Page 25

Jude

They made it through four and a half episodes of This Takes the Cake before Kat’s eyes started to close.

“You’re gonna miss it,” Jude said. “Gavin just completed the pull-up challenge, so now he gets to sabotage Amy’s cake.”

“Describe it to me,” Kat said sleepily. They were on the couch. Jude had put her arm around Kat two episodes ago, and now Kat nestled closer, moving her cheek against Jude’s chest in adorable little burrowing motions.

Jude shifted her arm so that Kat could recline more fully against her. She felt unbelievably warm and cozy against Jude’s side. “Amy tried to earn a defense card by swinging across the giant monkey bars over the pond of sludge, but she fell in.”

“Oh no,” Kat said, her voice barely audible against Jude’s shirt. Her cheek was all smushed to one side, and Jude had to resist the urge to kiss her on the temple.

“Uh-oh. Gavin pulled a picky-eater sabotage. Now Amy has to make her cake vegan and gluten free.”

Kat didn’t respond. Jude looked down. Kat’s jaw had slackened, and one loose fist was gripping the fabric of the sweatshirt Jude had put on. She was asleep.

Jude strained her free arm and was just able to reach the remote to turn off the TV. Then she shifted to make herself as comfortable as possible and leaned her head against the top of Kat’s.

Had cuddling someone ever felt so good? Even with Becca, Jude didn’t remember it being quite like this.

Every inch where they touched felt sparkly, like that experiment in seventh grade science when they’d all held hands in a circle and passed an electric shock between them.

Jude’s side was already cramping, and her arm was well on its way to falling asleep, but she didn’t care.

She would stay up all night if she had to, just to keep Kat this close.

She loved watching Kat’s face finally relax, her guard at last fully down. It had to be so hard living in the public eye. Fans stopping you on the street and strangers leaking photos of you to the press. It seemed exhausting.

For some reason Kat had chosen Jude to let her guard down around. That wasn’t a gift that Jude intended to take lightly.

Uh-oh. You’re in trouble, a voice in her head whispered. It sounded suspiciously like Rhys.

The voice was right. Jude liked Kat a lot. A scary amount. A potentially-life-shattering-heartbreak amount. And it had only been a few weeks. They hadn’t talked about the long-term at all.

But this felt good.

Jude was tired of playing it safe. Rhys was right—she’d been living life defensively for the past three years, playing goalie against anything that might hurt her again. But she didn’t want to be stuck anymore.

Jude leaned down and pressed the ghost of a kiss against Kat’s warm hair, trying her best not to wake her up. She felt a swell of something in her chest, as if each heartbeat was pumping a little more happiness into her body.

“Your soul just hooked into mine,” she whispered, echoing Kat’s words from the other night, feeling the same caffeinated thrill she’d felt when Kat had said them the first time.

How had she found someone so romantic? Someone who could use words in such beautiful ways?

Who knew exactly what to say to make Jude feel special?

That gave Jude an idea. A good idea. No, a genius idea. She smiled to herself as she thought through the logistics. Then, as carefully as she could, she pulled her phone out of her pocket and opened the bookstore group chat, The Next Chatter.

What are you guys doing tomorrow night? I need your help with something.