Page 61 of Still Bruised
Foster’s mom smiled softly at him. “Not a bother at all, Jude. Anytime.”
Jude backtracked and rounded the house, heading for the upstairs apartment. He lifted his hand to knock but couldn’t do it.
What the fuck am I doing?
Before he could leave, the door whipped open, and Foster nearly crashed into him. Foster backed up, narrowing his eyes. Brows furrowing more, his gaze lowered, sizing Jude up.
And down.
Get it together. You’re here now. Say what you want to say.
“Do you have any idea the amount of pain you caused me?” Jude asked.
Foster was silent a few seconds, searching his face.“Jude?”
“You just saw me earlier today, asshole. You forgot me that fast?”
“Yeah, I saw you. But you were wearing all your work crap. I saw maybe half your face.” His brow furrowed. “Sorry.”
Jude realized work him and off him did probably look different. Between all the layers, the protective gear, and the fleece jacket he wore under his butcher’s coat to keep him warm, he was pretty hidden. He wasn’t going to say any of that to Foster, though. Better that he felt a little more guilty.
He crossed his arms over his chest, glaring.
Foster’s gaze trailed over Jude’s arms, a hungry look flashing in his eyes. “Do you… want to come in?”
He needs to stop looking at me like that.“No.”
Awkward, weighted silence fell between them. Jude gave Foster the once over, clenching his jaw at the form-fitting Giant’s t-shirt and gray sweatpants. From the indent, it didn’t appear that he had any underwear on. The hint of tenting was going to end up making his half-chub into a full one. His gaze lifted to Foster’s heavy-lidded one.
Fuck, why does he have to be so damned hot?
He’d look even hotter with my dick in his mouth.
“Yes,” Jude said, changing his mind. He pushed Foster back with a hand to the middle of his chest and strode into the apartment. Spinning to eye his foe, he searched Foster’s face, looking for a spark of recognition. Something. Anything.
“I meant what I said earlier. I’m sorry for what you went through—and my part in it. I didn’t know how to help you. Not without tossing myself onto the bonfire.”
“Apologies won’t do anything to change what’s already happened. Rick and his buddies made my life hell after that day, yet they didn’t doanythingto you. Your name was never mentioned. Why is that?”
“I don’t know. I waited for months for the bomb to drop, but it never did. To this day I don’t know why I wasn’t right there beside you.”
“Somehow you escaped it while I anguished. All because you kissed me.”
“I seem to recall you kissing me back,” Foster said.
Jude cocked his head. “You started it. And now you’re going to pay.”
Foster froze. His eyes narrowed as his brows furrowed.“Meaning?”
“Well, Icouldgive you another black eye,” Jude replied as he scratched at his thin beard. A slow smile crept over his face. “Not gonna lie. That felt pretty good—seeing you knocked on your ass.”
The slow widening of Foster’s eyes was almost comical. He backed up a few steps, his bottom hitting the kitchenette’s counter. “Itwasyou.”
A statement, not a question.
“Yeah,” Jude replied. “It was me.”
Foster’s lips moved without words. They paused a second before he said, “You were the one in the parlor, too.”
