Misty Reigenborn Romance Boxed Set (196 page)

“No talking about being my boyfriend.  I said that maybe I’d hang out with you, not that I’d let you kiss me or screw me and definitely not that I’d have sex with your best friend.  Who is your best friend anyway?”

Jude grinned.  “Take the back way so that we’ll stop right behind the old pervert’s shack so that you won’t have to walk so far to get back to school.  My best friend is Brendan Abrams.  But he has a girlfriend now and I don’t think she’d let you screw him.  Although, I think she is bisexual so you never know.”

“Yuck.  I never want to kiss a girl again, let alone have her do all kinds of nasty stuff to me.  A girl kissed me once.  I did not like it.”

“What about another guy?  Would you ever think of doing that?  Doesn’t it turn you on even a little bit to think about it?”

“Ugh.  You’re weird.  You go from being completely romantic straight to being nasty in about two seconds.”

Jude laughed as Mellenda pulled onto the back road that led to the school.  “That’s what you get for being straight Mellenda.  If you’re lucky, you find a man that’s as romantic as he is horny.”

“You have such a bad reputation.  You cheated on Tory, you cheated on Molli.  People said you don’t care if Molli’s baby is yours because you didn’t want to be bothered taking care of it.”

“That’s not how it went down.  Molli and I never had sex without a condom.  I seriously doubt she would have been dumb enough to have sex with Eduardo without one, if she was even still doing him when she got pregnant, which I don’t think she was by the way.  Ricky said that him and Molli never used a condom.   I talked to him after you called me.  So how likely is it that it’s my baby?  They’re getting married so who’s going to question who the father of her baby is?  If she wants to get a DNA test and it proves that the baby is mine, I’ll pay child support and I’ll be a part of the kid’s life, but Ricky is going to be the dad in all the ways that count so why mess that up?”

“So you don’t care if the baby is yours.”

Jude sighed.  “Of course I care.  But if she doesn’t want to bother with all that stuff, why make her?  There had to be some reason she left home.  Sen won’t tell me because it’s some big secret, but she wouldn’t have left without a reason.  Ricky broke up with you, Molli and I broke up obviously even though we never technically talked about it.  Why should I stir shit up when it might lead her parents straight to her?”

“She’s almost eighteen anyway isn’t she?  So what can her parents really do after that?”

“Haven’t you seen those stupid missing person posters and heard the news?  They’re calling her unstable and in need of medication.  Maybe her parents are pissed that she’s pregnant and want to lock her up and give her baby to strangers.  That’s messed up.”

“Molli is unstable.  She was taking antidepressants.  She tried to kill herself.”

“People change.  A lot of people take medication.  So what?  I think you’re pissed that Ricky likes her more than you and you think that maybe he always did.”

Mellenda sighed as she pulled the truck to a stop behind the old shack.  “Now you really sound like Tony.  Ricky told me he always wanted to go out with her more than he wanted to go out with me.  Of course I said some pretty messed up shit to him to get him to say that, but it’s true.  I know it is.”

“So what if he liked her more than you?  Sometimes we can’t be with the person we think we really want to be with.  And sometimes people are dumb and can’t see what they have right in front of them.  The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence you know?  I always liked you more than I ever liked any of the girls at Crestview, Molli and Tory included.  But you would have laughed in my face before tonight if I’d asked you out wouldn’t you have?”

Molli shook her head.  “No.  I’m not that rude.  Guys a lot worse than you have asked me out.”

“Thanks Mellenda.  You really know how to boost a guy’s confidence.”

“I didn’t mean it like that.  I probably wouldn’t have gone out with you because of your reputation, but I wouldn’t have laughed at you.  It would have made me feel good.  You’re cute, and you smell really good.”

“Thanks.  I was serious when I said I wanted to kiss you everywhere because you smell so good.  You know that right?”

