Forbidden Boy

by Hailey Abbott

  “I mean, he’s still pretty perfect, though,” Julianne mused out loud. “Isn’t he?”

  Chloe swept her hair off of her shoulders into a high ponytail and then adjusted the drawstring on her pink-and-yellow-striped lounge pants. “All I know is that we’re never going to a party where they only have PBR ever again,” she mused. “Think about it—crappy beer, crappy guys. They go hand in hand. From now on it’s good drinks or bust.”

  “Things went that well with Michael, huh?” Julianne chucked a pillow at her sister.

  “Like I said, crappy beer, crappy guys. He seemed like such a sweetheart in physics lab.”

  Julianne picked at the spots of dried paint still clinging to her hands as she considered her response. “Well, you know, clearly it’s time to start paying less attention to physics and more attention to chemistry.”

  “Oh Lord, Jules. Stick with art, okay? Because comedy? Not your thing.” Chloe tried to look miffed, but her hazel eyes were laughing.

  “When did it start going downhill?” Julianne flopped onto her back and stared up at the floral border edging its way across the top of Chloe’s bedroom walls.

  “Oh, I don’t know…about half a second after he told me that I was pretty good at physics ‘for a chick.’” Chloe’s heart-shaped face screwed up into a horrified grimace. “I’d say it was a pretty quick descent to rock bottom from there.”

  “No way!” Julianne squealed, popping bolt upright again. “There’s no way—he couldn’t have actually said that!” She tossed another one of Chloe’s smooshy throw pillows at her sister for emphasis. “Wait, did he actually say that?”

  “How could I possibly make this up?” Chloe lobbed the pillow back at Julianne’s head. “What part of ‘arrogant jerk’ isn’t coming across clearly here?” She paused and gnawed her left thumbnail thoughtfully while Julianne continued to stare, wide-eyed. “Good thing he’s not a communications major, I guess,” she said, sighing finally.

  “You mean, because he should really never talk to anyone ever again?” Julianne asked, laughing, before taking a swig of water. “I mean, honestly—ew!”

  “Julessssssss!” Chloe wailed. “Why is every guy I meet a complete loser? Are there no guys on the entire West Coast who aren’t completely sketchy? And you—” She turned her attentions toward Julianne. “You cannot even think about things going any further with Remi!”

  “But…” Julianne snapped open her mouth in protest. “He’s…”

  “I know, I know.” Chloe cut her off decisively. “He’s smart, he’s hot, he’s funny, blah blah blah. So are lots of other guys. But you know what he’s got that other guys don’t? Parents who are trying to bulldoze our beach. I wouldn’t mess with that, Jules. Crazy runs in families.”

  “Not everything runs in families, Chloe. Dad has green eyes, and neither of us do. It doesn’t necessarily mean anything, right? Besides, if you’d seen him this afternoon…oh my God. He completely got everything I was saying about painting. And his surfing lesson was pretty much the hottest thing ever. And—”

  “Okay, points duly noted.” Chloe was all business. “So you’ll have some awesome memories. But you can’t keep seeing him. There’s no way it can go anywhere good.”

  “But why not?” Julianne pressed.

  “Because he’s one of them, Jules. He’s a McMansion Moore. His parents are terrors. They are the living embodiment of bad news.” Chloe was on a roll. “And that house! Can you honestly imagine someone living in that glass house who isn’t a complete and total jerk?”

  “He’s not a jerk,” Julianne said quietly, feeling both absolutely certain of it and utterly confused.

  “Maybe not yet. And maybe he won’t turn out to be as complete a jerk as his parents, but still, nothing good can possibly come of dating him. The Moores are nothing but trouble.”

  “Can we please change the subject?” Julianne pleaded, her head swimming.

  “Yeah, of course.” Chloe’s tone was bright again and Julianne felt herself relax instantly. “But promise me you’ll think about it, okay?”

  “Sure. Of course. Seriously, don’t worry about it,” Julianne assured both her sister and herself. “We have the entire summer to meet guys who don’t completely suck. Forget guys, even. I have an awesome job working for Bill’s crew. You’re going to be over at the children’s hospital—surrounded by hot med students, might I add—and it’s going to be perfect beach weather for the next three months.”

