by Teresa Roman
First thing the next morning, I went to visit Jude. He was a lot more alert and sat up in bed when I walked into his room. Though he was doing his best to hide it, I could see pain in his eyes when he moved.
“I’m going to call your nurse and tell her you need some pain medication.”
He shook his head. “She’s been offering them to me all morning, but I told her no.”
“What? Why?”
“I don’t like the way they make me feel.”
“Jude, c’mon. Being in pain is only going to delay your recovery.”
“I can handle it,” he said. “Besides, if I’m not moving around, the pain’s not so bad.”
I sighed, realizing I wasn’t going to convince him. “I brought you something to eat,” I said. On the way to the hospital, I’d stopped at King Taco. It was early in the day and while tacos weren’t exactly breakfast food, King Taco was one of our favorite take-out places.
“You’re too good to me,” he said, opening the bag I’d just handed him.
After having nothing to eat but hospital food, I thought Jude would dive into his meal. Instead, he took one bite of his taco and turned his head in my direction.
“What’s wrong?”
“There’s something I want to talk to you about,” he said, his tone suddenly somber.
“What is it?”
“All night I’ve been lying here thinking about that fight we had the other day, and I’ve realized a few things.”
“Like what?” I asked, hesitantly.
“That you were right about my jealousy being a problem.” I opened my mouth to tell him now wasn’t the time to talk about this. That we could wait until he wasn’t lying in a hospital bed recovering from a gunshot wound, but he continued to talk. “Yesterday, I saw firsthand what jealousy can turn a person into. I don’t remember much about getting shot other than right before it happened I promised myself that as soon as I got off from work I’d call you to tell you how sorry I was for the way I’ve been treating you.”
“You don’t have anything to be—”
“Yes. Yes, I do,” Jude said, cutting me off. “The man who shot me, it was his girlfriend who called the police yesterday. She wanted to break up with her boyfriend, but he refused to let her. He told her if she tried to leave their apartment, he’d shoot her. She’d been trapped in that apartment for almost a week before she managed to sneak a call to the police begging for help. When Frank and I got there, her boyfriend was screaming at her, saying she belonged to him and there was no way he was going to let her go.”
“Jude, you’re nothing like that guy.”
“I know I’m not. But you were right to be upset by my jealousy. I was so afraid of losing you that I lashed out at you. I should’ve been more sensitive, especially after you told me what you’d been through with your ex. I swore I wouldn’t hurt you like that.”
“Well, I was wrong, too. I probably would’ve been jealous if I saw some woman giving you a shoulder rub. I should’ve told Dr. Kennedy to stop. And I should have told you how I felt sooner instead of waiting until you’d been shot. But I’ve never been good with words, so I thought showing you was enough. I guess I was wrong.”
Jude’s lips curled into a smile. “I’ve loved every minute of the showing part,” he said. “But I can’t lie, hearing you say ‘I love you’ for the first time was amazing, even if I was mostly out of it at the time.”
I got out of my chair to sit on the bed beside Jude. I stared into his eyes before bending down to kiss him, long and deep and hard. When I pulled away, I looked into his eyes again. “I love you, Jude. There’s no one in this world for me but you.”
He rested his forehead on mine. “I believe you. And I promise from now on I won’t get jealous whenever some guy looks at you . . . even that pretty-boy doctor.”
“Pretty-boy doctor? I have no idea who you’re talking about,” I teased before kissing Jude again.
Chapter 26
Jude stayed in the hospital for a little over a week before finally being discharged. Though the bullet had missed Jude’s femur, he still had some difficulty getting around. The damage to his leg muscle from the bullet left him in a lot of pain and he needed crutches to walk. His mother had gone back to his apartment to pack some of his things and met us at the hospital right before Jude was wheeled out of his room.
Back at my apartment, I helped Jude to the couch while his mom brought his suitcase inside along with what looked like a week’s worth of dinners she’d prepared for the two of us.
“You didn’t have to do that,” I said as she arranged everything in neat stacks in the refrigerator.
“Telling my mom not to cook is like telling her not to breathe. It’s just what she does,” Jude said.
“I heard that.” She put her hand on her hips. “I’m just trying to make sure my son who just got shot, and his girlfriend who’s taking care of him, are eating nice home-cooked food instead of take-out.”
“And we appreciate it, Mrs. Morales.” I squeezed Jude’s hand. “Right, Jude.”
“Of course. My mom knows I’m only joking.”
She muttered something in Spanish before turning back around to close the refrigerator door.
I lugged Jude’s suitcase into my room and then arranged his pill bottles, which we’d stopped to get from the pharmacy on the way home from the hospital, on a shelf in the bathroom. When everything was sorted out and squared away, Jude’s mom announced that she had to get back home.
She gave her son a kiss on his cheek before turning to look at me. “Can you walk me to my car, mija?” she asked, swinging her purse strap over her shoulder.
“Sure, of course.”
I followed her outside. We walked silently beside each other until we reached her car.
“I can’t thank you enough for taking care of my son.”
“You don’t have to thank me. I love him.”
