by Sj Hooks
"I know how you feel about me," I whispered. "I feel it, too."
She nodded and threw her arms around my neck. We held each other until we were broken apart by a car horn honking outside. Julia laughed and shook her head.
"I guess they're impatient," she said. "In all fairness, I’ve never gone this long without seeing them."
This time it was my turn to nod. I refused to say good-bye to her. I couldn't get myself to say the actual words. She picked up her bags and I reached out to help carry them to the car.
"No," she protested softly. "Can we say good-bye here?"
"Not good-bye," I implored her.
"You're right. Not good-bye," she said seriously. "See you later?"
I nodded again. That worked much better.
"See you later," I whispered.
“I'll miss you."
"Me, too," I mumbled.
And then she left. I sighed and leaned up against the closed door, wishing that I had asked her to stay with me for at least a little while longer. After taking a few seconds to compose myself, I started to clean up. When the apartment was spotless once more, I searched the couch cushions and found my phone. I was happy to see that I had a missed call from my brother and a recent text asking me if I wanted to work out now that I was a free man again. Obviously he knew about Megan and Sophia's plan to collect Julia, and I was glad for the distraction. I messaged him that I was up for the gym and whatever else he wanted. The last thing I needed today was to hang around my empty apartment.
I berated myself that I hadn't made any definite plans with Julia and didn't know exactly when I would see her again. Today was Thursday and it was plausible that I wouldn't see her until the party on Saturday. For the first time, that seemed like a really long time.
* * *
Thankfully, Shawn and Matt were free because the girls had plans together, and I ended up spending most of my time with them. We went out to dinner Friday and watched an incredibly violent action movie afterward followed by beers at the bar. Of course, we also talked a lot about the girls and it thrilled me that I was able to do so. In the past, whenever the subject of women had come up, I couldn't relate. That wasn’t the case anymore. Shawn seemed just as in love as I was, and even though Matt denied it, he couldn't hide the way his eyes lit up whenever he mentioned Megan's name.
I had hoped that the two of them were far enough along in their relationship that Matt would invite Megan to the party, but he told me in no uncertain terms that neither of them was ready for that. I understood, but it would have been nice for Julia to have one of her friends there.
On Saturday afternoon, I drove to her apartment to pick her up for the party, jittery and extremely nervous. Not only was this the first time that we were taking our relationship out in public, but it was also the first time I had brought a girl home to meet my parents. Add the fact that this wouldn't actually be the first time they met the love of my life—that had happened immediately after them listening to us engaging in loud, mind-blowing sex, followed by my mother glaring at Julia as if she were a woman of ill repute.
Jesus. Why on earth is Julia even agreeing to this? She must be absolutely terrified of meeting them again!
I pulled up at her building and took a few calming breaths before I stepped out of the car. I was about to knock on her door when it flew open and Julia jumped up, pressing her lips against mine.
"I missed you." Kiss. "So fucking much." Kiss. "Baby." Kiss.
"I missed you, too, sweetheart." I grinned, ecstatic that she had longed for me as much as I had for her.
She pulled back and I finally got a good look at her.
My God!
"You look…"
Julia smiled and did an elegant twirl to show off her outfit. I had never seen her in anything like this before. She was wearing a white sleeveless dress with a black floral print. It was classy and sexy at the same time. She had tamed her curls somehow, giving them an elegant look. Her makeup and jewelry was minimal and tasteful. The black sandals on her feet looked brand-new. It was exactly the sort of outfit that I had often pictured her in back when I didn't know her and merely saw her as a badly dressed, foul-mouthed nuisance.
It doesn't look anything like her usual style. Did she wear this because of me?
I didn't want her to think that I expected anything like this from her. Truth be told, I hadn't given her wardrobe choices a second thought for a while now. She was simply my Julia and I no longer cared if we had different taste in clothes. I didn't even think about what she might be wearing today when I drove over here. I was just excited to see her but now I was worried that Julia had changed her style because she didn't think she would fit in at my parents' party.
"You don't like it," she said, the smile on her face vanishing.
"No, I do!" I said immediately. "Are you kidding me? You look…gorgeous. Breathtaking.”
"But then why do you look so…worried?"
"I just—this doesn't really seem like you," I explained. "I don't want you to think that you have to change for me or my family. I want you just the way you are."
"Stephen," she said, standing up on her toes to give me a sweet kiss. "Thank you for saying that."
"I mean it," I continued. "You could have worn one of your skirts and that, uh, Jones T-shirt you love so much. I still would have been proud to introduce you as my girlfriend."
"What T-shirt?"
"The band one. It says 'Meat is murder.' ”
"Oh!" she laughed. "They're the Smiths, baby."
"Smith, Jones. Whatever." I looked her up and down again. "But you do look beautiful in that dress."
"Thank you," she said. "Just don't expect me to start wearing stuff like this every day, all right?"
"I wouldn't dream of it. Nothing too conservative and no pink."
"Definitely no pink," she said with a laugh, grabbing her purse.
"Are you nervous?" I asked her on the drive over.
"A little," she admitted.