  “That’s more like it, except for the forgetting-guys part. Summer is totally a time of infinite possibilities. We’ll work hard; then we’ll beach harder. There is no room in that schedule for wasting time on two-faced boys who are tacky enough to hit on us after we’ve sustained minor head trauma.” Chloe’s voice was resolute. “So, what exactly are you doing for Bill this summer anyway?”

  Julianne scrunched up her nose, thinking. “You know, I’m not entirely sure. He’s going to give me a whole orientation on my first day. It’s this cutting-edge house, though. I think I’m going to be doing some of the more creative touches. I know Mitch and Hunter work for Bill, but I think I’m going to be the only girl on the crew.”

  “That’s the kind of detail I was looking for! That’s what we should be focusing on! Forget construction. You’re doing your art stuff, and that’s cool, but it’s the abundance of guys that’s key in this scenario,” Chloe cut in excitedly. She smirked. “I mean, of course, I don’t care if you’re working with truckloads of guys with serious manual-labor muscles,” she intoned in mock-seriousness. “It’ll just be nice to have some contacts if, you know, we need a handyman or two.” She grinned mischievously and cast her eyes down toward the carpet.

  Julianne smiled and shook her head. “Enough about my summer plans. Speaking of too much to do this summer, where does your final tally stand at the moment?”

  Julianne watched her sister count off her obligations silently before answering. “Okay. I’m working at the children’s hospital. Then I’m tutoring two afternoons a week and giving surf lessons on Saturdays. And I still haven’t decided if I’m going to jump in for pickup volleyball. I want to have some time just to read and hang out on the beach.”

  Julianne smiled at her sister. Chloe was such an overachiever, yet she always found time to have fun in the midst of all her other commitments.

  “I can’t wait to go out with my camera and spend an entire day just hanging out by the ocean,” Julianne gushed, visions of sunshine and brand-new surfer boys with guitars and dreadlocks already elbowing their way into her thoughts.

  “And you know,” Julianne added, “any poor decisions we make while on the beach can totally be blamed on our surroundings. I mean, if, for example, I happened to go for le petit joyride in the Moores’ shiny yellow backhoe and their tacky glass house happened to get a little bit broken, clearly I could not be held accountable. It’s that tricky beach terrain. No traction whatsoever.” A devious grin spread slowly across Julianne’s face. She twisted one long brown curl around her finger, relishing her own half-serious troublemaking.

  “Ugh, there you go talking about backhoes,” Chloe grumbled. “Don’t get all Ty Pennington on me. If you’re going to talk construction, can we at least talk about what you’re wearing for your first day of work? The outfit is key, you know.” Chloe leapt off the bed and bounded toward her walk-in closet.

  Julianne looked at her sister. Chloe’s warm face was frozen in determination. “You’re totally right. A girl’s gotta have her priorities straight. And clearly my fashion sense isn’t focused at the moment. Style me. I am turning myself wholly over to your vision for my first day of work.”

  “Pinky swear?” Chloe’s almond-shaped eyes looked even larger than usual.

  Chloe extended the pinky finger of her right hand to her younger sister, who entwined it with her own. They both leaned in and shook on it.

  “Pinky swear.” Julianne shook a second time for emphasis. “But nothing white. And no blazers. Blazers are your t
hing. And also, if we could keep the UCLA paraphernalia to a minimum…”

  Chloe and Julianne both looked at each other and stifled a giggle. Chloe stepped into her closet and tossed out a dozen items for her sister to try on. Pastel colors and scoop necks were flying fast and furious, and Jules had to cover her head to avoid being beaned by the better part of the Marc by Marc Jacobs summer collection. “Try those. All of those. Then we’ll reconvene for a final decision tomorrow night. Now that that’s taken care of…” Chloe trailed off.

  “On to the next matter of business,” Julianne finished.

  “Popcorn?” Chloe was halfway out the door and darting in the direction of the kitchen.

  “Popcorn,” Julianne concurred.

  “Chick flick?” Chloe called behind her.

