by Nicky Shanks
Instead of bursting into tears and telling me her problems, she turns her lips from a frown into a smile. She gives me a quick kiss on the lips. “I’m having a good time up here already.”
“I’m happy to hear that,” I say and pull her into me. I tuck her beneath my chin. “What have you been reading in here all afternoon?”
Her breath hitches; she shifts her weight on my lap. “Just some old books, mainly fairy tales.”
I smile. “Fairy tales, huh? Sounds pretty good, maybe you can read to me. I like a good fairy tale.”
“I’m a little tired of reading today, maybe tomorrow?” I thank God that she says no. I can’t sit here and watch her lips move inches from me and not devour them. I hate to break the bad news to her that we have to leave a little earlier than we planned; there are some things I have to drive back into North Rockford and put my signature on.
Like a house.
With red shutters and a backyard and a garden.
Ten minutes from the campus where she signed up for classes.
I need to build her a library.
“I have to drive back to Rockford on Thursday, is it okay if we leave a little earlier than expected?” I listen for a change in her breathing. She continues to play with my shirt. She nuzzles her body into mine, her breathing stays steady, and the air around us doesn’t change. “Julie, are you sure you’re okay?”
Her body bounces up; she is ready for anything. “I’m sad that we have to leave early, but I understand. Did you want me to make you something for dinner?”
I know I have a twinkle in my damn eye. “Only if you want to.” I try not to seem too excited that she is willing to take care of me. But my damn insides twist and turn at the thought of her in the kitchen, wearing nothing but an apron—
She grabs my hand and squeezes it. Then she leads me toward the kitchen and I notice that nightfall has already started surrounding the windows. It’s enclosing us in the duskiness of the start of evening. I watch her flutter around the kitchen. She has no idea where anything is, yet she does know at the same time.
Julie finds a bag of spinach and starts washing the pieces. She lays them on the counter to dry. I watch her carefully select what type of blade she needs to cut it and it is like watching a ballerina practice for the ballet. She blushes when she notices me staring at her. I look away to make sure she doesn’t get too distracted and cut herself again in my presence. “Can I do that for you?” I nearly launch myself toward the knife in her hand.
She stops chopping and glares at me. Her electric blue eyes burn into my flesh. “You think I will slash myself again? I’m not accident-prone, Oliver.”
“You are too perfect to slash up.” I try to take the knife again. “I don’t want you hurting any part of your beautiful body.” I kiss her neck and make a third attempt.
“I can handle this; you can grab some veggies from the fridge and start washing them for me.”
Anything for you, Julie.
My Julie.
I wash off several different vegetables and lay them out in front of me. I hand them to her one by one; she chops them quickly and adds them to the massive wooden salad bowl. I slide my arms around her a few times. I drop some of the items into the bowl to “help” but she swats my hands away every time. She turns to boil eggs and I sit up on the counter to watch her dance to a song in her mind. This is the second time I have seen this; I like when she feels comfortable enough to sway her hips like that.
I lick my lips and take my phone from my pocket. Finding a slow song, I jump down and take her hands in mine. I lead her around the kitchen. She giggles against my neck as I whisk her petite body around the floor.
“Don’t tell anyone I can dance.” I twirl her around and dip her low. “It might ruin my reputation and I might need to cash in on that someday.”
Julie rolls her eyes. I swing her back up and bow in front of her, thanking her for letting me dance her around the kitchen. “Is there anything you aren’t good at?” Her eyes are innocent and pure of any dark thoughts.
I clear my throat and hide my worried face from her. “Apparently there are a few things. Like holding myself back from you, that’s one that is too hard to even think about.”
She finishes mixing the salad and hands me empty salad bowls. She takes the larger one to the table and waves me over to join her. I feel like a zombie, it is hard to tell what I can and can’t do when it comes to her.
I groan and get two glasses of ice water, drinking mine in one gulp. I get back up for more and think about what awkward thing I could say to her next. She digs into her salad, enjoying it, and my mouth waters as she licks the dressing from her lips.
“I want to talk to you about something I found today,” she says and then blushes. I can tell it isn’t something pleasant.
“Okay.” I put my fork down before even digging into the food. “What did you find?”
Julie frowns. I know she knows I don’t want the salad. “Oh, well—it was nothing really, just an old book from a long time ago.”
“Oh, yeah? My grandfather liked to collect old shit.” I take a small bite of the salad to appease her. Once I notice her shoulders relax, I shovel more of the atrocity into my mouth. I pray I will be able to sneak back down in the middle of the night for a turkey sandwich. I eat the salad because I love her; I love the way her eyes watch me as I pretend to love it.
“So, two more days up here…” She pauses and I can see her choosing her words inside of her mind carefully. “What should we do? I do feel like being totally lazy.”
I chuckle and run my thumb over her fingers sitting on top of the table. “We don’t have to do anything, we can just be lazy. That’s what vacations are for. As long as we spend some time together up here, I’m good.”
“I thought you were going to show me what it’s like to be with the great Oliver Jackson.” She giggles. I somewhat think she’s a little serious. “Are we going to just sit around and be lazy the rest of our lives? We would get bored with each other.”
