Hurricane Reese Read online

  Reese and Jude both coughed simultaneously.

  Thankfully Mr. Matheson was ignorant of the tension in the room. “Let me just call Tita Germaine to come sit with you.”

  “Oh yeah. Speaking of hot little nurses, Reese, you oughta get a load of that Germaine. I might need me a sponge bath tonight.”

  “Very funny. Germaine will take care of your necessities. A sponge bath is not necessary. I’m leaving strict orders for her to make you take a walk in the backyard and then get to bed at a decent time. Perhaps I’ll have her give you a shave, since it looks like you’ve lost your razor.”

  Jude shot Reese a pointed look with that comment. Then he looked down at himself and frowned. “I’ll be back in just a moment, and then we’ll get you to the hospital.”

  “I can drive myself. I don’t want you to miss class,” Reese offered, his expression full of guilt.

  “You can’t drive safely while keeping pressure on that wound. And what if you pass out? Squeamish people often have a delayed reaction—”

  “Squeamish? I’ll have you know—”

  “Will you old biddies get on with it? I can’t hear the news.”

  Reese and Jude studied each other.

  “I’ll just change clothes,” Jude said quietly and hurried out the front door.

  Chapter Six

  REESE GLANCED at his grandfather once more to be sure he was engrossed in the nightly news, only to find him frowning and talking back to the TV. He went to his room and tried to put on a shirt, but he didn’t want to pull anything over his head and get blood on it. He opted for a flannel button-down he could slip on, but then got stuck between keeping the blood from dripping everywhere and….

  “Let me do that,” Jude said in a huff. Reese couldn’t help but grin at the flustered way Jude was moving now that he’d unsettled him. Jude set down a fresh set of scrubs on Reese’s unmade bed and turned to face him. He took the shirt from Reese and moved behind him to slide the sleeves on from each side. When Jude returned to his front, Reese couldn’t help himself. He rested his hand on Jude’s narrow waist. Jude flinched as though he were startled and then started at the bottom, methodically pushing the buttons through the holes.

  “Can we talk about what just happened?” Reese said, a smile forming.

  Jude glanced up with that eyebrow raised again and batted at Reese’s hand like he would at a pestering child.

  “What happened? You mean your careless shower activities?” He bit his lip as he reached the top of Reese’s abdomen. Reese mentally groaned as Jude’s hands worked so close to his skin. He could almost feel the heat coming off of them if he fantasized hard enough.

  “Maybe I should tell you what really happened,” Reese said, his bravado startling even himself. Should I?

  “I can only imagine, Fabio, that you got conditioner in your eye? Or maybe you dropped the soap?”

  Reese’s hand tightened, and the tips of his fingers dug into Jude’s hipbones. Jude gasped softly.

  “Are you going to pretend you don’t feel the same as me right now?” God, please let him be feeling what I feel. He needed to know that Jude was just as affected. Otherwise he’d cut his losses and avoid any further embarrassment for either of them.

  Jude continued to button, painstakingly slowly. “Doesn’t matter how I feel. There’s nothing even remotely appropriate about this situation.”

  Reese knew he was right, but he couldn’t help himself. He stepped closer, forcing Jude’s hands against his chest.

  “It’s just the two of us here, Jude. You can be honest with me. Am I imagining things? Tell me the truth.”

  “But it’s not just the two of us here. We should both keep that in mind.”

  Reese desperately wanted to pull Jude flush against his body and discover physically whether or not Jude was feeling him too. But he didn’t dare. The poor man definitely wouldn’t appreciate being groped like that.

  It took all kinds of self-control for Reese to step back and away from temptation.

  “I’m sorry. I got carried away. Look. I’ll call a friend to come take me to the hospital. I don’t want you to miss class.”

  And he really needed to put some distance between them before he had Jude on his back on his bed. Where the hell did his libido come from all of a sudden? Did sleep deprivation remove sexual inhibitions? He’d missed that part of psychology, apparently, and he needed to extricate himself before he made Jude any more uncomfortable.

