Jude stumbled.
“Whoa!” I cried, grabbing him and trying to stop his fall.
But he was way bigger than I was. We tumbled sideways off the walk onto the snow-covered ground with a whump, Jude sprawled on top of me.
The distant streetlights and moonlight cast a faint glow over us. Jude was blinking, squinting, his face scrunched up. But even all scrunched, he was too cute for words. I was really wishing we’d started this encounter totally differently—like without me coming off as a crazed psycho girl.
“Sorry about that,” Jude said.
I felt this odd sort of excitement, like waiting for the first burst of fireworks on New Year’s Eve. It was strange. We weren’t doing anything and yet anticipation sparked through me. It was weird. I’d never felt this way with Rick.
But the snow was beginning to melt through my black pants. So as much as I hated to end this moment of having a hunk so near, I said, “Uh, you know what? We can get inside more quickly if you get off me.”
“Oh, right, sorry. I can barely think through this hideous pain.”
“Is it really that bad?” I asked, horrified at the thought. What if I’d sprayed too much? What if I needed to take him to the emergency room?
“Nah, my eyes are just feeling like they’re on fire now. Before I thought they’d been nuked.” He rolled awkwardly off me, as though he was groping to figure out where he was. “I hope I’m not gonna go blind. Wouldn’t that be a jolly good beginning to a holiday?”
“It’s not supposed to cause any permanent damage,” I said. At least I didn’t think it was. Why hadn’t I read the instructions more carefully?
Taking hold of his arm again, I led him up the steps and across the porch to the door. I took the keycard out of my jacket pocket and slipped it into the card reader. The door made a clicking noise. I turned the knob and opened it.
Thank goodness no one was downstairs. I really wanted to keep this situation on the down-low. For all eternity, if possible.
I guided the wounded Aussie to the kitchen. The light over the sink was always left on, so people could easily find their way to the kitchen for a late-night snack.
“Here, sit down.” I pulled out a chair.
He sat with a thud. “I should have brought in some snow.”
“I’m going to get you some milk.”
“No, thanks. I don’t much like milk. Could use a beer, though.” His voice was getting louder with each frustrating minute.
“No beer, sorry. And we kinda need to keep quiet. After ten, only residents and guests approved by the dorm monitor are allowed inside. At this point I’m not sure you’re approved.”
I poured milk into a bowl, grabbed a dish towel, and took a seat at the table. I dipped the towel into the milk. Jude pulled off his knit cap. He had brown hair that had streaks of blond and reddish gold running through it. It reminded me of the autumn leaves I enjoyed so much. The skin around his eyes was blotchy. Once again guilt prickled through me. “I read somewhere that milk will ease the sting.”
He squinted and looked down with disgust. “I really don’t think washing my face with milk is the way to go here.”
He blinked several times. “They’re feeling better, to be honest. I think the blinking helped.” He nodded. “Yeah, I think it’s gonna be okay.”
If not having any white in your eyes was okay. They were seriously bloodshot. If not for the redness, Jude’s eyes might have been the most beautiful I’d ever seen. They were an emerald green, deep and velvety looking.
“You’re prettier than your picture,” Jude said.
I realized he’d been studying me as closely as I was him. I felt the heat rush to my cheeks. “My picture?”
“Yeah, Rick sent me a picture of you. You know. We exchanged photos, tried to bridge the thousands of miles that separated us. He said you’re the one.”
I was stunned. I was the one? Then why did Rick suggest we go our separate ways for a while? Was he afraid of what he was feeling? If only we’d discussed what he was feeling! If only he’d told me how important I was to him! “Really? He said I was the one?”
Jude grinned, and a little dimple appeared in one cheek. It was the sexiest grin I’d ever seen. “Absolutely. I can show you.”
He tugged off his gloves and put them on the table. He unzipped an outer pocket on his jacket, reached inside, and pulled out a piece of paper. He unfolded it and handed it to me.
It was an email from Rick.