Mellenda laughed.  “Yeah.”  They were silent for a few minutes, then she said “I guess I’d better get inside.  Thank you for taking me out to dinner.  I had a nice time tonight, even if it wasn’t a date.  You’re worth more than your stupid reputation.”

“You’re worth more than yours too.”

Mellenda raised an eyebrow.  “I thought you said I was practically perfect.”

Jude smiled.  “People always said you were just another perfect Crestview Academy girl.  Beautiful, rich, and stuck up. I never thought you were like that though.”

“Yeah right.  You think you can talk your way into my pants or at least talk me into letting you kiss me.”

“Can I kiss you?  I mean, if you want me to.”

Mellenda bit her lip.  She did want him to kiss her, but she didn’t like where she figured it would lead since she was still horny.  Even if he liked her and she liked him, she wasn’t sure that they could have an actual relationship.  And she definitely wasn’t going to talk herself into a one night stand, no matter how horny she was. 

“I want you to kiss me, but I don’t think that it’s a good idea.”

“Why not?”

“I am not answering that question.”

Jude grinned.  “You’re still horny aren’t you?  You’re afraid if I kiss you you’ll want more.  I am so right.  I know it.”

Mellenda turned away from him.  “So what if you are?  I’m still not going to let you kiss me.”

Jude sighed.  “Damn.  I guess it’s just me and my hand tonight.”

“Gross.  I didn’t need to know that.”

Jude chuckled.  “Like you couldn’t have guessed.  What do you look like in a dress?  I’ll bet you look even better.  And you must look so hot in your uniform.”

“Shut up Jude.  Take your horny self home.  Thanks for the ride.”  She leaned over and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

“Now I can’t wash my face until you kiss me again.”

Mellenda rolled her eyes.  “Give it up Jude.  I’m not kissing your mouth.”

“So let me kiss yours.”

“Ha.  Goodnight Jude.”  She turned to open the door of the truck.  He stopped her by putting his hand on her arm.

“Aren’t you forgetting something?”

“Huh?”  She looked down at herself.  She still had all her clothes on.  She had her purse and her phone was inside.

“My phone number.  There’s no way I’m going to let you leave without it when you promised me you’d take it.  Or did you still have it since you called me?”

“I deleted it and I didn’t promise you, but what is it?”  She dug her phone out of her purse and opened her contact folder to the ‘add new’ option.  Jude gave her his number and she put it into her phone.  She looked at him and wondered whether she’d regret the question she was going to ask him.  “Do you want mine or did you save it?”

“I thought that it would be rude to save it when you obviously didn’t call me because you really wanted to talk to me at the time.  I’d love it, but I think I’d be bugging you all the time and probably convince you that you don’t want to go out with me.  I sure as hell don’t want that.  Even a slim chance in hell of taking a girl like you out is better than no chance at all.”

“You are so overly kind to me Jude.  I’m not better than you.  I go to a private school that I hate.  My parents might have more money than yours but honestly, I think I would rather have parents that loved me like yours probably love you, than the richest parents in the world.  And I am not that hot either.”

“You are that hot and I am not being overly kind.  I think you’re even hotter to me now that I know you a little better.”

“As if that’s possible.”

Jude laughed.  “Maybe not.  You’re really cool Mellenda.  I hope that you do decide you want to hang out with me.”

“I’ll think about it.”

“You are so gonna be calling me tomorrow night and you know it.”

Mellenda rolled her eyes.  “Keep dreaming Jude.  You’re hot but you’re not that hot.”

“At least you think I’m hot.”

“Uh huh.  Goodnight Jude.  Don’t have too much fun with your hand tonight.”

“Damn.  Shot down again.  Goodnight Mellenda.”

Mellenda shook her head at him as she exited the truck.  Jude scooted over to the driver’s side and slammed the door shut, but didn’t drive away.  She could still see the glow from his headlights when she was almost all the way back to school.  It was more comforting than she liked to admit to herself.

