It was getting late and Wade and Sean decided to leave. Natasha was staying over tonight. She kissed Wade and Sean goodbye. Sean told her to meet them for breakfast and asked me to come too if I could make it. I told him I had a client meeting. Just as they were leaving I realized Stephanie had to be dropped home.
I decided I will do the remainder of the cleaning or else I would have to drop her and I just wasn’t in the mood to be alone with her once more.
“Steph” I called out but there was no reply.
“Stephanie?”
Still no reply. I went to check on her followed by Natasha. I opened my room and gasped. All the clothes were pulled out of my closet but that’s the only difference I found while Stephanie lay across my bed sleeping. Wow how useless can one get? I was truly annoyed now and Natasha didn’t help matters as she laughed away and so did the boys. I shook Stephanie roughly and she woke up with a start. “What the-?” and then she looked around and took in her surroundings.
“Oh Jude I am so sorry I had started cleaning I really had but then I had this awful headache and I thought I would just rest for a minute but I guess I fell asleep” she said wobbling her lips. Before this might have worked but right now it pissed me off.
“You need to leave”
“Jude I am really sorry”
“Its ok but you still need to leave so that Wade and Sean can drop you off” Wade and Sean gave me pained looks as if I had just announced that they would be serving a lifetime in prison.
“Why can’t I stay tonight and go in the morning?”
“Because my parents are coming in the morning and they might just decide to surprise me by dropping in early”
Reluctantly she got off my bed and started gathering her bags while
Wade rolled his eyes at her and Sean muttered, ‘what a drama queen.’ She got up and looked at Natasha then looked at me and before I knew it her lips were locked on mine. I just stood there with my lips clamped shut. I had already told her that I wasn’t ready for any physicality till I was sure. A peck on the lips or cheek was ok but she was trying to give me a full fledged kiss. Finally she realized it was one sided and gave up.
She smirked as she realized that Natasha and the boys had left the room. I walked her to the door and she hugged me hard once again which got Sean muttering again. Finally she left and I closed the door and leant against it and sighed in relief. I looked up to see Natasha looking at me with her eyes narrowed, then she turned around and started cleaning the living room.
I stood up and joined her.
Stephanie’s P. O. V
I got into the car and slammed the door.
“Easy!” said Wade and I rolled my eyes. I rested my head against the seat. Today was a fiasco. I thought that I was only imagining that Jude had feelings for Natasha but the idiot actually cared about that simpleton!
I wanted to break something when he asked me to pick up the bags and lectured them in front of everyone but I controlled myself. First I needed to get him to trust me and then I needed him to cancel his ridiculous wedding to Natasha. I had been sure when I had challenged her in the beginning but I was not so sure.
I decided to try and get on Sean and Wade’s good side.
“So Sean are you seeing someone?” I asked.
“Not that it is any of your business but yes I am”
I bit back a retort and said, “that is nice. You must bring him to meet Jude and me”
Wade snorted and I asked, “What?”
“Nothing its just the way you take yours and Jude’s name together as if you both are a couple.”
“But we are a couple!”
“Yeah sure whatever helps you sleep at night. You know there’s only how much you can fool a person sooner or later he is bound to realize you are making a fool out of him”
“I don’t know what you are talking about!” I said my heart thundering.
“Well that’s too bad you will just have to wait and find out won’t you?”
I decided not to answer and looked outside the window. I hated both of them. There goes my plan of trying to win them over. I wanted to strangle them. They dropped me off at my apartment without even glancing at me. As I walked up to my door I realized I needed to do something drastic and I needed to do it soon!
Natasha’s P. O. V
Seeing Stephanie grab Jude in front of me and kiss him made me want to slap her. I wanted to pull her off him and yell at her, “He’s mine.” Hell I wanted to pull her off him and punch her and knock her teeth out! But I controlled my primal urge and walked out.
I was happy when Sean and Wade followed and informed me that Jude was not kissing her back. I did a little happy dance in my mind. When Stephanie left Jude actually breathed a sigh of relief. He was tired of her already! Yay four to me and none to you Stephanie! I turned around before he could see the happiness on my face and started clearing the pizza boxes. After a moment Jude joined me.
We cleaned the whole lace in silence. Finally I sighed, I was tired, playing all these mind games was so tiring! I went to the bedroom and realized again that my night clothes weren’t there. I pulled out Jude’s clothes and went to the washroom. I smiled at how familiar his fragrance felt.
I got out and say Jude making my wall of pillows and grinned. I got into bed and we both lay in silence.
“I missed you” Jude said softly.
I smiled in the darkness glad he couldn’t see my face, “I missed you too” I replied.
“Nats do you like Wade?”
I smiled again and was so glad I had Sean! Damn he should be a love counselor or something! I made a mental note to buy him another gift.
“Yes I do Jude” I heard is sharp intake of breath and then completed my sentence, “I like him like I would like a brother”
“Really?” he asked suddenly all perky.
“Yeah really”
I took my phone out to set an early alarm so that I could organize the closet before his parents came.
“What are you doing?”
“Setting the alarm”
“For what?”
“Well I don’t what your parents to think I am a slob!”
“Why would they think that?”
“Because they know I have been staying her with you!”
“Yeah but they would think you are a slob only when they see this”
“Exactly my point!”
“uh Natasha they aren’t coming!”
I fell silent as I let the implications of this settle in.
“Then why did you say so?”
“Because I was worried about you! After I heard about your home being vandalized and now after the whole stalking incident I wasn’t going to let you out of my sight! It was the only way I could get rid of Stephanie without her asking too many questions!”
Ok I know exactly what they mean in all those romance novels when the main character says she felt warm from the tips of her toes till her heart, because I felt exactly the same way right now. I smiled and said, “goodnight Jude”
“Goodnight Nats, I am glad you’re back”
So am I, I thought, so am I.