Page 56 of Someone Just Like You

“Mydadmistook Charley for me.”

Jude laughed and climbed out of bed to toss the used condom in the trash.

My mouth watered at his backside. Jude Stark’s bare ass could win trophies.

He turned to face me, unfortunately blocking my view of his full frontal with his dress pants. “Do you know my middle name?”

Considering how long we’d known each other, my answer should have been a resounding yes, but I couldn’t recall any instance when Jude’s parents had referred to him by his full name. “Only that your middle name starts with a D. Jude D. Stark.JudyStark.” I giggled, then got up to pee.

“You’re such a pain in the ass.” He pulled his driver’s license from his wallet. “Read.”

“Jude Desmond Stark.” I gasped. “Desmond?”

“After my great-grandfather. Desmond and Molly.” He slipped back into the bed while humming the tune of “Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da.”

After using the bathroom, I joined him in bed and snuggled into his side. “My parents are separated.” Mind-blowing sex had made me forget, but the amnesia was temporary.

“I’m sorry.”

“Me too.” I didn’t want to ruin the moment by talking about it. I didn’t want to talk at all. I straddled him. “I know just how you can make me feel better.”

I woke up covered with goose bumps. My first thought was: I slept with Jude last night…twice. But the shock had mostly worn off after round one, unlike the anguish caused by the knowledge of my parents’ separation.

Next to me, Jude was hogging the blanket. I tugged the floral comforter to my side.

Jude stirred, then muttered, “Blanket stealer” with his eyes still closed.

“Good. You’re up.”

He played dead.

“Jude.” I poked him. “You up?”

He opened one eye. “Are you always this annoying in the morning?”

I sat up. “I was thinking about my parents’ separation.”

He stretched. “Understandable.”

“You want to know why I was such a goody-goody when we were little?”

This got his attention. He stopped moving, his arms at a diagonal. “Because you’re a nerd?” He caught the pillow I tossed at him and laughed. “Kidding. Tell me.”

“Remember when my dad moved out when we were kids?”

“I’d forgotten about it, but yeah, I do,” he said through a yawn.

I told him about the fight I’d overheard and my resolution to make raising three girls as easy as possible by being the perfect little lady. “I wish being on my best behavior was enough to keep them together now.” I held my breath for Jude’s reaction. Despite the change in our status, he was still Jude. Was it too soon to go all-out Molly on him? With a rush of pleasure, I realized it was preciselybecausehe was Jude that I was incapable of being anyone other than authentic Molly.

“Poor Molly girl.” He squeezed my hand. “I doubt anything you did or didn’t do made the difference then or would now. Sometimes other people’s happiness is out of our control.”

“Rosaria offered me a job.”

Jude’s smile split wide open. “Interesting segue, but congratulations!”

The raw happiness on his face jarred me. “I didn’t take it! The timing is really bad to switch careers, not to mention the pay cut. It would be a huge step backward.”

Jude scratched his head. “Is the timing ever good to make big changes? You just make them when they feel right. And money isn’t the only measure of success.” He shrugged. “Your life, your decision. But I’m missing the connection to your parents’ separation.”

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