Chapter 27
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Ever
I didn’t move when the bike stopped.
Didn’t even think about getting off.
My arms stayed wrapped around Jude, my cheek pressed lightly against his back, like if I held on just a second longer, I could stay right there in that moment.
Safe.
Warm.
Exactly where I wanted to be.
The engine cut, the quiet settling around us, but I didn’t let go.
“You okay?” Jude asked, glancing back at me over his shoulder.
“There are people in there, Jude,” I said, lowering my voice like it was some big secret.
He blinked at me for half a second, and then he laughed. “Yeah, beautiful.”
I tightened my hold on him for a second before finally pulling back. “They’re going to see us.”
He turned more fully now, one boot hitting the pavement as he looked at me like I’d just said something confusing. “You don’t want to be seen with me?”
I slapped his shoulder. “Of course I want to be seen with you,” I said quickly. “I just wanted to make sure that you were okay with being seen with me.”
That seemed to hit him differently.
His expression shifted, something softer flashing through his eyes before he shook his head. “I’d much rather be naked in bed with you,” he said, voice low, “but I’m liking the idea of everyone seeing you with me.”
My breath caught. “Seriously?”
He leaned in, brushing his lips against mine. Soft and slow, but enough to make my stomach flip. “Dead serious.”
I smiled before I could stop myself.
I liked that.
A lot.
I swung my leg over and climbed off the bike, smoothing my hands down my jeans as I tried to act like my entire world hadn’t tilted in the past twenty-four hours.
I was wearing fitted dark jeans and a soft off-the-shoulder top that showed just a hint of skin, enough to feel pretty without feeling like I was trying too hard. My hair fell loose around my shoulders, and for once, I hadn’t overthought it.
Jude, on the other hand—God.
Dark jeans, worn boots, his cut over a fitted black T-shirt that stretched just right across his chest and arms.
Like always, he looked like trouble. The good kind.
The kind I didn’t want to avoid anymore.
He slid off the bike and reached for my hand without hesitation, threading his fingers through mine like it was the most natural thing in the world.
And just like that, we walked inside together.
The Social Club was busy. Louder than usual for a Tuesday. Music played from the speakers, the clink of glasses and bursts of laughter filling the space. The place felt alive.
Normal.
We headed straight for the bar. where Adley leaned against it with one hand resting on her growing belly and a relaxed smile on her face. Thorn stood behind the bar, already juggling three different drink orders at once like it was nothing.
Penny was across the room, weaving between tables with a tray balanced on one hand.
Adley’s eyes landed on us. Then dropped to our hands. Then back up. “I like it,” she said simply.
Heat crept up my neck.
Before I could respond, Mason walked out from the back, wiping his hands on a rag. “We need more Southern Comfort,” he said.
Adley wrinkled her nose. “How are we out already?”
“Because this is Wisconsin,” Thorn called over his shoulder. “It’s like water.”
A few people nearby laughed.
I slid onto a barstool, Jude staying close, too close to be anything but intentional. His hand rested lightly on my back, fingers brushing against me just enough to keep me aware of him.
“What can I get you?” Thorn asked.
“Vodka lemonade,” I said.
“Water,” Jude added.
Thorn lifted a brow at that but didn’t comment, already moving to grab glasses.
Adley leaned in slightly, her eyes dancing with curiosity.
“So,” she said. “Fun night?”
My stomach tightened. I opened my mouth to answer, but a girl sauntered over and trailed her fingers down Jude’s chest. “Hey there, handsome. Maybe we can pick up where we left off.”
The world tilted.
Jude stepped away from her instantly, but it focused all of the doubts that I had in my head. Every single one of them.
“I need to go home,” I said, sliding off the stool so fast it scraped loudly against the floor.
“What?” Jude said, clearly caught off guard.
I turned away from him, my chest tightening, my thoughts spinning out of control.
I was a complete fool thinking that out in the real world, Jude and I would ever make sense.
“Ever,” he called.
