by Kahlen Aymes
I looked at the sour look on her face. “Why are you pissed? Now we can sit together.”
“You’re a shitty liar, Ryan.” She put her bag on the chair next to the one I was sitting on as I tied my shoes. She used her thumb and index finger on one hand to grab the tip of her tongue.
“I hav ah nu allery,” she mocked a swollen tongue, and again rolled her big green eyes. “As if batting your eyes like Shirley Temple wasn’t enough.” She referenced the little girl from a movie we fell asleep to the night before.
I burst out laughing, as did the two people sitting next to me on the opposite side.
“Who’s Shirley Temple, again?” I asked in fake innocence, still chuckling. I dug my boarding pass out of my back pocket and checked our gate.
“It’s sickening. It’s like you have some sort of poison love potion that wafts around you and works on anyone with a vag.”
I couldn’t stop smiling. I loved that she thought I had some magical power over women. It made me puff up like a peacock.
“Why doesn’t it work on you, then?” I leaned down and blew on the side of her face.
Julia huffed playfully. “Immunity from repetitive small dose exposure over time… Geez. Some doctor you’re gonna be!”
I laughed and nudged her shoulder as our gate finally came into view. “Shut up. I don’t want to put up with your whining for three hours.”
She was smiling when we found two chairs by a window and sat down. I went to get us drinks and by the time I returned, she was looking through the Stanford spring semester course catalogue. A guy sitting across from her was checking her out, but Julia was completely immersed in figuring out her schedule. Registrations were due by Monday at noon.
I twisted the bottle cap off of the green tea I’d purchased for her and took a swig before handing it over. Her hand took the bottle and she drank from it without looking up. I took the chair next to her, leaning in, shoulders touching, to see what she was looking at. I tossed a hooded glance at the guy across the aisle as I opened my own drink.
“Is there anything in there we can take together?”
Julia looked up and turned her face toward me. She held her bottle close to her chest, her arm curled in, the neck of the bottle resting on her lower lip. “Really?” she asked softly, almost as if she didn’t think I was serious.
“Yeah. I’ll miss seeing you in psych.”
A little crinkle appeared above her nose as she frowned. “We see each other all the time, Ryan.”
“I know. But I’m sort of used to you now, and this might be the last semester we’ll be able to have a class together. Once electives and base recs are done.”
“Afraid my immunity will wear off?”
My lips twitched and one corner lifted in half smile. “Something like that.”
“Well, I think we should see what time we both have open then look for something in that time slot.”
“Sounds good.” I had a heavy math and science load in front of me for the next three years, and beyond six hours of electives and the basic liberal arts stuff, it was pretty much mapped out. But I wanted a class with her. Even if I had to take more hours than I needed.
It wasn’t long before we both had our schedules lined up, with an English lit class together at 11 AM on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.
“Reading and writing. I can handle that,” I teased. They began boarding our flight and Julia stuffed it all back in her bag. We settled into our first class seats, both tired from the night before, and I began to drift, my eyes heavy. Her perfume was familiar and comforting and it wasn’t long before I felt her head drop onto my shoulder.
Chapter 4
Valentine’s Day Between Friends
~RYAN
Fucking Valentine’s Day! I hated everything about it and always had. Ever since I’d hit puberty, there was always at least one girl expecting something I wasn’t willing to give; batting their doe eyes in expectation then angry or crying when I didn’t fulfill their sugarplum visions. It was uncomfortable as hell and I really didn’t get it. I rolled my eyes in disgust. I had a feeling this year would be worse than ever.
Aaron wasn’t the romantic type at all! In fact, I’d call him the actions-speak-louder-than-words sort of guy; as long as the actions included the humpty dance, that is. His words, not mine.
Me? I had more finesse. Women wanted me and I knew it, but my delivery was much more refined. Admittedly, most of the time I was more interested in physical release than making a mental connection, but I tried not to abuse it and seriously, it was because I hadn’t found anyone I wanted to talk to more than have sex with. Other than Julia and I couldn’t even think about taking my relationship with her to that level, so I had to make do with the options I had. I balked a little at the thought. Was it my fault if they threw themselves at me? I’m only human. I huffed then smirked because I seriously found it amusing.
