“Whoa,” a stunned voice said, whistling a row below me. “You’re the girl Jude Ryder’s going to marry and make baby superheroes with?”

“Damn straight I do," Jude said, grabbing my waist and lifting me into the cab. "Tell him my girl comes before football. Tell him my girl's breakfast comes before football.”

“I'll try," he said, stretching his neck. "She's beautiful girl, Ryder. You're a lucky man." "Don't tell me what I have like I don't know it," Jude said, his arms stiffening.”

“I love you, Jude.” …“And that makes me the luckiest bastard in the world.”

“And you," Jude said, stepping forward and putting his finger in Tony's face. "Don't you ever try to give something of yours to put on her body." The muscles just below Jude's neck were sticking out like shark fins he was so tense. "Or I'm never throwing another ball your way. Got that?”

“Is that one of your go to lines when a girl asks for something more than a twenty-four hour Jude furlough?" Tapping the back of the wall with his heel, he looked down the hall. "No, that's what I answer when a girl I'm falling hard for, the only girl I've fallen hard for, wants to be in a relationship with someone like me.”

“But haven't you noticed that with guys like Jude, a girl just doesn't care about her reputation?”