Free Spirit

by Andi Bremner

  “He attacked me!” she screeched, and then a light bulb went off in her head at his name. “Wait … did you say Ryan? Your brother?”

  All too late, with both brothers looking at her, Juliette realized she was soaking wet and completely and utterly naked. Her chest heaved with her panic, and she wiped at the water running into her eyes feeling her body flush from the heat of their respective gazes. Ryan, who she estimated to be about eighteen, had a shit-eating grin on his face while Noah’s expression was something else entirely. His jaw was set, and she noted he’d curled one hand into a tight fist, the other locked around a hammer.

  “I’m sorry!” Ryan said, finally finding his voice. “I thought it was Noah in there. It was a joke.”

  Juliette glanced around desperately for something to cover up with and was relieved when Noah handed her a towel. Not looking at him she wrapped it around it herself, securing it between her breasts. “A joke?” she cried. “You took a picture of me on your phone!”

  Noah glared at Ryan. “You have a picture of her? Delete it. Now.”

  Ryan nodded, fumbling with his phone before he got to his feet, still grinning devilishly, despite the awkward and embarrassing situation. “Sorry about that. I have to say though, it was much more fun finding you in the shower than Noah. Much better sight.”

  Juliette blinked at him, while Noah smacked him across the head.

  “Get out,” he muttered, grabbing his younger brother around the neck and thrusting him out the door. He turned back to Juliette mouthing a “sorry” before he exited, closing the door firmly behind them both.

  ****

  Noah

  Outside Noah leaned back against the wall, staring at the ceiling. He’d thought he was a goner before, but now, after having seen Juliette in all her naked glory he knew it. She was a fucking angel sent from heaven to torment him. Or maybe she’d been sent from the devil. That made more sense. Nothing that fantastic was ever anything good.

  “Who the hell is that?” Ryan demanded, the huge grin still on his face.

  Noah glared at him. “That is Juliette.”

  “Juliette?” Ryan repeated rolling her name around his tongue, “as in Romeo and Juliet?”

  “No,” Noah rolled his eyes, “as in mom’s house guest Juliette and as in not for you Juliette. What the hell were you thinking, barging in like that?”

  “I thought it was you,” Ryan repeated, and the grace to look a little shamefaced. ‘I was going to snap a picture and upload it to Facebook. You know for all your admirers.”

  “What the fuck, Ryan?” Noah stared at his younger brother. They’d always played practical jokes, but this was taking it to a whole new level.

  “How was I supposed to know it wasn’t you?” he muttered. “Mom said yesterday there was no one here.”

  Noah shook his head. “Well you need to go and explain to Mom, right now, how you’ve traumatized her guest.”

  Ryan’s shoulders slumped. “Oh shit. You think she’ll leave?”

  “She thinks we’re a house full of perverts,” Noah pointed out, “so yeah, she’ll probably leave. Now go tell Mom, and then you need to meet Juliette in the kitchen and apologize again. You hear me?”

  Ryan nodded.

  “And you deleted that picture, didn’t you?”

  “Of course,” Ryan replied. “Why? You want a copy?”

  Noah shook his head. He didn’t need a copy. He had an image of a naked, wet, heaving breasted Juliette burned into his mind, and he had a funny feeling it would be there for a very, very long time.

  ****

  Juliette

  Juliette changed into jeans and a t-shirt, tying her hair back in a thick braid. She had to go downstairs and face Ryan and Noah, who’d both seen her in absolutely nothing but the water beads from the shower and a few soap suds. Absently her hand went to the scar beneath her collarbone. It was purple and puckered and not exactly a pretty sight. They’d told her it would fade over time and that one day it would be pretty much invisible, but it’d been eight years and it was as puckered and angry looking as it’d been when they removed the port. She had the type of skin, the doctors had told her by way of explanation, that scars easily.

  But, she told herself, removing her fingers from the area, it just reminded her of how lucky she’d been and how lucky she was to be alive.