Chapter 7

She almost did call him the next night, but she stopped herself.  She spent a lot of time studying and was glad for the peace in her room without Molli there.  She’d gotten over most of her bad feelings towards her roommate.  She was also starting to get over Ricky, but she didn’t think that she and Molli would have ever really been friends, even if they didn’t have the same taste in guys.  Mellenda admitted to herself that they obviously did.  Even if she didn’t call Jude, she found herself thinking about him more and more.

It was two weeks later when she finally broke down and sent him a text message.  She’d had a bad day.  She’d seen Tory’s engagement ring, though her classmate wasn’t showing it off.  It was very pretty and looked expensive.  It made her ache for the way that Ricky had made her feel, or at least the way she’d thought he’d made her feel.  She was so conflicted that she was beginning to doubt her own feelings. 

She couldn’t bring herself to call Jude, because she was afraid she’d say something really dumb to him the second she heard his voice.

‘Hi Jude.  It’s Mellenda.  Are you busy or do you want to hang out?’ She texted him.

‘Is this really Mellenda or is this some asshole playing a joke on me again?  Brendan, if this is you, I’ll kick your ass.’

‘You are such a dork Jude.  This is really Mellenda.  Do you want to hang out or not?’

‘If this is Mellenda how come you didn’t call me?  Call me and prove it to me.  I know Shayla’s voice.  So if this is Brendan you’d better find some other girl to call me and pretend to be Mellenda.’

‘Damn Jude, are you really that self-conscious?  This is Mellenda, I swear.  I didn’t feel like talking on the phone.  We’re gonna be talking all night because I’m not doing anything else with you.’

‘Okay, so maybe you are Mellenda.  Hell no I’m not busy.  I’d never be too busy to spend time with you.  I’ll be there in fifteen minutes.  No, make it twenty.  I should take a quick shower.  I don’t want you to start thinking that I smell bad.  I bought two bottles of that cologne you liked.  I wasn’t sure if I liked it myself at first, but if you like it, I know it’s gotta be good.’

‘Total dork.  Are you sure you don’t want to take two showers to make sure that you really don’t stink?  Don’t try to splash yourself with a whole bottle of that cologne at once.  Subtle is very nice.’

‘You’re a smartass.  I’ll see you in twenty minutes.  Um, you don’t mind hanging out at my house do you?  My parents aren’t home but my brother and sisters are.  I kinda have to stay home with them anyway since my brother isn’t responsible enough to keep an eye on my sisters yet.  But I wanted to talk to you about us hanging out.’

Mellend
a felt a stab of disappointment.  She was glad that she hadn’t called him.  ‘Okay.’

‘Please don’t take offense at this, but I’d prefer it if we spent most of our time together hanging out at my house.  I’m not being cheap.  I am in no way ashamed of you, but I am so tired of rumors and people talking shit.  I’m sure everyone would think it was hilarious that we were even hanging out together because of what happened with Ricky and Molli.  And then the whole Tory and Tony thing since you used to be with him and of course everyone knows that I used to be with her.  My family is pretty cool.  I’m sure they’ll love you.’

‘Are you sure you’re not just being cheap?  Kidding.  It’s fine Jude.’

‘I’d buy you something nice if you wanted me to.  When’s your birthday?’

‘March 12
th
.  But you don’t have to buy me anything.  Really.’

‘Your eighteenth birthday is a big deal.  You should have something nice.  I’m gonna let you go so that I can get ready okay?’

‘Okay.  I’ll see you soon Jude.  Are you coming the back way or do you want me to meet you out front on the road?’

‘The back way if you don’t mind.  Do you have a flashlight?  It gets really dark out there and I want you to be safe.’

Mellenda smiled.  ‘I have a light on my phone.  It’s very bright so I’ll be fine.’

‘Be careful anyway okay?  I’ll see you soon.’

‘I will.  See you Jude.’

Mellenda tucked her phone into her purse.  Her heart was beating fast as she grabbed her jacket and headed out the door.  She was more excited to see Jude than she liked to admit to herself.  She walked slowly and reached the old shack just as he was pulling up in his truck.  He got out and handed her the keys and gave her a wide grin.

