Reflections of the Heart?

Jude wasn't quite convinced. Not really. Maybe it was because he was so used to people saying no it's not like that when it was, in fact, absolutely like that. He did it himself all the time, and he sipped at his drink, mulling it over. It wasn't until she mentioned her schedule that Jude managed a grin, because yes, he had seen her schedule - he'd written part of it himself, and he was working on making it more efficient than it currently was.

Jude didn't exactly have a high opinion of her last PA's work, but he supposed she had a lot less to work with then he did.

But then of course she asked. Of course she'd asked. Only it probably would have been easier if she'd asked earlier, only she hadn't, and he hadn't volunteered the information, which meant he was presented with the very awkward question and an innate sense that yes, he probably owed her the truth, because she'd been truthful with him.

Jude had a sneaking suspicion that Giltenn felt smug over that little tidbit.

"Also Broen," Jude said, taking a nice big gulp to finish off his ice tea and hoping she wasn't going to ask.

She almost definitely was though.

Of course she found it funny, and Jude sunk down into his seat a little bit, looking miserable. The whole thing was awful. He should have just kept it to himself.

"It can't happen," Jude confirmed in the most final note he could muster. "And it won't. It's a childish crush, and when I find someone more my type, I'll be over it. I'm not going to act on it, or do anything with it. It just is."

Which was more or less the truth. He wanted to move on. Really, he was eager to move on. He'd moved on to Rory, only he'd moved on to Broen, and that hadn't been intended to happen.

Jude looked pretty miserable. Even if she was trying to be nice about it, he still felt like she was laughing at him... mostly because he knew he'd be laughing at himself. He sunk a bit lower in his chair, grabbing his drink to swallow down the last few drops of iced tea in a desperate attempt to distract himself.

"My age," Jude said, ruling out a huge portion of the island in one go. "Or around that age. Confident and pretty forward. And, uh, really smart."

The last one was important. Jude was... well, Jude's father had never been particularly interested in modesty, and while Jude had dialed it back a bit from that point, he still wasn't afraid to admit that he definitely came out on the smarter end of the scale. With Giltenn? Things were even worse. He needed someone who could keep up, and that was probably the most important thing to him overall.

"There's lots on the island, but most are taken."

There was absolutely a small groan at the comment about blonde, five eleven, blue eyes. Broen was more like five seven, but it was pretty clear what she was poking at.

"It's not like that," Jude said. "If anything, I'd say Broen's too... I don't know, physically like me?" They were both blond, around the same height, kind of muscular... It felt almost narcissistic to break things down like that. "The last person I liked was... not that. The opposite of that in almost every way."

Literally almost every single way. "I don't really... pay much attention to that kind of thing. And I need a single student. Or student-age."

"Rory," Jude admitted. She knew Rory, and Jude definitely wouldn't consider Rory petite. Definitely Dark, but...

Well, she definitely didn't look at all like Broen.

"Maturity, I guess? Like, I don't think I could be with someone who was... an adult. Like, that maturity gap. Like, I think about dating someone who's like fourteen--only three years younger--and that feels like a mile of maturity difference. I can't imagine dating someone that young. So when I think of someone who's in their late twenties--or even older--who's talking about seriously settling down with a kid..."

Jude made a face. Messing around was one thing. Settling down was another.

"Someone I know told me about this girl--who was over a hundred years old and looked like she was in her mid-twenties--and she's got a job, and all this life experience, and then she starts dating this kid. He's sixteen, and that's legal, but it feels... like she's taking advantage of him? And then she got pregnant, and the whole thing just feels sketchy."

Alright, maybe he was talking about it too much, but it was hard not to feel particularly passionate, considering how odd the island was.

"I can't imagine what a fourteen year old would have to offer me in a relationship, so I have a hard time imagining what someone who's a hundred would think someone like me would have to offer."