Under Your Skin | Jude Bellingham

022

"I'm doing good," I answered, "how 'bout you?"

"Can't stop staring at you. Who gave you the right to be so pretty?"

I laughed and turned around. "Have you seen yourself?" I asked him.

He smiled down at me. "You know, I've been doing a lot of thinking recently," he said, brushing my hair behind my ear.

"Makes a change," I teased.

"Babe, come on, I'm tryna be nice here."

I giggled. "Sorry, carry on. What have you been thinking about?"

"About us...about the future."

My heart fluttered. "Really?"

"Mhm. I was thinking marriage, a few kids, a dog —"

"Can we get a couple of cats, too?"

He smiled. "Sure we can, if that makes you happy."

"It would make me very happy," I told him.

"It's obviously too soon for any of that, but I just want you to know that I do think about those things. Like I said, unfortunately you're stuck with me in the long run."

"That is unfortunate," I grinned.

Jude gently titled my chin upwards and kissed me, just as my sister strolled into the kitchen. "How long does it take to grab a glass of water?" Hayley asked. Jude pulled away and we both turned to see her standing in the doorway with a face like thunder. She'd been extra grumpy lately which I put down to her pregnancy hormones. "Oh, I'm sorry, am I interrupting something?"

"Yes, actually," Jude said.

Hayley cracked a smile. "You know, it's good to see you two happy after the emotional turmoil you put us all through."

I jokingly rolled my eyes. "Thanks Hayley," I said.

Hayley laughed and I handed her the glass of water I was supposed to be fetching for her. "You two are wanted in the dining room, by the way. Mark is about to make one of his toasts," she explained.

"Oh god."

We headed back into the other room and took our seats at the table. Jude placed his hand over mine. Across the table, Jadon and Jobe looked at each other and started making gagging noises. "Wow, very mature you guys," I said.

"Jobe!" Denise scolded her youngest son, sending him a glare. Him and Jadon soon clamped their mouths shut, much to the satisfaction of Jude.

Mark tapped his class and our conversations soon died down. He stood up as we all diverted our attention towards him. "If you all don't mind, I'd like to make a toast," he announced. We all groaned in unison and I bit back a laugh at the look on Mark's face. "I promise to make it quick," he added. "First of all, I'd like to say a huge congratulations and best of luck to Hayley and Trent. I know that becoming a parent is going to be a life-changing experience for you. It's definitely not always easy, but it's so worth it." He smiled at his wife and both of his sons. "I also want to thank Hannah and Jude for organising dinner for us this evening, it was delicious. And finally, I'd like to raise a glass to good health and prosperity, and want to thank all you wonderful people for being so...wonderful. Cheers!" We raised our glasses in sync.

"Phew, thank god he kept it brief," Denise mumbled.

I took a moment to look around the room at the people who meant the most to me. I smiled, wondering how on earth I got so lucky to be able to surround myself with so many amazing people. Finally, I looked to Jude who I was just so enamoured with it was crazy. I'd been wrong about him in so many ways; had been too quick to judge him before I got to see his sweet interior. I found myself questioning how I could've ever hated this guy.

Jude turned to catch me staring. "What?" He said.

"Nothing," I answered, "I just really love you."

His lips curled into a smile. "I really love you too."

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A/N: And there we have it — the end. Huge thank you to everyone who made it this far and thank you for keeping me entertained with your comments. I had so much fun writing this and I hope you enjoyed reading it. I'm honestly a little sad that it's over but I hope to work on some other stories soon :)