  “Chick flick,” Julianne called back. “Just give me one second!” She ran over to her computer and typed out a quick email to Kat.

  K—

  Do you think summer love is too good to be true? Ran into the guy from the party last night on the beach today and he’s beyond amazing. We had an awesome conversation about painting and everything just felt so right. He gave me some surfing pointers. Maybe I’ll be able to hold my own with you in the waves by the time you get home. One *major* catch, though—I think he lives next door. You know, in the monster house! What do you think that means? I’m so confused! Help!

  In other news, work starts tomorrow. I’m excited. How are your classes? Any cute Madrid boys? Send me pictures already!

  xoxo

  —J

  Chapter Five

  Julianne’s curly hair spilled out of her bike helmet and trailed behind her in the warm breeze. As she pedaled her blue beach cruiser down familiar Palisades roads, she was thrilled that the environmentally conscious philosophy of her “green” summer job had inspired her to bike to work. Seeing familiar faces and gorgeous scenery on her twenty-minute bike commute put Jules in a fabulous mood before the day had even really started.

  As she pulled up in front of the construction site, hopped off, and locked up her bike, Julianne spotted a half-dozen workers already hanging out, drinking coffee, and looking at blueprints. Solar panels, wood beams, and a ton of different kinds of tile were scattered everywhere. The outline of the house that was already standing was boxy and sleek—modern without being obnoxious. After a few quick hellos, she set out pacing around the skeleton of the house. She was unbelievably excited to help design the rest of the project. Not only was it great from an artistic standpoint, but Bill had explained in his last e-mail that everything about the project was eco-friendly. Green building materials, green power, clean design. It was going to be a totally cutting-edge house, giving as much back to the neighborhood as it took in the building. This project, Julianne thought, is going to completely and totally rock my world.

  She meandered from room to room, making sure she knew where everything was before she got to work. Wending her way through the maze of beams and drywall, Julianne walked smack into Mitch.

  “Jules, hey!” His greeting jarred her into focus.

  “Oh, hi, Mitch. How’s it going?” Julianne smiled and gave her cross-country teammate the once-over. So far, the job had been good to him. Sweat slicked his muscles, and his face had the glow of someone who’d spent a good amount of time outside. “Lookin’ good.”

  “Thanks,” he replied. “You look…” He paused, seemingly surprised at the words that were coming out of his mouth. “Great. Really great.” He caught himself. “Um, I mean, it looks like you’re having a really great summer.” His cheeks flushed slightly. Julianne made a mental note to thank Chloe for insisting that she wear a pair of gray Roxy shorts and fitted green American Apparel T-shirt with her Timberland work boots.

  “Okay, people!” Bill was waving them over to the front of the house.

  Julianne and Mitch shuffled back to the group of workers, Jules saying hi to a few guys she recognized from her interview with Bill a few weeks earlier. A few of them, decked out in their cargo shorts, tool belts, and T-shirts looked at Julianne with widened eyes, but mainly they nodded their heads in acknowledgment.

  “Okay. First things first,” Bill started back up again. “Jules, you already know Mitch?” Julianne and Mitch both nodded. “Great,” Bill said, adjusting his tool belt. “Then if there’s anything you need, you can just ask Mitch. I’m sure he’ll be happy to take care of you. Anyway,” Bill continued, “are you ready to jump into the wonderful world of bathrooms?”

  “Excuse me?” Julianne asked, laughing. She plunged her hands into the pockets of her shorts and leaned back a little, waiting for Bill to clarify.

  Bill smiled and explained. “The owners of this place want to see some pattern options for their bathroom tile before we start laying anything down. How would you feel about sketching some designs for them to choose from?”

  Julianne beamed, thrilled to have an artistic project to work on already. “That sounds fine,” she said, trying not to gush.

  “Good. After Mitch introduces you to the rest of the guys,” Bill concluded, “you can head into the trailer. I’ve got you all set up.” He smiled and walked off.