"I am, too," I confessed. "I've never brought a girl home with me before."
"I'll be on my best behavior," she promised with a smile.
"Just be yourself," I said. "And don't leave my side for too long."
"Are you kidding me?" she said and gave my hand a squeeze. "Like I would leave a hot piece of ass like you unattended? The party is probably crawling with horny housewives just dying to sink their teeth into some fresh meat."
"Where do you think my parents live?" I laughed. "Wisteria Lane?"
Julia gave me a look. “I didn’t think you watched much TV.”
“I don’t. But it's not like I had a thriving social life before I met you,” I said. “I pretty much stayed in all the time. Sometimes, I left the TV on in the background. For company, I guess."
"Didn't it ever get lonely?" she asked softly.
"Sometimes." I nodded. "I just didn't realize it until I started spending all those nights with you. I've really missed you the last two days, even though I've been out with my brother and Shawn."
"I've missed you, too. I almost called you Thursday night when I came home from dinner with the girls."
"Why didn't you?" I asked, wishing that she had.
"I don't know. I didn't want to seem too…clingy, I guess?" She shot me a nervous look and I squeezed her hand to reassure her.
"You could never seem clingy to me. I love spending time with you.”
"So you wouldn't mind if I stay over a few nights a week?"
Mind?
I laughed. "No, Julia. I definitely wouldn't mind. In fact, I think you should stay over at least four nights a week."
"Really?" she asked. "Because I will, you know."
I laughed again. It was hardly a threat.
"Awesome,” she said, smiling. "It's settled then—four nights, minimum."
I breathed out a sigh of relief. Julia wasn't moving in just yet, but this was definitely a step in the right direction. I glanced at her and smiled. To think, I would ge
t to spend at least four nights a week with her. It didn't seem real yet.
"Who’s going to be at this party, anyway?" she asked as we drove onto my parents’ street.
"Family and a lot of my parents' friends from the club."
"The club?"
"Country club.”
"Are your parents like high society or something?" Julia asked, eyeing all the large houses in the neighborhood.
"Not really. Richard’s an accountant and a rather successful one at that, and my mom works in real estate. I guess they know a lot of rich people, though," I admitted.
"Huh. And you didn't want to follow in his footsteps?" she asked as we pulled up at the house.
"No way!" I said emphatically. "I love literature. Always have. Plus, I’m really bad with numbers. Math was a nightmare for me in school.”
"Me, too," Julia said with a smile. "Hey, we finally found something we have in common!"
I leaned over and kissed her. "We have plenty of things in common, sweetheart. We want to spend a lot of time together, right?"
She nodded.
"And we can't keep our hands off each other?"
"Understatement," she said, laughing.
"We both love wine, music, literature, movies, and Italian food."
"Also true.”
"See? There's plenty," I said. "Are you ready to head inside?"
She took a deep breath and nodded again. "As ready as I'll ever be."
I jumped out of the car and rushed to her side to offer her my hand when she stepped out. She gave me a curious look.
"More gentlemanly stuff?" she asked, quirking an eyebrow.
"You may as well get used to it," I replied, lacing our fingers.
"Wow," she said, looking at our joined hands. "We're really doing this. Out in public and everything."
"Are you…all right?"
Please don't panic, Julia!
"Do me a favor?" she asked timidly.
"Anything," I promised.
"Kiss me."
I wrapped my arms around her small frame and kissed her deeply, pouring all my love for her into it. I pulled back and gazed into her beautiful eyes.
"Don't be scared," I whispered. "They'll love you."
"You think so?"
"I know so. Do you know why?"
She shook her head.
"Because they'll see how great we are together and they'll see how much I adore you. You're my girlfriend and you make me so incredibly happy, Julia. You’ve shown me how to live."
"You make me happy, too, Stephen. I never knew it could be like this," she said softly.
"Neither did I."
We kissed again and she sighed when we broke apart.
"I'm so lucky that I have you," she said.
"I think it's the other way around.”
She smiled. "Well, I guess we can't agree on everything.”
"Are you ready now?" I asked gently.
"Yes, let's go."
We only made it a few steps when she stopped.
"Julia?"
"I just need to do one more thing.”
I looked at her curiously.
"Fuck, fuck, fuckety, fuck, fuck," she said under her breath.
What the—?
"What was that?"
"Just getting all of them out now. My way of ensuring that I don't offend anyone with my dirty mouth.”
"I like your dirty mouth," I said.
"I suspected as much," she replied, batting her lashes at me. "Do you need to get any bad words out?"
"I think I'm good." I grinned. "I don't really swear outside the bedroom."
We walked around the house and headed for the garden, where I knew that everyone would be gathered for cocktails by now. We had only just turned the corner when we were pushed backward by Matt, who looked a bit agitated.
"Hey, what's going on?" I asked him.
“I have to tell you something, and you won’t like it.”
“Is everything all right? Mom? Rich?”
“Yeah, yeah. They’re fine. It’s not that.”
“Just tell me,” I said. “We’re already a bit late.”
"Fine. Michelle is here.”
What? No! Oh, God!
My blood ran cold.