I ignore the scream building in my throat. “I will do whatever you want to do with the rest of our lives—I belong to you now.”
Julie blushes. I thought I was a little too intense, but I hardly care. I’m not into hiding my feelings anymore; that’s what breaking the rules will get you. Thank God I only broke one rule, even though it’s the one that will ruin me. “Oh, well—for right now, I think I would love to take a bubble bath in that enormous bathtub upstairs. I have wanted to dip my toes in it since I laid eyes on it.”
“In our bathroom? It is pretty relaxing and it’s big enough for two.” I wink at her. She shakes her head, her eyes laughing at me. “I think I can scrounge up some bubble bath in this house somewhere. Why don’t you let me do the dishes while you get ready for the bath?”
I wait a few seconds for her reply but she doesn’t have one. To my surprise, she stands up and touches my arm, disappearing from the room. I throw the dishes into the sink and leave them there, untouched. I look everywhere I can for bubble bath. I finally open a hallway closet with toiletries. Behind some shampoo bottles and soap containers sits a bottle of lavender-scented bubble bath. I snatch it up and hoof it toward the bedroom. I really fucking hope she hasn’t started without me.
The door is open and the fireplace is lit. She sits on the bed facing me in nothing but a pair of matching black lace panties and bra. I am completely mesmerized by her; I don’t want to touch her in fear that it is all just a dream.
“Is this okay?” she whispers. I can barely hear her over the crackle of the fireplace. I don’t have to hear her because her eyes say it all. I force myself into the room and take three long steps toward her. With no hesitation, her body is pinned beneath mine as I take her lips. The magic that sparks around us as I kick my shoes off and unzip my jeans is so intense that I can feel my bones vibrating.
“Did you find any bubble bath?” she moans into my mouth.
I nod. “Dresser.” That’s all I can m
anage. The air is so thick with want that I can barely breathe. I just want to lose myself inside of her—forget anything that has ever happened to either one of us and just be happy together.
I feel her peel her body away from mine and let herself down. She grabs the bottle of bubbles and then takes my hand, leading us both into the bathroom. “I’ll run the bath, take off your clothes,” she demands. When she bends over to start the bathtub, it literally takes every fiber of my being not to take her right here. I undress and immediately blush at my hardness. “You know I want you; I won’t be able to hold back much longer.”
She doesn’t miss a beat. “After you, Mr. Jackson.”
I get into the tub first. I sink into the hot water, helping her in the process. I don’t want her to slip and fall or break any of her perfect limbs. She sits on my lap facing away from me. “Oh, should I go across the tub?” She giggles.
I put my face into her strawberry-scented hair; I quickly shake my head no. “Stay where you are, don’t you dare move. I like when you touch me.”
She lets out soft air from her lungs. I watch her trace some bubbles with her fingers in the water. We sit in silence until I just can’t take it anymore. “Tell me something no one else knows about you.”
“This again?”
“I told you, I want to know everything.” I take her hand into mine; I pull it out of the water to snake my fingers around hers. “Please, Julie,” I whisper into her ear. Her back tenses against my chest.
“I am twenty-two?”
I scoff. “I am twenty-five. Not to mention I already knew that—and it’s not a secret.”
“Oh, it has to be a secret?” She gulps.
I know what I want from her but I’m too afraid to ask. I want to know how Julie…became Julie.
“I grew up in San Diego. I moved around a lot when I was a teenager. I told you about my parents, what else is there?”
I hear my phone ringing from the other room but I don’t care.
I want more.
I always want more with her.
“Um, let’s see. Randy is my half-brother, we share the same father. He grew up with his mother in Rockford.” She looks at me as if I would indicate when to stop. “What else do you want to know?” I reach for her and gently drag her back toward me, placing her back on my lap.
The phone rings again in the other room.
“Do you want to get that?” She starts to move from my lap. The water laps around her body, letting me see things that drive me crazy.
“No,” I instantly say and pull her back. “Whoever it is, they can wait.”
She nods and twirls back around to face me. Her skin slides against mine like hot butter; I nearly lose every ounce of control I have left. She holds my head in her hands and looks directly into my eyes. It’s like she’ll see something in there that she hasn’t seen before. Something that no one else can see.
“What about you?” She looks sad.
“My mother skipped town when I was young. My father died when I was fourteen in a car accident. And you know about my grandfather.” I have no emotion. “My grandfather got stuck with me after my Dad died and then he passed. So here I am, alone with no family.”
Tears roll down her cheeks. “You’re not alone.”
I wipe the hot liquid from her face. “I know that now because I have you, don’t I? It all happened a long time ago. I’m over it now, so why are you crying?”
“It’s just sad.”
“Julie—” My phone starts ringing again. I feel her hand underneath the water, sliding up my leg and stopping at the inner edge of my thigh. She grips my erection—hard—and looks back into my eyes. The sadness has turned into curiosity as she moves her hand slowly, back and forth. She climbs up and lowers herself onto me, never losing eye contact. I don’t even care about a condom this time—she is on and ready to go.