The only thing that redeemed me was that Aaron was worse. However, this year, he was stumbling all over himself to show his new girlfriend, Jenna, he was a one-woman man. I couldn’t tell if he wanted more than sex with her, since he went on and on about how mind-blowing it was, but his actions gave me hope. I had to stop and make sure I wasn’t imagining it, but my brother was pacing back and forth, going over what to write on the card. You’d think he was going to his execution instead of a dinner date. He was so stressed out it was ridiculous!
What the hell, I may not have anyone I wanted to fawn over, but the least I could do was help him out. “Aaron. Chill, dude. Stop fidgeting, for Christ’s sake! You’ll scare the shit out of her.”
“Shut up! It’s only because you’re never invested in your relationships that you can be so cool about women. I actually care about this girl.”
“You’re right. I’m not the fawning type.” He looked at me in confusion. “I don’t fawn. I bask in the fawning.” I explained simply, grinning.
Aaron frowned and stared at me blankly. “What the hell are you talking about?”
“You! You’re a mess. Get your balls back, man!”
“Well, some of us have to work at it, pretty boy.”
“Yeah, Ryan, you have it easy! I mean, look at that mug!” Julia huffed at me. “It’s not as if you’ve ever had to work for it, so cut Aaron a break!”
My eyes darted to my best friend, sitting on the chair at the other end of the sofa in the small apartment I shared with my brother. She was concentrating on her calculus assignment, and wasn’t looking at me, so I let my eyes roam over her.
Her fine brows were knitted together as she worked out a problem, glancing between her notes and textbook, once in a while grimacing and taking her eraser to the page. The long, flowing dark brunette hair falling almost to her waist in waves, draped over her face at one point and she impatiently shoved it behind her ear. Her small, rose-colored bow of a mouth looked so soft. Not to mention her firm little body, with the lush curves I’d imagined naked a hundred times, just lying in wait to be discovered. I inhaled, filling my chest to capacity before blowing it out and running my hand through my hair. Once again, I had to remind myself who she was, and what we were.
She was so beautiful, but off limits. Off. Fucking. Limits. I tried to convince myself she wasn’t a woman and treat her only as my best friend. It shouldn’t have been that difficult because she was unlike most of the women I knew. The few months since we’d met, felt like a lifetime. I liked her mind, she was funny and she didn’t take my shit… I had serious respect for her. She was the best of both worlds; I could be myself around her, goof around or tell her absolutely anything. She was the first person I wanted to talk to in the morning, and the last person I wanted to see at night. She got me. And I got her. Now, if only I could convince my dick, but it was a constant struggle. My lips thinned in determination.
“Shut up, Abbott. You’ve probably got gaggles of poor assholes just waiting in line with hearts and flowers today. What happened to that sap making googly eyes at you in the library, y
esterday? Poor bastard!” I scoffed.
Her eyes lifted from her assignment, and she scowled at me. “Martin Frank? You’ve got to be kidding me!”
One side of my mouth lifted in a lopsided smirk. The dude had it bad for her, but he was a first class nerd. No way in hell she’d ever be interested in a worm like him. “Yeah, you guys could probably use the grease in his hair for lube.” I continued to goad, fighting hard not to laugh out loud, but couldn’t stop myself.
She smiled and bit her lip, trying not to join my laughter but when her eyes locked with mine she grinned wide, and one eyebrow shot up. She was so beautiful. If only I could forget how beautiful she was.
“Um, not all women need lube you know, Matthews. Maybe you aren’t motivating enough.” Amusement danced over her face and her large green orbs, sparkled. “Just sayin’.”
“Humph!” I snorted in disgust and dared her with my eyes. “That’s not why they need it,” I suggested wryly. I loved teasing her, and more than that, I loved how this particular subject made her squirm.
“Ugh,” she moaned, blushing slightly. I loved it when she blushed. It was ninety percent of the reason I teased her so mercilessly, the other ten percent was to keep myself from touching her. “Whatever. Your ego knows no bounds.”
