By Fate

by S J Abbott

  Julie tried to protest but it made her seem even more unsteady, so she gave up. She could let him give her a ride home. Aaron Cabot giving her a ride home. The idea was laughable, and yet they weren’t in high school anymore. The thought made her smile. But only for a second, because thinking of all that had happened between high school and now reminded her of how little she had accomplished. She started to panic. She didn’t want him to know she was still living at home.

  They had arrived at a sleek black car. Aaron held her waist. “Julie. Slow down. Breathe.”

  She tried to slow her thinking and pull air into her lungs but couldn’t quite manage it. She began to hyperventilate. Her hands began to tingle. She shook them, trying to get her blood flowing.

  Aaron reached around her and opened the passenger door, before slowly guiding her into the seat. Julie let her head fall back against the leather and breathed in deep as Aaron lifted her legs, making sure they were out of the way of the door. That’s when she realized she’d have to tell him—have to give him her address. Or maybe she could go to Shannon’s? Her mind raced in the few seconds she had alone while he circled the car.

  Even though she was physically alone, he was everywhere. His scent, coupled with something unfamiliar filled the car, overwhelming her. She didn’t open her eyes when he got in. She didn’t need to. Even if he’d been completely silent, she would have known he was there. His presence was like a kick in the gut, but in a completely great way.

  “Can’t. Go. Home. Shannon’s.” Julie still wasn’t breathing normally so short clipped bursts were all she could handle.

  As Aaron put the key in the ignition, his phone chimed. He pulled it from his pocket, glanced at the text, and groaned. “Ugh, it’s my roommate, Gideon. He’s been freaking out over some emergency. Do you mind if we stop by my place first?” Aaron’s hand engulfed hers. “I promise I’ll make it quick and then take you wherever you need to go after.”

  Julie tried to process the idea of going to his house, but in such a short amount of time that he wouldn’t notice. She came to the conclusion that at least they wouldn’t be alone. She nodded in agreement, her eyes still tightly shut.

  Aaron released her hand and they were off, the car seemingly gliding through the dark streets. She opened her eyes just to be sure they were actually moving. It was the smoothest ride she could ever remember. Julie turned her head just a fraction, needing to see his face. He was every bit as beautiful as she’d remembered. Looking at him made her nervous, so she returned her focus to the road. “This is a really great car.”

  “Thanks. It’s the one luxury I’ve allowed myself since we started the company.”

  She could hear the smile in his voice as he spoke. He really must love the car. “Company?” she asked, looking his way again.

  He met her gaze with a smile. Julie could tell he seemed to be debating something in his head. Finally, he said, “We don’t have to catch up now. We can do all that tomorrow. Tonight, you just worry about not being dizzy.” As he finished, he winked at her, causing her heart to plunge into her stomach.

  “Seriously Gideon. What the fuck was with all the cryptic texts?”

  “I told you,” Gideon answered. “Amanda called and we may have a problem.” Amanda worked for the law firm Thompson & Freeman. She was Genesis’ legal counsel.

  “Then just tell me what she said!”

  “Would you calm down? I’m waiting for Seth,” Gideon griped.

  Aaron spread his arms wide and flashed a glance from side to side. “Well? Where the hell is he?”

  “I’m not sure, I texted him the same time I texted you. I actually thought he’d beat you here.” Gideon’s eyes narrowed to slits as his expression turned to condescension. “Just tell Bella to chill. Toss her something from the Genesis closet and tell her you’ll be right back. You and I both know she’d be more than fine with that.”

  The more Gideon spoke the more Aaron wanted to silence him with his fist. He rushed toward him and grabbed a handful of his shirt. “You have no idea what the hell you’re talking about. Just tell me why I needed to come home so urgently so I can get back to my business.”

  “Bella is hardly business.” Gideon’s face went from condescending to amused. He laughed. “She’s going to have worn herself out before you get back up there, bro. Just let it go and have a drink with me.”

  Aaron twisted his fist tighter into Gideon’s shirt, the hard, tiny buttons biting into his knuckles. His vision went red, and as he took a deep breath, he spewed way more than he’d planned. “It’s not Bella upstairs. It’s Julie. So shut the fuck up. I can’t do this. Not right now.” He felt his hand relax and the fabric of his best friend’s shirt fell away. His fingers stung from where the buttons left dents in his skin. He ran his hands over his face.

  “Who’s Julie?”

