I had tried to reach out to him the last couple of weeks. Apparently his brother had gotten in an accident involving a drunk driver and that seemed to have finally woken his ass up.

Oliver had given him a couple of days off to visit his family and he came back more sober than ever. He seemed alert and clearheaded and even though I wished it had been caused by better circumstances, I was glad that he’d had a wake-up call of sorts.

The arena was crowded and as we took our seats, I looked around for Jude, who was meeting me there. He was standing in the back row behind a skateboarder who was probably a decade older than him. He was completely focused on the bowl, watching the warm-ups as competitors donned their helmets and elbow and knee pads.

This sport attracted all kinds, so it was amazing to see dudes older than me spinning alongside teenagers in the concrete enclosure. Lean bodies, muscled calves—no matter the age, all of these skaters were physically fit and up to the task.

“You see him?” Emmy asked.

“Yeah,” I said keeping my hand low as I pointed to the far end of the tent.

“Lots of cute guys,” she said, looking around dreamily. Even though she was into Tristan, Emmy wasn’t dead. Even I could recognize that the guys were hot. Still, the hottest guy here was standing clear across the room and I hoped he’d make his way over here soon.

“Definitely some hard bodies,” I said.

“But you only have eyes for one man.”

As if he’d heard her, Jude looked up; his eyes met mine and softened.

I didn’t raise my hand to wave, only tipped my chin because I knew Jude didn’t like to draw attention to himself in public. I noticed how his eyes darted around the arena looking for signs of trouble.

“And he only has eyes for Cory,” Emmy said, sighing.

I smiled despite my nerves because it was nice to hear.

As Jude headed toward us in the stands, I studied the arena corner to corner, my neck prickling with watchfulness. Thing was, plenty of people can appear suspicious for perfectly common reasons. I didn’t really know what to look for, but I sure as hell wanted to keep Jude safe, so I kept my eyes peeled for anything out of the ordinary.

Jude sat down and threw a wave to Emmy and Dex on the other side of me. This was the perfect setup, given Jude’s vigilance. It made it seem like he’d run into some friends. I felt the heat from his thigh briefly pressing against mine and I had the urge to link our fingers together.

Before we knew it, the competition was under way. It was really cool to watch. The sport had rabid fans and they collectively held their breath and cheered for their favorites. The skaters performed impressive twists along the walls as well as in the air, some of which appeared gravity defying.

“This guy’s going to perform that trick I was telling you about,” Jude said. “He’s quite brilliant.” The skater seemed flawless in the bowl, and as he performed his three-sixty stunt by hanging upside down, the hairs on my arms stood at attention as I waited for him to fall back down to earth.

The crowd went wild afterward, jumping to their feet and clapping for him. When he was finished, he simply nodded and waved to the stands, before returning to the bench with the other skaters.

“Damn,” Dex said, still on his feet. “That was way cool.”

“That guy was amazing,” Emmy said in an awed voice. “Do you know him, Jude?”

“No. Only heard of him,” he said, a bit of wonder in his eyes, and I couldn’t rip my gaze from my beautiful skater boy even if I tried. I could only hope that one day he’d get his chance to perform his stunts and reach any goals he’d dreamt of, even if they were death defying.

As the next skater approached the lip, Jude’s entire body tensed.

“Holy fuck,” Jude whispered to himself as the skater held his board firmly and had his helmet securely in place, awaiting the signal.

I turned and studied the guy, who was short with a wiry stature. His face was so attractive, with long eyelashes and full lips, that he almost looked feminine.

Jude had turned ashen and his movements were jerky as his gaze stole toward the exit.

“I have to go. Will explain later,” he grunted as soon as the skater began his time in the bowl. “Stay right here. Do not follow.”

What the hell was going on? Were they old friends from another life? My stomach churned as I watched Jude’s retreating form.

Dex and Emmy were enjoying the guy’s performance and weren’t even cognizant of the alarm that was sounding off in my body.

I kept looking at my phone, hoping Jude would text me that he was all right.

“What happened to Jude?” Emmy said, after the skater’s performance ended.

I tried to keep my voice steady. “He had to leave early, I guess.”

“Bummer,” Dex said, though he looked as if he didn’t quite believe me.

The skaters in the category lined up to hear how they had placed and I stood up, so filled to the brim with nervous energy that I could no longer remain seated.

Through the tent entrance, I noticed that the sun was now peeking behind the clouds. The strangest thought occurred to me in that moment. That rain or shine, the earth would still rotate on its axis without Jude. But it would be my center of gravity that would remain off-kilter. Permanently.

My phone finally buzzed with a text and I shakily withdrew it from my pocket.

Jude: Sorry that I had to leave. That was him. Mateo. The guy that I told you about.

My stomach hollowed out as my eyes darted across the way. But the competition had already ended and everybody was filing out of the tent. I didn’t see Mateo anywhere.