Almost immediately she hissed under her breath, “What the hell is going on with you two?”
“Honestly?” I asked, turning on the sink.
“Of course.”
“Nothing,” I shrugged simply.
“Nothing?” She repeated. “That did not look like nothing in there.”
“Trust me, it is,” I mumbled, adding soap to the water.
She cocked her hip to the side and stared me down. I squirmed beneath her penetrating gaze, wondering what she saw. Finally, she turned away, taking a dish from me so she could rinse and dry it. “You don’t see it, do you?” She finally asked after a minute or so had past.
“See what?” I replied in confusion.
“The way he looks at you.”
My head shot up to look at her. “See how who looks at me?”
She rolled her eyes. “Don’t play dumb with me, Tatum. We both know you’re not stupid.”
“He looks at me in no particular way,” I mumbled, looking back down at the white plate in my hand.
“Did you know that since he started helping you with your paper he hasn’t been with any other girl?” I was shocked by her words but didn’t show it.
“What do you mean by, ‘been with’?” I asked, scrubbing the same plate that already sparkled.
She sighed dramatically and I knew she wanted to smack the back of my head. “If you want me to say it I will.” Before I could reply she said, “Jude hasn’t had sex with anyone since he started helping you.” She crossed her arms over her chest and leaned her hip against the counter. “I know Jude well and Jude loves to tell me all about his exploits, even though I’d rather he didn’t.” Muttering under her breath she added, “I think he just likes to watch me freak out. Anyway,” she drew out the word, “my point is he’s been strangely quiet towards me. Are you guys…?” She trailed off, waiting for me to fill in the blanks.
“No!” I cried, almost dropping the plate in the sink. Blowing a piece of hair out of my eyes I said, “You know how I feel about him.”
“I do,” she agreed. “But I also know that your reasons for feeling that way are completely idiotic. I know he tends to act like a playboy and sometimes the biggest douche on the planet, but I wouldn’t be friends with him if I didn’t know he was a good guy.”
Feeling angry, I snapped, “Can you leave it alone? Seriously, how I feel about him or anyone is none of your business. I have a right to not like him. I don’t care what you or anyone else says, he is the reason my brother is dead. I’m stuck with him until this paper is done and that’s it. Nothing more is going to happen.”
She appeared hurt by my words but the cloudiness quickly cleared from her eyes. Sighing, she quirked a brow and snapped, “You keep telling yourself that, Tate. One day the sexual tension between you two is going to burst and I’m going to be able to say I told you so.”
“What’s going on in here?” Jude asked, appearing in the doorway with Tristan hanging onto his leg crying for him not to leave.
“Nothing.” I answered before Rowan could speak. “Are you ready to go?”
“Yeah,” he nodded, “if this guy here will decide to let me go.” He reached down, ruffling Tristan’s sandy hair.
“Tristan,” Rowan sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. “Let him go. You can’t keep him here forever.”
“Don’t leave!” Tristan cried, tightening his hold on Jude’s leg.
Jude chuckled. “I’ve got to get Tater Tot over there home and it’s time for me to go to bed. Isn’t it time for you to go to bed too?”
“I don’t wanna!” Tristan shrieked.
Rowan shook her head and mouthed, “I’m so sorry,” at Jude.
“I have an idea,” Jude looked down at the little boy, “what if I read you a bedtime story before I go?”
Almost immediately Tristan released his hold and scurried for the steps.
“Brush your teeth and get in your pajamas!” Rowan called after her son.