  Aaron had started pacing. “Julie. Julie Hill.” He stopped and looked at his friend with pointed eyes, letting frustration overrule his tone as he continued, “From high school…we’ve had this conversation, more times than I’d like to count. Usually when I’m drunk,” he added as went back to wearing a path in the carpet.

  After a few beats, realization struck and Gideon sucked in a sharp breath. “Oh Julie! The never forgotten Julie.”

  “Yes! And she’s upstairs, so can we get a move on? I’d like her not to have too much time to look around. I don’t think she knows,” Aaron told him as he raised his eyebrows.

  Gideon spread his award-winning smile across his face. “Ya know what? This can keep till tomorrow. You go deal with your girl.” He placed his hands on Aaron’s shoulders and tried to steer him toward the stairs.

  Gideon was taller and broader than him, but Aaron turned on him anyway. “No way, fucker. You pulled me away from something important at two in the morning. I want to know why.”

  Gideon tried in vain one last time to shove his friend up the stairs. When he realized Aaron wasn’t going to back down, he let his hands fall away.

  “Fine,” Gideon said with a sigh as he dropped his shoulders. “Amanda was traveling today, so she didn’t get the message until late … but Peterson, Cahill, and Young have contacted her, asking questions about our Lily and Oak contracts.”

  Panic sank into Aaron’s gut. He felt sick, and immediately went into defense mode.

  “What else did Amanda say?” Aaron began, but then thought better of it. “You know what, never mind. I’ve decided I don’t want to know. I’m going back to my evening,” he said as he walked away. ”Let me know what Seth says. Until then, just keep your mouth shut about this whole thing. Hopefully what we’ve been doing will keep working and it will go away.”

  What a night, Aaron thought as he climbed the stairs. Between dealing with Bella, getting in a fight, finding Julie, and now this news from Amanda, he was spent. He stood outside his bedroom door and took a deep refreshing breath before twisting the knob and pushing his way in. He was quick to search the room for Julie and found her fast asleep, curled up in his bed.

  He stared, his mouth hanging open. No decorum whatsoever. It was a good thing no one else could see him. The sight of her almost brought him to his knees. After crushing on her all through high school, he couldn’t believe he’d found her again. And now, here she was lying in his bed. Even after all this time, he wasn’t sure he had the confidence he needed. But he had to find it, to make sure he didn’t lose this chance.

  The sound of his phone ringing made him move to find it. Aaron was worried the shrill noise would wake her, so when he found it bouncing around on top of his dresser, he silenced it by swiping the screen and whispering “Hang on,” before leaving the room and shutting the door softly behind him.

  “This is Aaron.”

  “Where are you? You said you’d come over. You promised.”

  “Shit. Bella.” Will this night ever end?

  “Forgot about me, did you? I see how you are. What’s her name?”

  Anger coursed through him, but he ignored the
snide question. “I really am sorry. Gideon texted me a nine-one-one and I had to come home. We’ve got some things going on. Can we get together a different night?”

  “Aaron. You promised,” she purred. “Guess what I’m doing right now?”

  He tried not to imagine what she was doing, but he knew Bella. He had been too close with her for too long not to have an idea. And those ideas were creating vivid pictures in his head. Vivid pictures that were interrupted by the memory of Julie’s small, scared little body tucked under his sheets.

  “Bella. I’m truly sorry. I promise we’ll get together tomorrow.”

  By the time he was finished it was obvious that Bella wasn’t listening. The noises coming from the other end of the phone made it more than clear that Bella had gotten over the fact he hadn’t shown up and had taken things into her own hands.

  Aaron clicked end on the screen of his phone and tiptoed back into his room.

  He stood, staring at her once again, this time trying to decide how to proceed. Should he wake her? Should he sleep downstairs? Sleep up here but in the chair? In the bed but on top of the covers? In the bed and under the covers? It took a few minutes, but he finally decided that the chair was the best option. He wanted to be close to her but didn’t want her to think he was trying to take advantage. He wanted her to feel safe with him.

  Aaron took a small blanket from the end of the bed, and after positioning the chair so he had a clear view of the bed, he sat down and closed his eyes.

  “If she tastes as good as she looks I could be persuaded to forgive you.”

  Aaron had been having the best dream. He’d run into Julie Hill at a party and they’d ended up going home together. Things had just started to heat up when Bella’s voice pulled him from sleep into the harshness of reality.

  He opened his eyes and locked with Bella’s deep brown ones across the room. “Good morning,” she said with a sexy evil smirk on her painted lips.

