Page 75 of The Plus One
“I’m not your favorite person?” Jeremy whispered.
Collin’s head whipped to look at his fiancé. “I—We—Y-you—”
There was a beat of silence, then everyone erupted into giggles.
“This is so fucking weird,” Collin eventually said, rubbing his eyes. “But I’m also too tired to do any more processing, so…”
“All’s good?” Indira asked, squeezing Jude’s hand.
Jeremy and Collin scoffed in unison.
“Hell no. You both still owe us extensive cleanup,” Collin said, moving toward the stairs. “But I’m going to bed. My yard better be pristine when I wake up.”
Collin and Jeremy retreated up to their room, leaving Indira and Jude alone.
They turned to each other, gazes tentative and shy. But, after a moment, Indira watched the strain on Jude’s face melt into a smile that made her breath catch in her throat. It was open and vulnerable with deep brackets of hesitant excitement lining his mouth. Indira’s heart barreled full speed off the side of a cliff.
She threw her arms around his neck, knocking him back a step with the force of her hug. Jude hugged her right back, pulling her flush against him and pressing his nose into the crook of her neck, breathing her in. A star glowed in her chest, heat and electricity radiating through her limbs at just how good it felt to be held so close.
“I’m a little bit terrified,” Indira whispered into his chest.
He laughed at that. “You and me both.”
“I think we have a lot to figure out,” she said, pulling back to meet those deep, dark eyes.
Jude grunted in response.
They both knew it was an understatement, but it all felt so fresh, so deliciously theirs, she didn’t want to ask the pressing questions. Solve the heavy problems that hovered in the space between them. She wanted to be naive and infatuated and enjoy just being with Jude.
She leaned in, pressing her mouth to his in a deep, decadent kiss.
“OhGod,” Collin’s voice cut through their bubblegum-pink haze. “I’m, like, mostly okay with this, but I don’t need to see it.”
Indira and Jude tore apart, giggling like two teenagers caught in a forbidden embrace.
“Sorry, Collin,” Jude said, his cheeks burning red.
Collin mumbled something grumpy and disparaging as he stumbled to the kitchen for water, then back up the steps to his room.
“Yard! Now!” he called down, before slamming his door.
“Better get to it,” Jude said after a moment, pressing his forehead against Indira’s and smiling.
“Probably,” she said, patting his cheek. “Good luck out there. Go as fast as you can, I’ll miss you.” She pulled away, then draped herself across the couch, scooping up the remote.
Jude stood there for a moment, mouth ajar, and Indira did her best to hide her smile as she pretended to focus on the TV.
“Fat chance,” Jude said, snatching the remote from her hands and standing in front of her, hands on his hips. “I’m absolutely not cleaning it up on my own.”
Indira pouted, looking up at him with puppy-dog eyes. “You can’t possibly expect me to do manual labor after what you did to me last night. I’m simplyexhausted.”
“What I did—” Jude sucked in a breath, narrowing his eyes. “It doesn’t have to happen again if it leaves you so feeble.”
Indira’s eyes widened and she perked up in her seat. “Let’s not get hasty here—”
“No, no. If my sexual prowess is so potent, I’ll refrain from sapping you of your energy. It’s for your own good. Besides—”
“Joke’s dead, Jude. You killed it,” Indira said, clapping her hand across his mouth. “And if you ever use the termsexual prowessagain, you’ll never get another chance to demonstrate.”
