Jude

by Lane Hart

  “Sadie,” he says wide-eyed, quickly backing up out of my reach.

  Fuckin’ knew it.

  I bring my knee up, nailing Matt between the legs and making him groan “You’ll lose both nuts if I find out you’ve even thought about her again.”

  “Why…do you…give a…shit?” he asks.

  Fuck.

  I want to tell him that she's mine. In fact, the words are right on the tip of my tongue trying to claw their way out, but I can't without losing Sadie and my head coach in one fell swoop. So I swallow the proprietorial words that scrape my throat like roofing nails all the way down.

  “You’re disrespecting Coach Brigg’s daughter, that's why! Shut your fucking mouth about her or I’ll shut it for you,” I warn. When I finally let him go, he coughs and collapses down to his knees.

  I grab my shit and get the hell out of there before I kill one of these bastards. Apparently I’m not the only one to notice Sadie’s makeover from invisible to sexy as fuck. Not being able to lay claim on her because of the risk Coach will find out is going to give me high blood pressure. I want everyone to know she's mine. Maybe then I wouldn’t have to think about guys constantly coming on to her. If I have to endure one more asshole hitting on her, I'm going to go apeshit on their asses.

  …

  Sadie

  “Hi, sugar. How are you doin’ tonight?” a strange man asks from beside me. One old enough to be my father.

  “Great. Just waiting for my boyfriend,” I respond as I look around the tavern and over at the door. “You might have heard of him, Jude Malone? He’s a really awesome MMA fighter. Beats the shit out of guys for a living, and he’s really great at it. He’s about to fight for the IFC Welterweight World Championship title.”

  The man immediately takes a step back from my barstool, just like I'd hoped. Good.

  “Malone? Yeah, I’ve heard of him. His brother Jax, too.”

  “Uh-huh,” I respond, then relax when Jude finally walks through the door. He scans the room and he smiles when he finally finds me. Right before his eyes narrow and his expression turns murderous at the man still next to me. “You might want to run along now. He looks pissed,” I tell the guy who scuttles quickly away.

  Without a greeting, Jude spins my stool around until he's standing between my legs, his lips pressing against mine. His kiss is possessive and dominating, holding both sides of my face in his palms. His tongue forces its way into my mouth, making me moan at the contact, instantly lighting the spark of arousal through me.

  When Jude eventually pulls away, we're both gasping as he leans his forehead against mine. “I can’t leave you alone for two minutes without some fucker trying to screw you. I don’t know how much more I can fucking take, Sadie.”

  I'm not sure what to make of his comment. It almost sounds like he's blaming me for guys coming up to talk to me. “It’s not like I want any of them.”

  “Then maybe you shouldn’t show so much skin.”

  “What?” I gasp, pulling away from him.

  “The short shorts, the low-cut shirts. It’s all begging for guys to look and think about fucking you. Damn, Sadie, you can’t be that naïve! You know exactly what the hell you’re doing.”

  I don't know how to react to his harshness. I like Jude a lot, and have crushed on him forever. But I'm not going to let him blame me for how men act toward me, or how he decides to deal with it, especially not after being invisible to everyone, including him for so damn long.

  “You're starting to sound like my father. When did you become such an asshole, Jude?”

  The muscles in his jaw tick before he responds. “I don’t know. Maybe it was when those three pricks were talking to you Saturday night. Or when you said jackasses at school asked you out. Or most likely it was when I overheard Matt and Jimmy talking about how sweet your ass and titties are, and how much they wanted to 'hit that’. Then to top it all off, I show up here to see some old ass guy hitting on you!”

  “Oh, so should I go back to wearing baggy t-shirts and grungy jeans? Is that what you want?”

  “Yes, for the love of God, woman!”

  “Well, let me go home and cover right up, so you’ll be happy,” I say sarcastically, standing up from the stool and grabbing my purse.

  “You’re leaving?” he asks in surprise.

  “I can’t sit around here looking like a slut, now can I?” I ask, angry that he'd ever imply such a thing.

