A Warm Place

by Brian Woodward

The rain had always been soothing in Jude's mind. Listening to all of the peaceful drops falling from the clouds above, it had always lulled him to sleep… even in his darkest moments. It had always been comforting to him; but it fueled a burning desire for the touch of someone else asleep in bed with him. His loneliness was at its peak on this very night, and Jude was frantically searching for a comfortable position in which to lie on his mattress. The boy had pulled all of his pillows up against his side in an attempt to soothe his increasing loneliness. It was when he had finally let his mind drift away from earth, snuggled beneath the warmth of his bed sheets, that his phone's ringer went off. The brusque sound startled Jude, who had shot up from his comfort.

Sighing to himself, Jude reached over to pick up his phone from the nightstand beside his bed. On the lock screen of his iPhone, Jude read three solemn words: I miss you.

Jude noticed whom they were from, and a grin managed to creep across his face. Unlocking his phone, Jude responded: I miss you, too.

Connor and Jude began a conversation that would not last long, but as the night progressed, texts would be the worst way of communicating.

Connor: Please… please come over.

Jude: Now?

Connor: I know… it's late… but I miss you so much. My dad hasn't been home all night… I think he's drinking. I can't leave the house. Please, Jude… please…

Jude: I'm on my way.

Tiptoeing his way around the room, Jude pulled on some jeans and a hoodie. Slipping silently out of the room and down the steps, he laced up his sneakers and was out the door before he would have even had the chance to wake anybody up. The night air was cold against his skin; even in his hoodie, it was cold. The rain didn't help, either. Nevertheless, he would see his best friend soon enough.

Grabbing his bike, he wiped off the seat with one of his sleeves and pedaled out of the driveway. On his way to Connor's house, Jude pondered what really brought all of this on. He had thought Connor was done with him… or had at least given up on their relationship. Ever since Connor's dad had discovered that his son was gay, even after the incident with Jude going to see Connor in the hospital, Adam was not going to allow his son to be gay. Adam had promptly pulled his son from Anchor Beach, and made sure that he had no connection with the Adams-Foster family. Connor had even had his phone taken away from him, which was another thing Jude was curious about.

How the hell did he get his phone back?

Jude assumed he had found where his homophobic father had hidden it. While Jude was growing closer to Connor's house with each pedaling foot, he could feel his phone go off a couple times in his pocket (he had switched it over to 'vibrate' instead of ringing out loud). It didn't matter, though. Connor knew he was coming. Jude had missed him so much. It had been almost two whole months since the two had been able to have any contact with each other. Connor had made risky attempts to sneak out a couple times, but he had never reached the Adams-Foster house. His dad had always caught him in the act; which only made his grounding more severe.

When Jude finally arrived at the Stevens' residence, he saw Connor sitting on one of the steps outside waiting for him. His head was resting in the palms of his hands, hair askew, and he wasn't wearing a shirt. Jude skidded to a stop on the sidewalk, and waited for Connor to look up at him.

He didn't.

Hopping off of his bike and beginning to trek towards the house, Jude said, "Connor?"

This time, Connor's head darted up, and when he saw Jude walking towards him, he sprang up from the steps and ran to him, "Jude!"

He wrapped his arms around his shorter friend and hoisted him up, "I've missed you so much."

After he finally let Jude slide back down onto his feet, the shorter boy responded, "I missed you, too, Connor."

The smiles on their faces were priceless.

"Are you insane, though?" Jude questioned.

"Huh?"

"You're out here with no shirt. Are you trying to get sick or something?"

Connor simply hugged Jude again, "Lets go inside. We can go up to my room, if you want."

"What about your dad?"

"He won't be home tonight. It wouldn't surprise me if he's been picked up by a police officer somewhere," Connor said, taking hold of one of Jude's hands. "I like your nails."

"Don't you mean my war paint?" Jude snickered.

"Right, your war paint."

Following Connor inside, Jude threw off his drenched hoodie along with his shoes and socks.

"You're sure you don't think your dad is gonna be home tonight?"

"I'm positive."

Connor led Jude up the stairs and into his room. The two plopped down on the bed together; it wasn't long before Connor slung an arm around Jude.

"Connor, I'm confused," Jude said.

"I see you haven't changed much," the taller boy giggled.

"No, seriously. Are we still… together?"

There was silence for a long while before Connor spoke up again, "I want us to be. You don't have to be a secret, Jude. I don't care what my dad says; I'll tell anybody that I am dating Jude Adams-Foster. I'm not ashamed to call you my boyfriend."

Jude smiled at Connor before tackling him down onto the mattress and straddling his waist, "I want us to be, too."

Connor pulled Jude into a warm embrace and kissed him. The taller boy wrapped his arms around Jude's back and let his hands rest on his waist. They had to break apart here and there just so they could breathe, but it was only mere seconds before they went back to exploring each other's mouths again.

Connor slipped his hands up under his boyfriend's shirt in an attempt to pull it over his head, but Jude stopped him. He knew where this was going.

"Connor… not… not yet, okay?" Jude panted.

"Whenever you are ready for something like that, just let me know. I'm not forcing anything. I just thought, maybe… you know, we're here in this moment, and…" Connor was silenced by Jude's mouth capturing his again.

"I know, but… tonight isn't the right night for that," Jude smiled.

"Okay," Connor smiled up at his boyfriend.

When the two had finally tired of making out, Jude slumped down next to Connor and pulled the sheets over top of them. Resting his head in the crook of Connor's neck, he said, "Can I sleep here tonight?"

Connor looked at him, "You know you don't need to ask, but what about your Stef and Lena?"

"I think they will understand when I explain to them why I snuck out."

Connor chuckled, "Yeah, before you get grounded."

"Right, before I get grounded. So lets just enjoy this night together."

Connor tugged Jude in closer to him, embracing the smaller boy's body against his side. Jude's head was tucked up under Connor's chin, and an arm was lazily slumped over the taller boy's chest. Kissing him on the top of his head, Connor asked, "Do you want to listen to some music?"

A nod against Connor's chest was Jude's response.

Reaching for the TV remote, Connor turned on the television. He tapped in a couple numbers on the remote and one of those music channels that comes with the DirecTV packages popped up on the screen. An uncommon song entitled, "A Warm Place" by Nine Inch Nails began to play. It was a soothing song.

Jude yawned.

Pulling him close once more, Connor wished he and Jude could stay like this forever. In this moment, everything was right with the world. The couple had each other, and that's all that mattered. Neither boy would be lonely that night. They wouldn't be longing for each other's warm embrace to fall asleep in.

As Connor yawned himself, he heard the soft snores of a slumbering Jude snuggled against him. He rubbed his hand along the shorter boy's back. He knew there would be consequences for Jude coming over tonight, but that didn't matter. He loved him. Connor kissed Jude on top of his head one last time before he felt sleep tugging on him. He knew that after tonight, he would never allow himself to be torn away from Jude again.

And soon, he too had joined Jude in dreamland.

A friend of mine told me I should continue this; what do you guys think?