22. Jude
With his keys slotted between his fingers, Jude sprinted through the air-conditioned hallway of his apartment complex while shivers racked his body. After a lengthy run, all the heat drained him, leaving him empty and open to the cold.
Damp skin and his compression shirt fused together with no room for Jude to breathe, worsening the shakes. So, he nearly knocked the door down while he stumbled inside his apartment, seeking warmth.
He needed a hot shower and something to eat before he got too grouchy.
His fingers instinctively reached for the light switch, but the light glowing from the kitchen and dining room stopped him in his tracks. He swore he shut them off behind him before the gym.
Careful to shut the door silently, Jude slinked toward the wall between him and the kitchen, moving closer to the light in silence. The slight rustling from around the wall slowed him down.
As he peeked around the wall, holding his breath, the sight of copper curls tumbling from a ponytail and the embrace of sage green fabric against a body he knew all too well greeted him.
Giselle bent over the table with her arms filled with stuff, two large paper bags crinkling whenever she moved. She pulled various containers from the bag and set them on the table, which had two plates with utensils laid out. But Jude”s stomach growled in recognition before she lifted any of the steamed-up lids off the plastic boxes.
Dinner.
He hung his keys on the rack and lunged toward Giselle, snatching her into his arms. She screamed and thrashed at first, having survival instincts, but calmed down fast. Her head tipped back, and her eyes met Jude”s.
”It seems a dove snuck into my apartment,” Jude remarked, unable to hide his smirk. His grip loosened enough for Giselle to move, but she shuffled around and jumped back into his arms. ”What are you doing here?”
Giselle”s arms slid around his neck while his hands gripped at her hips, holding her off the ground. She smiled widely. ”I was in the area for a college visit, but I wanted to see you. I might”ve mentioned that I would be nearby, and your mom happily handed over her spare key.”
”Ah, I should”ve guessed my mom was behind this. . . I”ll send her a thank you bouquet later.”
”Mmm, aren”t you a good son?”
Giselle”s fingers raked through the back of his hair, lightly scratching against his skin along the nape of his neck. The stinging from the friction burned wantonly in its wake, reviving the warmth in Jude”s body.
She batted her lashes. ”I brought us dinner. You”re always making the trip to Del Mesa for me, so I braved the 110 and Los Angeles traffic for you. I hope you”re hungry.”
”Starving,” Jude hummed. ”You caught me at the right time. Cardio leaves me ravenous.”
”Perfect! I should grab our drinks from the fridge.” Giselle wiggled out of his embrace. Jude”s eyes chased after Giselle, pulled in by the slight sway in her hips as she walked.
Drawn like a moth to the flame, Jude studied every inch of Giselle. She wore the dress from her shopping trip with his mom—soft green and super glued to her body like second skin—and he couldn”t be more thankful for it. The fabric didn”t show off anything beyond the silhouette of her body. Still, all the fun was left to his imagination; his thoughts ran rampant, filled to the brim of fabric puddled around her waist or how pretty the dress would look on the floor of his apartment instead.
Giselle busied herself in his fridge, blissfully unaware of Jude”s eyes firmly planted on her cute ass. Halfway bent over and pushing onto her tiptoes, Giselle”s voice was muffled as she spoke, ”I”m honestly in awe of how neat your apartment is. Most college guys would have rooms like a dump.”
”Yeah, my roommate in freshman year was like that,” Jude snorted, leaning against the chair while he picked through the containers. ”After that year, I refused to live in a moldy, germ-infested room. I clean and do laundry on Sundays.”
”That”s kind of hot,” Giselle remarked.
”Yeah?”
”Jude, you”re like a unicorn in modern dating. If I had to get on dating apps like my coworkers at the shop, I would resolve to a vow of chastity for the rest of my life.”
”Well, we can”t have that, can we?”
Giselle”s response got lost somewhere in the fridge. The wiggle of her hips and ass when she pushed deeper into the refrigerator swallowed the remainder of Jude”s pride.
His body tensed until he approached the fridge like an animal on the prowl. His hands coaxed Giselle out and closed the doors. He pulled her to him, her back pressed against his chest, and their hips lined up. She whimpered, likely feeling his hardened dick pushing against her ass.