“It’s part of my charm.”
“I’d love to stay and bask in your greatness, but as it happens, I do have a date. Not with Martin Frank, however.” She shoved her books into her backpack and rose from the chair. “It is Valentine’s Day, and he’s no worm.”
I sat up, my interest more than piqued as my mind sorted through the possibilities. The tightening in my gut almost hurt. “Really,” I mocked. “If he’s so wonderful, why is this the first I’ve heard of him?”
Out of the corner of my eye, I registered that Aaron picked up the bouquet of roses and the card he’d just finished signing. He took it with him toward the hall to get his jacket. He shrugged into it, awkwardly juggling the flowers from one hand to the other in the process.
Nonplussed, Julia continued her task of closing her backpack. “Good luck, Aaron. Have fun.”
“We will. We’ll be at The Mill later. You going there with your date?” He smiled at Julia and I sat back, annoyed. What the fuck? They were making plans that didn’t include me. I wasn’t so selfish that I always had to be included, but I was bothered.
“Maybe.” She half-shrugged. “He’s making the plans.”
“And, who is he?” I interrupted.
To my chagrin, Aaron shook his head knowingly and chuckled. “Later, bro. You should meet us, too.”
I followed Julia into the small kitchen after she picked up the plates from the cheese quesadillas Aaron and I had wolfed down an hour earlier. Aaron hovered by the door waiting for my reply.
Julia eyed me warily, and I frowned.
“Do I know him?”
“Jesus, Ryan!” She rinsed the plates and stacked them by the sink. “It’s not a big deal! He’s a guy from my econ class. He’s nice. It’s a flipping date.”
My interest in Julia’s date was more than I wanted it to be, but I told myself she was my friend, and I wanted to make sure she was okay. “Okay, then tell me who it is, Jules.”
“Bryan Kelly.”
My eyes widened slightly before I could stop them, but I quickly masked my expression to one of mild interest. Bryan Kelly was an upperclassman and one of the big wigs in the Phi Psi fraternity; they kept the university’s focus away from their womanizing ways with their high GPAs. They were slick, good looking, and smart as hell. They’d recruited me hard first semester, but I decided not to rush. If Harvard was even going to be a possibility, I had to focus on academics as much as possible. Didn’t mean I didn’t have fun, but my inner circle was small and close-knit.
My skin prickled with agitation and an unfamiliar emotion I couldn’t label. I tried not to let it show, casually leaning against the counter with my hip; I crossed my arms nonchalantly, watching her. The scent that was Julia, a subtle mixture of her perfume and something else uniquely her, wafted up to my nostrils. I recognized the perfume. I’d given it to her for her birthday. She pushed the sleeves of her dark blue sweater halfway up her arms and started running water in the sink to wash the dishes.
“Yeah, I heard of him,” I said as blandly as I could manage, my eyes darted between her hands in the soapy water to the curve of her face. Suddenly, I wasn’t sure I wanted her to meet my eyes. “He’s not as nice as you think.”
“Relax, Ryan” Aaron said. “Let her have some fun without you hovering.”
My cool control broke. “Don’t you have somewhere to be? I’m not hovering, but I don’t trust the guy! You know what I’m talking about, Aaron!”
Julia rolled her eyes again and walked to get the dirty sheet pan that was resting on top of the stove. Before she reached it, she patted Aaron on the stomach. “It’s okay. I can handle Ryan and his moody ass. Go have fun with Jenna. Text later and I’ll see where we are.”
Julia knew Jenna because they were in the same dorm, and she was a good friend of Ellie’s. It was sort of fate it worked out that way, and our little group was a lock-in.
I shifted until my back was to the counter and folded my arms. Aaron’s gaze met mine, and mine narrowed in silent communication. I knew he’d let me know where Julia and her date landed once she’d texted him. Aaron knew why I was worried. We’d both heard the dude bragging about his latest conquests on more than one occasion. Normally, I wouldn’t give a rat’s ass if the girls were too silly to realize what the asshole was about, but this was Julia. Aaron left without another word, and Julia brought the pan to the sink to wash it. Our apartment was too old and run down to have a dishwasher, but before I met Julia, we lived on take-out food and frozen pizza, so we never missed one. Now, Aaron and I begged her to cook whenever she came over.