I let out a loud, satisfied moan when she slides onto me. It’s been weeks since I felt her like this. Her thighs grip the outer meat of my legs. “God, you feel so damn good,” I whisper into her hair; I grip her tight and try hard not to let go.
She moans quietly. I swear to God I hear her whisper my name. I lift her closer to me and lose myself inside of her, the emotions of the past three weeks cracking my insides. She holds onto me so tight I know there will be marks. She doesn’t care about being quiet this time; there isn’t anyone in the house to hear us like before. My breath quickens as I wrap her legs around my waist and let her bite down hard on my bottom lip.
Then, she does it.
She screams my name.
A guttural, primal, gut-wrenching, nail-biting, call the cops scream.
My Julie.
Her long, wet honey hair is matted around us. The water starts to cool; our lips are raw and pink from being attached so long. My legs are too weak to even think about using them. Julie kisses the corner of my mouth and I feel drunk. I run my fingers through her hair and try to catch my breath. Her forehead finds mine and I close my eyes and smile. “What are you doing to me?”
She giggles and relaxes onto me. “Do you not know what we just did?”
I roll my eyes but smile. “You’re sexy but sarcasm doesn’t become you.”
My phone rings for the fourth time.
“Are you sure you don’t need to get it?” She splashes water at me.
“After what we just did, I’m not sure of anything.” She shakes her head. “Okay, fine, I’ll go get it.” The air outside of the bathtub is cold, so I wrap a towel around my lower half. I look back to wink at her, then run to re-light the fireplace before I do anything else. “So fucking cold,” I say as my teeth chatter. I pull on some gray sweatpants and then dig around my bag to find my phone.
“It’s in the pocket of your jeans,” I hear Julie say from the bathroom.
I check the pocket of my jeans and sure enough, there it is.
How does she do that?
I look at the phone and Casey has been the one blowing it up. I roll my eyes and am in the middle of dropping it back onto the bed when he calls again. I hit the ignore button but he calls once more.
“God, what?” I roar as I answer it.
There are sirens in the background so I can hardly hear anything he’s saying. He walks to find a place where he can talk. When it’s quiet, I can hear the fear in his voice. “Where are you?”
“You know I’m at the lake, why?”
“You two need to come back to town. Now.”
“Casey, I’m hanging up,” I say, but can’t bring myself to do it. “What’s wrong with you?”
Silence.
“Casey!” I yell into the phone.
“Brandon attacked Nora and she’s in the hospital. He’s looking for Julie.”
The energy drains from my body. I start to panic, but then realize that we are three hours away and we have time to leave. “When?” I choke out.
“I’m not sure how long ago it was—I just heard from her.”
I hang up the phone and look around the room.
I am frozen and I don’t know what my next move is going to be, but I know one thing.
Brandon isn’t going to hurt Julie.
I’ll kill him first.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Julie
“What is it?” I ask Oliver when he comes back into the bathroom. His entire body has lost all color. For a minute, I really think he’s going to tell me that he’d just seen a ghost in the bedroom. “Oliver?”
“Get out,” he says in a harsh voice. “Julie, come on, you have to get out.” He reaches into the tub, pulling the plug, and the water starts to drain around me. It leaves me naked and cold. He walks over to fetch me a towel and wraps it around my shivering body. He helps me out so I don’t slip and break any bones.
Something is clearly bothering him but he doesn’t say a word to me as I follow him back into the bedroom. I watch him get dressed in his jeans and burgundy pocket t-shirt; he puts his socks and boots on and then starts rummag
ing through my things to find me clothes to wear.
“I can dress myself,” I say in a cold voice. “What is going on?”
Finally, he takes a deep breath and looks at me instead of through me. “Brandon just attacked Nora, she’s in the hospital.”
I nearly collapse onto the floor. His arms catch me just in time. “What? Why? Is she okay?”
“He’s looking for you.” Oliver goes to the bedroom window, looking out in suspicion. “I don’t know any other details. Look, we have to get out of here. We aren’t safe here and he might have a weapon, okay? So let’s just get dressed, leave our shit and I’ll have Madrie and Paul bring it back to Rockford when Brandon is caught.”
Nothing he just said to me registers in my mind. I think about Nora and how this is all my fault. Brandon wouldn’t have attacked her if it wasn’t for me. I want to ask so many questions but I know Oliver is right; if Brandon is capable of hurting someone so badly they needed to go to the hospital, we need to get out of here.
Without protest, I shove on the jeans and sweatshirt he pulls out for me; I tug on my shoes and watch his eyes shift toward the bedroom door like he is waiting for something to pop out and yell “Boo!”
“Stay here.” He starts to leave the room.
“Don’t you dare!” I hiss, grabbing his arm. “I need you here with me.”
He smiles wider than I have ever seen. I have stroked his ego, even in a tragic and hard-pressed moment like this. His smile brings me comfort and I don’t feel the fear as much. “I will never let anything happen to you, I’ll kill him first.”
“No one is killing anyone!” I hiss again. “We are leaving!”
I think about Colin’s journal. I can’t leave without it. “I want to stop into the library and grab a few books to take back with me, okay?”
