Page 32 of The Plus One
“I’ve grown into my feet!” Indira said with outrage, kicking up a foot. It wasn’t like she had clown feet, but they’d always been a bit big for her body. Especially as a kid, she’d looked like a Great Dane puppy, this small, wiry body, with giant paws slapping around.
It was kind of… cute.
“Sure you have,” Jude said dryly. Indira huffed.
Silence lingered between them, and Jude resisted the urge to push the matter. It was a ridiculous idea. He shouldn’t be inserting himself into Indira’s life.
“Why would you do that?” Indira asked, staring straight ahead. “Be my fake date, or whatever. What’s in it for you?”
Jude shrugged. “I don’t know. Like I said, this is all overwhelming, but being around you, it seems to help.”
Indira shot him a look.
“Believe me,” Jude said, cheeks heating. “It’s the last thing I expected either.”
With a growl, she elbowed his side.
“It would… I guess it would give me reasons to escape some of the social situations without causing a big scene. Act as a buffer from all of the…” Jude gestured vaguely in front of them.
Indira was quiet again, and Jude risked a glance at her. She looked wounded.
“I would hope you know me better than to think I need some sort of bargain to help or support you,” she finally said, her voice even and flat.
Jude’s heart tripped over itself as he fumbled his words. “Shit. No. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it like that, I just…”
“Just what?”
“I feel really useless,” Jude admitted, his voice sounding far away. “Like, all the time. I feel like I don’t have anything good to give to anyone and I… I guess I saw it as maybe something I could offer you for once. I didn’t mean to offend you.”
Jude felt Indira’s eyes on him, but he couldn’t meet her gaze, a weird thump of embarrassment surging through him.
“I know we haven’t always gotten along…” Indira said, stating the obvious. “Part of me does want to… I don’t know. Be friends? With you? Or at least frenemies?”
“Friends?” Jude echoed, the word tasting odd in his mouth.
“I’m leaning more toward the frenemies bit, gotta keep that spark about us,” Indira said, bumping her shoulder against his.
“You want to be my friend?” Jude repeated, a bit too earnestly.
Indira chewed on her bottom lip, staring straight ahead. “Yeah, I’d like to be your friend.”
A small, golden surge of warmth spread out from his chest.
“And your fake date since you’re throwing yourself at me,” Indira said with her usual level of sarcasm as she pushed away from the wall.
“Yeah?” Jude asked, the warmth slipping down his limbs to the tips of his fingers and toes.
“As long as you buy me fake flowers and fake diamonds and very real meals from DoorDash. Fake-girlfriend tax and all that.” She fixed him with a teasing smile.
Jude smiled back.
“All right, frenemy,” he said, pushing away from the wall too. “You’ve got yourself a deal.”
CHAPTER 13
Indira
Their first task in their giant lie was to tell Jeremy and Collin the truth.
