Page 37 of The Plus One
“Oh, what thefuck,” Indira said, voice loud as she stepped to the side, revealing Chris standing just a foot inside the entryway, wringing his hands as he gave her a puppy-dog expression. Chris’s face morphed into confusion when he saw Jude.
“What are you doing here?” Chris asked, locking eyes with him.
“What areyoudoing here?” Indira said, taking a step forward and inserting herself firmly between the men. “I texted you and told you not to be here.” She shook her phone at him.
“I know,” Chris said, giving her a pleading look. “But I’ve been trying to talk to you. I’ve been calling.”
“And I’ve been ignoring them,” Indira said, lifting her hands in an exasperated gesture.
“I just… I really want to talk about… everything.” Chris’s eyes flicked to Jude again. “Alone.”
Jude’s jaw twitched in annoyance, his hands curling and uncurling at his sides.
“No,” Indira said, crossing her arms. “I’m not interested in talking. Please give me some privacy while I collect my things.”
“Dira, come on.” Chris took a step toward her, hand outstretched.
Without thought, Jude reached out, wrapping his arm around Indira’s waist and pulling her close to his side, her hip pressing against his. Her head swiveled and he could feel her eyes on him, but he kept his gaze steady on Chris.
“She asked you not to be here,” Jude said, voice low. “The least you can do is respect her request. She shouldn’t have to keep asking.”
“I need her to hear me out,” Chris said, brow furrowing as his eyes bounced between their faces and the spot where Jude’s hand rested on Indira’s hip.
“I think you’ve lost the right to be heard,” Jude said. “Do you want to hear him out?” he asked, turning his attention to Indira.
Her face transformed from wide-eyed confusion to a vindictive smile. “No, I do not.”
“There you have it,” Jude said, pulling Indira even closer as he looked back at Chris.
Chris’s lips parted. “What’s going on here?”
“We’re dating,” Jude and Indira said in unison. He squeezed her hip lightly, electricity dancing up his arm.
“That… that was fast,” Chris said, voice cracking.
Indira’s jaw hit the floor, then she snapped it shut, grinding her teeth together.
“Your audacity truly knows no bounds,” Indira said, pulling away from Jude and moving around her ex to get to the kitchen. “I’ll text you when we’re done.”
Chris stood there for a second longer, hurt and confusion on his face as he watched Indira open various cupboards and place items on the counter. Eventually, he straightened his shoulders and moved to the door.
Jude placed a hand on Chris’s shoulder as he walked out, stopping him before he made it down the hallway.
“Someone else shouldn’t have to step in for you to listen to her, or anyone else, for that matter,” Jude said, voice hushed but sharp as a knife’s edge. “Don’t let that happen again.”
Chris swallowed audibly, the noise wet. He nodded and Jude released his grip.
Then shut the door in Chris’s face.
CHAPTER 16
Indira
Indira made quick work of packing up her stuff, getting a spiteful thrill as she shoved everything into the last of Chris’s garbage bags.
As Jude packed up her car—complaining the entire time about the outrageous number of shoes she had—Indira ran to the Bed Bath & Beyond two blocks away to buy some storage bins to transfer everything into when she got back to Collin’s. She had a thick stack of sweet, sweet 20-percent-off coupons that catapulted her into a near-euphoric state when she used them.
Back in the car, she maneuvered them out of the city with only three close calls and level-ten dramatics from Jude.
