by Sam Mariano
"I just can't believe that you could give me such a hard time about this when you…" Julie trailed off, shaking her head in disbelief.
"What have you done, Matt?" Julie heard softly.
Matt's gaze shot to Emma's lovely figure, emerging from the reception where Aaron had just come from.
Looking completely confused, Matt managed, "You… took Anna to bed."
Emma's eyes flashed cold, and for a split second, Julie saw hatred there. But she cleared it away, stepping slowly and deliberately toward Matt. "What the hell is wrong with you?"
Matt's gaze darted to Aaron, and Aaron merely smiled bitterly. "You didn't think I was going down alone, did you?"
"You bastard," Matt said, his voice no more than a whisper.
"Must run in the family," Aaron returned levelly.
Taking another step toward Matt, Emma demanded, "What did you do, Matt?"
"How long have you been…?"
Emma practically snarled as her arms flew out and she shoved Matt hard in the chest, causing him to stumble backward. "I hate you, Matt. I really do. You're an asshole and you ruin everything."
Julie eyes widened as she listened to the pure venom in Emma's voice as she spoke to Matt, each deliberate step she took closer to him looking almost dangerous.
"Why would you do this?" she asked him, shaking her head. "You're a fool, Matt."
While it would be a stretch to say Matt stood up to Emma, he did finally say, "I was only telling her the truth."
"Why?" Emma asked softly. Then, shaking her head in apparent disgust, she said, "You know what, we are not going to do this here." Then, turning her gaze to Julie, she said, "Don't listen to either one of these idiots. Matt is an asshole and Aaron is too hard on himself. You've seen Aaron drunk before, correct?"
Julie nodded her head.
"Well, after I found out Matt was fucking Shannon I decided that I wanted to even the score a bit, and I thought perhaps Aaron would like the chance to do the same thing. I went to him, and I suggested just such a thing. Aaron declined. He turned me down. He wasn't going to stoop to Matt's level. So I backed off, took a different approach. Since we were both wounded parties, I asked him to go out for drinks with me because I needed someone to talk to," she said, making a dramatically sad pout. "Aaron, for all his bluster, has a very good heart, and he couldn't tell his brother's confused and heartbroken wife no."
Then, shooting Matt a glance and smiling a little, she continued her story. "Once I had Aaron good and drunk, I'm sure I don't have to explain to you that he got much nicer, much more open and… easier. Under the influence of alcohol and the saline from my tears, he managed to lose footing in his moral position, and while he offered me only comfort, I waited until what I thought was the right moment and then I went for more."
Emma glanced over at Julie then, no longer looking at Matt. "When he says almost, he isn't lying to you. I did try, because I was pissed off, my ego was bruised, and there's no use denying it, Aaron is the more attractive brother. But even drunk off his ass, when it came down to it Aaron turned me away. He couldn't do it. Even though his brother had no problem doing it to him, Aaron could not do the same thing."
"I think you're letting me off the hook a little here—” Aaron tried, but Emma interrupted.
"No," Emma disagreed, shaking her head and turning her attention to Julie. "Any attention you're getting from Aaron is not because you were Matt's little plaything, it is despite the fact that you were. He is not using you for revenge; he is not using you at all. The only person trying to play you right now is my husband," she said, her gaze returning unkindly to Matt.
Matt looked like he wanted to say something, but he must have known better, because he kept his mouth shut and stared at the wall past Emma like a scolded child.
"We're leaving," Emma stated, her gaze resting coldly on her husband. Then, turning to Julie, she said, "Don't let him fuck this up. Aaron didn't sleep with me, but even if he would have, don't be a hypocrite because you have no room to talk."
With that, Emma shot one last commanding look at Matt and then she went sashaying down the hall, looking as lovely as ever in her sexy backless dress, her heels clicking as she walked away.
Matt looked at Julie, and he truly looked like he wished he could linger, but he slowly moved in the direction Emma had went. He shot one quick glance at Aaron too, but Aaron just smiled bitterly back.
