New Amsterdam: Julia

by Ashley Pullo

  “Off the record?”

  “Yeah?”

  “Email me some pics of the rooftop – Jesus, pretty women make me do crazy things!”

  Julia runs around the counter and opens her arms. “Thank you, thank you!”

  “I may have some extra Persian buttercups that could work. Deep purple and crimson,” Scott mutters.

  “They sound perfect! Email me the invoice and I’ll cover it.”

  “Yeah, yeah,” Scott teases, pushing away from Julia’s embrace. “Now go! I have work to do.”

  As Julia and Theo leave the shop, she removes her notebook and studies the checklist. “You’ll call Reverend Douglas, and I need to call the paper. If I invite Howard and Francine, they should approve a staff photographer for the wedding even though it’s frowned upon. Although, I ignored conflict of interest as soon as I stepped inside Scott’s shop.”

  “What about seating and stuff? The roof is a cement slab with Christmas lights and an alien mural.”

  “Done. But I had to lie to the vendor and tell him we are having a funeral”

  “And those tablecloth thingies? Should we stop by Party City?”

  “What? Ew.” She shudders. “I’ll put in a call to a linen supplier I know – she fucked up a wedding a few months ago and will need to rebuild her name.”

  Hailing a cab, Theo opens the door for Julia to climb in the backseat. “Food?”

  “I have a list of three catering companies that only need thirty-six hours of notice, but their yelp reviews are shady. What about Fulton Market?”

  “I think you’re making this too difficult. What if we get champagne and a big cake?”

  Biting the inside of her cheek, she looks out the window and thinks.

  “Jules?”

  “Milk Bar,” she replies, laughing hysterically. “That’s brilliant, Theo!”

  “Um, yeah. That’s exactly what I said.”

  “Gah, I completely forgot.”

  “Okay, weirdo,” Theo mouths.

  Looking down at her notebook, she mumbles, “Rings. Where can I get cheap wedding bands?”

  “Are you talking to me now?”

  “Yes, of course.” Julia shakes her head.

  “I may know a place, but you have to promise to feed me soon.” Leaning between the partition separating them from the cab driver, Theo instructs, “Broadway and Fulton.”

  “I have a crazy idea.”

  “Oh yeah?” Theo asks, flashing a smile.

  “Let me cook dinner for you tonight.”

  “Like a date, or like a thank-you-for-being-my-gay-assistant?”

  “A date,” she answers.

  A second date, she thinks.

  While on hold with a manager from Milk Bar, Julia adds songs to a Spotify playlist titled, Brawndo, and then shares it with Theo. Checking the time on her laptop, and stretching her neck, she scribbles find a DJ in her notebook with a dozen exclamation points.

  “Ms. Pierce? Sorry to keep you waiting.”

  “Please tell me you have good news, Carla.” Julia closes her eyes and crosses her fingers, a new believer in good luck.

  “I do! I was able to place a rush order for a ten-inch strawberry-lemon cake, three Crack Pies, four dozen Compost cookies, four dozen Chocolate-chocolate Chip cookies, four dozen Cornflake-chocolate-chip-marshmallow cookies, two dozen chocolate malt truffles, and fifty white milk bottles.”

  “Oh, I love you, Carla!”

  “Yay, I’m so glad I could help! What time do you want to schedule delivery?”

  “We’re setting up the bar around six, could we do it for that same time?”

  “Sure, no problem. Just make sure you keep the milk and the cake chilled.”

  “Did I mention how much I love you?” Julia swoons.

  “You did,” she laughs. “Please come visit us, we’d love to add you to our celebrity wall.”

  “I will, Carla. Thanks again.”

  “See you Thursday.”

  Ending the call, Julia hops from her desk and twirls toward the kitchen. Checking the timer on the oven and taking a quick peek inside, she inhales the fragrant aroma and says, “High five, Fletch.” Fletch, a lover of food, and a certifiable chicken chaser, tilts his head and lifts a paw. “You want some chicky?” Removing her apron and sipping a glass of white wine, she tosses Fletch a tiny piece as Theo knocks on her door.

  Opening the door with a smile, she deadpans, “Welcome to Costco.”