Jude”s fingers swept her ponytail out of the way enough for his mouth to graze, peppering the column of Giselle”s neck with kisses. The occasional nip and skimming of his teeth against sensitive skin elicited several noises from his girlfriend, all prodding at the growing desire blistering between them.
He hummed, ”I owe you a rain check from the other night. Something about a hot, steamy shower?”
”You”re right.” There was no hesitation in how Giselle”s breath hitched or how she spun around, backing him into the fridge. She curled her hand into the thin, sweaty compression shirt he wore. ”You”re all dirty from the gym. We should get you cleaned up before our date. . . I packed the food in thermal containers to keep them warmer longer.”
Good enough for him.
Jude”s mouth crashed down on hers, tangling his hands in Giselle”s dress. She parted her lips wide open for his tongue while he guided her from the kitchen. His fingers fumbled with the dress”s zipper, dragging it open in small bursts.
The dress grew loose on Giselle”s body as the two stumbled into his bedroom with its ensuite bathroom. Jude”s hands dove underneath the open flaps, picking at the clasp to her bra while Giselle”s hands wrangled with the waistband of his sweats, searching for the hem of his compression shirt.
Giselle”s whimpering when she yanked at his shirt kept Jude”s attention hooked on her every move. Jude chased the high found in the sweet heaven of Giselle”s mouth, driven to his knees for a taste.
Crossing the threshold to the bathroom, Jude won the battle against Giselle”s dress and shed it to the floor. He kicked it toward the doorway but focused on scooping Giselle onto the countertop.
”Stay here,” he panted into her mouth, letting her hands peel the sticky compression shirt from his body. His muscles ached from the quick movements, but Giselle”s hungry, half-lidded gaze sweeping across his torso muted the sting. ”I need to get the water started.”
With a pull of the dial, the hiss of water and the thud of the stream against the tiled floor of the shower filled the bathroom. Jude spun back, finding Giselle smirking. . . and topless. Her bra dangled off her finger by a strap, but she tossed it past Jude”s shoulder.
”I left the panties for you,” Giselle remarked, sliding further onto the counter. The limited space left her legs scrunched to her chest to avoid dangling over the edge. True to her word, her soft white lace underwear peeked from her squeezed thighs.
Jude chewed on the inside of his cheek. ”How thoughtful of you,” he cooed, inching closer while unknotting the drawstrings of his sweats. His hands abandoned his mission when he closed the gap between him and Giselle, too tempted by the cheeky sight of white lace.
Without blinking, his fingers grabbed the elastic and had the panties halfway down Giselle”s thighs, exposing the damp crotch. Jude pulled them down to her ankles and ran his thumb in between her thighs.
Giselle”s head tipped back, ”Jude, I—”
”Mmm, speak your mind, my dove.”
”I—Stop messing with me—”
”I”m not messing with you.”
Jude fought a wicked smirk while his thumb caressed Giselle”s clit, watching her hips buck and scramble to push harder against his hand. Giselle”s eyes squeezed shut, unable to do much more than suck in gasping breaths with quivering lips.
The mirrors began to fog up, damp and warm from the shower”s steamy torrent. Jude yanked the bathroom door closed while keeping his hands busy. He divided himself between stripping out of the rest of his clothes and slowly teasing Giselle until her thighs parted open.
Despite her valiant efforts, Giselle tugged against his wrist. She spread her shaking thighs apart, showing him the slickness sticking to them. His fingers made a mess of her pussy, didn”t they?
Giselle panted hard when Jude”s thumb spun in a loose circle. ”Oh god. . . Jude, please.”
”We”ve barely gotten started, but I”ve already worked you up,” Jude whispered, mouth dipping toward the shell of her ear. He nipped softly at the tip, and Giselle bucked against his hand. ”And I haven”t even told you how good of a girl you are yet.”
His words elicited a strangled cry and Giselle”s nails digging into his bicep, still humping against his hand for more. She pressed her forehead to his shoulder, all pleading noises over coherent words.
”You”re so pretty when you let go; no shame or shyness holding you back. Tell me what you need, dove. Tell me what my good girl needs.”
”Fingers. Or your mouth.”
”That sounds like what you want. I asked for what you need.”
Giselle”s eyes fluttered open, and she leaned her head back enough for their eyes to meet. Jude stared into the hazy blue while Giselle rocked herself against his hands, getting herself close to off but not enough to finish.