"Thanks a lot," Matt muttered to Aaron.
"Just returning the favor," Aaron told him.
The clicking stopped and Emma turned, presumably to see what was taking Matt so long.
He walked up to catch up to her, and then they were both gone, on their way back up to their room.
It was just the two of them left standing there, Julie gazing at the wall instead of at Aaron. There was a lengthy, uncomfortable silence between them then, and Julie wasn't even sure what to say. Her brain was going so fast that she couldn't even figure out which piece of information to process and respond to first.
It was Aaron who finally broke the silence.
"I'm sorry," he said, shaking his head slightly. "This was not supposed to happen."
Responding a little slowly, Julie shook her head and said, "I just don't understand why you made it so difficult. Wouldn't it have been better to just tell me yourself?"
"How was that going to come up in conversation, Julie? It's really not one of my proudest moments, it isn't something I wanted to tell you. And it was never supposed to matter, because you were just… you were supposed to be nothing more than a way for me to alleviate that yucky feeling I got from having to ask my brother for help. I was going to do the bastard a favor by handling his fuck-up, and then once it was all taken care of I was supposed to send you on your way. I was never supposed to like you, it was never supposed to be anything but a favor to Matt, a way to just wipe the slate clean so that I could make a clean break, get him out of my life, and move on with my own."
"Well, I'm sorry," she said, not really knowing how to respond to that. "I'm sorry if I was more than you bargained for. You think I planned you? One minute I'm like, 'Damn, I just fucked up my life,' and the next some grumpy knight in shining armor comes to haul me away, stick me up in his apartment alone and be mean to me."
He cracked a smile. "A grumpy knight in shining armor, huh?"
With a decisive nod, she said, "That's the version I'm telling Poppy Seed when I have to tell bedtime stories. But that was not in my plan either. In fact, I don't even like knights in shining armor. When I first met you I thought you were disagreeable and overbearing."
"As opposed to the ray of sunshine that I am now?" he questioned.
Shrugging, she said, "Well, no one's perfect. I could handle you being grumpy if you didn't always push me away. It makes the signals very mixed."
"I already told you why I did that."
"And it was a bad reason," she said without gravity. "I mean, I can think of simpler ways of handling this situation. As a matter of fact, I had to. When I came to you, was I perfect? Was I even close to perfect? No. I had made mistakes. I didn't try to hide them from you. When you started to think maybe I was more than a way to clear the slate, why didn't you just come clean? If you would have just told me what happened then there would have been no surprises, there would be no reason to keep yourself at a distance."
"Well, I don't know about that," he said.
"What other reason are you keeping me at a distance?" she asked, although she was half-afraid to hear the answer.
"There are… a few," he said.
"Like?" she prompted.
"For one, I told you about my jealousy issues," he began, lifting his eyebrows slightly.
Feeling a little bit more confident that her pregnancy wasn't reason number one, she nodded once and said, "And I already told you that I do not care about that. For that matter, I have a few jealousy issues myself."
"Really?"
Nodding, she said, "Whenever you were dancing with Shannon, I envision
ed pouncing on her and clawing her eyes out."
That made him crack another smile. "No reason to do that. She's no threat."
Shrugging, she said innocently, "Then I guess you don't have a reason to have jealousy issues either."
The lightness left then, and he said. "But I do. I have issues with Matt, and I wanted him out of my life. Not only is he not going to be out of my life, but hypothetically if you and I… were together, I would have to deal with his presence in my life, and I would always worry."
"But you have no reason to," she said honestly. "If I wasn’t one hundred percent sure that I wanted to be with you, given our situation, I wouldn't even try. For one thing, I wouldn't put you through that. I know that because of the history you're going to be a little more sensitive to Matt, but I would never let that be a problem. I would never chance hurting you, even through a misunderstanding. I would keep so much distance between Matt and myself that there could easily be a continent between us."