  “Well, hell-o, gorgeous woman that controls my dreams. Nice movie reference.” Theo hands Julia a bouquet of sunflowers wrapped in the style section of the Herald. “I brought flowers,” he says, revealing a giant-sized bag of gummy bears, “and dessert.”

  “I love sunflowers, and gummy bears. Come in,” she orders, tugging the hem of his dress shirt.

  “It smells really good in here. Whatcha cookin’, good lookin’?”

  “Rosemary chicken and roasted vegetables. Sit down, I’ll bring you some wine.”

  Theo pulls out a chair and places the bag of gummy bears on the table. “You should have Fletch wear a bowtie for the wedding,” he states, shaking Fletch’s paw.

  “Would you rather have a beer?” asks Julia, carrying a glass of wine and a bottle of Stella back to the table.

  “You know me so well.” He smiles. “Do you need help in the kitchen?”

  “I got it. You can pour the candy in that salad bowl, please.”

  Returning to the kitchen, Julia turns off the oven and grabs her oven mitts. She removes the roasting pan and sets it on the counter, taking a serving spoon from the wall and drizzling the juice from the bottom of the pan over the chicken.

  “Thanks for the Spotify playlist, although the Smashing Pumpkins are the worst band ever,” he calls from the dinette.

  “Really? I mean, they aren’t my favorite, but I like a few of their older songs.” She shrugs her shoulders, somewhat impressed with her culinary skills, and then places a serving fork and spoon in the pan.

  As she carries the pan to the table, Theo opens his mouth and slowly shakes his head. “God, damn, girl, can you be any sexier?”

  “Possibly.” She winks, waving her oven mitts. “Oh, we need silverware!” Julia darts back to the kitchen to grab two place settings and the bottle of wine. She tosses the mitts on the counter and walks back to the table. “Should I light the candles?”

  “Nah, we’ll forget to blow them out later.”

  Julia places a chicken breast with roasted potatoes and carrots on Theo’s plate, carefully removing a sprig of rosemary. “Don’t eat that.” Of fuck, I sound like his mother.

  “Relax, Jules.” He smiles. “Oh, Reverend Douglas is set for Thursday, but I did promise him a few Sunday bingo appearances.”

  Taking a bite of a red potato, Julia nods her head. “And the co-op board? Can we use the rooftop?”

  Drinking his beer, Theo rolls his eyes. “Approved, but we can’t have more than sixty people up there. Fire code or something. And you and I are both new members of the board,” he utters quickly.

  “What?”

  “It was either that or one of us sleeping with Mallory.”

  “Good call.” Julia tears off a piece of her chicken breast and tosses it on the floor. Fletch grabs it with his tongue, like a frog to a fly, and then stares at Theo with wild eyes, begging for more.

  “I thought you said never give Fletch table food?”

  “But look at his smushy face,” she defends, tossing him another piece of chicken. “As of now, I have confirmation from thirty-nine guests, and Nana said she can’t wait to meet the man that helped plan her granddaughter’s wedding.”

  “Nana sounds amazing.” He smiles.

  “Oh, and the desserts are done,” she adds, sipping her wine.

  “What’s the deal with Milk Bar anyway – first date or something?”

  “Um, they broke up in Milk Bar.”

  Perplexed, Theo asks, “What?”

  Nodding with a grin, she explains, �
�They had a huge fight, broke up, shared a chocolate-chocolate cookie, and then had make up sex in the bathroom.”

  “Wow. That’s hot.”

  “Oh, crap! We also need a DJ, but I might know someone that has the equipment . . .” she trails off.

  “I have a brother that manages a Latin dance club in Washington Heights. I’ll call him tomorrow.”

  “I didn’t know you had a brother,” Julia probes.

  “Well, we’re not actually related.” Drinking his beer, he glances at her row of tiny pumpkins in the window sill.

  “Oh, so he’s a fraternity brother?”

  “Nah, I didn’t go to college.”

  Pouring another glass of wine, Julia lowers her voice and barks, “So, like a bro?”

  Laughing, he answers, “Mickey was my foster brother from ’99 to ’03.”

  “Oh.” She sinks back in her chair.

  “Jules, I, uh, really like these carrots,” he interrupts, avoiding a complicated discussion about his past.

  “I use olive oil, salt and pepper – do you want some more?” she asks, serving him more vegetables before he answers. Stop it!