She mumbled something incoherent, swallowing hard when Jude”s fingers stopped rubbing against her clit.
So, she caved. ”I need to be fucked. Please.”
”Since you asked so politely.” Jude lifted her off the counter and opened the door for her to his shower. The bathroom of his apartment sat on the smaller side, but his shower made the best of the space with a small bench against the wall. ”After you.”
Giselle darted into the steam with Jude chasing behind her, barely closing the door before Giselle pawed against his chest. Their mouths met in the middle, and Jude hooked a hand underneath her knee.
He lifted her leg to hip height and observed the eager expression overtaking her features. The hot water thundered against his back and sprayed across the glass doors, dampening his body. Water ricocheted off him and ran in rivulets down Giselle”s body, perfectly built like the hands of a masterful artist painted her to life.
Fair yet flushed skin and dusty pink nipples hardened to stiff, enticing peaks for his mouth to tease. Copper curls curtained her face to hide the blush, darkening her cheeks from rosy to a shade shy of fire engine red.
Jude”s free hand roamed between her thighs and pressed against her pussy. He spread her open with two fingers and brushed against her entrance, hearing the slight change in her breathing. Desire pooled from every second passed between them.
Then, the crux of the release came when two of Jude”s fingers slipped inside of her. The feeling of her tightness clenched around his digits could bring Jude to his knees. But the ease of his first thrust brought him knuckle-deep, and he couldn”t stop himself.
His fingers worked fast, pumping in and out with little remorse at how sloppy his movements became. He observed Giselle, at a loss for words.
Her body quivered, taking each thrust of his fingers inside of her with such eagerness. One of her hands curled around his hip, but only for the leverage to pull him closer to her.
Giselle held his eyes when her hands migrated, and the slide of her thumb over the head of his dick broke his focus. She stroked his length with agonizing, deliberate slowness. . . a torturous opposite to his rapid fingering.
”For a shower, we”re not doing much washing,” Jude laughed, but the sound quickly devolved into a broken, needy moan when Giselle”s hands teased the head again, pivoting to run her finger along the underside. The slight pressure dropped the heat into the bottom of his stomach, pushing hard against every urge to be a gentleman.
The more she touched him, the more he wanted to brace her on the bench and bury his dick inside of her. He”d run his water bill into the fucking ground, spending too long making his name echo off the bathroom”s walls.
”We can wash afterward. I”ve been thinking about this shower since we rain-checked,” Giselle remarked, struggling to string sentences through heavy breaths.
”Since then? Fuck, sorry to keep you waiting.”
”You can make it up to me by helping me finish. I can”t get the job done as quickly on my own. Toys haven”t figured out how to make my stomach flip like you do.”
”Anything else for my favorite girl in the whole world?” Jude asked, smiling hard. Giselle smiled too and raked her eyes over him.
”I get to use your body wash,” Giselle demanded, pretending to think long and hard while their hands serviced one another. ”Oh, and I want to steal one of your t-shirts. . . one that smells like you for the week.”
Jude snorted, ”Done deal. While I”ve got you here, I”ve got something I”ve been dying to test out.”
”Oh, and what”s that?”
”The showerhead has different pressure settings.”
With his bare back pressed into cool sheets, Jude knew he had made a sound investment in three areas. He somehow bought the softest sheets in the Los Angeles area. He upgraded his shower head before he ever had use for it. Finally, he managed to land the gorgeous girl curled up in his arms.
”. . . and so, I told them that I couldn”t accept their apology right away since I needed time and independence to process everything. I know they”re my parents, but I think I”ve made the right call,” Giselle mumbled. Her head lay perpendicular to Jude”s chest, muffling her already soft-spoken voice, recounting their time apart.
Jude learned all about her parents and the long-overdue apology toward Giselle. Would it be wrong to be proud of her for not caving at the first sorry?
One apology couldn’t capture all the hurt those people put her through. Not a chance.
“And how’d they take that?”
“They seemed to accept it. They told me they’d understand if I moved out, but I’m not ready to go yet. I need to determine my next steps with college before putting down a deposit. Not to mention, I have Carrot to consider. . . My ideal place is pet-friendly, affordable, and has space for some indoor plants, but that’s expensive around these neighborhoods.”
