Page 15 of Places in Time
Chapter 8
Itwasn’tthe first time I’d shared a bed with Jude. Two decades of friendship meant we’d slept in the same car, bed, and tent quite a few times. But that night was different. That night, I fell asleep curled up against him, both of us naked, his arms wrapped around me.
I should have freaked out when I woke up the next morning. Late night, unexpected sex equaled early morning meltdown, often in the form of someone sneaking out and leaving an article of clothing behind. At least that was how it happened in at least a dozen movies and shows I’d starred in, plus that same number of personal indiscretions. But when Jude’s phone rang, jerking us both awake, I felt like I always did when I was with him, happy. And maybe a little grumpy because I hadn’t gotten enough sleep.
“What kind of maniac calls this early?” I shoved my head under a pillow and whimpered. “Make it stop, J.”
The sheets rustled, something fell over, and then Jude said, “’Lo.”
“Whoever that is needs to be blocked from your phone,” I mumbled.
“Hi, Maria. Yeah, he’s here. He must have forgotten to plug his cell in last night. One sec, I’ll get him.” Jude rolled up against me and lifted the pillow slash sound barrier. “Your mom’s on the phone.”
Refusing to open my eyes, I reached my hand out blindly.
Jude grabbed my wrist, put the phone against my palm, and curled my fingers around it.
“What kind of maniac calls this early?” I said once I had the phone against my ear.
“It’s ten o’clock, Ethan.”
“I had a late night so that counts as early.”
“I’ve been up since six, so it counts as late.”
Too tired to debate, I channeled a five-year-old and whined instead. “Mom, I’m tired.”
“Your father and I are in LA and we want to meet you for lunch. But if you’re that tired, go back to sleep and we’ll see you another time.”
“No.” I sighed and rubbed my palm over my eyes. “I want to see you. I can sleep later.”
“Are you sure? I know how busy you’ve been.”
I nodded.
“Ethan?”
“Huh?” I remembered that to be effective, telephones required actual words. “Oh, yeah, I’m sure.”
“Great. I’m done with my conference at noon. Where do you want us to meet you?”
“Where do you want to eat?”
“Whatever you like will be good with us.”
“I like for someone else to choose the restaurant so I can complain about it instead of spending the entire meal apologizing for the wait or the service or the food.”
My mother sighed. “You’re bringing Jude, right? Ask him to pick a place. You can meet us here and we’ll drive to lunch with you.”
“Okay. Where are you?”
“Venice Beach. I’ll text the address to Jude’s phone since yours is dead.”
“Oh, uh, I forgot to plug it in last night.”
“That’s what Jude said. I need to run, honey, break’s over. See you at noon.”
I ended the call and went to hand the phone over to Jude when I noticed he was naked. He had been naked when we’d gone to sleep and he hadn’t gotten out of bed, so naked made sense. But logic wasn’t the same as visual proof, and I had an up close and personal view of visual proof.
