Page 57 of Strangely Normal

I raised an eyebrow at Jude. “Why, look at that, my neighbors, the Petersons, must have bought a limo to go with their chauffeur.”

“The bus experience was special and all, but now if I decide to kiss you, we won’t have to hide under my coat.”

“Uh, after that burger with onions, that wasn’t going happen anyhow.”

He pulled a pack of gum out of his pocket. “I’m prepared for anything, especially kissing.”

“Whooee!” Dad crowed from above. Apparently he’d taken up cowboy exclamations in my absence.

The whole family stared down from the balcony as we slid into the back seat. Tears filled my eyes again as I watched them through the tinted windows.

Janie and Sophie jumped up and down and waved their naked dolls in the air as we pulled away from the apartment. Jude put his arm around me. “I’m just going to say it. Your family is so fucking cool.”

I wiped at my tears with the back of my hand. “I know.” I snuggled against him. “My dad will probably not be able to sleep tonight or the rest of the week for that matter.”

“We’ve got to introduce him to my dad.”

“Then he could die a happy man. Jude, thanks for not noticing how crappy I live.”

He kissed the top of my head. “It just makes you that much more amazing.”

While there couldn’t have been a more comfortable, cozy, and prestigious make-out place than the back of the limo, I felt uncomfortable with a driver sitting just a few feet away. Jude worked hard to hide his disappointment. He tried desperately to convince me that the tinted window between the driver and the passengers was opaque and sound proof. I pointed out that once he raised the partition, the driver would know exactly what we were doing and that would be even worse. I won the round, and Jude accepted defeat like a gentleman, a completely crestfallen gentleman.

The combination of getting out of bed extra early and the monotonous stop and go freeway traffic had made me drowsy enough to fall asleep with my head on Jude’s lap. “Hey, Valley, we’re at my bike. I told Ben to bring you a helmet.” He brushed the hair off my forehead, and I sat up a bit stunned that I’d fallen so deeply asleep. “Unless you’d rather stay in the car and let him take you home.”

I dropped my feet to the floor and stretched. “Where’s the helmet?”

He smiled at my enthusiasm and reached behind the seat for it. The limo had attracted the attention of every person on the street, and I heard a few people mumbling behind their hands trying to decide who we were. They looked equally curious as we climbed onto the back of the motorcycle.

The cool air snapped the grogginess from my head, and I held tightly to Jude as we drove through town to the estate. We passed the house and came to a second driveway a good block away from the security gates. He parked the bike under a tree.

I glanced back up the way we came. “Uh, I think you missed a turn back there.”

“Nope.” He removed his helmet and helped me with mine and then tossed both of them over the tall brick wall surrounding the yard. He crouched down and lowered his hands to give me a boost. “Just grab the top of the wall and hoist yourself up. I’ll help you get down the other side.”

“And exactly why are we breaking in to your house?” I put my foot in his hand, and he lifted me high enough to get a good hold on the top of the wall. I hoisted myself up and nearly fell over the other side.

He climbed up beside me. “Because, I’m not ready to share you with my dysfunctional family yet.” We sat on the top of the wall with a complete view of the yard and tennis courts. There was no one, not even a giant dog, in sight.

Jude stared at me with that lingering gaze that always sent a swirl of heat through me. “I’m going to paint you, Eden. Even if I don’t paint another damn thing, I’ve got to put you on canvas.” He jumped down and raised his arms to me. I fell forward into his strong hands, and he lowered me to the ground, making sure to drag my body slowly against his on my descent. He picked up the helmets and then grabbed my hand and pulled me in the direction of the pool house.

I looked fleetingly back at the wall we’d just climbed. “So just how often have you climbed that wall? You seem quite skilled at it.”

“Probably a few more times than through the security gates. That wall is my invisibility cloak. It allows me to enter the grounds unseen.”

“But what if your dad is using the pool house?” I stumbled along to keep pace with his speed.

“He never steps outside in the daylight.”

“Really?”

“Rock stars and vampires have a lot in common.”

“If no one’s around, why are we running?”

My question didn’t slow his pace. “I don’t want Butch and Sundance to get wind of me. Then everyone will know I’m back.”

The speedy jaunt across the immense yard increased my heart rate as if we were running a track. “Yes, I was going to mention what terrific guard dogs they were, what with us climbing the wall and all.”

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