Someone Else

Chapter 6

Soundtrack for this chapter
This—Ed Sheeran
Look After You—The Fray
Hold You in My Arms—Ray LaMontagne

6

"Hey," the deep English voice I didn't realize I had been longing to hear again filled my ears. "Follow me."

Jude retreated into a shadowed corner of the building. It was no wonder I didn't recognize him; he had his dark curls pulled back into the tiniest bun at the nape of his neck, a navy baseball cap shadowed his face, and sunglasses shielded his eyes. He pulled the sunglasses off and bent down to peck me on the cheek.

"I'm sorry if I frightened you. I was hoping to disguise myself enough that people wouldn't notice me. You mentioned being kind of reserved the other night, and I didn't want to bring unwanted attention to you."

Any nervousness I was feeling slowly vanished. The fact that he had listened intently enough to remember some menial fact about myself that I threw out at some point during the night reassured me that I was where I was supposed to be.

I looked into Jude's dark eyes and smiled. "Thanks." I suddenly noticed that he was still holding onto my arm, sending an electric current down to my fingertips. Jude noticed too and promptly removed his grip.

"Are you hungry?" he asked.

I nodded.

"Good. I have the perfect place for us to start."

He led us to Covent Garden, which was just a five minute walk from Leicester Station. Once in the heart of it, he pointed out a restaurant near the Theatre.

"I was in a production at that theatre a few years ago, and we ate brunch nearly every Sunday at the place across from it before our matinee showing. I thought it would be a nice place for us to start our tour. Remember, I am at  your disposal today." Jude did a little half bow, and the smile that I could not erase from my mind spread across his face.

When we entered the restaurant, Jude leaned over to the host to whisper something in his ear. In a low voice, I heard the host reply, "Not a problem, Mr. Anderson. Please, follow me."

Jude motioned for me to follow the host, and we were led up to a little corner on the second floor of the restaurant. The table was secluded from the others and situated in the angle of two full length windows. The sunlight was filtering through the clouds at the moment, and I silently wished that the infamous London rain that could pour down at any second would hold off just for that day.

After Jude and I sat down, the host gave us our menus and assured us that our waitress would be right over to take our drink orders.

"Whenever we came here to eat, the host would sit us back here so as to allow us to eat in peace. I'm sure it sounds awful to not want to have to interact with the people who help support my career, but there are times when it's nice to not get recognized." A look of guilt seemed to be creeping up on Jude's face.

"I don't think that sounds awful," I said. "You deserve to have some time to yourself. I really don't even know how you manage to be in the spotlight all the time. I feel like I would go crazy having to always look and act my absolute best." I gave him a smile and got one back in return.

"I guess you just get used to it like anything else." Jude paused to look at his menu, and I took the time to do the same. After a few minutes, he looked up at me. "Alright...let me try to guess what you're going to order."

"What exactly are you basing this off? We've never eaten together. You've got no idea what I like."

"Au contraire, Elle. Have you already forgotten how we passed the time on Friday night? You love coffee, you have a decadent sweet tooth, and you like anything lemon flavored. I'm going to guess that you have been contemplating between the honey lemon crepes and the cafe au lait french toast." Jude had just about the smuggest smile possible plastered on his face, and I wanted nothing more than to wipe it off.