ø jude ø

It was two in the morning, and he just may have had several glasses of wine when he decided to do dog-sitting.

To clear things up - he was a student. And how it usually goes, he was a broke student. In the past twenty one years of his life, he never had a proper side job and did not want to begin with one. Still, he needed money, so he figured he'd look for something irregular. And pet sitting seemed like the perfect option.

The thing was, he wasn't good with kids. Or, well, maybe he was, but he'd never had the chance to find out. There were no young children in his circle, not even in his family—though he did have a brother who sometimes acted like a child. That didn't count. So he automatically ruled out babysitting and focused on dogs. Cats. Turtles. Aquarium fish. Anything.

Looking back, he realized picking something like that in the ungodly hours of the morning while tipsy wasn't the best idea. But when he saw that one listing that caught his attention, he probably would've picked it anyway, drunk or not.

Someone was looking for a sitter for just one night. And the pay was enough to cover him for a month.

Posted fourteen minutes ago. He smiled, made a profile, clicked on the contact email, and that was that. The next morning, he woke up to a response.

That is how Jude arranged his first dog-sitting experience for a three-year-old dog named Aura.

He'd never understood why people paid for dog sitting. Couldn't they just leave their pet alone for a few hours? He didn't get it, but he was thankful. In two days, at 7 PM, he was supposed to be at the address provided in the email to spend a few hours watching TV in some rich person's apartment while petting their dog

Oh, how wrong he was. It was almost funny.

Because two days later, he really did show up at the address. The apartment complex even had its own reception area. Jude actually walked out of the building once to make sure he hadn't accidentally stepped into a hotel.

He'd been looking around for so long that the receptionist finally spoke to him. "Good evening. Can I help you with something?"

He looked at her. Her tone suggested she'd already sized him up as some lost, clueless guy who'd never seen a modern building before. Which, honestly, wasn't far from the truth. He was clueless.

What was he supposed to do? Announce himself? It was two minutes to seven—maybe he was just supposed to wait for Mr. Carter here. But before he could open his mouth, the elevator dinged.

Jude turned toward it. And if the man who stepped out hadn't been so mesmerizing, he might have ignored him completely, especially since the receptionist had just asked him a question. This definitely wasn't Mr. Carter.

Out of the eoevator walked a man who couldn't have been much older than Jude. He had slightly long, dirty blond hair and tattooed arms, which didn't scream "dog owner looking for a sitter" to Jude. He also had a fit figure, and Jude's mind immediately flashed to those romantic movies with exactly this kind of men in them.

He nervously coughed and looked away. But out of the corner of his eye, he saw the guy walking straight toward him.

"Jude?" he asked. "You answered my post?"

His judgment of people was so bad, it seemed almost impossible.

"Yes," Jude replied quietly. When the receptionist saw them, she stopped paying them any attention.

"Rain Carter," he introduced himself, extending a hand.

For some unknown reason, Jude had assumed he'd be dog-sitting something like a chihuahua. Maybe a dachshund. The name sounded like something small. But when he saw Rain, he couldn't imagine him owning a dog like that. What if he had a giant Great Dane? Or a pit bull? What if it ate him?

Rain stepped back and gestured for Jude to go ahead. Jude didn't object and simply started walking.

Before the elevator doors opened, Rain suggested they drop all the formalities, saying he couldn't stand being called Mr. Carter. "Rain. Rain is fine."

They rode the elevator in silence. It wasn't until they reached the apartment door that Jude finally asked, "So, what breed am I looking after?"

Rain furrowed his brow in surprise as he unlocked the door. "Breed?" he asked, pushing it open.

In that moment, Jude realized just how wildly wrong he'd been. He'd expected some dog to come bounding up to him, jumping at his legs, but instead, he stepped into a calm, quiet apartment. His gaze fell on two pairs of tiny pink shoes.

He froze in place. "Aura isn't a dog, is she?" he muttered more to himself than anyone else.

But Rain heard him and chuckled softly. "A dog? Aura is my daughter."

He was the first to pull out his phone. He opened their email conversation, clicked through to the page where he had seen the ad that night, and never looked at it again. And in that moment, he didn't know whether to curse himself or the wine he had drunk back then.

