.
“Sit in any of the chairs,” he said, already moving toward the controls for the lift.
I glanced around the shop and it was exactly what you’d expect.
Concrete floors marked with old oil stains. A workbench lined with tools that looked like they actually got used. Shelves with parts, fluids, random things I couldn’t name. The faint smell of grease and metal hung in the air.
“Uh, are you sure?” I asked. “I can—” Stand awkwardly closer? Make things worse?
“Yeah, baby,” he said without looking at me. “Just relax. I’ll have your tire done in no time.”
Baby.
I swallowed and nodded, moving to one of the folding chairs near the workbench and sat down.
I just watched him because apparently, that was my role here.
“Ever.”
I blinked and straightened. “Uh, yeah?” I tucked a piece of hair behind my ear, heat creeping into my cheeks.
“Your boyfriend gonna be mad I’m fixing your car?” he asked, glancing over at me.
My brain scrambled. “My…what? No. I mean, he’s not my boyfriend.”
Jude paused slightly.
I kept talking, because of course I did. “Jesse. He’s not… he hasn’t asked me to be his girlfriend. So he’s not my boyfriend. We’re just… going on dates. I guess. Kind of. Not… officially.” I stopped and realized I had just rambled like an idiot. Fantastic.
Jude looked at me for a second, then nodded slowly, a hint of amusement tugging at his mouth. “Got it, babe.”
I pressed my lips together and then tried to pull myself together. “How did you know about Jesse?” I asked.
He shrugged, turning back to the tire. “The girls mentioned him.”
Right.
Of course they had.
And he had seen Jesse kiss me outside of the Dairy Bar.
I shifted slightly in my chair, watching him get back to work.
He moved with the same ease he had yesterday, jacking the car up, loosening bolts, swapping out the tire like it was second nature.
I shouldn’t have been as aware of him as I was, but I was.
He finished quicker than I expected, lowering the car back down and tightening everything into place.
“All set,” he said.
I stood up and walked over, digging into my purse. “How much?”
He shook his head, grabbing a rag and wiping his hands. “Nothing.”
I scoffed, pulling out my wallet. “I know nothing about cars, Jude, but I know for a fact that it’s worth more than nothing.” I held out a hundred-dollar bill. “Take that at least.”
He stepped back, shaking his head again. “Nope.”
“Jude,” I said, a little more firmly. “You helped me yesterday and today. Just take it.”
“Not taking your money, Ever.”
“I need to pay you.” I paused. “Ice cream,” I said suddenly.
He looked at me.
“If you won’t take my money, then come get ice cream.” I hesitated. “Like… fifty free extra-thick chocolate milkshakes whenever you want them.”
He blinked. “Fifty shakes?”
I nodded. “Yes.”
He chuckled. “You drive a hard deal, Ever.”
“You’re not giving me a free tire and…” I waved at the car. “Whatever you just did.”
He grinned slightly. “Fine. Your tire in exchange for milkshakes.”
That made me feel better, even if it was ridiculous.
“Anytime I want?” he asked.
I nodded. “Anytime you want, Jude.”
Something shifted in the air.
“Uh,” I said quickly, stepping back, “I better get to work. Thank you again. For yesterday and today.”
He nodded. “Anything for you, Ever.”
God.
Those words from anyone else would’ve been nothing. Just words.
But from him? It felt like a promise, and that was dangerous.
I needed to leave.
Now.
I turned and got into my car, gripping the steering wheel as I started it.
He stepped back, guiding me out with a small motion of his hand. “Drive safe,” he said.
Simple, but the way he said it made my cheeks warm again.
I nodded quickly and pulled out, headed toward the Dairy Bar.
As I drove, I couldn’t help but think about him and the way he looked at me. The way he talked to me and the way everything felt different now.
I shook my head. “No,” I said out loud.
I was reading into it, that was all.
Jude had never noticed me before, and that wasn’t suddenly going to change.
He was just being nice and helping me.
Just… I gripped the wheel tighter. “Just being nice,” I repeated.
Because that had to be it.
It had to be.