Jude burrowed into the sheets until Giselle’s eyes became level with his. Stress dimmed her glow; he hated how she couldn’t rest easier.
“If it helps, I can go apartment hunting with you,” said Jude, hand reaching forward to hold her face. Giselle didn’t shy from his touch or avert her eyes; not like she would have months ago. “. . . besides, you and Carrot always have a place with me, remember? That place could mean here.”
“Jude?”
“The offer always stands.”
“Did you ask me to move in with you?”
“No, not yet. I propose moving in once you’re comfortable with the idea. Giselle, I’ve known for ages how much I want you. I see us in this for the long haul, so I’ll do whatever to make us work. I’ve spent too much of my life without you in it.”
Giselle’s eyes held his for every word, hooked onto him. At some point during his spiel, Jude’s heart had started to ache from the rough thudding in his chest. She stared at his face, and the silence offered no answer to him.
But the soft trembling of her lower lip and the watery sheen over her eyes did, louder than any words.
Giselle’s arms wrapped around him snugly, locking him into the tight embrace of her body against his. Her forehead pressed against his, and a gentle kiss on his lips sent warmth to brush from head to toe.
Jude’s arms coiled around her bare waist as the two inched closer. The space between their bodies dwindled to a fraction, and an almost imperceptible line was erased with the feel of skin against skin.
When the world faded to nothing, he followed behind the leisurely pleasure of Giselle kissing him. Unhurried, their lips passed messages of love and longing so perfectly unspoken.
But like most kisses, the sweet affection only needed a moment too long to linger for a spark to light.
So, the soft moan from Giselle upon Jude’s hand sliding down her back prodded at arousal satiated from the shower. He gripped her tightly, predictably, and utterly wrapped around her finger.
Giselle’s legs moved through the sheets, encouraging Jude to brace for their approach. However, the expected graze of her legs against his or the toss of one leg over his hips never came to pass. Instead, her legs hooked around him and rocked them to seated.
Jude sat up with the sheets loosely discarded around his ankles and Giselle’s legs straddling around one thigh, pinning him down to the bed. Their eyes met as Giselle rutted her hips along Jude’s thigh, moving her hips.
“If we moved in together—hypothetically—does that mean we could do this whenever and wherever we wanted?” Giselle asked, but she knew the answer. Jude knew the answer, too. If he ever said no, then he’d lost his mind.
”Don”t forget, as often as we want.” Jude”s hands walked down the curved slope of her hips while Giselle”s grinding against his thigh took to a loose rhythm. He grabbed her hips between his hands, eliciting a gasp from Giselle. ”Which would be very often.”
”So often.”
”Arch your back, and don”t stop moving those hips, or I”ll move them for you.”
Giselle”s head lolled back, but she obeyed. Her once gentle rocking abandoned all pretense for a rough, needy riding of his thigh. Jude hummed, and his head dipped down to her chest. He swirled one of her nipples into his mouth with his hot tongue, sucking hard until he felt Giselle”s hips stutter.
Giselle moaned, ”Can—can you bounce your thigh? I”m not hitting the right spot—not yet—”
Jude released her nipple with a wet ”pop” and smirked. ”You asked so nicely. . . of course.”
His hands grasped at her ass to help Giselle ride his thigh, bouncing his thigh to the creaking of the mattress. Giselle”s whiny noises accompanied the sounds while she arched her back. Her chest thrust back into Jude”s reach, and his mouth latched onto her other nipple, not wanting to neglect her perfect breasts.
”Oh fuck—” Giselle”s fingers sliding into Jude”s hair pushed him deeper into her chest, earning a few extra kisses to her collar and breasts. He marked her skin as his, laying heated touches with his tongue to soothe over any sting.
”There”s my sweet dove. You always come out of hiding when you”re close to finishing.”
Jude”s fingers dug harder into his grip at Giselle”s incoherent, whimpering response. Watching her bounce on his thigh and fuck herself to orgasm could make him finish untouched. That”s how badly she had him wrapped around her finger.
But before he could do more, a sharp knocking from the front door interrupted the heart of the moment. He and Giselle paused, and their eyes met one another.
”. . . we can ignore it,” Giselle said.
”Oh, yeah.” Jude nodded. ”It”s probably nothing.”
Giselle lifted her hips a little off his now damp thigh and chewed on her lip, about to say something else. Yet the knocking interrupted again with more urgency than before.
