Boarded by Love Page 7


“I still don’t know your name.”

She looks up at me and says, “Claire. Claire Anderson.”

I smile. She’s beautiful, classy, and Claire fits her perfectly.

“What’s yours?” she asks, crossing her own arms under her breasts. The top button of her Henley pops open, giving me a few glimpses of her delectable white skin and black lace bra. I promptly forget my name. When I don’t answer, she looks down before glaring up at me, rebuttoning her shirt.

“Sorry, I think seeing the lace of your black bra just made me forget my name.”

The glare she’s pinning me with drops, and she shakes her head as she lets out a sigh.

“Anyway, what’s your name?”

I smile, watching as her neck and cheeks turn red. Man, it is a great color on her. Looking deep into her blue eyes, I say, “My name is Jude Sinclair.”

She blinks twice and then smiles. “Like, ‘Hey Jude, don’t be afraid’?”

Usually when people ask that, I get mad. Obviously my mom is a huge Beatles fan. I mean, not only am I Jude, but my sister is Lucy. As in “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds”? My dad put his foot down for Jayden and Jace, but I’m not worried about them right now. For the first time, I’m not mad that she’s teasing me. I only nod and say, “That’s me.”

What does that even mean?

Jude, or Hey Jude, as I’m going to call him, is not the guy you bring home to mother. Or in my case, Reese and Phillip. I can hear Phillip now, bitching that this guy is only out to get into my pants, that he is wild and not the right guy for me. I haven’t dated since Phillip found me in bed with one of his teammates when I was sixteen. But that doesn’t mean that boys didn’t try to get with me, and Phillip always made a point to scare them away. Most of the time he is right; he was a wild boy himself until I came to live with him and Reese came into his life. I usually listen, but for some reason, Jude has me stopping, throwing Phillip out of my mind and focusing only on him.

When he said he was sexy, he wasn’t lying. My heart still isn’t beating right, hasn’t been since the moment my eyes met his in the quad. He has dark brown hair that’s shaved up on the sides of his head but is long on the top, falling into his eyes. It’s fuller than a Mohawk, and I have to admit, it’s super hot. His eyes are a dark green, his lips are thin and light red while his face is dusted with dark hair along his jawline. His shoulders are wide and his arms are thick; I could tell that even with him wearing a pullover, which meant this guy is toned. He’s taller than me, and when he pins me with those green eyes, I feel like he’s looking inside my soul. He has tattoos too, and that alone is a panty-dropper. I can’t see them the way I want since he’s covered up, but two are peeking out of the top of his pullover, and when he pulls his sweatshirt up to his elbows in a carefree way, I notice that his forearms are covered.

God, he is hot.

“So, your mom likes the Beatles?”

He nods, his eyes never leaving mine. It’s weird; I’m used to guys looking at my body, but this guy is dead set on looking me in the eyes. It’s nice.

“Yup, my sister's name is Lucy, but my dad wouldn’t let her name my younger brothers.”

I smile. I always wanted a sister, or hell, even a brother, and for a moment I wish that I’d had a mom and dad who thought it was a grand idea to name me after a popular song, so that when I was older, a guy would sing my name to me. It is a nice thought, but not what happened for me. I was probably named after some brand of cocaine or something.

“That’s cool.”

“Are you secretly laughing at me?” he asks, his eyes bright as his lips curve into a grin.

I shake my head. “Nope. I really do think it’s a cool name, but believe me, whenever I see you next, I’ll call you Hey Jude.”

He doesn’t smile or ever glare, he just holds me in a heated gaze. “When will that be?”

I’m confused. “When will what be?”

“The next time I see you.”

“Oh, I don’t know. Since you haven’t seen me before this, it’s probably the last time.”

He shakes his head. “Nope, we will meet again.”

I laugh. “Sure we will. So anyway, I’ll see you around.”

“You forgot two things,” he says, stopping me by taking ahold of my hand.

I glance over at him, my hand burning in his. His hand swallows mine, and when our eyes meet, his eyes dance with mischief. It causes my heart to skip a beat.

Oh, this guy is sexy, with a capital S.

“And what might that be?” I ask.

“One–” he says, holding up one finger “–you forgot to tell me your major. I mean, come on, it’s part of the script for college kids.”

I have no clue what he’s talking about, but I say, “Business.”

“So you’re one of those gung ho girls, one with a plan.”

I laugh. “Yup, and nothing will stop it.”

“Someone as beautiful as you, it’s hard not to believe anything that comes out of that pretty mouth of yours.”

My body catches on fire, and I can feel my blush creeping up my neck. With a grin, I say, “Okay then, Hey Jude.”

“What?”

I look over at him, confused yet again. “Huh?”

“You said, hey, Jude.”

Laughter bubbles in my throat. “I told you that was what I was going to call you from now on!” I explain, not holding in my laughter, but laughing so hard I can’t breathe. He looks down, confused, but soon he’s laughing with me. Catching my breath, I send him a grin before waving. “I’ll see you, Hey Jude.”

“Claire, I still have one more question.”

I stop and turn again. Why do I keep stopping?

“And that is?”

“Can I have your number?”

I smile. I want to give it to him, but then again, I like this little cat-and-mouse chase we have going on. He looks like the kind of guy who likes a challenge, so maybe I'll give him one.

“What for?”

He gives me a deadpan look that causes me to cough to hide my laughter.

“So I can call you,” he says slowly like I’m mentally challenged.

“Sorry–” I say, shaking my head “–I don’t give my number out to strange men.”

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