His hand caught my arm before I could take more than two steps.
And suddenly I was back against him, wrapped up in him.
Like I couldn’t get away even if I wanted to.
And right then, I didn’t know if I wanted to or not.
“This is too much, Jude,” I said, my voice breaking as I tried to breathe through the rush hitting me all at once.
“You need to breathe, Ever,” he said quietly, his voice grounding in a way that made it worse because I wanted to listen to him, and I wanted to stay.
And I didn’t know why.
“There can’t be a you and me,” I said, the words tumbling out before I could stop them.
“Why not?” he asked.
I laughed, but there wasn’t anything funny about it. “Because I’m just the fat girl who works at the Dairy Bar,” I said, my voice cracking. “And you’re the sexy biker who can have anyone you want. You just feel sorry for me.”
The second the words left my mouth, I wished I could take them back.
But it was too late.
They were out there.
Raw.
Ugly.
Honest.
Jude went still. “I’m feeling a lot of things right now, beautiful,” he said slowly. “But sorry for you isn’t one of them.”
“Stop calling me that,” I whispered.
“Beautiful?” he repeated.
I nodded, my throat tight. “I know what I am, Jude,” I said. “And beautiful isn’t it.”A tear slipped down my cheek before I could stop it.
He caught my face in his hands before I could turn away. “You’re fucking gorgeous,” he said, his voice rough, serious.
“Liar.”
“I don’t say things I don’t mean,” he shot back.
I shook my head. “I’ve known you for years,” I said. “You’ve never once called me that.”
“Because I don’t go around saying it,” he said. “Not unless I mean it.”
“Oh, so now you mean it?” I shot back. “Now that you know I had a crush on you?”
His jaw tightened. “Ever—”
“No,” I cut him off. “You don’t get to suddenly decide I’m worth looking at.”
He tipped his head slightly, studying me. “I’m not suddenly deciding anything,” he said. “I’m realizing what I should’ve seen a long time ago.”
“That doesn’t make it better,” I said.
“It does for me,” he said.
I shook my head again, tears blurring my vision. “What happens when you get bored?” I asked quietly. “When something better comes along?”
“That’s not happening.”
“You don’t know that.”
“And you don’t know that it will,” he countered.
Silence stretched between us.
Heavy.
Charged.
I swallowed hard. “No one has ever looked at me like I’m something,” I admitted. “No one has ever thought I was anything more than… nothing.”
His expression changed.
Something deeper.
Something that hit straight through me.
“You aren’t nothing, Ever,” he said.
“What about that girl?” I asked.
He shrugged. “She doesn’t matter. She’s nothing now. I have a past, and so do you, Ever. All I care about is what’s in front of me right now.”
I stared at him.
Unsure.
Unsteady.
“What does that make me?” I asked.
He leaned in, his lips hovering just a breath from mine.
“Mine. Everything.”
The words hit me like a shockwave.
Before I could react—
He kissed me.
Hard.
Deep.
Like he meant every single thing he’d just said.
My hands came up automatically, gripping his shirt, pulling him closer as I melted into him despite everything still spinning in my head.
It wasn’t careful.
It wasn’t hesitant.
It was everything at once.
When he finally pulled back, we were both breathing hard.
And then, a loud bell rang.
Over.
And over.
And over.
I jerked back, blinking as the noise registered.
Thorn stood behind the bar, grinning like an idiot as he rang the bell like his life depended on it.
“What is that?” I laughed breathlessly. “Why is there a bell behind the bar?”
“Hell if I know,” Jude muttered before kissing me again.
“Stop ringing the damn bell!” Mason shouted. “The house is not buying a round!”
Thorn rang it again anyway. “I’ll buy a damn round!” he yelled. “Jude doesn’t have his head in his ass anymore!”
Laughter erupted around us, and I couldn’t help it.
I laughed too.
Because maybe I had been a fool for liking him for so long.
But apparently I wasn’t the only one who thought he had been blind.