Hello, mate! LOL. I’m practicing my Australian. How am I doing? I’ll be crashing on your couch by the time you crash on mine but don’t worry. If you run into any problems, just find Alyssa Manning. She’ll take care of them, whatever they are. She can show you around, find you some cheap eats, make sure you have a good time. Whatever you need, just ask her. She’s super considerate and dependable.
Your couch-swapping mate,
Rick
Oh. Not the one in a romantic sense, and I couldn’t believe the best compliment he could give me was that I’m considerate. But more shocking was the fact that his letter contained more words than Rick usually spoke to me in an entire day. When his fingers were doing the talking, silent Rick apparently wasn’t so silent.
I lifted my gaze to Jude. He was still grinning, as though everything was going to be okay. Problem-solver Alyssa was on the job. I felt as though I needed a superhero costume with a cape and a big P on the front or something.
Why had Rick done this? He knew I was planning to take courses. He knew I’d be studying. He knew I didn’t have time for distractions.
Thanks, Rick. Thanks a lot. Might have been nice to tell me you were volunteering me to be a one-person welcoming committee to a hot Aussie!
Chapter 2
Jude had left his duffel bag outside. I held the front door open while he went to retrieve it.
Splitting up with Rick, cramming for finals, working a busy night at the restaurant, and experiencing an intruder scare—even though it had been a false alarm—was catching up with me. I was suddenly overwhelmed with exhaustion. Once I delivered Jude to Chad—Rick’s roommate—I planned to crawl into bed for the duration, or until I needed to get ready for work tomorrow. Or until Mel called with our spa time.
Jude came back in, stomping his feet, rubbing his hands. Earlier, he’d stuffed his gloves into his pockets. Maybe he thought he wouldn’t need them for the quick trek outside.
“Gawd! It’s cold out there.”
I didn’t want to discourage him from talking, because I loved the way every word sounded, but I put my finger to my lips. “We need to be quiet, because of that whole unauthorized-people-in-the-dorm-after-ten thing. Something tells me Rick didn’t notify the dorm monitor of the arrangement he made with you.”
We didn’t want to wake up Rules-we-must-live-by Susan, our dorm monitor. She was always slipping reminders into our mailboxes explaining that overnight guests weren’t allowed unless she was notified and approved them. And guests of the opposite sex were definitely not allowed in the rooms under any circumstances. Puh-leeze, she had more rules than my parents did.
“Oh, right. Yeah. I can see where that might be a problem,” Jude whispered.
“Not one that can’t be overcome. We just need to…not get caught. This way,” I said in a low voice, and escorted him to the stairs.
At the second floor, I led him down the hallway to Rick’s suite. I knelt down and looked under the door. Lights were still on and I could hear pinging, like the sound effects of a sci-fi movie or a video game. Thank goodness, Chad was still up. I stood, smiled at Jude, and gave him a thumbs-up. He grinned back at me. Everything was going to be just fine. And tomorrow Chad could deal with getting the required approval and any other problems that came up.
I rapped my knuckles on the door and we waited. I heard some scuffling. I gave Jude another smile and knocked again, a little more loudly.
Chad opened the door and the overpowering aroma of a thousand dirty socks wafted into the ha
llway. It reminded me of the locker room at the gym, only worse.
“Hey, Chad,” I said. “This is Jude. I’m sure Rick told you about him.”
Chad shook his head. “No.”
“He’s from Australia?” I prompted, trying to jog his memory.
“Is that a question? You don’t know?”
“No, I know he’s from Australia. I thought maybe Rick had mentioned him.”
Chad smiled. “No, but that’s awesome, dude. Rick just headed down there. What are the odds, right?”
Better than you’d think, I thought.
“Uh, actually, that’s the reason we’re here,” I said. “Rick told Jude that he could crash on his couch.”
Chad’s smile disappeared like snow in summer. “No way, Alyssa. He didn’t tell me that.”
He said it as though I was the bad guy here, the one responsible for this little snafu.