“Hello beautiful.”

“Hi Jude.”

“I don’t suppose I could talk you into just a little kiss or maybe a hug?  We can’t get into a major make out session though.  My parents would kill me if they came home and found my brother alone with my sisters.”

Mellenda shook her head.  “No kissing now.  If you’re lucky, I might give you a hug and a kiss goodbye.”

Jude sighed.  She got behind the wheel of the truck. He shut the door behind her and went around and got in the passenger side.  She started the truck and pulled out onto the road.

“How old are your brother and sisters?”

“Jacob is almost fourteen.  Marissa is nine and Joelle is ten.”

“How does it feel to be a big brother?”

“Sometimes it cool because they kinda look up to me, especially Jacob.  But sometimes it really sucks.  Mom and Dad have been stuck working every Halloween since I can remember that I’ve been old enough to take them trick-or-treating.”

“Isn’t it fun though?  I always wondered what it would be like to have a little brother or sister.”

“When a kid is puking their guts out and you have to clean it up because your parents aren’t home you kinda quit thinking it’s cool.  Tonight, I would much rather be able to park at the make out spot with you than hang out with my little brother and sisters.”

“We wouldn’t be parking at the old make out spot even if you didn’t have to watch your siblings.”

“Ah, Mellenda can’t you at least let me pretend that someday I might be lucky enough to kiss you?  I promise you that if you let me kiss you once, you won’t regret it.  If I could make you feel what I feel for you when I kissed you, you’d cream your panties.”

“You’re disgusting Jude.”

He grinned at her.  “Turn up here and take the road all the way down to the end.  It’s the second trailer on the right after you pull in.”

“Okay.”

They were silent until she pulled up in front of his house.  They got out and she handed him the keys.  She was nervous as they walked up the steps, even though they weren’t doing anything besides hanging out and his parents weren’t home.

His brother and sisters were in the kitchen, gathered around a board game. “You’re cheating,” one of the pretty dark haired little girls said.

The teenage boy shook his head.  “I am not.  You can’t win all the time Marissa.”

“Guys,” Jude said.  “If you can’t learn to play fair and not fight you don’t need to play at all.  Maybe I should send you all to bed.”

“Huh uh,” the girl said.  “Mom said we could stay up since it’s the weekend.  You just want to make out with your girlfriend.”

“She’s not my girlfriend.”

“Then why is she here?”  The girl looked curiously at Mellenda.

Jude reached down to tickle his sister.  “Because she wanted to hang out with our crazy family.”

“Oh.”

“Jacob, Marissa, Joelle, this is my friend Mellenda.  Mellenda this is the younger half of my crazy family.”

Mellenda smiled.  “Nice to meet you.”

Jacob nodded, and both girls gave her a shy smile.

“How about we watch a movie?” Jude said.

Jacob groaned.  “No.  The girls never want to watch anything good.  I’m gonna go play games on my computer.”

“Don’t chat with that weird chick.  Mom swears that she’s some kind of a pervert.”

Jacob sighed.  “Fine.”  He turned and walked away from the table.

Jude picked up the pieces and put them back in the box.  His youngest sister took his hand and led him back to the living room.  They stood in front of a large entertainment center.  As Marissa pulled several DVD cases off of the shelf, Jude turned to Mellenda.  “Any preference on what we watch?”

“No.”

“Okay.”

Marissa held out a case to her brother.  “Can we watch this one Jude?”

Jude shook his head.  “Not that one Iss.  You’ve already watched it ten times this week.”

“C’mon Jude.  Please.  Joelle wants to watch it too.”

“I do not.”

Marissa sighed. She shoved the DVD back onto the shelf and held out another movie.  “What about this one?”

“How about we try to find something that we’ll all like?”

“Mom said we could watch TV out here tonight since our TV is so small.”