  “Sadie, I get that you’re PMSing or whatever, but just calm down. I didn’t say you look like a slut,” he responds, scrubbing a hand over his face.

  “I can’t believe you,” I tell him, shaking my head as I head for the exit. “Let me know when your period ends, Jude, because right now you’re the one acting like a crazy bitch.”

  Chapter Nine

  Jude

  “So, taking a wild guess, telling a girl she’s being nuts because of the time of the month is a pretty stupid thing to say, right?” I ask Page while tossing the big bouncy green ball back and forth to Xavier in their living room floor.

  “Oh yeah. That’s one of the ten deadly sins. Right up there with ‘Yes, that dress makes you look fat’ and ‘What the hell did you do to your hair?’" Page responds.

  “Shi…itake mushrooms," I say, catching myself in front of Xavier.

  Without missing a beat, he immediately starts chanting "shiitake" over and over again while jumping up and down.

  "Tell me the rest of the sins while we’re at it, just for future reference.”

  Page nods, grabbing Boo up to cuddle him on the sofa. “Good idea. Let’s see...there’s also, ‘Yes, I was checking out that other woman and she is hot’ and ‘You could stand to lose a few pounds.’ Also there’s "I would so bang your friend." And don't forget, "Heck no I don't want to have kids with you, woman."

  “Okay, I think that’s enough for now,” I say, holding up my hand to stop her.

  “Look, Jude, you’ve never had a girlfriend before, so it’s going to be a whole lot of trial and error to figure it out."

  "I may have also insinuated that her new makeover, which includes showing more skin, is the reason guys are always hitting on her."

  "Wow, Jude. What's going on with you? Are you trying to piss her off?" Page laughs.

  "It's just...hearing the guys in the locker room talking about her amazing ass...pen and tits...breasts made me crazy! I should've pounded my fists into their faces until they couldn't look at her."

  I hate the thought of Sadie with someone else. I want to chain her to my bed, so she'll only be mine. Okay, now I'm thinking about chaining her to my bed for an entirely different reason. Maybe it's time to get my own place, and get out from under my dad's roof to explore some of these kinkier fantasies with her. First, I need to get her to forgive me. Again. I really suck at this dating thing.

  "So what did you do to those guys?" Page asks.

  "Just partially choked one before kneeing him in the balls," I respond.

  "Balls!" Xavier cheers, throwing his tiny arms in the air after rolling the big green one back to me.

  "Well, that probably wasn't the best way to handle it," Page responds. "And you can’t expect Sadie to cover up with a burka now that she’s dating you. She's a beautiful girl, finally coming out of her shell, which is why you noticed her in the first place. You should encourage her to be who she wants, dress how she wants, and not smother her. You’re just going to have to trust that she doesn’t want any of those other guys. I mean, look at you. She’d be nuts to want anyone else.”

  “Thanks,” I mutter.

  "Actually, I remember the first time I met Sadie. It was at the July Fourth party almost two years ago, right before Jax's trial. All the hot guys from the gym were hanging out around their pool, but she only had eyes for you."

  "Really? Me? Two years ago?" I ask in surprise.

  "Yeah. And then you came up and we were talking about the fight that night, she was like a walking MMA dictionary. She knew who was fighting,
how many times he'd won, and how good he was. You know- Linc something or another," she says.

  "Abrams," I grumble.

  "Yeah, that might have been it. Anyway, Sadie also told me about your nickname and rank. She had a big time crush on you."

  I try to think back to that day, but barely remember seeing Sadie at the party, even though it was at her house. I do seem to remember her talking about Linc one time, saying that he was really good and hot or some shit. I'd scoffed at the comment back then, but Goddamn that pisses me off now, knowing she’s attracted to him and I'll be fighting him in a few weeks.

  “So how do I get her to forgive my dumbass...pen?”

  “Well, most women like a sweet gesture with your apology. Flowers or some other little gift would work, but most importantly, don't ever make the same stupid mistake again. That means cooling the jealousy.”

  “I'm gonna try, but I've never felt anything like this before or been so angry. And it'll be hard to do something like flowers or whatever for Sadie since we’re hiding from Coach.”

