Page 33 of Still Bruised
Chris met Jude’s stare.
“He’s my best friend. Nothing more.”
Chris didn’t look convinced. Jude rushed him toward the stairs. They walked down in silence.
“Seriously… are you married?” Chris asked, one hand on the doorknob.
“My friend’s just being an asshole,” Jude yelled up the stairs loud enough for Anton to hear. “Don’t pay him any mind.”
Chris stared at him, blinking.
“I am not, nor have I ever been, married,” Jude said. “He’s fucking with you.”
“Oh,” Chris murmured, eyes wide. “See ya round, I guess.”
“Night,” Jude said. He locked the door and ran up the steps, finding Anton with his nose in his phone. “I’m really starting to regret giving you a key.”
“Any top who gets off before his bottom isn’t worth your time,” Anton said, never lifting his gaze from his phone.
“How long have you been sitting there listening?” Jude asked.
Anton shrugged. “A while.” He lowered his cell and lifted his gaze. “Also, can you lay off the clean-cut blond guys? I know you have a type but give it a fucking rest already. They all look the same.”
“You’re a clean-cut blon—” Jude chuckled. “Who am I kidding? You’re not clean-cut.”
Anton tossed his too-long hair to one side before scrubbing his overgrown stubble. “I’ve never been accused of being clean-cut, thankfully. I’ve also never fucked you, so there’s that, too.”
“I was planning on saying I should lay off you, too, and take back my key, but it went to a weird place, didn’t it?”
“Yeah,”Anton said.
“As far as the clean-cut blonds, I like what I like,” Jude said. He slumped onto the couch beside Anton and stretched his legs. “You know, the invite was for the game. You’re late. Game’s over. I got work tomorrow.”
“Giants did their thing tonight,” Anton said, grinning happily.
“When did you become a fan?”
“Since I joined the betting pool at work. It’s amazing how much more fun football is when you’ve got money riding on the games.”
Jude shook his head, chuckling. “Well, my friend, I need to go to bed. Six a.m. wakeup call and all.”
“Yeah, yeah,” Anton said, rising. He turned to Jude. “Before I go, I got an invite to a party in the city this weekend.”
“And?”
“One of those parties.”
“I haven’t gotten an invite, so no worries. Go. Have fun,” Jude said.
“Actually…I’minvitingyou.”
Jude eyed him. “We had a conversation about this.”
“I know, I know, but it’s… a different crowd. I don’t know anyone there very well. I just want to make sure it passes the vibe check. Having a wingman will make it easier to leave if it doesn’t feel right.”
Jude shook his head. “Anton…come on.”
“I suspect the guy hosting has a big enough place that we can probably stay away from one another all night.” When Jude didn’t answer, he added, “It’s not like I can ask anyone else to go.”