  “I…. Are you sure? It’s no trouble. My class meets not too far.”

  He was just being nice. Reese felt as though he were the one being let down easily. It was a role he’d never experienced before. But everything about Jude was different—his devotion to detail, his quiet manner, the honorable way he cared for Grandpa, and his patience dealing with Reese’s fuck-ups, which were growing in number every minute he stood there.

  “No, it’s fine. I’ll call a friend. You go ahead and change. I’m sorry I got blood on you. I’m sorry… for a lot of things.”

  “Please,” Jude said, his voice barely above a whisper. “Don’t.”

  He turned hurriedly and grabbed for his scrubs, then blew out the door as gracefully as a plastic bag in the wind.

  Reese was in trouble.

  He pulled out his cell and dialed Toby, but cursed when he remembered that Toby was vacationing in some exotic location. Fiji? Bali? Some place. Shit.

  So he called the only other person he could think of.

  “Jada? I need a favor.”

  WHAT A mess. He had to have his skin glued together at the hospital. The doctor really had to work to get it back together, and he told Reese his scar was definitely going to be noticeable with such a jagged cut. Jada laughed at him and said she was surprised he hadn’t messed up his pretty face sooner with his crazy lifestyle. Surfing, skateboarding, snowboarding—any of his favorite activities could have messed him up before then, but no. He’d managed to keep his natural good looks intact. It drove her nuts.

  Once he was patched up and they left the hospital, she spent the drive back to the cottage talking about The Marrying Kind, for which producers had offered her the lead. She apparently had “star potential” after tabloids picked up on their public breakup. Audiences would sympathize with her. Reese’s mind wandered after a bit. He was preoccupied with Jude, irritated by how he’d left things, and he missed what Jada said.

  “Are you even paying attention, Reese Matheson? For Christ’s sake. I drive all the way out here to take you to the hospital, and you can’t even do one thing for me?”

  Reese wanted to remind her that he was still paying the lease on their apartment for the next three months and that he’d made her last two car payments for her.

  “I’m sorry, darling. It’s this darn bandage on my nose. It must be interfering with my capacity to listen to your constant nitpicking.”

  He wasn’t even mad at her for their breakup, which surprised him. Sure, he was pissed about his photo albums and songbooks, but they’d been mostly salvageable. He never stayed mad for long. It wasn’t in his constitution.

  He gave her his most charming smile, which made her laugh.

  “You know you miss it.” She paused for a moment and sighed. “Did you really sleep with Ethan? Please just tell me the truth. Of anyone you could have fucked around with, why him?”

  It was Reese’s turn to sigh heavily. “I’ve told you a million times already, I did not have sex with Ethan. We went to the gala in London together. That’s it. I have no interest in him other than his acting ability, which earned my show a Tony or two. I don’t even remember what we were talking about when that picture was taken.”

  The picture that reached across the ocean and disturbed his domestic bliss was of Reese and the star of his musical, Ethan Bradley, laughing heartily. Reese, being the touchy-feely guy that he was, had a hand on Ethan’s shoulder. That was it. Suddenly they’re fucking? If that’s all it took, he might have spent the night with Jude.

&nbs
p; “But obviously he’s attracted to you. Who’s to say you wouldn’t have slept with him eventually?”

  “And that’s exactly why you and I agreed that when I was on tour, it was fair game. I know you had your fun, and I never cared.”

  “Yeah. And why didn’t you care? I cared, Reese. I never said anything, but I cared.”

  They pulled up to the cottage, and Reese was too shocked to move. “Why didn’t you ever say anything? Honestly, Jada, I hardly ever touched anyone. It wasn’t that important to me. You said you didn’t want to be alone for so long, so I went along with it.”

  Jada turned off the engine, fell back against the seat, and put her hand to her forehead. “Maybe it bothered me because they were men.”

  Reese turned his body to look at her. The hits just keep on coming. “What does that mean? You knew who I was when we got together. I made it very clear I’m pansexual. I like who I like. I loved you. I still love you, but I don’t think love means the same thing to you.” His voice turned soft, and he took her hand in his, lacing their fingers together.