"But I think I'll still give you shit," he said, sounding not as if he wanted to, but like it wouldn't be in his control.
"Well… if I want to take your shit, that's for me to decide, isn't it?"
Shaking his head, he said, "It isn't fair to expect you to just because I have trust issues."
"Aaron, have you met me? Do I seem like a doormat to you? If you're giving me shit that I don't deserve, I'm going to have something to say about it, but I do understand if it takes some time for me to gain your trust. But I will, because I'm not going to do anything that would make you distrust me."
"He will be in your life. As long as you're around him…"
"I won't be around him," she said, sounding slightly exasperated. "That's what I'm trying to say."
Then his gaze finally moved to her stomach, to the reason she hadn't wanted him to use.
"Yes, you will," he said quietly.
Feeling suddenly very frustrated, Julie said, "Look, I'm not saying it will be the easiest thing in the world… but if we both wanted it, I do think we could make it work." She paused for a few seconds, then went on, "I mean, unless you just don't want to. That's fine if that's the case, if I just read you wrong…"
"You didn't read anything wrong," he admitted. "I do like you, I just don't know… I mean, especially knowing what you know now…"
She didn't let him go on. Shaking her head, she said very firmly, "No. That… doesn't matter. For one thing, it was long before you met me. And it was justified—even the best person in the world can be tempted toward retribution when they've been hurt that badly. Plus, although it kind of hurts to say this, Emma's right. What can I say about it? The only thing I have a problem with in this… revelation, is that Matt had to be the one to tell me. But it doesn't matter now, because I know and… I don't care. Are there any other skeletons that might jump out of the closet, or do you have a new excuse for why you need to push me away?"
Smiling just a little, he said, "I don't know, there might be some. That was the biggest skeleton. No other ones are really coming to mind."
"I do have a question of my own," she told him.
"What's that?" he asked.
"Why did Emma help you pick out a table?"
He looked like he suddenly remembered something, and then he said, "Oh, yeah, I didn't tell you about that, did I?"
"About what?" Julie asked.
"Flavor," he said. "It's another restaurant that I'm opening. Emma was helping me with some of the interior design stuff, because it's more… high-end, I guess, and she was inspired by this club she went to in New York." Shrugging, he added, "She may be evil, but she has a sense of style that I lack."
Smiling as she took in the sight of him in his suit, she said, "Forgive me if I disagree."
"With Emma being evil or the style thing?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.
That caused her to frown slightly. "I'm not sure… For all that Emma has seemed to be quite evil to me in the past, she was actually kind of nice to me today."
He matched her frown. "How so?"
"Well, just a minute ago she did defend you even though it made her sound kind of bad, and before that when you were dancing with Shannon and I went to hide in the bathroom so I didn't have to watch, she came in and yelled at me, told me to get my ass back out there and basically not let Shannon get her claws into you."
"Then she has an agenda," he said easily.
"Like what?" Julie asked, frowning. "I mean, it kind of seems like maybe… maybe she's just not being evil. Maybe there's a softer side of Emma. She said there were no hard feelings and that you deserved to be happy—what if she just has kind of a soft spot for you? She's kind of like the bully, and you're the only one that stands up to her?"
"No," he said dismissively, shaking his head. "Emma doesn't have soft spots. Soft is not… anywhere in her description. If she's pushing you to be with me, then she has decided that will in some way benefit her," he told Julie.
Julie mulled that over for a second, but Aaron seemed to be thinking quicker.
"Actually, it makes perfect sense," he said thoughtfully. "Emma knows about my jealousy issues, and she knows I'm more likely to be jealous where Matt is concerned, so if you were to develop feelings for me, that would actually work out very well for her. It would ensure you would have to stay away from her husband in order to appease me."
Nodding, Julie said, "I guess that does make more sense. Why didn't I think of that?"
Smiling slightly, he said, "Because you have a good heart, and you aren't selfish or manipulative enough to think that way."