  Coming downstairs she found Renee, Noah, and Ryan in the kitchen. Renee was plating up bacon and eggs, and Ryan had the grace to flush when she entered. Noah stood, the chair he’d been sitting on sliding out along the timber floors. Silence hung around the kitchen, until Noah leaned over and whacked Ryan across the head again.

  “Ow!” Ryan cried, glaring at Noah for a hot moment before he turned back to Juliette. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have burst in like that. It was thoughtless and stupid. I’m sorry.”

  Juliette’s mouth twitched at his rehearsed speech. He reminded her of a little boy that had been marched up to school to apologize under the strict supervision of a parent.

  “It’s okay,” she said, struggling to hold in her giggle.

  “I’m so sorry, Juliette,” Renee was saying now. “My boys have been playing practical jokes on each other for years. It’s Rob’s fault, my husband. He used to do that type of thing when he was alive, and it seems they’ve carried on the tradition.”

  “It’s okay really,” Juliette insisted, accepting the coffee Noah handed her without meeting his eyes. “Practical jokes are fun. And there was no harm done, as long as the photo was deleted?”

  Everyone swiveled to glare at Ryan who nodded and mumbled that it was deleted before turning his attention back to his food.

  Shaking his head, Noah sat back down, pulling the plate of bacon and eggs his mother had made in front of him.

  “Well for what it’s worth,” Ryan said, clearing his throat, “you’re pretty hot.”

  “Ryan!” Renee cried at the same time as Noah slapped him across the head again.

  Juliette giggled, the sound bubbling up inside her. She could feel the three of them watched her incredulously before slowly Renee and Ryan joined her, Renee holding on to the back of a chair as she let the laughter bubble out of her. She caught Noah’s eye and shrugged, still laughing, and felt her heart begin to lighten when he joined in the laughter.

  Chapter Seven

  Juliette

  “Here,” Toby handed her a can of soda, “you’ve earned a break.”

  Wiping her greasy hands on her overalls Juliette accepted the soda gratefully, throwing her head back and downing half the contents in just a few gulps.

  “You really do know your way around an engine,” Toby observed. “You ever think about becoming a mechanic?”

  Juliette shrugged. “I’d love to, but I never stay anywhere long enough to complete the courses. Plus, I never finished high school.”

  Toby’s eyebrow quirked. “Really? What happened?”

  “I moved interstate, and it was half through senior year. I guess I never got around to enrolling anywhere.”

  Toby watched her curiously. “Well maybe you could do the studies here?.”

  She smiled. “Maybe.”

  “So really,” he said after a moment, tossing his can into the trash and grabbing another from the fridge he kept in the small office area of the workshop, “who taught you about cars?”

  “I had foster brothers,” she said. “They were all into cars, like totally obsessed with engines, motors and fixing up old beat up cars. I hung around, I observed, I watched, I learned.”

  Toby considered her for a moment. “Foster brothers, hey?”

  “Yeah. There were five of them. Five boys and three girls in one home. Kind of cramped. I hung out with the boys a lot and they taught me what they knew.”

  “I’m sure the boys appreciated that, too,” he said slyly.

  “They were like brothers to me,” Juliette assured him, “really.”

  Truth be told, the house she’d lived in with the Thompson brothers was
one of her favorite foster homes. She’d spent about a year there when she was sixteen and they’d taught her everything about cars. Trevor, Thomas, TJ, Timothy, and Tyson. Yeah, their mom thought she was clever giving them all names that started with T. Over the twelve months Juliette was there she grew quite close to them, particularly to Trevor and Tyson who were thrilled she’d taken an interest in cars. They used to buy old rundown beat ups and spend their weekends and spare cash redoing the engines, repainting, and reupholstering them to sell at a profit. Their mom relied on welfare, so money was always welcome in to the Thompson home. As well as Juliette, their mom had taken in two other foster daughters, Stella, who’d been there for several years already, and another girl Jody, who was painfully shy. Juliette recognized the dull light in her eyes and knew that Jody, even at the age of fifteen, had suffered in the foster system. You came across them often, the ones who’d been unfortunate enough to have been placed with abusive or neglectful families. The ones who thought you were their property to physically abuse as they wanted, the ones who thought that no one would care. They thought this mostly because it was true. No one did care about the foster kids. And Jody, with her faded eyes and spirit, was just one that no one cared about.

