Page 15 of The Hopelessly Bromantic Duet
Jude:I just came up with it. I was hoping to find the right moment to slide it in. How’d I do?
TJ:Great. But then, you’re kind of a dick.
Jude:You’re kind of a dick too.
He sends me the name and address of a bar. A quick Google search tells me it’s nearby, but I’d go all the way across the city for him. I don’t tell him that, though. I just tell him I’ll be there.
When I put the phone in my pocket, I punch the sky. “There. I was super chill. And now, I’m getting laid. That’s how you do it.”
The freckled brunette jogging past gives a thumbs up.
I salute her jauntily because today will be an excellent day for sex and more sex and then even more.
When I return to my hotel, I head straight for the front desk, where the attendant gives me the good news that my luggage has arrived early.
Everything is falling into place. “Perfect. I’m going to head over to my flatshare now,” I say.
Then, with two bags in tow, I head to the nearest tube station, checking the email from my company along the way to confirm the details for my flat in Waterloo, just across the river.
There’s a lockbox outside the building. A key will be in it. Just take one since your roommate will be moving in today too.
Cool. I hope he’s a good dude. All I asked was my roomie be a non-smoker and queer-friendly.
In short—the kind who won’t mind if I kick him out tonight while I do Jude.
6
A BIG BITE OF ONE THING
Jude
I sling my bag into the back of Olivia’s Fiat, then breathe a deep sigh of relief.
“Don’t take offense, Liv,” I tell my best friend, “but if I never have to beg you or anyone else for a ride into the city again, never will be soon enough. Not that I don’t totally love you for having a car.”
The fiery redhead stares daggers at me. “I hate you, Jude. You know that, right?”
“You’ve only mentioned that twenty times since I told you I was moving out of Reading,” I say, closing the boot of her sister’s car.
Olivia huffs again. “I am so jealous that you’re getting out of here. You’re going to be close to the theater, to all the studios, to the casting directors. Fuck you, fuck you, fuck you.”
That’s exactly why I’m leaving. I’ve lived in Reading since I finished uni, but it’s been brutal getting around. I sometimes have only a moment’s notice for an audition or a callback, andbeing an hour away—by train, no less—from my job and the center of the art world has cost me a couple of job opportunities.
My agent was not pleased. Harry’s sternest voice is the equivalent of anyone else’s regular voice, but he used it on me. A clear sign that I needed tobe more accessible.
His words.
And so, I searched the city up and down, listing my name with all the flatshare services, and then finally, a few weeks ago, this place became available. A steal of a deal and in a great location. This will be fantastic for my nine-forty-five audition tomorrow in the Savoy Hotel for a new web show about scientists and robots in love.
“Feel free to tell me to piss off tomorrow morning when I only have to walk fifteen minutes to try out to be a grumpy scientist falling for his robotic creation.”
Olivia taps her chin, fire in her green eyes. “Do I really want to give you a ride into the city? Or shall I make you take the train with all your things?”
“Of course you want to help me, Liv. Because you love that I’m the only gentleman you know.” I prove my point by opening the driver’s side door for her. “See?”
“Thank you,” she says, relenting briefly with her vitriol as she sinks behind the wheel. “You’re the only one who does that. And I’m such a sucker for manners.”
I get into the passenger side. “If you only knew what a gentleman I was last night with my date.”