"I'm going to have to work on that," she said with a nod.
"It's endearing," he told her. "You have this peculiar innocence that doesn't make any sense, but… it's an endearing quality."
Feeling pleased, she smiled. "Well, good. I need some of those."
"You have enough," he told her.
"Do I have enough to outnumber the reasons you have for keeping your distance?" she asked a little hopefully.
A half smile tugged at the corners of his mouth and he took a step closer to her. "You just might."
Julie smiled and took a step forward herself, meeting him halfway as he closed the distance between them and wrapped his arms around her, not leaning in to kiss her, just gazing down at her.
"Now, I want you to be sure about this," he said.
"I am," she said eagerly.
"Really sure," he said, raising an eyebrow. "I mean, I'm not talking marriage or anything, but seeing as this isn't your typical boy-meets-girl situation and there is a pregnancy involved, I would like some kind of… firm belief that you want to be in a committed relationship with me."
"Is the baby going to be a problem?" she asked uncertainly.
"Babies aren't problems, Julie, adults are."
"I know, but… the circumstances. Are those going to be a problem?"
Shrugging, he shook his head. "They're not ideal, but I think they're workable. You haven't answered me yet."
"I am sure," she told him, feeling her pulse speed up as she verified it. "I think that we could be good together. The only obstacle that I see that could be a problem is the obvious one, I just don't want that to be an issue."
He shook his head slightly. "Then we'll do what we can to not let it be an issue."
For that moment, Julie just enjoyed the lovely feeling of being embraced in Aaron's arms and she sighed happily.
"It won't be easy," he warned again.
"Aaron?"
"Yes?" he answered.
"Stop talking," she whispered with a tiny smile. "You're ruining my moment."
He smiled a little wryly and pulled her closer, asking, "What would you rather I do?"
"Well," she began with false gravity, "there are so many options. You could find the cure to cancer, kiss me, talk about the stock market, kiss me, tell me about these tables you bought for this restaurant I didn't know about, kiss me, gossip about the wedding, kiss me, compliment me on my dress—”
Chuckling, he said, "Julie, stop talking."
Glancing up at him through her lashes she said a little playfully, "Why, am I ruining your moment?"
He shook his head wordlessly, giving her that same look of admiration from their moment on the dance floor, and Julie felt warmed again. Her heartbeat quickened in her chest, and she could actually feel warmth radiating through every inch on her body. She felt somehow lighter as he continued to look at her. Then, she felt like reality was suspended as Aaron finally leaned in, closing the last few inches of distance between them.
His lips met hers and she had the strangest rush—like all the blood in her body just flew to her head, giving her a slightly light-headed feeling as she kissed him back. Seeming to sense her unsteadiness, Aaron's embrace tightened protectively around her, and she wrapped her arms around his neck, her fingers instinctively tangling in his hair.
Seemingly without thought, he backed her against the wall and she let out a low murmur as she felt his tongue gently nudge between her lips. She opened her mouth to accommodate him, and savored the taste of him as his tongue swept into her mouth, crushing what little sense of balance she had left. Julie finally gave in, just depending on him to hold her up as she allowed herself to be carried away by her senses, indulging in every sensation.
Finally, caught up in the daze his kiss seemed to induce, she broke away long enough to take a gulp of air and say, "Room."
"Hm?" he murmured, bending his head to kiss the sensitive skin of her neck.
She hissed, closing her eyes and absently pulling him closer. "Let's go upstairs."
In a very un-male-like response, he froze, his lips hovering just above the base of her neck.
Julie frowned then, realizing his pause was way too long. "Aaron?"
He straightened then, looking at her a little apologetically. "At the risk of making myself sound like an ass right now… I want to clarify that I don't want to do anything beyond kissing tonight."
Feeling strangely insulted, she pulled back. "Oh. Okay."
"And you may not have even meant that," he added quickly, "I just wanted to put it out there."
"Right," she said, trying not to sound awkward and defensive.