  Theo takes a few polite bites and then stands from the table. “I need another beer. Do you want anything?”

  You? “I’m good.”

  As Theo heads to the kitchen, Julia takes several deep, relaxing breaths, coaching herself through a second date. Rolling her neck and finishing off her wine, she picks out three red gummy bears from the bowl.

  When he returns with his beer, he sits down at the table and pushes his plate to the side, watching as she bites off the heads of the helpless cubs. “You know,” Theo says, lining up the five colors of bears in a single file, “there’s a lot of debate about the flavors of gummy bears.”

  “They all taste the same.”

  “You’re wrong, little grasshopper. The red, your bear of choice, is actually marinara sauce.” He pops the red raspberry one in his mouth and chews with his eyes closed. “Orange is a favorite among Cheetos lovers – which goes great with banana cream pie.” Theo eats the orange and lemon bear, keeping his smile at bay while he continues. “Now the colorless wonder of this guy,” he pinches the pineapple bear between his fingers, “is the biggest secret in the candy world. I’ve heard rumors ranging from LSD to old man jizz, but I know a guy, who knows a guy, who works at Haribo . . . and I can tell you, off the record, the clear bear is silicone.”

  “You’re so full of shit, Theo Barnes.”

  He holds up a hand. “Let me finish.” Taking the last remaining bear from the lineup, he mutters, “Poor, poor, unlovable green. What did the flavor green ever do to you?” Theo holds the bear between his thumb and index finger, and speaks directly to its disfigured face. “I know, fella. It sucks to be tossed back in the bowl. But I will eat you, green gummy!”

  “So what’s the flavor of green, according to Theo?”

  Lobbing it at his sexy mouth, he says, “Oh, it’s definitely strawberry.”

  “From now on, I will only eat the green,” she promises.

  Quietly tapping his thumbs against the table, he declares, “Jules, I really like you.”

  Without hesitating, she replies, “I like you, too, Theo.”

  “You’re way too good for me.”

  “What? I’m not – I’m like . . .” Damaged goods, she thinks.

  “Yeah, you are. But when we kissed, and then when we kissed, I felt things change between us. Like maybe you wanted to be more than just friends?”

  Her heart throbbing, Julia pants, “I do.”

  I do – the two words that change everything.

  Leaving their unfinished dinner and the gummy bears on the table, Theo and Julia hold hands as they walk to the bedroom. “Fletch, outside,” Julia commands, as she closes the door.

  Powering on her Bose speaker and syncing it to her iPod, Julia steps out of her vintage boots and removes her bracelets.

  “I’ve never been in your bedroom.”

  “You have a key to my apartment, but you’ve never been in my bedroom?”

  “No?” He shakes his head. “That would be kinda creepy, Jules.” Theo takes a picture frame from the wall shelf and admires the candid photo of Julia and Meredith in Bryant Park. “Have you two ever made out?” he asks, returning the frame to the shelf.

  Flipping on her bedside lamp, she laughs. “Are you serious? I can never tell when you’re messing with me.”

  “I’m rarely never always serious.” He takes a seat on the bed and kicks off his shoes, revealing socks with robots. “But since you won’t answer my innocent question, I’ll keep the Julia-Meredith fantasies to myself.” Theo slides open the drawer to her bedside table and smiles.

  “Hey!” she shrieks.

  “Jules, I need you to trust me.” He removes a tin of Altoids and pops a few in his mouth while digging for something else. “Takeout menus in the bedroom?” Clicking his tongue, he waves a paper menu with French descriptions.

  Snatching the bakery menu from his hand, she curtly defends, “For your information, they made the wedding cake for the Hoffman wedding.”

  “Right. Moving on . . .”

  “I don’t like this game.” Julia sits next to him, watching over his shoulder as he pulls things from her drawer like scarves from a magic hat.

  “Body butter. Nice.” He unscrews the lid to the Body Shop’s peach lotion and dabs some on his cheek. “I keep lotion by my bed, too.”

  “For batin’?” she teases.

  “Speaking of batin’ – what do we have here, Jules?” Theo holds a black silk bag firmly in his hand as he looks at her over his shoulder.

  Julia reaches for the bag, her face heated with embarrassment, as he dangles it above her head. “Give it to me!”