Jude hissed, and his head slumped back. ”I”ll go see who it is. It shouldn”t be more than a moment, okay?”
”Okay. I”ll be waiting,” Giselle agreed and climbed under the sheets without much protest. Although, the disappointed expression on her face likely mirrored the annoyance on his.
Jude scrambled to grab his gym sweats from off the floor and the towel he and Giselle shared after the shower. He jumped into the sweatpants, slung the towel around his neck, and left his bedroom.
It better be a life-or-death emergency, or whoever interrupted his and Giselle”s time would owe him big time.
Tossing the front door of his apartment open, the faces of Levi, Grace, Shakir, and Billie stared at Jude with a range of conflicting emotions. Shock and smiles mostly, considering that he answered the door shirtless and in a likely disheveled state.
”Uh. . . hi,” said Jude.
”Sorry to interrupt,” Grace cleared her throat while the others awkwardly stood behind her in the hallway. ”We were in the area since we finished our papers for the seminar. We thought we should swing by and ask if you wanted to join us in celebration and shake any last-minute nerves about tomorrow.”
”Oh. I didn”t think about celebrating. . . at least not until the final is completely over.” Jude examined their attire. The sight of glitter, mesh, ripped jeans, and other ”party” attire compared to their buttoned-up daywear screamed clubbing and too much alcohol to function for tomorrow.
”That”s fair. We thought to ask still!” Billie shrugged.
”Jude would be smart enough to decline,” Levi coughed, earning an elbow from Shakir and a glare from Grace.
”Then stay home!” Grace scoffed, rolling her eyes before she turned back to Jude. He planned his goodbyes when he saw his classmates” eyes wander past his shoulder. The creak of the floor behind him gave Giselle”s presence away before her voice called out.
”Jude, who”s at the door?”
”Uh, some of my classmates from seminar class.”
He glanced over his shoulder, seeing Giselle in his favorite bathrobe drawn tightly. She moved hesitantly toward him and stared past him at his classmates, who, upon a second glance, were all smiling.
”Is this the girlfriend you can”t stop talking about?” Shakir asked, which prompted several excited gasps from the others.
”Yes,” Jude sighed, beckoning Giselle to his side. He wrapped his arm around her. ”Giselle, this is Levi, Billie, Shakir, and Grace. Everyone, this is Giselle.”
”It”s lovely to meet you,” Giselle squeaked, and Jude could feel the embarrassment. A bathrobe wasn”t the ideal meeting outfit, but Giselle looked great in everything and not a damn thing.
”You too! Jude wasn”t lying when he told everyone how gorgeous you are! His words were. . . ‘she looks like the first day of spring after the winter.’ Also, something about a garden goddess and the light of his life,” Billie giggled.
The heat of Giselle”s eyes against his skin urged Jude to rush the conversation and shut the door, but he smiled. ”Thanks for the offer, but I”ll be staying in tonight.”
”Of course.” Levi nodded. ”Is Giselle coming to watch you tomorrow?”
”What”s tomorrow?” Giselle peered at Jude.
Jude, scratching his neck, said, ”Uh. . . tomorrow is the presentation for my term paper. Everyone has to present research findings to a panel and defend their point of view. It”s practice for future thesis or dissertation defenses.”
”And the professor welcomes spectators to watch!” Shakir added with a playful wag of his fingers.
Giselle popped into Jude”s view, mouth ajar. ”I”m coming! I”ll call off work since some people owe me for past shifts I”ve covered. I”m going to be there.”
”Giselle, you don”t have to.” Jude grimaced. He didn”t want her bored out of her mind while she listened to dry policy speeches.
”Too bad. I want to.” Giselle turned to his classmates. ”Do I need to bring anything special?”
”Not really. The dress code is a little more formal, but I”m sure Jude will guide you on what that means. Beyond that, you”ll need your ID to get onto campus for the event,” Levi said.
”Perfect. I will see you all tomorrow. Have a great time tonight!” Giselle beamed, waving like a perfect angel. On cue, the others stepped away from the door with their waves and shuffled down the hall.
As Jude shut the door, he and Giselle met each other”s eyes. His hand reached for her chin, lifting it. ”Now, where were we?”
”The part where I take your mind off that presentation.”
”Absolutely. Come here.”