“He loves you, too, Dawn. Very much.”
“I won’t let him down or hurt him,” I said, recognizing the motherly concern in her voice.
She took my hand and gave it a little squeeze. “Thank you, mija, that’s what I hoped you were going to say.”
She gave me a hug and then got in her car and drove off. After her car was out of sight, I turned around and headed back to my apartment. The sight of Jude sitting on the couch gave my heart a little jolt. I still thanked God every night for sparing his life. I knew that once Jude made a full recovery, he intended to go back to work. I hated even thinking about that. But for now, Jude was home with me, safe.
I took a week off from work so I could stay home to help him. His dressings needed changing, and it was hard for him to get up and do things without pain. He pushed himself though, telling me it’s what the physical therapist at the hospital told him to do. But I kind of didn’t want him recovering too quickly. I liked falling asleep and waking up beside him even if Jude’s injuries kept us from being able to do what we normally did in bed together.
On my first day back at work, I worried about Jude all day even though there were plenty of people to take care of him. Ever since he’d moved in, we’d had daily visits from his parents, sisters, and extended family and friends.
When I got back to my apartment after a twelve-hour shift that felt like it lasted forever, it was so good to come home to him. With every day that passed, he was able to do more and more. While I was glad he was recovering, I didn’t like to think about the day when he’d no longer need my help, so I was less than happy when one evening I came home to find Jude getting one of his mother’s dinners on the table despite the crutches he was still using to get around.
“Hey, I’m the one who’s supposed to be taking care of you, not the other way around,” I said, walking up to him.
“I don’t want to be a burden on you.”
“You’re not a burden. I love having you here.” I wrapped my arms around him and rested my head on his chest listening to the lub-dub of his heart. “In fact,
I never want you to leave.”
Jude pulled away and stared into my eyes before asking, “Are you saying what I think you’re saying?”
I nodded slowly. I hadn’t actually intended on asking him to move in, but now that I had, I realized it was what I wanted. Jude dropped his crutches to the floor and pulled me closer to him.
“Jude, your leg.”
“My leg is fine.” He kissed me, running his hands through my hair. “I miss making love to you.”
“We can do that when you’re healed.”
“I’ll heal faster if you let me be inside you,” he whispered.
I was so turned on that I couldn’t bring myself to say no. I bent down to pick up Jude’s crutches, handed them to him and said, “Follow me.”
I headed toward the bedroom. Jude trailed behind me.
“Lie down,” I commanded
His eyes sparkled and he complied, no questions asked.
I stripped off his clothes slowly, taking extra care with his shorts since he still had bandages on his thigh. When he was fully undressed, I kissed him starting at his lips and then working my way down to his neck, then his chest.
“It’s not fair that you’ve still got your clothes on,” he protested as he reached under my shirt.
“What’s the rush, Officer?” I teased, pulling his hands away.
It wasn’t until I was done kissing every inch of his beautiful bronze flesh that I pulled my shirt over my head and unclasped my bra. By then he was practically breathless with anticipation. I straddled his body, and he reached up to cup my breasts.
“How is it that I can never get enough of you?” he said.
“I feel exactly the same way, you know.”
I leaned down to kiss him again before easing myself down on his rock-hard erection. He sucked in a breath. I rode him gently at first, eventually moving my hips faster. He grabbed my bottom helping me to ease myself up and down. I moaned as his hands caressed my back and then my breasts. As we reached climax, both our bodies tensed. Jude held me by my hips before wrapping his arms around my waist. I leaned forward, pressing my chest against Jude’s.
“I didn’t hurt your leg, did I?” I asked.
“No,” he said, running his hands through my hair. “That was perfect. You have no idea how much I’ve missed making love to you.”
I smiled. “I think I’ve got a bit of an idea.”
For another few minutes, I just lay there listening to the beat of Jude’s heart and appreciating once more that he was all right and that the bullet that hit him hadn’t done more damage.
Eventually, I slid to his side. He wrapped an arm around me and I rested my head on his chest. “So when are we going to bring the rest of your stuff over here?” I asked.
“Are you really sure this is what you want?”
“Yes, I am.”
“Then I can move in whenever you want me to,” he said. “I can get Monica’s husband to help. He’s got a pickup truck.”
“How about next week?”
“Sounds perfect to me,” Jude said. Then he kissed me on the top of my head and pulled me closer to him. I smiled, realizing that I felt so at peace in his arms.
The transition from girlfriend and boyfriend to live-in lovers went smoother than I expected. By the time Jude officially moved in, we’d been together for almost seven months and had spent plenty of nights at each other’s apartments, so we already knew a lot of each other’s quirks.
A few weeks after moving in, Jude announced that he was going back to work. I took the news harder than I thought I would. The days preceding his official return left me fighting with myself to not plead with Jude to change careers, but he loved his job and I didn’t want him to feel guilty about that.
For the entire of Jude’s first week back to work, I checked my phone relentlessly, constantly panicked that I’d receive another call from Frank telling me Jude had gotten shot again. To keep myself busy, I decided to call my sister, anxious to have someone to vent to.