  Jada sniffled and smiled sadly. “I just thought that… I don’t know. You know I’m a vain woman, Reese. I figured, once you had all this,” she said, gesturing to herself, “you’d never go back. Stupid, huh?”

  Reese brought her hand up and kissed it. “Not stupid, no. Naïve, maybe? Presumptuous?”

  Jada elbowed him, but she laughed softly. “I love you, too, Reese. But I’m not meant to be alone so much. I need someone who needs only me in their life and is completely enamored of me. I guess I always knew you didn’t need me like I needed you.”

  “Jada,” Reese said as he moved closer to her. “How could you think I wasn’t enamored of you? I spent a fortune on you. I gave you everything you could desire.” He was so confused. He’d done everything for her.

  “I desired you. Here with me,” she sobbed, and tears ran down her lovely face. “I thought eventually, if you loved me enough, you’d stay here and stop touring.”

  Reese groaned and brought his hands up to rub his face in exasperation, forgetting his bandage.

  “Owwwwww,” they both said simultaneously. Jada reached for him, but Reese intercepted her touch.

  “I’m fine. Look. You hoped to change me, and that wasn’t going to happen. Babe, I’m a musician. I tour. I go where my music goes, wherever it takes me. This is my passion. I thought you understood that.”

  “I guess not enough to accept it. I’m sorry, Reese, about the way I acted. I didn’t mean to embarrass you or anything, but I’m not sorry I broke up with you. I want more than you can give me, and that’s the bottom line. I hope we can stay friends, and I hope you’ll consider what I asked you.”

  Reese frowned and then winced. Damn, that was inconvenient.

  “What did you ask me? I can’t quite remember what we were talking about before all of this.”

  Jada rolled her eyes. “I asked you if you’d come on the show. The producer wants to do a segment where we talk about things, either a setup, or we, like, casually run into each other and have a conversation.”

  “More public performances, huh? Jada, I’m tired. Can we talk about this later? I haven’t slept much this past week. I’m trying to take care of Grandpa. I had to ask Jude to come back because I can’t handle him on my own.”

  “Jude? You asked him back? Huh,” she said. Then she climbed out of the car and headed for the door of the cottage. Reese opened his door.

  “What? What does that mean?”

  Jada turned dramatically. “You think I don’t know?”

  Reese slammed his door, angry that she was continuing this nonsense and a little concerned about Jude’s aunt and his grandfather hearing whatever came out of her next.

  “Just what do you think you know? And please, I know you love the attention, but can we use our library voices? I’d rather my grandfather not be disturbed.”

  She crossed her arms and frowned at him. She was nearly his height, her ebony skin a contrast to his. She was slender like her model counterparts, fierce in attitude, and she was gearing up for another big scene.

  “What I know, Reese Matheson, is that you are attracted to that funny little man. I’ve seen the way you look at him. You just better watch yourself. I doubt he’s the kind of person that will put up with your crap either.” She took two steps up the porch. “I’m going in to say good night to your grandfather, and then I’m leaving. The producers will be contacting you this week to set up a time to meet. I hope you don’t ruin this chance for me. I gave you two years. The least you can do is give me this.”

  Reese watched her strut through the front door and turn on the charm as she greeted his grandfather. Little did she know that Grandpa had her all figured out already. Old man Matheson had been glad to see her go. He’d even offered to have some of his old “contacts” take care of her. But Reese would let her continue to think she’d be missed. He was anxious for her to be gone… for several reasons.

  Chapter Seven

  JUDE WAS exhausted after class and didn’t relish the idea of sleeping in the rear of his truck another night, but he had no choice. And he had no more clean clothes. He’d promised Reese he’d return in the morning so he could take the early shift. He turned the Pathfinder in the direction of the cottage, pulled up to the curb, and sighed heavily.