Because somehow, between animal ads, he must have clicked on a page where people were looking for babysitters. Jude vaguely remembered creating the profile, making up some impressive experience in the description. He had rushed through it all, afraid someone would snatch up such a good offer.

"Fuck," he muttered. When he looked up, Rain was staring at him with a questioning expression.

"Is everything okay?" Rain asked, and from his expression, Jude could tell he knew exactly what had just happened. That Jude had thought he was there to look after a dog, not a three-year-old child.

"Uhm," Jude mumbled vaguely, "maybe there was a small misunderstanding."

"Small?" Rain raised an eyebrow. "Looking after a dog or a child doesn't exactly sound like a small misunderstanding to me."

Jude tried not to let his unease show. He could run. (He couldn't. Rain was standing by the door.) He could try to talk his way out of it. (That wouldn't work. Jude was a mess, and that would only make the mess bigger.) So he only had one option.

"A small misunderstanding because this doesn't bother me at all. I've babysat so many kids, I've lost count," Jude huffed. "So, where's Aura?"

Rain studied him for a moment. To Jude, it felt like an eternity. But then, without a word, he walked further into the apartment. "Aura's asleep," he told Jude. "I think she's not feeling well, because her bedtime is usually around 8:30. She'll probably wake up any minute, though."

Jude followed him into the living room, connected to the dining area and kitchen. The room was huge. The whole apartment was huge. That's when Jude began to look around, wondering if he'd find any clues about who Rain really was. Did he live in such a place on his own? Or did he have a girlfriend? A wife? How could he afford this place when he was probably just a few years older than Jude?

He had so many questions. He'd always been curious, but he didn't let that trait take over this time. He had the feeling that Rain wouldn't just answer him easily anyway.

Rain gave him a quick tour of the apartment, showing him where to find anything he might need. Since Jude wasn't sure when Rain would be back, and according to their arrangement, he was supposed to stay the night, specifically on the pull-out couch in the living room in case Aura woke up.

"I'll go get her," Rain finally said. "She wouldn't fall back asleep otherwise. And I still need to say goodbye."

When Rain disappeared into her room, Jude frustratedly grabbed his hair and kicked the couch. How could he be such an idiot?

Actually, he already knew the answer to that. He'd never again look for a side job at two in the morning with a bottle of wine in him.

Rain returned carrying the little girl, who was rubbing her tired eyes. He was whispering something to her on the way, and when he reached Jude, he spoke aloud. "This is Jude, the one I told you about, remember?"

Aura glanced at him briefly before burying her head into her father's shoulder. "Not exactly a chatty type," Rain remarked.

Jude bit his lip. If he hadn't been so stupid, he'd have bought something for Aura, maybe something sweet. Instead, all he had in his bag were dog treats. He wanted to both laugh and cry at the same time.

Then he realized he should probably say something too. He hadn't planned for this. He'd thought he'd be looking after a dog that would just lounge around next to him, requiring minimal attention. "Hi, Aura," he greeted her with a smile, even though she wasn't looking at him. "Looks like it's just the two of us tonight. What do you say?"

He got no response. Rain set her down and gently tilted her chin up so she'd look at him. "Just this once, okay? Daddy has a few things he needs to take care of. I showed Jude where your favorite toys are. And guess what—you can stay up until nine tonight. How does that sound?"

Aura had been fidgeting with her fingers but stopped at that moment. "Okay," she whispered.

Rain smiled softly and stood up. "My phone number's on the table if you need anything." He stepped closer to Jude. "She's usually quiet and pretty easygoing," he said in a low voice. "Not much of a talker. And yeah, she can stay up until nine. But if she seems sick, please text me right away."

Jude nodded, his gaze fixed on Aura. He still couldn't fully grasp that he'd signed himself up to babysit a child. His stupidity truly had no limits.

Rain said goodbye to Aura. Jude half-expected tears or a tantrum over her dad leaving, but nothing of the sort happened. Aura was as calm as could be. She sat on the couch with a pony in her hand, simply watching her father leave.

Jude watched him too. When the door finally closed behind Rain, he looked down at Aura and gave her a smile. Aura frowned back at him.

This is going to be interesting, he thought.

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this might be one of my fav chapters fr

ngl, english has this different vibe to it that i LOVE love