Page 35 of The Plus One
Jude’s tone wasn’t exactly mean, but it was spoken with such stony finality, it made her flinch.
“Sorry,” she said, voice small.
Jude glanced at her, his tense features drooping into a defeated look. “I didn’t mean to be a dick. I… I’m sorry. I was just making conversation. I mean, my next assignment starts in six weeks. I couldn’t start therapy even if I wanted to.”
Indira opened her mouth, ready to argue. Ready to problem-solve every issue he could come up with. But the look he gave her, raw and weary and pained, had her shutting her mouth.
“Work’s good,” she finally said, voice quiet, as she retreated to the mundane parts of the conversation, trying to keep it safe.“I better get to it,” she added, standing from the table and gesturing toward the stairs.
Jude nodded, trying for a smile. It didn’t reach his eyes, didn’t create happy brackets around his mouth.
Indira hovered, wanting to say more; so many words were crowding her throat it was a miracle she held any back. But this wasn’t the moment to push. She wasn’t sure if she’d ever get the privilege of that moment. If he’d ever trust her enough to let her in, no matter how much she wanted to help him.
His words from last night whispered across her mind.I feel really useless.
Well, maybe that was something she could fix.
“Hey, Jude?” Indira said, picking at her nails as she stood in the doorway.
He looked up at her, gaze wary. She gave him a smile, and her heart glowed when the tension around his eyes eased a bit.
“Wanna go on a fake date?”
CHAPTER 14
Indira
“I don’t mean to be rude—”
“Anyone who starts a sentence like that automatically knows they’re about to be rude as fuck,” Indira cut in.
Jude sighed. “Okay. With full intended rudeness, if this is your idea of a first date, I can understand why you don’t have a particularly satisfactory romantic history.”
Indira took one hand off the steering wheel, trying to land a punch on Jude’s thigh. He dodged it easily.
“I don’t know why you’re complaining so much,” she said, glancing out the rearview mirror as she changed lanes. “I told you I’d buy you a special treat for helping.”
They were headed toward Chris’s apartment to get her stuff. Her tires had finally been replaced and the car returned to her, and there seemed no better time than the present to get the rest of her things from that cesspool. Apartment hunting was going terribly—she couldn’t find anything halfway decent that wasn’t at least fifteen-hundred dollars over her monthly rent budget—and it looked like she’d be bumming off Collin and Jeremy for at least a few more weeks.
“Okay, first of all,” Jude said, ticking up his index finger, “I’mnot a toddler. Bribing me with toys and Happy Meals isn’t a decent incentive anymore.”
Indira shot Jude a skeptical look.
“Second, you told me this would be trial-by-fire fake dating practice in front of Chris, and now you’re telling me he won’t even be there, so explain to me what purpose I serve besides a mover.”
Indira huffed. “Okay, Nancy Drew, you caught me. I told Chris not to be there and I don’t want to move all my shit by myself so I’m using you for labor. You have the truth. Are you happy now?”
She’d originally pitched the idea by telling Jude it was crucial groundwork in their fake dating scheme as the wedding loomed closer. This was all a concocted crock of shit, of course, but if she and Jude were going to try this whole friendship thing, she might as well exploit him as such.
Jude mumbled something along the lines ofNo, I’m not happy at allas he crossed his arms over his chest.
“Do you want the cheesesteak after or not?” Indira asked, eyes wide as she shot Jude a menacing look. “Because I’ll turn this car right around if you’re going to keep up the attitude.”
Jude’s lip curled a bit and he turned to gaze out the window, so sullen Indira had to bite back a chuckle.
“I want the cheesesteak,” he grumbled a moment later. Indira fully laughed at that.
She took the exit for the city, steering through the narrow streets and going over the endless potholes that made up Philly’s infrastructure. Getting near the apartment, she braced herself for chaos as she looked for a place to park.