  He should be able to go inside, strip out of his funky clothes, and take a quick shower while Tita Germaine sat on the sofa reading a romance novel. She’d stay and talk for a bit, give him a hug and a kiss on the cheek, then go home to her toddler and husband in their one-bedroom apartment. She was only eight years older than him, so they’d been more like friends than aunt and nephew. He probably would have confessed everything he was feeling after that afternoon since he could tell her anything. But just as Jude was preparing to get out of the truck, Reese’s Tesla pulled up into the driveway.

  Jude watched in shock as Jada stepped out of the driver’s seat and sashayed up the steps to the front door with Reese behind her. She was the friend he called to take him to the hospital?

  With the windows rolled up, he couldn’t hear them talking, but it appeared they were having a heated discussion, if Reese’s expression was to be believed. Then he heard her laugh. Hadn’t he seen TMZ footage of her throwing all of Reese’s belongings out the window and into the pool? How could she have gone from scorned lover to laughing companion just like that?

  Mr. Matheson had said she wanted to be an actress, and with her Naomi Campbell physique, she certainly could be. Too bad she had the nasty attitude to go with it. Or at least according to Mr. Matheson, she did. Perhaps she really was the sweet and caring woman Reese made her out to be. He’d overheard Reese arguing with his grandfather not too long after the last Thanksgiving they spent together.

  “Old man, you just think every woman other than Grandma is bad news. Jada and I are fine together. She deals with my crazy, and I buy her expensive shit. It works for now.”

  Reese wasn’t crazy. He was a lot to take, but he was a kind and generous, if somewhat oblivious, man. Did he really have to ask what Jude felt after their impromptu embrace in the shower?

  Jude’s heart had pounded out of control. The sight of Reese’s blood was the only thing that kept him from closing the distance between them, desperate to know Reese intimately, starting with his lips. He wished the two of them could have been anyplace else and able to see just how compatible they might be with fewer clothes on.

  Jude dropped his head against the steering wheel with a groan. Leave it to him to have a crush on the beyond-unattainable Reese Matheson.

  A knock at the window startled him and he hit his elbow on the horn.

  “What are you so damn jumpy about?” Germaine asked him, laughing.

  He really needed to get centered.

  “Carjack much? You scared me out of my skin. I just got home from class. What do you think I’m doing?”

  “Stalking the Matheson residence?” she asked with a gig
gle. Then she grew serious. “He seemed really tired tonight. Grandpa, that is. What’s been going on?”

  “Reese got in over his head. He called me today because Mr. Matheson went missing. I told him I’d help him out. I can’t just let him flounder. I care too much about Mr. Matheson.”

  Germaine seemed to know he was bullshitting her. “Uh-huh. I’m sure that’s the only reason you’re back here. I’m not stupid. I know just what effect that man can have. Hey, I thought you told me he broke up with his girlfriend? Why’s she here?”

  “Reese apparently called her to take him to the hospital. He cut his nose falling down in the shower. He, umm… didn’t want me to miss class.”

  Her eyes flared at him. She shook her head. “Oh, Jude. Your poor heart.”

  Another sigh. “You’re telling me.” He’d confided before to Germaine that he found Reese frustratingly attractive. She’d listened sympathetically, understanding that it was an impossible situation.

  “You talk to Brianna or Bailey?”

  Jude’s younger brother and sister, a junior and senior respectively, were what had kept him going the past week. He needed to get his life together before their next tuition payment was due.

  “I haven’t. I canceled practice last week, since I needed to look for a job.”

  Germaine tilted her head to the side. “They miss your mom and dad. Things aren’t going so well at Rommel’s.”

  Jude knew they hated the strict rules and really hated sharing a room with their cousin. It wasn’t right for siblings their age to be rooming together, much less with a four-year-old.

  “I know. If I can just get a job lined up, I’ll be able to get an apartment finally, and they can live with me. Mom and Dad said they may come back next summer, that Tito Francisco would take over care of Lola and Lolo. I don’t think they can wait that long, though.”

  Germaine looked down at her feet. “I really wish we had room for you guys. I’m sorry things have been so tough. Who knew my sister would have to be gone so long? I promise, if Paolo’s boss gets him that raise, we can—”