Page 2 of Can't Get Over You
Every single time.
He was just so big, so handsome, so…dark and brooding andsexy. With his shoulder-length, dark, glossy hair and bold tribal ink, he was the biggest, baddest, biker boy in town. Girls chased him, and boys secretly wanted to be him.
He was her obsession. Her crush.
And her deepest source of heartache.
Because even though they talked outside of school, he ignored her when they were in it.
He might flip through girls like a deck of cards, but he’d made it clear he had zero interest in her.
At that moment, Leia caught up with them. No matter how much Finlay needed Jude’s help, she’d rather keep walking in her slippers till she hit the California coast than ever acknowledge her former friend again. She wrenched her arm out of his grip and spun around.
“Dammit, Fee.” Jude kept up with her. “Tell me what happened.” The concern in his voice brought her to a stop. He studied her eyes.
“Come on,” Leia said. “It’s cold. I want to go home.”
“Go without me.” Jude never once pulled his gaze away from Finlay.
“I thought we were hanging out?” Leia asked in a nasty tone, but when he ignored her, she stomped off. “Screw you, Jude. You’re such a jerk.”
“Now, talk to me,” Jude said in a softer tone. “What’s going on?” His dark hair brushed the tops of his broad shoulders and framed a strong jaw and high cheekbones. Those startling green eyes burned with concern.
How could she not be obsessed with a guy who looked at her like she was the most important thing in the world? “It’s stupid.”
“Tell me anyway.”
She had nowhere to go, and she needed help. What choice did she have but to make a fool of herself? “There’s a raccoon in my bedroom. And I can’t…I can’t go back there. And I forgot my phone. Not that my mom could come get me. But I’m just freaking out?—”
“Is the apartment unlocked?”
Warmth spread through her, and she nodded. Because he was going to help her.
“Come on. Show me where you live.”
“Oh no.” She shook her head. “Absolutely not. I’m sorry, but I can’t go in there.”
“You’ll wait outside.”
Even as she said, “You don’t have to do that,” she was on the move, heading back to the employee housing complex. Every step ramped up her anxiety, and she climbed the stairs as if heading into a burning fire. At the landing, she stopped and pointed at her mom’s unit. It was the only one with an open door. “That one.”
With a curt nod, he strode off and disappeared inside.
It’s kind of crazy, right?
That Jude’s going on a search-and-rescue raccoon mission for me?
Usually, she didn’t waste time thinking about Leia or wishing bad things would happen to her, but watching Jude shut her down so coldly had somehow managed to heal the nick in her heart.
When he finally trampled down the stairs, he held a shoebox. He moved right past her, crossed the street, and disappeared into the woods.
Relief loosened her anxiety, and she broke into a huge smile. She hadn’t expected to run into anyone from her class today, since it was prom, but for Jude to sweep in and save her? It just made her so happy.
When he emerged from the thick grove of trees, he dumped the box into a garbage bin and headed back to her.
“Thank you?—”
But he brushed past her and loped up the stairs.