“Honey I don’t even have a TV in my room so quit complaining.  You don’t want Mellenda to have to sit through some silly kid movie do you?  She doesn’t have little brothers and sisters.”

“She doesn’t?”

“Nope.”

“Does she have big ones?”  Marissa looked up at Mellenda.

Mellenda cleared her throat, feeling uncomfortable.  “I had an older sister, but she died.”

“Oh.  So she’s in heaven.  Our dog went there and our Aunt Dorothy went there too huh Jude?”

“Yep.”  He reached out and pulled a movie off of the shelf.  “What about this one Iss?”

Marissa shrugged.  Jude turned to Joelle.  “What do you think Joelly Bean?”

Joelle rolled her eyes.  “I’m not a baby Jude.  Stop calling me that.  That movie is dumb.”  She walked over to the shelf and pulled another movie off.  “What about this one?”

Jude sighed.  “Fine.  You get the movie ready.  I have to use the restroom, then I’ll make us some popcorn.”

“Can we have soda?”

“I thought you already had one today.”

Joelle said “Mom said we could share one.”

“Do I need to call her?”

“No.  I’m not a liar.”

Jude ruffled his sister’s hair.  “I know kiddo.  Behave while I’m in the bathroom okay?”

Joelle shook her head.  “You’ll be gone two minutes.”

“And you and Iss can get into trouble in two seconds.”

Marissa laughed.  “We do not.”

“Uh huh.”  Jude walked away.

Mellenda sat down on the couch.  Joelle put the movie into the DVD player and then gave Mellenda an inquiring look. “Are you sure you’re not my brother’s girlfriend?  You’re really pretty.”

“Thank you.  I’m not his girlfriend.”

“I bet he wishes you were.  He went to the bathroom so he could smell good for you.”

Mellenda laughed.  “I already think he smells good.”

Joelle wrinkled her nose.  “Boys stink-especially my brothers.  Jacob doesn’t even like to take a shower.  Mom has to yell at him.  He won’t smell anything but stinky until he gets a girlfriend.  Mom says that’s gonna be when he’s twenty because Jude has had enough girlfriends for both of them.”

Mellenda gave the little girl a polite nod.  “I see.”

Jude returned.  His sisters helped him make popcorn.  He carried it back out to the living room.  He made another trip back to the kitchen for four cans of soda.  Mellenda hid a smile when she saw that his sisters had talked him into letting them have their own soda.  The girls curled up at one end of the couch, which left Mellenda sitting somewhat uncomfortably next to Jude.

He pushed the button on the remote to start the movie.  Eventually he draped his arm lightly over her shoulder.  She gave him a look and he smiled, but didn’t move his arm.  She didn’t really want him to move it though.  She could smell him and it was driving her crazy.

The movie ended.  The girls had to go to bed so Mellenda was left alone with Jude.  He gave her a sly grin.  “And then there were two.”

“You are not kissing me.  I let you get away with putting your arm around me, but there is no way I am going to let you kiss with me your little brother and sisters right down the hall.”

He gave her a pout.  “Just one?  I’ll make it quick.”

“No.  We’re hanging out.  Not dating.”

“Until you decide that you’re so hot for my bod that you ask me out.”

“Dream on Jude.”

“I saw you breathing in my scent.”

Mellenda made a face at him.  “You saw no such thing.”

“Can I breathe in yours?”

Mellenda cleared her throat.  She had been breathing in his scent.  She almost wanted to ask him if there was an aphrodisiac in his cologne.  It made her want to ask him for a shirt that he had worn so she could smell it over and over again until the scent faded.  Not that she was going to admit that to him.

“No.”

“Please?  I won’t even touch you.  Well, not with my hands anyway.”

“What will you touch me with then?”

“My nose.”

She rolled her eyes.  “You are so weird.”

“I’ll let you do it to me too. You know you want to.”

“What exactly is this going to involve?”

“Let me show you.  I won’t do anything too weird.  I promise.”