  By the time the end of the day rolled around Juliette ached in places she’d forgotten were there. It seemed even the bit behind her knees ached and the pad of her pinky finger. Arching her back she decided she needed to find a yoga or Pilates class soon in order to stay in shape. She thought about asking Toby if he knew of anywhere local, but, after watching him down another soda and crack his neck, decided he probably wasn’t a yoga guy.

  “Good day,” Toby called to her as she pulled off her overalls. “You did well.”

  Juliette beamed. “Thanks. I’ll see you tomorrow?”

  “Sure thing.”

  Heading out to her waiting car Juliette glanced at the blue sky, pleased to see there was still enough daylight left to allow her a walk along the beach. She’d be having an early night tonight, after being out so late last night and then up early to start her first day at work…

  Climbing into her car she switched on the radio, turning it up loud as she pulled out of the park to make the short drive back to Renee’s beach house. Her mind, now free from thinking about cars or motors, gearboxes or brake fluid naturally found its way back to thinking about Noah. Noah.

  Noah who’d looked at her so intently, so appreciatively that morning that just thinking about it now sent a shiver up her spine. That coupled with the kiss they’d shared last night had her thinking dangerous thoughts. She wondered what he looked like beneath his clothes. Was his stomach hard and ripped? Was his skin smooth and clear? Was his ass as delicious to grab on to as her imagination allowed? Juliette sighed, imagining his powerful thighs nestled between hers, his strong arms wrapped around her, his eyes darkening with desire as he pressed his mouth to hers once more.

  Shaking her head, she turned up the radio, pushing such wanton thoughts out of her mind as she pulled up at a traffic light. Maybe she should learn to swim. Maybe the cold water would do her good?

  ****

  Noah

  Noah finished up early and decided to head home before Juliette arrived back from her first day at work. Part of him wanted to stay, wanted to sit with her on the porch and drink sweet iced tea his mom had made and watch the daylight disappear as Juliette told him all about her first day. It would have been great, he already knew that. Even if she ached all over, even if she had stubborn grease marks under her fingernails and in her hair, she’d declare it a great day.

  That was Juliette. Life was full of silver clouds and silver linings. If there were any clouds at all.

  But after seeing her that morning he knew it was a bad idea to hang around her. He was drawn to her in a way he hadn’t been drawn to anyone in years. Not since Charlotte. But it didn’t matter if he was drawn to her, if he found her infectious and intriguing, if he found himself wanting to touch her and kiss her and share in a little bit of her sparkle… She wasn’t Charlotte, and he knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that he could never love anyone as much as he’d loved her. He just wasn’t capable of loving again. His heart was closed to it.

  Pulling up at the traffic light he tapped his fingers impatiently on the steering wheel. What if Toby had made a move on her during the day? What if he’d asked her out? Knowing Juliette and her agreeable nature she’d say yes. What if they’d shared a moment? What if Toby had kissed her? Noah knew Toby found her attractive. Hell, everyone in the bar last night found had found her utterly irresistible, so it wouldn’t surprise him if Toby made a move. It had been months since Toby had dated, not since Jessica moved away, and Juliette, someone who shared his passion for cars, would be perfect for Toby.

  Noah swore under his breath. He really fucking hoped Toby hadn’t made a move on Juliette. He didn’t think he could handle seeing her with someone else, even if it was a friend of his. He tried to tell himself he’d rather see her with Toby than Doug, but he knew that wasn’t true. He didn’t want to imagine Juliette with anyone else … but him.

  A knot formed in the pit of his stomach,

  The sound of someone singing drifted through his open window and he peered across the intersection. The pedestrians were crossing so all traffic was at a standstill. He spotted Juliette’s car immediately, parked at the lights. The rundown Toyota, a faded orange color was unmistakable. It was amazing it had made it to work never mind across state lines. He blinked as he focused in on the blonde driver. Was she singing and dancing? In her car?