  "You'll just have to be discreet," she says with a smile. "Beating up guys in the locker room is not exactly discreet by the way."

  I pull out my phone trying to decide if I should call her or not. Her beautiful picture, one of several that Page had sent me from prom is next to her name in my contact list. Suddenly I have an idea.

  …

  Sadie

  I'm doodling waves and sea turtles on the edge of my notebook paper, thinking about being with Jude at the beach when I hear my name.

  "Huh?" I look up and ask my study period teacher.

  "You're wanted in the front office," Mrs. Bates says without glancing away from her computer.

  Shit. Panic takes me over as I stand on wobbly legs and head for the classroom door. What have I done wrong? Nothing's coming to mind. I haven't been skipping lately, and I only smoked that one time when I got caught. I still haven't figured out what I might be in trouble for when I walk cautiously into the front office.

  "Hi, I'm Sadie Briggs. Someone wanted to see me?" I ask the elderly secretary behind the desk.

  "Sadie Briggs?" she repeats, looking around the office. "Ah-ha! Here you go, sweetie," she says, handing me a brown teddy bear. It takes me a second to realize that the black and red wrapping around its paws are gloves. The gloves and pair of black nylon shorts with the words "You're a Knockout" printed on the leg mean he's an MMA bear. The adorable stuffed animal is also holding a thin rectangular gift wrapped package.

  I leave the office with an uncontrollable smile and sit down on a bench in the hallway to open the present, unable to wait a second longer. It's a beautiful silver and blue picture frame with a photo of me and Jude in front of my house before we left for prom. A folded up note on plain paper is secured to the front. It takes me several tries to decipher the horrible male handwriting. It reads, "I've never been crazy about anyone before you, so I hope you'll forgive my episodes of temporary insanity, past offenses as well as future ones. I fall a little harder with each second I spend with you, which makes me want to hold you a little closer. I know it's stupid and irrational, and I promise I'll figure out how to cope without taking it out on you again. It's not your fault that you're beautiful and you shouldn't have to hide it. I just hope that out of all your potential suitors you'll keep on choosing me.

  Wow. I'm a little overwhelmed by his sweet gesture. One for an argument I'd already gotten over after missing Jude so much I can't stand it.

  …

  I put the top down and drive my Beemer straight to the gym right after school. It's my normal routine, only nowadays, I'm pretty sure Jude will actually notice me.

  "Hey, sweetie. How was school?" my dad asks when I join him behind the front counter.

  "Good," I reply, glancing around the gym, hoping the hottest man in the world is still here.

  "What are you so happy about?"

  "Huh?" I ask, forcing my eyes away from the search.

  "You seem to be in a good mood," my dad observes.

  "I am."

  "Why is that?" he asks with a raised eyebrow.

  "No reason. Just...school's almost over." School is almost over which means an entire week at the beach with Jude and my friends.

  "Yeah, and I've been meaning to tell you that I shouldn't have conned you out of your beach trip, so I'm going to let you go if you'll agree to one small stipulation."

  "Really?" I ask, pretending I don't already know.

  "Yes. I want Jude to go with you."

  I roll my eyes in mock exasperation. "Jude? Seriously? I'm pretty sure he has more important things to do than babysit four teenage girls."

  "The world is a dangerous place, especially a crazy tourist city like Myrtle Beach. Jude goes and sleeps on the pull-out sofa to keep an eye on you girls or you're not going."

  "Fine. You know I'll do whatever you ask to be able to go," I say with a smile. I glance back out onto the floor and finally spot Jude. He's beating the shit out of one of the heavy punching bags. As soon as my dad heads back to his office Jude comes over to the counter.

  "Hey," he says, still breathing heavy from his workout when he braces his palms on the counter. Sweat's dripping from his short hair even after I offer him a towel and he swipes it over his face.

  "Hey. I love the bear and the picture."

  "I really am sorry about the shit I said. I was hoping a gift might get me back into your good graces. Did it work?" he asks hesitantly.