  Sliding the Lelo vibrator out of the bag and tapping the head against her chin, he says, “It’s so soft. What is this – sheepskin-silicone?”

  Ripping the blue pleasure-maker from his hand, Julia sets it on the side table and stands between his legs. “This needs to stop.” She lifts the layers of her peasant dress over her head and lets it puddle on the floor.

  “Ho-ly shit,” Theo groans.

  Unfastening her bra but keeping it close to her chest, she replies, “I love that we’re friends. I love that we can make jokes about movies and vibrators. I love that we can play bingo. I love that we can share bagels and bubble tea. And I love that we have so much fun exploring this city . . . but I can do all of that stuff with Meredith.” She drops her bra to the floor, revealing full breasts and hard nipples. “Theo, you need to fuck me.”

  Grabbing her waist, he flips her onto the bed, and then claws at the fabric of his own shirt. Buttons fly across the hardwood floor, but he manages to rip the dress shirt from his arms. Pinning Julia beneath him, Theo kisses her neck and runs his tongue across her collar bone. His mouth moves to her chest, pausing to suck on her nipple.

  In response, Julia arches her back and runs her fingers through his shaggy hair, tugging as he nips her breast. She moves her other hand to his belt buckle, challenging herself to pry it open without him knowing. But he does notice, so Theo jumps from the bed and removes his pants in 3 . . . 2 . . . 1 . . .

  “Holy shit!” Julia catches her breath while staring at his beautiful, erect penis. “That was fast.”

  “Girl, I can free willy in less than a second,” he answers, climbing on top of her. Beginning with the delicate stretch of skin on her neck, Theo revisits each pleasure-zone until he reaches the elastic band of her underwear. Tugging at the band with his teeth, he slides his hands to her pelvis and yanks the sheer fabric around her ankles.

  Delicately kissing her leg, he spreads her knees and positions his face between her thighs. “Mmm,” he moans, lying on his stomach. Theo throws her legs over his shoulders, places his hands under her ass, and then dives right in.

  Julia grabs his hair, reacting to the oral penetration. But when Theo sporadically changes his rhythm, she nudges his side with her k
nee. And when his lips lightly graze her clit, she shudders in pleasure.

  “Oh, oh, oh,” Julia mutters.

  Rising to his knees, Theo stares down at her lazy expression, sated yet craving more. “Yeah . . . you need to sit on my face.”

  Julia opens her eyes and smiles. “No. I want you inside me – like five minutes ago.”

  Squeezing her arm, he pulls her to his chest, and then grabs her neck. Excited by her wild expression, he asks, “Do you trust me?”

  “Yes, of course.”

  Theo reaches for the vibrator on the bedside table and positions it between her breasts. Julia kisses him, tasting herself on his lips as she grabs onto his shoulders.

  Breaking their kiss, Theo rests his mouth on her forehead. “Get on your knees, and grab onto the headboard.”

  And with bated breath and a devilish grin, Julia complies.

  Chapter Eleven

  Breathing heavily, Julia pulls the sheet over her naked body and rolls on her side. “That was incredible.”

  “Two years of foreplay can take sex to an entirely new level.” Not bothering to cover himself, Theo turns to face Julia and passes her the vibrator.

  “I’ll have to wash it later,” she says, placing it back in the drawer.

  With a nervous rattle, Theo mutters, “There’s something I’ve been meaning to ask you, Jules.”

  “Yeah?”

  “I have a wedding to go to on Thursday – will you be my date?”

  “Ha ha, very funny.” She laughs.

  Standing from the bed and stretching, Theo flexes his arms and poses like a Roman statue. “You like what you see?”

  Julia nods as she grabs Theo’s dress shirt from her side of the bed. Wrapping it around her naked body, she asks, “Do you want some water?”

  “Like from the toilet?” he deadpans, searching for his boxers. “Water would be great, but I want to grab something from my apartment first.”

  “Um, oh-kay.” Julia opens the door to her bedroom, greeted by an obedient and confused Boston terrier. “Oh, Fletch, you’re so good!”

  When Theo races across the hall to his apartment, Julia quickly cleans up the dinner mess.

  She stashes the pan in the kitchen, and then grabs two bottles of Vitamin Water from the refrigerator. Opening one, she throws back half of the acai berry concoction as she walks back to the dining alcove.