"Oh my God, shut up!" Judith said, smacking her brother's arm. "I can't believe you." She wanted to be swallowed up, but her brother couldn't stop his laughter. How dare he!
"Damn, I'm teasing." He held his hand out to Angel, who took it, a brow raised. "Charlie, the oldest. It's a pleasure to meet you, Angel."
"Likewise. Pick on her a lot?"
"She's my peep squeak, so yeah." Judith rolled her eyes as she turned to her parents, her eyes begging them for help, but they just shrugged.
"Good, I'm glad she's gotten that throughout her life."
"Angel!" she exclaimed, causing her brother to laugh.
"Hey, it's true," he told her, taking her hand once more. Judith huffed, feeling like she was being gained up on.
"I like him, sis," Charlie uttered, throwing his arm over her shoulders. "Should keep him around." She gritted her teeth, tossing a glare at him. Though, she should know better. Out of all her siblings, Charlie was the one who was fondest of picking on her. She wasn't sure what she ever did to deserve the honor, but she had never been able to figure it out. Her mom always told her that Charlie just liked her the best, but she highly doubted that.
"He's only doing it out of love," Angel whispered to her, and she, once more, rolled her eyes. That's something she had always heard and again, doubted.
"Don't save his ass, please." He winked at her as they walked out of the building and to the SUV her parents had. Growing up, even with their family size, Mom had always said she'd never been a 'minivan mom', and she wasn't. She was an SUV, not caring about the gas mom, and Judith couldn't have thanked her enough for it.
"So, what's first on the list of things to do once we get settled?" Angel asked and honestly, Judith had no clue. This was the first time she had brought anyone home and wasn't sure where to even start.
"Um, I don't know." Angel laughed as he sat next to her, taking her hand.
"How about you and I go out? I'd like to take you out in your hometown here." Judith nodded, a blush creeping up on her cheeks. She saw no problem with that thought at all.
-----
"Why not take him downtown? There's a gorgeous café that overlooks the lake, he might like that?"
"Maybe, Mom," Judith said as she loaded their suitcases into her room. It would feel odd having Angel in here, but she'd also be happy. She didn't have men in her room, and this was a memory she'd love, just in case she had to come back here with her tail between her legs.
"You're not letting Charlie's comment get to you, are you?" Judith looked up at her mom and slowly shook her head.
"No, not really. Just thinking about if this ends, how nice some memories will be."
"Honey," her mom said, wrapping her arm around her shoulders and giving her a side hug, "he might be younger, might confuse the hell out of you, but believe me when I say that man only has eyes for you. Because I swear, he couldn't take them off of you when you walked from the plane and when you got in the car. Enjoy this for what it is, because it looks to me like you two could really have found love."
"Thanks," Judith smiled, feeling her face heat up. She wasn't sure where those thoughts came from. In fact, she hated them, with passion, but they had somehow wiggled their way into her mind again. She wanted them cast out and her mom gave sound advice, something she should follow. "Let me go get him."
"No need," Angel said, walking into the room. He sat his extra bag down and looked around the room. "This is very you, isn't it? Just screams, Judith."
"Oh, shut up," she told him, smacking his arm. "Are you ready for some sightseeing or is your old ass too tired to head out?"
"Watch it," he told her, narrowing his eyes, which only caused her to grin. "I'm good to go out of if you are." With a wave to her mom, Judith took Angel's hand and headed out, a smile tugging at her lips.
-----
"Is this the café where you pictured everything?" Judith ducked her head as she felt her cheeks heat up, but she nodded.
"In fact," she added, pointing to a table across from where they sat by the window. "I was sitting there with my laptop, drinking my coffee, and just staring into space. One of them dropped their coffee and I turned to look at them. And the rest is history." Angel sipped his coffee and nodded.
"It's a great atmosphere. I can see why you would want to work here."
"Oddly enough, it's really quiet so when I get lost in my world, it's pretty easy to block everything out. It's also a great spot to people watch. Because the windows are so big, I can look outside and watch that world. Or turn around and watch the boats." Angel glanced in both directions.
"Let that imagination go to work, huh?" Judith nodded. "So, tell me, I've always been curious. If you were using me as a male model for one of your stories, what would I be like?"
"Oh, that's easy, the bad boy!"
"Why the hell would I be that?"
"Just how I see you, Angel. I think you on a bike with shades on, am open shirt, or no shirt, and tight black jeans would be so damn sexy. And the heroine would be someone who wouldn't look twice at you. Not because of the bad boy image but simply because she wouldn't want a man. Especially someone that might break her already broken heart."
"Interesting," Angel commented, his cup again at his lips. "I take it you've seen that role already?"
"I might have jotted down notes on it a time or two." They shared a laugh, causing Judith's heart to flutter. Even if for some unknown reason, this relationship fizzled out, she knew without a doubt she would still write that story and would fight like hell to make him the cover model, even if that was something he didn't do. No one else would fit the role but him. And maybe she wanted to share that image with her fans. Share what he meant to her.
"Hey," he told her, taking her hand. "Where did you go?"
"Just thinking. That if anything happened, I'd still want you on the cover."
"Well, I don't model, so wouldn't even know what to do. But nothing will happen, will you stop? I heard you talking to your mom. It's like you're silently waiting for the rug to be pulled out from under your feet."
"No, not...," she trailed off as he lifted a brow. "How about I'm not worried about you saying 'fuck it' and walking away. But you know there are other forces that matter in this relationship."
"No, there's not. You only let them think so."
"Angel, take the red carpet the other day." Angel shook his head, bringing her hand up to his lips.
"Judith, it's a pose, an act. It's not like I will be seeing her after the movie drops and the promotional work for it is done." She sighed because she did know. "I don't want to ruin this trip with thoughts or discussions about that, okay? I'm here to get to know your family, to get to know you." She watched as he held something back, but she wasn't going to push because he was right.
"Fine, fine, I won't mention it again." She finished her coffee and set her cup aside. "Where would you like to go next?"
"Besides people watch, what else did you do for fun?"
"Here?" she asked, shaking her head. "It's a small area, not much for teens to do." They both stood and walked out to her car. She handed him the keys and he opened the door for her. "If you do down a couple streets, I'll take you to my high school. Or at least show you." He climbed in, following her directions, and the whole way there, he made her laugh. He teased her about the age gap, he teased her about being a nerd, and she loved it. Which was saying something because those usually set her off.
"It's a big school," he told her as he finally pulled away.
"It is. But it's for a lot of the local towns. Now, if you make a left and then a right, you'll go to my second favorite place to people-watch."
"Yeah, what's that?" She stayed quiet as he parked before the local ice cream shop. "Really?"
"Duh. Do you want to know how many dates end up here? What happens afterward, one can only imagine." He got out and helped her out, but he didn't move after he closed the door, effectively trapping her within his arms.
"And tell me, sweet JD, what have you imagined?"
"Let's just say that food play was born from those very tempting thoughts." They shared a smirk before he kissed her and she moaned, resting her hands on his hips. It was such a delicious thought to go get ice cream and share it with him, making sure to cause messes just so she could lick up. And when they finally pulled away, neither noticed the car parked across the street, a camera in hand, snapping shots of them.