  "You were back in my good graces before the gift," I tell him honestly. How could I be mad at him today of all days?

  "Good," he replies with a smile stretching across his gorgeous face.

  "Can I see you later and thank you properly?" I ask, glancing down at the front of his shorts suggestively.

  Jude's dark eyes widen when I look back up at them. "Hell yes," he says quickly. "We're having this get-together at my house tonight...if you want to come over? Jax, Page, and Xavier are coming, too."

  "For your birthday?" I ask.

  His jaw falls open. "How'd you know?"

  "Well, it is the same day every year. May fourteenth."

  "You know what I mean."

  "I noticed lots of things about you years before you noticed me," I tell him.

  "I'm sorry," he responds quickly, hanging his head. "I should've noticed you sooner."

  "I was a dork. I still am, I just look less dorky," I reply with a shrug.

  "You're not a dork."

  "Whatever. So what time later?" I ask.

  "Um, maybe six? We're not going to eat until seven or so, but I want to see you before."

  "Okay, but I’m still...you know, so..."

  "Sadie, seriously? I'd like to spend some time with you with all our clothes on. Yes, I really like fucking you, a lot, but that's not all I'm after," he whispers. "Besides, there'll be plenty of time for that at the beach."

  "I can't wait," I tell him unable to help my smile.

  "Me, either. But for now, I guess I better hit the shower. See you in a few," he says with a wink before walking away.

  I count down the minutes until six o'clock. I do my homework as a distraction, and then a few minutes before the hour, I tell my dad that I'm going to Brayden's for dinner.

  I've been to Jude's house before, not that he probably remembers. My dad and I have visited for dinners and holiday get-togethers a few times over the years. Since both of our families are motherless, we've never really done a big traditional Thanksgiving or Christmas feast. It's always more like grilling out in winter or ordering Chinese takeout with all these guys.

  No sooner does my car door shut, then the front door of the brick house opens and Jude comes out to meet me on the porch. Seeing him in jeans is a change from his usual sweats, but the loose-fitting denim looks awesome on his long, lean frame. Stupid period. If it wasn't for that shit, I'd already have my legs wrapped around him, stripping him out of his clothes.

  "Hey," he greets me with a smile.

>   "Happy Birthday," I say, giving him a hug. He holds me tightly to him, smelling like masculine soap, and pulls back to kiss me. It's a nice kiss, but doesn't last as long as I would've liked before he leads me by the hand into his house and up the steps to his room.

  I glance around the sparsely decorated space, taking in a private side of him I've never seen before. There's a flat screen mounted on the cream-colored wall, an iPhone stereo dock on a dresser, a few articles of clothing on the floor, and of course, random gloves, rolls of tape, weights, and other training items.

  "This is weird," Jude says, shutting his door while watching me. "I've never had a girl up here before. Well, except for Page, but she doesn't count."

  "So...where exactly did you learn how to pleasure a woman?" I ask, remembering his unfortunate comment about spending time between a woman's legs.

  He chuckles and I think he even blushes, but it's hard to tell under his tan skin. "You really want to know?"

  "Yes," I reply, sitting my purse on the floor beside his bed before climbing up on the edge of the navy blue comforter.

  "Well, there hasn't been but a handful, but it went down in hotel rooms or at their place. I didn't want to bring women back here with my dad and shit."

  "But you never fucked any of them?"

  "Nope, only oral."

  "So how'd you hold out? I mean, once things start heating up it's hard to stop."

  "If I received, I gave until they were satisfied. Then I'd bow out and leave."

  "You must have some serious willpower."

  "I did until you came along," he says, climbing up on the bed next to me so that our thighs touch.

  "I still can't figure that out," I tell him with a shake of my head.

  "You're not only gorgeous, but you're also sweet and innocent. Compared to most women," he clarifies when I raise an eyebrow. "I like the idea of doing really naughty things with you. To you," he says, wrapping an arm around me.

  "Oh really?" I ask, aroused just sitting on his bed beside him. I lay back on the mattress, grabbing his shoulders to pull him down on top of me. "Like what?"