"It sounds like he is a good friend and friends look out for each other."
☆

As Jude enters his apartment, he is greeted by the sight of Tashen and his boyfriend getting more than cosy on the sofa, with an unimpressed Jojo curled up in his little bed in the corner.

"Uhum!" Jude clears his throat, causing the two to pull apart and hurridly try to sit up. Jude can see both males shirts were undone and is relieved that this is all that has been undressed.

"Jude...why are you back so early? I...we weren't expecting you just yet." Tashen frantically tries to do up the buttons on his expensive shirt. 

"Neither was I." Jude sighs as he cautiously enters the room. Now acknowledging the boyfriend a little more. "Charlie." He nods.

"Jude." Charlie replies, also quickly doing up his shirt, not wanting to make eye contact, with his head gazing down at his feet.

"Your date. Did it not go well?" Tashen now sits upright, pulling the creases from his shirt. 

"It went well actually, but..." Jude doesn't quite know how to put it across without sounding like a jerk. 

"But...?" Tashen prompts.

"His flatmate called and Milo had to leave." Jude kind of huffs it out in a singular breath as if saying the words confirmed his annoyance. 

"His flatmate?" Tashen furrows his eyebrows. "I don't understand?"

"He just called and Milo just went to him. Just like that." Jude sits now on the end of the sofa next to Tashen, as he looks down on himself, loosening the buttons on his shirt's cuffs. 

Tashen turns and looks at Charlie with pleading pitiful eyes, resulting in Charlie rolling his own eyes, taking a sigh. "Well I've got an early start tomorrow anyway." He leans across to kiss Tashen on the cheek before getting up, looking at Tashen mouthing a 'thankyou' as he sees himself out.

On hearing the door click closed, Tashen now gives his full attention to Jude. "So tell me, what exactly happened?"

Jude begins to explain the whole evening. The surprise first kiss on the cheek at the beginning of the night, the delicious food, how Milo had paid for the meal, right up to the promise of a kiss..."Then he suddenly pulled his phone from his pocket and said that his flatmate heard an intruder and something about him having anxiety or something, so he left." Jude looks at Tashen anticipating his take on the situation. 

Tashen looks in the distance in thought. "Well...it sounds like he is a good friend and friends look out of eachother". Tashen now looks at Jude beaming at him.

"But surely his flatmate knew Milo was on a date night and yet he still interrupted it." Jude whines. Tashen raises an eyebrow to this, waiting for the penny to drop. "Oh...yeah. I'm sorry Tash." Jude now realises he's done just the same to his friend.

"Hey it's ok." Tashen reassures smiling, "But don't you see that's how important friends are." Tashen takes Jude's hand. "If you really need me, I'll be there and I'm sure it's just the same for Milo. I don't think there's any need to be jealous." Tashen smiles. 

Jude dismisses the speculation that he was in any way envious of Milo's friend. "I'm not jealous...I'm just disappointed that's all." Looking anywhere but directly at Tashen as the slight untruth left his mouth. Tashen raises an eyebrow, knowing his friend far too well.
Jude eventually looks at Tashen. "Tell Charlie I'm sorry." 

"Don't worry about that." Tashen grins. "He'll be sure I make it up to him."

***

Later that evening, Jude is laying in bed wide awake. He keeps thinking about his date. It was near perfect. He couldn't help but wonder what would have happened if Milo's flatmate hadn't had called. Would they had gone for a night cap at some bar? Would Milo have asked him over? Would they have gone for sweet walks in the evening air? Now, he would never know.

His thoughts get interrupted by his phone vibrating on the nightstand. He pulls it to his side and reads the message, it's from Milo. He messages back. Jude smiles to himself. Maybe he was just overthinking everything. Hester wasn't a threat, he was just Milo's best friend. That's all he is...