  Mitch and Julianne made their way through the site, greeting the other members of the crew. “That’s Jack.” Mitch pointed across the yard to a burly college guy wearing a Lakers cap and a sleeveless T-shirt. Julianne recognized him from last summer, when he had bussed tables at the Fishtail, but Mitch told her that he had also competed in the lumberjack games for three years running and was a silver-medal holder in log rolling. Tom was on the baseball team at Stanford (and, Julianne noticed, had the arm muscles to prove it). Beau was an English major at UCLA. Nick, who was Julianne and Mitch’s age, was just in town for the summer visiting his aunt and uncle; he was a snowboard pro up in Utah, where he’d be returning at the end of the summer.

  Jules tried to keep her mind from wandering during the introductions, but she couldn’t stop thinking about the lines of the house, the angles, and there was a Lily Allen song playing on repeat in her head. “Sun is in the sky, oh why oh why would I want to be anywhere else?” She was still humming to herself and bobbing her head softly when she heard Mitch saying her name.

  “Jules? Julianne? Earth to Julianne?”

  “Oops. Sorry.” Julianne blushed. “I was just thinking about my first project.”

  “Yeah, sure.” Mitch smirked. “You’re surrounded by college guys and you’re busy thinking about bathroom tiles. I buy that.”

  “Hey, I’m a much better multi-tasker than you give me credit for.” Jules laughed, punching him lightly on the upper arm.

  “I’m sure you are. C’mon, let’s head over to the trailer.” He pointed and led the way.

  “Thanks for the tour, Mitch. Let the guys know that it was great meeting them, okay?” she joked, winking.

  “Later, Jules.” Mitch laughed.

  Julianne walked up the steps of the trailer and knocked three times. When there was no response, she propped open the door and walked in. Then she spotted a note on one of the empty desks.

  Julianne,

  Unfortunately we don’t have a desk for you, so you’ll sort of be drawing wherever you can find space. The desk I’m setting you up with to start is the new project manager’s, but I’m sure he won’t mind if you borrow it for the day. He seems like a nice guy. Give a holler if you need anything.

  Bill

  Alone in the trailer, Julianne stretched out, twirling her pencil between her fingers. She propped her legs up on the project manager’s desk, like the queen of the site. This was definitely going to be a fun job. She tapped the eraser of her pencil on the vast expanse of white space on her blank page. A fresh sketchbook was one of her favorite things in the universe—so full of possibility. Still tapping her eraser against the page, she began to brainstorm about tile designs. Since it was an eco-friendly project, maybe something with leaves? Or maybe something geometric to match the lines of the house? Or something with an ocean motif,
since they were so close to the beach? Dividing her paper into four quarters, she decided to give each idea a chance and then commit to fully sketching the best two designs for the owners to choose from.

  Julianne was in the middle of her second sketch when the door creaked its way open. “Hello?” she called out, not looking up from her drawing. She was in the middle of sketching a line of mosaic tiles curling into the branches of a larger tile tree.

  A familiar voice answered, “I didn’t know this office came with a chair warmer. Man, this job gets better every day.”

  Julianne looked up from her sketch. Her stomach did a series of quick backflips when she saw the new project manager beaming at her.

  “Remi?” she said, dropping her pencil onto her—correction—his desk.

  “We’ve got to stop meeting this way.” He laughed. His laugh was even deeper and richer than Julianne remembered, and his face was warm and bright.

  Julianne swallowed hard. How could this be happening? She felt like she had somehow fallen out of her life and landed in a romantic comedy. If she just counted slowly to five, maybe Drew Barrymore would walk in and the transformation would be complete. Remi was completely decked out in preppy professional attire, but his hair was still adorably shaggy and ruffled from the breeze. He was wearing gray dress pants, shiny square-toed shoes, and a light blue button-down with the sleeves rolled up for that “casual yet approachable boss” look. Remi’s outfit amused Julianne. Even though his tie was clearly expensive, it was adorned with tiny T-squares. She wasn’t sure whether to laugh or groan—it looked like his mother had dressed him. Still, it was impossible to ignore how hot he looked. Remi wore his authority well, and the little trailer was suddenly filled with his friendly confidence.

  Smiling back without even realizing it, Julianne took another deep breath and said simply, “Hey.”