My eyes bored into her. She had to feel it. “I’m not being moody. The guy only wants to get in your pants.”
She stopped and looked up at me then burst out laughing. “Wow. Really? Amazing deduction, Sherlock. Doesn’t mean I’m stupid enough to fall for it. But, you know what? Maybe I want in his. Ever think of that?”
I sat back and looked hard at her. I’d never considered that she’d just want to get laid, just for the sake of it. I shook my head in astonishment. “No. You’re not like that.”
“Like what? The kind of girls you date? Like them? Like you? You have no problem hitting it when you need it. So how is Bryan worse than you? And why shouldn’t I? It might be fun.”
She was right. Why shouldn’t she? She was gorgeous, and a lot of dudes wanted her. I’d seen it over and over. But I didn’t want it to be that asshole. I struggled with how to answer, because really, could I stomach Julia being with anyone? I wasn’t sure.
“I actually like the girls I date. I don’t prey on women for sex.”
She shook her head and looked hurt. “I like Bryan. He’s been sweet. And, you don’t have to prey, Ryan! Girls will drop their panties if you snap your fingers!”
“I’m not like him. He targets women.”
“Yeah, he couldn’t possibly like me, right? That is what you’re saying, isn’t it?”
I had the grace to flush. “No! That’s not what I meant, and you know it.”
She glared at me. “You think a guy can’t want to get to know me and be more than my friend? That he can’t want my brain and not just my body? Just because you feel that way about me, doesn’t mean Bryan does. One doesn’t have to be mutually exclusive of the other!”
I’d just royally fucked myself. Obviously, I couldn’t tell her I also wanted her in my bed, but I didn’t want her to feel I didn’t see her as a beautiful and desirable woman.
“Julia—” I began.
She turned and angrily wiped her hand on a dishtowel before throwing it down. “Thanks for trying to ruin my night, dickhead!”
I stepped forward and grabbed her arm, feeling duly subjugated. I was acting like a jealo
us prick and I had no right. If I didn’t want to take a risk at a romantic relationship with her, then she deserved to have one with someone else. I knew it, but it killed me.
“Julia, I’m not trying to ruin anything. I’m worried about you. I don’t want you getting hurt. And I especially don’t want you getting used.” I felt the words rising up and couldn’t stop them. “I care about you.”
Her head cocked to one side, and the anger left her features. Julia sighed, her deep green eyes looking right through me, seeing everything I didn’t want to see myself. “Ryan, I’m a big girl.”
My head moved in the negative, just one short movement, and I swear I could feel my face drop into a pout. I cared about her. “No, you’re not!” I protested a little too strongly, and she shot me a warning look. “You’re soft and fragile and too sweet for someone like him. He’s a snake. I’ve seen him in action. You need to trust me on this.”
Her shoulder nudged my arm as Julia leaned against the counter next to me. “I appreciate your concern, but I’m going, Ryan. I’m not some bimbo with wide eyes and nothing between my ears, or some prudish, goody two-shoes. Besides, won’t you be too busy tonight to care?”
I couldn’t stand the hurt look on her face. Halfway through another sigh, I realized and stopped myself. The skin on my face started to get hot when I didn’t like her answer, so I took on some bravado, hoping I could distract her from my discomfort. “No. I don’t give anyone delusions with stupid hearts and flowers. I was hoping we’d hang out.”
She reached out, and slid her fingers down my arm. “You should have told me sooner. Sorry.”
“Where are you going?”
She shook her head, continuing to clean up the kitchen. “Uh uh. If you show up, Bryan will feel like a third wheel. Remember when we did that double date at the arcade with Kevin Armister and Maria… um…”
I remembered. It was a night from hell, sitting across from Julia and watching some loser fall all over himself, trying to impress her. It was damn embarrassing to watch, and I was so preoccupied, I wasn’t able to focus on my date at all.