Then he opened the door a little wider, and I could see guys sprawled on the floor, all with their shoes off. That explained the unusual sock-scented potpourri.
“I’ve got my brothers and some friends staying over. You know, for the snow. My suitemates invited some guys too. Like, I don’t want to be rude, but we’re packed in tighter than a toboggan team going down a run.”
“Yeah, mate, I can see that,” Jude said, before I started to argue that surely they could squeeze in one more guy. Although I did have concerns about the health of anyone exposed to the sock emissions. Maybe Jude had concerns as well. That might explain his gracious acceptance of the situation. “Don’t worry about it. I’ll figure something out.”
“Great, man. I’m really sorry.” Chad looked at me, as though again it was my fault that he hadn’t known. “But Rick—”
“I’ll take care of it,” I interrupted. What alternative did I have except to be as gracious as Jude?
“Later, dude.” Chad closed the door. I sighed. What now?
“Not to worry,” Jude said, as though I’d voiced my concerns out loud. Maybe I had. I was so tired, I could barely think. “I saw a couch downstairs. I can use that. No problem.”
How I wished that was true!
“Unfortunately, it’s against the rules. But, uh…” My roomie, Sheli, had already left. My suitemate, Stephanie, was still here, but she didn’t have a roommate. It wasn’t as though we would be inconveniencing a lot of people. “You can sleep on the couch in my suite tonight. Maybe in the morning we’ll wake up with a better idea.”
“Wonderful!”
Where did he get his energy? Then I realized that in Australia, it was probably daytime.
“This way,” I said with more enthusiasm than I felt.
I led us back to the stairs and up to the next floor where I had a corner suite. I slipped my key into the lock, opened the door slightly, reached a hand inside to flip the light switch, and peered inside. Stephanie was not exactly Miss Modesty. Fortunately, she wasn’t up, lounging around in her underwear. I moved into the room and closed the door after Jude followed me in.
“Nice flat,” he said.
I’d watched enough British movies to know he was referring to an apartment. The living area was really compact with room for only a couch, a small table, and a few floor pillows.
“Thanks. You can sleep on the couch there. I’ll grab the comforter off my bed for you.”
I went into my bedroom and looked at the empty bed where my roommate would have been sleeping if she hadn’t gone home for winter break. I felt a small measure of guilt for not offering it—but I’d known this guy for less than an hour. Sharing the suite I could handle. Sharing the room was above and beyond.
I dragged the comforter off my bed, bundled it up in my arms, snatched my extra pillow, and went back into the living area.
“Here you go,” I said, offering Jude what little I had.
“I really appreciate all this. I thought everything was arranged.”
I gave him a reassuring smile. “It’ll all work out. Stephanie, my suitemate, is pretty cool, so maybe she’ll be okay with you staying here. I’m okay with it.”
I was really tired, but it seemed rude to just leave.
“Do you want some chips, something to drink?” I felt like such an inadequate hostess.
“Nah, I ate earlier, but thanks. No need to keep me company. You look like you’re about to fall asleep, anyway.”
“Yeah, busy night at work.” I jerked my thumb over my shoulder. “So, if you’re okay—”
“I’m perfectly comfortable.”
He was certainly perfect. “All right, then. I’m going on to bed. If you do think of something you need just rap on my door.” I took a step back. “So, good night.”
“G’night.”
I slipped back into the bedroom and closed the door. I pressed my ear against the thin wood, feeling like a spy. I heard the couch moan. I imagined Jude stretching out and knew he wouldn’t fit.
Pulling my cell phone out of my pocket, I sat on the edge of my bed. I tried calling Rick and got his voice mail, so I left him a message.
“We need to talk. It’s urgent. Call me as soon as you get off the plane.”
I closed my phone. There was nothing more I could do tonight.
Apparently the “nothing more” included not sleeping. I was exhausted but it was as though someone had dropped a bucket of Ping-Pong balls in my head and my thoughts were bouncing around crazily.