“He knows how much you love him,” May said. “That will keep him careful.”
Somehow, her words were enough to keep me from losing my mind with worry. I’d never really been one to believe in destiny. Until Jude. We were meant for each other, I reminded myself, and our love story was only just beginning.
Chapter 27
A few months passed. Summer turned into fall. Halloween decorations were swapped out for Thanksgiving ones, and then Christmas goodies flooded the stores. My birthday fell between those two holidays.
Jude kept hinting that he had a surprise in store for me. As I was readying myself for work, I counted the months we’d been together on my hands. Almost eleven months. That wasn’t even a year yet. It was way too soon for my mind to be going where it was going.
As a kid, I’d never been one of those girls who dreamed about what she’d one day look like in her wedding dress. But over the past few weeks, wedding fever had hit me hard. I shook my head, trying to clear my mind. I wasn’t going to be one of those women who hinted about rings or gave relationship ultimatums.
Since Jude had to be at work a full hour before I did, he was already gone. I finished dressing and headed to the kitchen for my morning coffee. Right on top of my favorite mug lay a note. I smiled and picked it up.
Dear Dawn,
Happy Almost Birthday!!!
I can’t wait for tomorrow.
Love, Jude
I finished my coffee and then tucked the note into my purse, figuring that if work got crazy, I could always glance at it for a quick pick-me-up.
After I arrived at the hospital, I noticed that holiday decorations had already gone up.
“I swear they put these up earlier and earlier every year,” Tracey said to me as we waited for morning shift change to begin.
“Nope,” I said. “It’s always the same every year.”
“Speaking of Christmas, are you going to the party this year?”
I looked up at the bulletin board and glanced at the flyer that had been posted the day before. This year’s party was going to be at Nightingale again.
“I . . . I don’t know. In case you forgot, last year’s party didn’t exactly turn out the way I expected it to.”
“But this time will be different. You’re with Jude now. Come on, you have to go.”
“You’re forgetting that Jude hates Eric. I’m not sure going is such a good idea.”
Jude had kept his word and worked on his jealousy issues, but it was obvious that he still did not like Eric. Their interactions were always tense and brief, as if both couldn’t wait to be out of each other’s space. I didn’t think throwing them together at a party, especially one where alcohol was going to be served, was such a good idea.
“Are you kidding me? You can’t let that stop you from going.”
“I’m taking it this means you and Frank will be there?”
“Yup,” Tracey said with a big smile.
I let out a deep breath. “I’ll think about it.”
The day wound up being so busy that I stayed almost an hour after my shift ended. By the time I got home, it was almost nine o’clock and Jude was already fast asleep. It had been his third twelve-hour shift in a row, and since he had to be up so early for them, he was exhausted. Which was why, after taking a shower, I crept into bed beside him without waking him and fell asleep with my head on his chest.
It was almost ten by the time I woke up the next morning. For weeks Jude had been asking me what I wanted for my birthday and every time I’d tell him the same thing. “A morning to sleep in.” He’d totally given it to me.
Jude was already out of bed. The smell of coffee hit me as I tossed back the covers. I headed to the kitchen to find him filling a cup for me.
“Good morning, birthday girl,” he said, handing the coffee to me.
“Thank you,” I said. “How sweet.”
“Oh, I’m just getting started.” He turned around and reached into the cabinet for two plates. T
hen he pulled something out of a large white paper bag that I couldn’t quite see until he turned around.
My eyes widened. “Croissants?”
“From Euro Pane,” he added, knowing that it was my favorite bakery and that they made the most heavenly, decadent croissants in the LA area.
I sat down with my coffee and took a bite of my croissant. “Mmm, you spoil me too much,” I said.
He smiled. “Like I said, the day is just getting started.”
“Can it get started after I fit in a quick workout? I have a feeling I’m going to need it.”
“We probably both will.” He’d already polished off his first croissant and was working on another.
Jude wasn’t a swimmer like I was, so while I headed to the pool he went to the gym. We showered and changed after and had a quick lunch before Jude told me it was time to go. He took my hand and led me out to his car. He wouldn’t tell me where we were going, but by the direction he was driving I guessed it would be somewhere by the coast. We’d managed to leave before LA’s crazy traffic was at its worst and made it out to Malibu in just over an hour.
I loved the beaches in Malibu, they were so much less crowded and crazy, and Jude had taken me to one that not a lot of people knew about. Since November wasn’t really a busy beach month, we practically had the beach to ourselves.
After walking along the sandy shore, we lay beside each other on a blanket Jude had brought with him. He ran his fingers through my hair as I rested my head on his chest.
“Being with you here makes me feel like I’m in heaven,” he said.
“I know what you mean.”
It was a picture-perfect day. The sun was out, but with the coastal breeze it wasn’t hot, and the sound of the ocean as it crashed into the shore was soothing and peaceful.
I glanced at Jude, and the next thing I knew, he was kissing me and I was kissing him right back. “God, I love you,” he whispered into my ear as his lips left mine searching for another spot to let his lips and tongue graze.
“We better stop,” I said after a while. “This is a public beach, after all.”