"Fuckety, fuck, fuck," I whispered.
Chapter 9
Why is Michelle here? I haven't seen her in years and she shows up the day I bring my girlfriend home? This is so unfair!
If there was one person in the world that I didn't want Julia to meet, it was Michelle, and now it seemed inevitable that she would.
"Who's Michelle?" Julia asked, glancing between Matt and me.
"Uh, she, uh," I stuttered, trying to figure out how to explain.
"She popped Stephen's cherry," Matt supplied after a few seconds.
What? How the hell does he know that?
"Matt!" I hissed.
"Sorry," he said. "But she did, didn't she?"
Yes, but…oh, I hate this!
"H-How did you even…?" I managed to choke out.
"I saw her coming out of your room that night of the party and…yeah, that's how I know.”
I could tell that he was holding something back and I definitely knew my brother well enough to know that he wouldn't have let an opportunity like that pass him by. He would have asked Michelle why she was in my room and not at the party downstairs and would have probably included a few lewd innuendoes along with his questions.
There was only one possible explanation: she had told him what had transpired in my bedroom. She had to have told him everything.
That was why he knew that I didn't want to see her again, why he had never teased me after he found out and never fished for details. Matt may have been a jokester, but he was never cruel. The fact that he had never mentioned this to me before now confirmed that he knew how awful it had been or he wouldn't have been able to shut up about it.
"OK," Julia said slowly, giving my hand a squeeze. "That’s gotta be a little uncomfortable."
That was something of an understatement.
"I'm sorry," I whispered to her.
I knew that Julia was nervous about attending this party and the fact that she would now come face to face with a woman with whom I had slept couldn't make it any easier for her. I knew that it would definitely put me on edge if I had to meet one of Julia's former lovers. I would be a little jealous.
A little? Making polite small talk with a man who has been inside your woman? Try insanely jealous!
"Don't apologize," she said, tugging on my shirt collar to pull me down to her. Her lips were warm and gentle against mine, and I relaxed somewhat.
"Let's go and say hello to your parents," she suggested. I nodded and wrapped my arm around her waist.
"Thank you for the warning," I said to Matt who gave me a sympathetic pat on the shoulder.
"No problem. You know I've got your back.”
The three of us walked around the house and into the garden.
"Holy shi—shish kebab!" Julia exclaimed.
Matt laughed. "Nice save!”
"Thanks. I'm trying to be classy here. Your parents seriously went all out." She motioned to the set up in the garden with an awed expression on her face. I could understand her reaction. The lawn was littered with white garden party tents, tables, chairs, and people all in semi-formal wear. I was used to the sight by now, but for a newcomer like Julia I could see how it would seem over the top.
"Yeah, Mom is all about the parties," Matt said. "This is nothing, though. Just wait until Christmas."
Christmas! That's almost six months away.
I held my breath as I waited for her response. Matt had just mentioned a family event far in the future and I was anxious that Julia wouldn't like being put on the spot like that. I also knew that the upcoming holiday season would be the first one she would spend without any family of her own and while I hoped that she would want to be with me, I hadn’t mentioned it for fear that it would be too much for h
er to handle. She looked up at me and I tried to seem as though it was no big deal by giving her a smile.
"I can't wait," she said, leaning into my side.
All efforts to act casual were tossed out the window and a huge smile spread across my face. She had basically just told me that she would still be with me in six months! I hadn't been overly concerned that Julia might break things off with me since everything had been wonderful between us, but hearing her make this sort of commitment filled my heart with joy. If we hadn't been in the presence of my family and half the country club I would have kissed the hell out of her. But seeing as we were, I managed to control myself and simply brushed my lips against her cheek while I whispered in her ear.
"Me neither, sweetheart."
Apparently Julia didn't harbor any of the same reservations about public displays of affection because she grasped my chin and turned my face to kiss me properly. We managed to keep it relatively chaste, for which I was extremely grateful when I heard my parents approaching.
"Look who I found," Matt said, motioning to us.
"Hello, son," Richard said, giving me a hug.
My mother followed suit and both of them looked expectantly at me with less than subtle glances toward Julia. I fought the urge to roll my eyes. It would seem that they had every intention of pretending that they had never been introduced to the woman by my side, who was fidgeting nervously and trying to smooth back her curls. As if they could ever forget walking in on the sounds of me having sex! Yes, it had been highly embarrassing when it happened, but I wasn't at all ashamed of the fact that I enjoyed amazing sex with an even more amazing woman.
"Mom, Rich. You remember Julia," I said, giving both of them pointed looks. "My girlfriend."
Now it's official and everything.
My stepfather was quick to respond. "Yes, wonderful to see you again, Julia. You look lovely."
He proceeded to take her hand and kiss it. Julia blushed and I didn't know whether to smile at her adorable shyness, which was something I rarely saw in her, or pull her back to me and glare at my stepfather for embarrassing her.
"Thank you for having me, sir," she said and gave him a dazzling smile.
"Please call me Richard," he crooned. I knew that he had been completely charmed by her, but he wasn’t the one I was worried about. I caught my mother’s eyes.
