There You Stand Read Online Free Page A

There was an encouraging gleam in his eye but it felt kind of suffocating. I didn’t want to lead the guy on and that’s exactly what I’d be doing.
    I shrugged. “Whatever happens happens.”
    I walked out of the shop and my legs nearly faltered when I saw Jude crouched down in front of my dogs, giving them attention. His board lay upside down next to him and Chopper was practically on his lap. His tail was wagging a mile a minute, as if he’d just gotten his rocks off or something. That’s how happy that stinking dog was to see him.
    I could’ve sworn I saw a flicker of the same joy on Jude’s face—the identical kind he’d just had performing tricks on his board—before it disappeared. And something seized my chest and squeezed tight. Jude seemed like such a recluse, outside of his skateboard antics. I wondered if he ever got lonely. Did he lay awake at night, staring at the ceiling like I did, before my eyes drifted closed and sleep consumed me?
    “I don’t know what it is about you,” I said, without thinking it through first. I heard Jude’s breath catch as he twisted his head and stared into my eyes. As his penetrating gaze latched onto mine, I became so mesmerized by those light green orbs, I didn’t know if I was talking about the way my dog felt about my crush or the way I did. “He obviously sees something in you he likes.”
    Yep, just digging myself a larger grave.
    Jude’s gaze held as he shrugged. So I filled in the dead air again. “I have no idea why he’s always trying so darn hard to get close to you.”
    I felt a line of heat climb up my neck so I grabbed hold of the leads to untie them from the bike rack, giving my fingers something to do. I looped the leashes around my wrist, and Ace happily stepped toward me. It was the other dog that was about give me the trouble.
    I still felt Jude’s heavy gaze on me, like he was using the opportunity of our close proximity to check me out. His eyes scanned from my black Chucks to my jeans and up over my vintage Flash Gordon T-shirt. I had on my gray knit cap, the same one I always wore, and my Ray-Bans were looped over the front of my shirt.
    Now I wished that my shades were covering my eyes so he was unable to read my reaction to him. So he couldn’t see how much he’d unnerved me. I desperately wanted to know exactly what he saw when he looked at me.
    When I gave the leash a tug, Chopper unsurprisingly refused to budge and instead rubbed his nose against Jude’s arm. “Maybe he likes your cologne or something,” I said, sounding fucking ridiculous again. Why couldn’t I just shut the hell up?
    The corner of Jude’s lip lifted fractionally and I nearly lost my breath at how pretty that smile looked. It would probably kill me on the spot if I were ever given the privilege of seeing it in its full glory. It might be as blinding as the dazzling sun.
    “I read somewhere that dogs are responsive to scents,” I said, and at this point I was just making this shit up, talking myself in circles. Jude might flee just to escape my ridiculous commentary. “Maybe you have a dog or a cat and he smells them on you.”
    Sadness filtered through his eyes for a flicker of an instant. He shook his head and I wanted so much in that moment to know him, to hear his story.
    “Once upon a time, I did,” he said, gracing me with his gravelly voice at last. It was one concise sentence. And that had been enough for him. He seemed to think that more information would be unnecessary. Except now I wanted the specifics. I smartly kept my lips sealed shut.
    He scratched Chopper behind the ears one last time before he rose to his full height, at which point I was able to catch a whiff of him. He smelled like the outdoors—moss and cedar blended together. That was the only way I could describe it. He was about an inch taller than me and all I could think about was closing the space between us and angling my mouth firmly against his.
    But then I considered how badly