Giving up on my combo, I inhaled. “Sawyer,” I began, turning to face him. His face was so damn confident I was tempted to go with my “tell him off” version.
“Luce already has a date for homecoming.”
Jude sauntered up to us and squared himself in front of Sawyer. “Go find yourself another girl, Diamond. This one’s off the market and is smart enough to see through your shit even if she weren’t.”
Sawyer’s one hundred watt smile was long gone. Pushing himself off the locker, he stood toe to toe with Jude. “I thought you were just friends.”
“Well, you were wrong.”
“I figured as much,” Sawyer said, not turning and running as most people did when they found themselves up against Jude. “You’re not the kind of guy that keeps girls as friends. Pardon me for mistaking Lucy as available. I didn’t realize you two had a friends with benefits thing going on.”
Without warning, Jude shoved Sawyer so hard he fell back into the herd of students making their way to class.
“Jude.” I threw down my bag and grabbed his arm, trying to pull him back, which would have worked if I could bench press a semi truck.
“Luce,” he breathed, glancing back at where my fingers circled his arm. “Let me go. I’m good.”
Only because I would have been useless had he wanted to turn Sawyer’s face into a punching bag, I did as he asked.
Striding after Sawyer who was struggling to right himself, Jude stood over him, his veins bulging in his forehead. “Listen to me, you pompous little jerk off, and listen damn good. You ever,” he spat, “EVER! so much as disrespect Luce in that way again, that will be the second to last breath you take because, so help me God, I will be so hot on your heels, you won’t know what’s coming for you until the devil’s checking your name off on that roll call sheet.” Everyone had stopped to stare at the three of us, but the only thing I was focused on was Jude. His anger was so intense, it was shaking every last part of him, but he managed to contain it. To keep it from doing what it did best. Hurt things.
“Now let me clear this up for you since you’re the dumbest piece of shit I’ve yet to encounter. Luce and I are friends. And I’m taking her to homecoming. And you will not insinuate, verbalize, or even think anything about her that is less than honorable. You got me?” Jude’s face was red, an inch above Sawyer’s, and the veins were bulging to the point of bursting. Sawyer was being a dick, yes, but you would have thought he’d just committed first degree murder from Jude’s reaction. I had to admit, as much as I trusted Jude, it scared me.
Shoving up off the ground, Sawyer met Jude’s glare. “I got you.”
“There’s a little bitch,” Jude said, patting Sawyer’s cheek. “Now get the hell out of here. Isn’t it about ass-slapping time in the locker room for you and your boyfriends?”
The two glowered at one another for another second before Sawyer looked back at me, where I was still glued to my locker. “Catch up with you later, Lucy.”
“Not if I catch you first,” Jude muttered after him, watching Sawyer until he disappeared around a corner.
The lookie-loos were dispersing, although a few hung around, hoping for some post game action.
“Scram,” Jude ordered, waving his hands at the stragglers. I hadn’t seen Olympians move that fast.
“So you’re taking me to homecoming?” I said, managing to get my locker open in world record slowest time.
“That’s right,” he said, spinning on his heels. His eyes were gleaming and his face was every plane of confident. It was damn sexy, but he couldn’t know I thought that.
“Don’t you think you need to ask me first?” I focused on exchanging third period’s books for fourth’s, although the corners of my eyes were burning from watching him.
He strolled up to me, getting so close I felt the heat pulsing from him. “Luce, will you go to homecoming with me?” His voice was soft, low. And that made me feel things I didn’t need to if I was going to make it to fourth period unflustered.
“I thought you wanted to keep up this whole friendship facade.” I wasn’t playing hard to get, I was making sure he really knew what he wanted. This was a guy that kept a note from his mom in his back pocket to remind him what happened when you let yourself love someone.
“I don’t give a damn about facades. I give a damn about people showing you some respect,” he said, heat burning in his words. “Come on, go with me.”
“I thought you didn’t do the whole flowers, date, girlfriend thing.” Zipping my backpack up, I slammed my locker and turned to face him.
“I didn’t,” he said, giving me that grin that could only mean he saw through me. “But I think you might have changed my mind on all that.”
My heart stopped and was doing a hand spring the next beat. “Is that a compliment?”
His gaze shifted to the ceiling. “You can take it however you want if you go with me.”
“Jude.” I rolled my eyes.
He knew he was wearing me down and at this stage, I was another cockeyed smile away from caving. He took this knowledge to his advantage.
Pressing himself against me, his hand found my hip. Backing me up against the wall of lockers, his other hand wandered up my arm until it molded around my neck. I went from being a young, marginally innocent girl who liked to dance to a woman with a one track mind. My whole body ached and, when his lips just brushed over mine, it felt like the ache was about to explode.