I kept listening for Jude to make some noise, to be creeping around the suite. Was I insane to trust this guy just because he had an email from Rick? Hadn’t I thought Rick was nuts to head halfway around the world to sleep on a stranger’s couch? And what had I done? I’d put a stranger on my couch in, like, two seconds flat.
A stranger I couldn’t stop thinking about. God, he was cute when he said g’night.
I thought I drifted off for a while. But when I rolled over and squinted at the clock on the bedside table, it was barely morning. Still, I wanted to be awake and with Jude when Stephanie woke up. Yeah, she was normally cool, but then these weren’t normal circumstances.
I rolled out of bed and shuffled to the bathroom. After a quick shower, I threw on some thick woolen socks, gray sweatpants, and a red sweatshirt—because honestly red was my color. I wanted to look good without looking like I’d gone to any trouble. What was wrong with me? I pulled my long, black hair into a ponytail. I had layered bangs that framed my face and curled around my chin. All the black made my deep blue eyes stand out like gemstones.
With Rick gone, I’d planned to be incredibly low maintenance, but the hot Aussie in the living room was making me rethink that decision. Not that I was going to make a play for a guy who was going to be in my life for just three or four weeks. No, after giving it some thought when I couldn’t sleep, I’d decided I was content to play the role of problem solver and tour guide—at least until classes started. After that, we’d see.
I opened the bedroom door and peered into the living room. The only light came from the muted flickering TV. I crept over to the couch.
It looked as if Jude had taken off only his boots and his jacket. The comforter was half on him, half on the floor, leaving his sock-clad feet exposed. He was wearing jeans and a blue sweatshirt with a UQ on it and what looked like a coat of arms. His university maybe? Someplace he’d visited? Was he even a student? How old was he? What did he do other than sleep on people’s couches?
I could see him a bit clearer now. His hair—thick and straight, not a curl to be found—was longer than I realized, hanging past his ears. To my immense relief, it appeared that the puffiness from the pepper spray had gone away. I was vampire pale while he was sun bronzed. He was Hugh Jackman hot.
Jude’s eyes fluttered open, and he gave me the grin that already seemed incredibly familiar. “G’day.”
I released a tiny giggle and clapped my hand over my mouth to stifle the embarrassing sound. Who giggled just because she was greeted? But his voice had sounded so cute.
His grin grew as he pul
led his legs back and sat up. “What?”
“That greeting seems, so, I don’t know. Australian.”
“I s’pose because it is.” He stretched, raising his arms over his head and groaning as though every muscle and bone ached. He scooted over to make room on the couch for me to sit. I plopped down into the corner, keeping some distance between us. I was completely intrigued by his relaxed pose, his easygoing manner. It invited friendship.
“So do you do this a lot? Traveling, sleeping on couches?” I asked.
“I did it last summer, going through Britain, so thought I’d give the U.S. a try.”
“And you decided Vermont was the place to start?”
“To be honest, I wasn’t sure where I wanted to go, not until I met Rick on-line. He told me about the snow, the mountains. He made it all sound like a winter wonderland. I’m not used to weather such as you’ve got here, so I thought why not? Have a go at it. If I don’t like it, I can always move on.”
I couldn’t imagine such an unstructured existence.
“So how long were you thinking of staying here?”
“I’ve got a month before I have to get back. So far, from the little bit I’ve seen, I’ve got to say that the snow is amazing.”
“You say that as though you’ve never seen snow.”
“I’ve seen it but not this much. Doesn’t snow in the part of Australia where I live. We’re more balmy and coastal. You know, sand and surf.”
That explained his tan.
“Gets a bit chilly in the winter, but nothing like this,” he continued.
How could it be winter without snow? I appreciated every season, but winter was my favorite. I loved when it was time to pull out my thick sweaters. I loved the smell of a wood fire. I loved skiing and snowboarding and sledding, when I could find the time—although time was in short supply when school was in session. I even enjoyed the cold, wintry weather. It was great for snuggling.
“I’ve been in Vermont forever,” I said. “I can’t imagine not living in weather like this.”