  Her windows were wound down, and she had the radio turned up loud. Very loud. He made out the sounds of Maroon 5’s song, “Sugar”, blaring out the windows. He also made out the sounds of Juliette singing along to the words, her voice carrying across the intersection to him. She moved to the music, shrugging her shoulders up and down, twisting her head to and fro and pretty much bouncing in her seat to the beat. Quite a few pedestrians and other drivers had noticed her, too, and watched with amusement. One guy had his camera out and was videoing her impromptu concert. He could see it uploaded to YouTube by the end of the day.

  Noah watched her, shaking his head with amusement. She was completely oblivious, so it seemed, to everyone around her, or to the fact that she was at an intersection and attracting attention. And she sounded like shit.

  God, he could feel himself getting hard just watching her. She was utterly riveting, having the time of her life in her shitty car, at traffic lights on her way home from working in a greasy workshop all day. He swallowed, the words from the song, the meaning behind them having a definite effect on him.

  He wanted her right now.

  The song ended, and the pedestrians and drivers around her suddenly broke out in a round of applause. The lights had already changed, but few cars had begun moving, just as transfixed by the sight of the dancing, singing Juliette as he was. Noah watched as her eyes went wide and her face colored an adorable dark pink, only just realizing she had put on a mini concert for the population of Myrtle Beach. She ducked her head before jerking to life and setting off from the traffic lights, disappearing down the road.

  Noah didn’t hesitate. If he’d been torn about wanting to see her and going home then that show, the music, the lyrics had decided for him. Flicking his indicators on he changed lanes as he took off from the traffic lights, ignoring the blaring horns from the other drivers who he cut off in his quest to follow Juliette.

  In that second, he thought he might follow her anywhere.

  Chapter Eight

  Juliette

  Back in Kentucky Juliette had had a job at the local diner, serving endless amounts of coffee and pie to customers who wanted nothing more than to offload all their thoughts and feelings. She listened to dads talk about how they hadn’t seen their children for years, how their children had a new dad now, she listened to women come in with a diagnosis of breast cancer, scared for how they would look after their families. She heard a
bout job losses and heartbreaks, about family feuds and bitter regrets. Sometimes, after her shift she couldn’t wait to get home and get a shower. She needed to wash off more than just the grease from the fryer or the bleach from the bathroom cleaner. She needed to wash off people’s lives, their stories, their heartbreaks, their disappointments. She never minded listening to them, knew that sometimes people just wanted someone to listen to them, even if it was the waitress at the local diner. But still … Juliette had had enough heartbreak, loneliness, illness, rejection in her life already and didn’t want to take on more.

  And now she was covered in more grease than the diner ever offered and she didn’t mind. She’d chatted with a few customers, and none of them had shared their life stories with her. Instead there had been an easy banter. Toby had the radio turned up loud and he was patient as he showed her how things operated. So she might have dirt shoved deep beneath her fingernails, her scalp might be itchy, and she knew there was a dark smudge on her cheek but she had never enjoyed a day’s work before so much. And she didn’t even feel the dirt.

  She pulled up outside Renee’s house and was just climbing out when Noah’s pickup truck pulled up behind her. She’d thought he’d have left by now, gone home for the evening and smiled as he climbed downed and walk purposefully across the path to her.

  “Hi!” she called cheerily. “I was wondering—”

  Her words were cut off when Noah reached her, bending forward, tilting his head down to claim her mouth with his. This kiss, unlike the kiss of the previous night, was darker, hungrier, and needier. His lips pressed firmly against hers, his mouth slanting across hers to force hers to open as his tongue plundered her mouth, tasting her and slowly begin to stir something in the pit of her belly.

  Stunned at first by the sudden onslaught, Juliette slowly warmed to the passion Noah shared with her, and, closing her eyes, allowed herself to be swept away by his kiss, by his touch, by the smell and feel of him. He was in control, he was almost needy, and she let him take from her whatever he wanted, more than happy to share herself with him.