Total pages in book: 68
Estimated words: 62737 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 314(@200wpm)___ 251(@250wpm)___ 209(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 62737 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 314(@200wpm)___ 251(@250wpm)___ 209(@300wpm)
Jude moves from one computer to the other, rolling his chair to the wall of doohickies, presses a few buttons and then moves back. It’s only when he looks up that he notices me.
“Foxy.” His voice is hoarse. I look at him, really look at him. Behind the hot guy tech dude he appears to be, I see so much more. There’s a tiredness beneath his eyes, and his jaw is clenched tightly. I’m beginning to think something is really wrong. He pushes his chair away from his desk and lightly taps his thigh, silently asking, no, telling me to move my ass and sit on his lap.
“Good morning,” I say, putting one foot in front of the other. As soon as I’m in reaching distance, Jude’s wraps his arms around my waist and settles me the way he wants.
“Mornin’. You sleep good?” He moves us back to his desk, managing to keep me where I am, balanced perfectly as he starts typing away.
“I did. It’s obvious you didn’t. Is everything okay?” I nuzzle into his neck, smelling his spicy scent and using his warmth to chase away the coldness in the air.
“Yeah, bad dream.” He doesn’t elaborate willingly.
“Do you want to talk about it?” I want him to know he can come to me for anything. After all, he’s all too aware of my fears, those that stem from a childhood I also don’t like to explore.
“Nah, I’m good. They happen from time to time.” I don’t push. Instead, I watch him work. The screens in front of him go through a mirage of different sequences. It looks like the inside of a plane. Another one slides up, and this one looks similar to the inside of an office. This time when I see a different image, I’m pretty sure it’s of Johnny’s club. The normally illuminated sign is turned off, only allowing me to see a glimpse of it.
“If you change your mind, I’m here,” I mumble.
“I appreciate that.” He kisses the top of my head in response. Jude’s phone lights up with an alert that displays Winnie left. I don’t say anything at first, watching what else happens. A couple more appears on the screen. Tysen and Macie are a set, which makes sense after hearing that they work together. Tys as a pilot and Macie as a flight attendant, although from what Jude said, Macie’s time in the sky is dwindling down with her pregnancy.
“Uh, Jude?” I get his attention when I keep seeing other notifications appear, with other people in his friend group, but also others I’ve never met before.
“Yeah, Foxy?” He stops what he’s doing, giving me all of his attention.
“Is there a reason you have everyone’s location on your phone when they leave and stop somewhere?” I mean, there is a certain app out there that I refuse to give my brother and father, but this doesn’t have the same distinguishable look. Plus, the computer screens are clearly part of the people I met last night.
“Yep, everyone I care about is tracked. It’s an app I created, one that isn’t available to the public and never will be.” I swallow, hearing the conviction in his voice and wondering something else.
“Am I on that app, too?” I swallow a lump in the back of my throat. On one hand, I want to be one of the people he cares about, on the other, well, this goes way past an invasion of privacy.
“You’re one of the people I care about the most. So, yeah, you are.” His hand stops massaging the outside of my leg when he feels every muscle in my body tense. I take a deep breath, trying to center myself, and come up with a response that won’t turn into me losing my shit, stomping out of Jude’s house, and blocking him from my life. The words taste bitter bouncing around in my head. There’s no way I could do that, could I? Jude remains quiet, waiting me out, and I appreciate that more than he understands.
I close my eyes and bite my lower lip, remembering every good moment we’ve had together this far into our friendship/relationship. Nothing has been truly established, except for the fact that I met his whole group, guy wise. Lennie stayed true to her word and added me into the girls’ group chat, and I was welcomed with updates for the next meeting.
“I don’t know how to feel about this, Jude,” I admit, still at a loss for words. The questions I have probably should be asked, and see how he responds to them, if at all.
“I can understand that. I can also tell you that it’s not because I’m controlling or want to do anything with ill intent. I protect the people who are in my life. It’s ingrained in me, and one day, I’ll tell you about the reasoning behind it.” He doesn’t see anything wrong with what he’s done, and that’s what has me chewing on my bottom lip.