Saving Tatum (Trace + Olivia #4) Read Online Free PDF Page A

didn’t. Jude never did what you wanted him to. He always had to go against the grain. If there was ever anyone that I’d saddle with the label of REBEL it was Jude. Some of the things he’d done in high school were borderline illegal. He was always looking for something stupid to do and a girl’s pants to get into. He was charming and never had a problem with accomplishing either of those things. Except with me.
    “You know you prefer my company to being alone,” he joked, his eyes twinkling with laughter.
    “I’ve had my fill of you for the day,” I grumbled, propping my head up. I was really starting to get nauseous. I knew I shouldn’t have continued to eat those dang gummy bears. Jude’s presence was also adding to my upset stomach. I could only handle so much of the crazy things that came out of his mouth.
    “I’d like to fill you up.”
    My eyes bugged out. “You did not just say what I think you said.”
    His smirk widened, and he scratched at his jaw—almost as if he hoped the gesture would help mask his smile. “I did, and I meant it.”
    Leaning towards him with my eyes locked on his I spat, “Never gonna happen. Get that through your thick skull, Brooks.” That’s when I got a whiff of his cologne and my gag reflex kicked in. “Oh God,” I slapped a hand over my mouth. I stood quickly, forgetting about the gummy bears in my lap. The bowl fell to the ground and the gummy bears littered the surface.
    Jude’s eyes flicked from the gummy bears to me and back again. “Shit. How many of those did you eat?”
    “A lot,” I replied when I had control of myself.
    “Shit,” he repeated, thrusting his fingers through his hair so that it stood up wildly. “Those were soaked in vodka.”
    “What?!” I shrieked, my voice so high that Jude flinched from the sound. “Who the hell does that?” I cried.
    His laugh echoed around us—the kind of laugh that shakes your whole body and leaves tracks of tears down your cheeks.
    “It’s a party, what did you expect?” He asked when he had control of himself.
    “Not this,” I pointed to the mess on the deck. “You forgot to mention the vodka part when you told me you liked gummy bears.”
    Still laughing, he said, “I only soak them in vodka for parties.”
    “I can’t believe this,” I muttered, burying my face in my hands.
    He stepped towards me and his cologne hit my nostrils once more. I gagged and dove for the door.
    I ran through the house, looking for a bathroom. A line had formed outside a door of what I assumed was my destination. I was so screwed. I did not want to get sick all over the floor of Jude’s townhouse. That would be enough ammunition for him to make fun of me for the rest of my life—or at least until college was over and I never had to see him again.
    A hand reached out for mine, before I could wrench it away I saw that the hand belonged to Jude. “This way,” he said, guiding me through the hallway and up a third set of steps.
    His pace was quick, trying to get me to a bathroom before I got sick. I had news for him, he better have me there in seconds if he wanted to avoid that.
    He stopped at a door, pulled a key out to unlock it and shoved me inside.
    It was obviously a bedroom, but bless his heart there was a bathroom. I ran for it, collapsing to my knees. My stomach heaved, trying to rid itself of those dang bears.
    I startled when Jude’s fingers gently coasted against my neck, but then he was pulling my hair back and I was sick again, so there was nothing I could do to stop him.
    Jude was the last person I would ever want to see me like this, so of course I was stuck in a bathroom with him. That’s just how my life worked.
    And the most ironic part of it all was the fact that I was drunk on gummy bears. I didn’t even drink! How did stuff like this happen to me?
    Once I was done emptying my stomach, Jude let go of my hair. I hoped he was going to leave me alone, but my luck wasn’t that good.
    He grabbed a