Natasha’s P. O. V.
I ate my ice cream and felt Jude’s glances on me frequently. I was so relieved to have finally gotten this out of my system. I wish I had told him from the start. He had been so understanding! It felt nice to have a shoulder to cry on. To break down and just let it all go instead of holding it inside. We sat in silence all the way till home. I went straight to bed I had a pounding headache.
When I woke up it was dark outside. I lay in bed with a smile on my lips as I thought about Jude and how he held me when I was crying. My ex-boyfriend used to just get up and walk away when I broke down. Some men were such jerks! Suddenly the light in the room went on. I turned to see Jude who was about to wake me up.
“Hey sleeping beauty”
“Hey”
“I was just going to wake you up for dinner”
“Dear God! Its time for dinner already?” For some reason this made Jude burst into laughter.
“What?”
“Nothing you just reminded me of my cousin when you said ‘My God!'”
I looked at him in confusion. He shrugged and smiled, “Well you are going to meet him tomorrow anyway so you’ll know what I mean. Do not freak out when you meet him!”
“Him?”
“Yeah, Sean’s gay” he paused for effect but I just gave him a wide smile.
“I love gays!”
“Er Natasha? I thought you were straight?” I saw him struggling hard to keep his twitching lips straight.
“Yes I am but I think gays are really cute. They are great friends to have.”
Jude’s eyebrows rose but he didn’t say anything, just indicated that I should join him for dinner. Dinner was a delicious beef stew along with mashed potatoes and jasmine rice. After dinner we decided to play a game of dominoes. I was winning easily, suddenly Jude yawned and I realized that he was really sleepy. I was wide awake because of my long nap.
“You should sleep”
“Yeah we have to start early it’s a long journey”
“Yep, go ahead I am not sleepy at all. I’ll just watch some TV till I fall asleep”
“Ok goodnight” Then he completely surprised me by kissing my forehead and that put a goofy smile on my face, a huge goofy smile.
I kept surfing the channels but didn’t find anything interesting. I sighed and opened the cabinet below the TV to check if there were some movies I could watch. Most of them were gory, action packed movies. Suddenly I came across this CD that had HOME written on it. I picked it up and decided I would watch this. I guessed it would have Jude’s home videos which would be amusing to watch. I put the CD on and settled on the couch.
A blank screen came up then suddenly it was lighted with a beautiful view of a beach. Suddenly I froze as I heard Stephanie’s laughter and saw her running on the beach. I realized it was on of their vacation videos. Then I saw Jude chasing her on the beach and lifting her and spinning her around in circles while Stephanie squealed like a child. They both looked perfect together. Why would anyone leave Jude for that pig Nick? Suddenly I didn’t want to watch this video anymore. I felt a knot in my stomach and a lump in my throat every time I saw Jude looking at Stephanie with his eyes so, so full of love! It was so evident that you’d have to be blind to not be able to see it! I found myself wondering why Stephanie had cheated on him.
And I felt myself wishing not for the first time that I had someone who looked at me that way! I had this crazy urge to cry but I didn’t want to give in to that urge. So I switched off the TV and kept the CD back where I had found it. I walked in the bedroom and saw that Jude was sleeping peacefully. I changed into my night clothes and lay down beside him. I stared at him. He was snoring softly which made me giggle and his mouth was slightly open and he drooled a little. He looked so adorable.
Suddenly he frowned in his sleep and whispered, “Why Steph?” I froze and stared at him. It was then I realized he still cared about her. No matter how much anger he felt towards her he still had feelings for her. Right about then I was filled with this inexplicable anger to take my pillow and beat the crap out of him while yelling, “What on earth is wrong with you?” I mean, couldn’t he see? Didn’t he realize that she didn’t deserve him? That he would have hundreds of girls falling over themselves to be with him and give them that look that he gave Stephanie? I turned on my side and tried to sleep before I actually hit him.
Jude’s P. O. V
I woke up at 7. 00 a. m just before the alarm went off. I turned on my side to see that Natasha had fallen asleep on my shoulder and had her arm around me as she clutched my elbow. She was clinging onto me like a child clings to their stuffed teddy bear. I winced as I realized I had just compared myself to a stuffed teddy bear. I tried moving without waking her up but realized it wasn’t possible. I sighed and fell back on my pillow and smiled. For some reason I felt peaceful and content when she was around me. Sure she had her crazy moments and her short temper but she was alright.
Alright? Who am I kidding? She’s smart, kind, caring, loyal, trustworthy and fiery! She’s gorgeous looking! Which jerk would not be happy to have her? I realized with shock that this was the first time I had noticed a girl as a person first and not her looks. This thought left me a little dumb founded. I looked at the time and saw it was 7. 15, if we were supposed to leave at 8. 00 then we would have to really get going. I shook her slightly to wake her up. She frowned a little then blinked a couple of times before finally sitting up.
“I am going for a shower we need to leave by 8. 00 Natasha, pack an overnight bag for you quickly.”
She nodded still sleepy, while I rushed throwing in stuff in a small trolley bag and left it open for her to keep her stuff in it and ran into the shower. As I showered I realized I had left my towel and clothes outside in my rush. I cussed and got out of the shower. I opened the door slightly and checked if Natasha was still in the room. As luck would have it she was still in the room.
“Natasha can you please give my towel? I left it out.” I closed my eyes in embarrassment as she giggled and stuck her hand inside the bathroom door as she passed my towel.
“And my clothes?”
I wrapped my towel around my waist while she got my clothes but this time she was in the mood for mischief just as I stretched my hand to grab my clothes she pulled her hand back. She did that thrice when I finally caught her hand and she squealed. I pulled her right inside the bath room and she thudded against me. I smirked at her as I saw her eyes go wide in panic. She stared at me with her green eyes. I saw her eyes travel from my wet hair to my perfect abs and stop at my waist and then she looked up quickly into my eyes and gulped. I brought my head down close to her and she gulped. Then I went closer and shook all the water from my hair on her.
“ewwww Jude! Stop!” She said breathing heavily. I laughed and let her go as she scurried away like a little mouse.
Natasha’s P. O. V
I ran right outside the bedroom and into the kitchen my heart pounding crazily. I quickly made some toast for Jude and I. Today was Mrs. Bowers’ day off. I had thought that Jude was about to kiss me. That jerk, I thought as I slammed the refrigerator door shut. Playing with my mind like that, freaking me out for the heck of it! Then I started feeling disappointed that he hadn’t kissed me. I mentally shook myself up and started putting marmalade on toast.
“Aw Honey you made breakfast!” said Jude.
I jumped as I hadn’t even heard him coming into the kitchen. I gave him a bright smile and said, “Don’t get used to it!” I cook when I feel like it.
“You call this cooking?” he asked incredulously. I shrugged and told him not to be a smart ass and eat quickly as I showered.
I had decided to wear a pair of jeans and a white knit blouse. It was really gorgeous with pearls sewed into it. I decided that if I had to get his parents’ approval I would go all out to make a first impression. I quickly dried my hair. I had ironed out my fringe where as I let the rest of my hair dry naturally so that they fell into a mass of curls down my back.
I put thick kohl and added a dash of eye shadow to bring out my green eyes. I clipped on white pearl ear rings and checked my image in the mirror. Yep I would totally take myself home to my parents if I was a guy. Jude walked in and let out a low whistle, “Nice!” I smiled and said, “Thanks”
“Are you ready to go?” I nodded and picked up my purse while Jude picked up the trolley, well dragged it is more like it. I glanced at him and admitted to myself he looked gorgeous in a pair of khakis and forest green shirt.