  Aaron froze, his heart beat hard against his chest. Bella was in his bed. Lying next to a sleeping Julie. And as she ran a bright red nail down Julie’s arm, his only thought was that he was going to kill whoever had let her in.

  “I think we should wake her,” Bella whispered with a smile.

  Aaron tossed the blanket off his lap and stood, keeping his eyes on Bella while shaking his head, finally tipping it toward the door.

  Bella sighed and bounced off the bed. Aaron held his breath as Julie rolled toward Bella’s disappearing weight. He let it out, relieved when she didn’t wake. Then he grabbed Bella’s arm, opened the door quietly and dragged her through it.

  “Are you out of your mind?” Aaron whispered angrily at Bella.

  Bella ripped her arm from his grasp. “You’re such a fucking liar. You’re no different than any of the rest of them.” She rolled her eyes and began to pace. “Actually, that’s not true. You’re worse.” She stopped right in front of him. Her heaving breasts pressed against his chest. “You pretend to be better, so I expected you to be better—to be truthful. At least the other guys didn’t lie about who they were.”

  Aaron reached for Bella but found no purchase when she swiftly turned away. “I didn’t lie to you. I never have. Gideon did text me last night and I did come straight home.” He took a step toward her. She took a step back. “I was sleeping in the fucking chair, Bella. She is in my bed, but she is fully clothed. Nothing happened and you know that.” He could see the fierce light in Bella’s eyes starting to dim so he kept talking trying to calm her. It was the only way he’d ever get her to leave. “She’s an old high school friend. We haven’t seen each other in years. She was in trouble last night, and I offered to give her a ride home. But then Gideon texted, and I had to come here. She fell asleep while I was talking to him, and I didn’t want to wake her. It wasn’t a big deal.” Aaron took another step toward Bella and this time she didn’t move away.

  “Why didn’t you say anything last night?”

  Aaron gave her the most telling look he could muster without showing how afraid he was for her. “You weren’t really listening to me last night.” He took another step toward her. She allowed him to take her hand. “Nothing happened.”

  She looked shyly at the ground and nodded. Aaron smiled and lifted her chin with his finger. “We do need to talk though.”

  Bella nodded again.

  “How about we meet for lunch?” he asked.

  “Sure.”

  “I’ll let you know when I’m on my way.” Aaron dropped her hand as she turned and went down the stairs. Once she was out of sight Aaron took a breath that fully filled his lungs. The whole time Bella was there he’d barely been able to breathe. She was like a loose cannon. He could barely stand the sight of her anymore, and he definitely didn’t want her anywhere near Julie.

  He let himself back into his room where he found Julie awake and examining some pictures on his dresser. She picked up the one of him, Gideon, and Seth from the day they moved into the duplex. “Are these your business partners?”

  Aaron nodded before walking over to her side. He pointed at each of the guys in turn. “This is Gideon, and this is Seth. We were roommates before business partners, but they’re also my best friends.”

  “Sorry…I wasn’t trying to intrude. I was a little confused when I woke up. Last night is a little fuzzy, so looking around solidified where I was. Plus, your conversation seemed important.”

  Aaron took the picture frame that Julie offered him. “Sorry about that. It’s sort of complicated.”

  Julie shook her head as she moved over and sat in the chair. “No worries. You don’t owe me any explanations. I probably should apologize to your girlfriend.”

  A short, hysterical laugh escaped Aaron’s lips. “No, you shouldn’t. And she isn’t my girlfriend.” He moved over to the bed and sat down, shaking his head. “Bella is a friend. She’s a close friend, but not a girlfriend. We have no commitment to each other outside of our friendship.”

  Julie smiled at him and his heart skipped. “Are you sure she knows that?” she asked as she stood. “I should get going. Thank you for saving me last night. You were really great.”

  Aaron stood and took a few steps toward her. “I can take you home.”

  Julie shook her head. “No thanks. I have an Uber coming.” She shook the cellphone she was holding so he could see it clearly.

  “Okay. Well, I’d really like to catch up. Can I give you my number before you go? Let me know when you have some time, and we’ll have dinner or something.” He shrugged.

  Julie’s eyes got dark and her face was a little sad, but she nodded and said, “Sure.”

  Aaron rattled off his number as she typed it into her phone. He wasn’t ready to let her go, but he heard the faint beeping sound of the car out front.

  “That’s probably for me,” she said as she pulled the door open. “Thanks again for last night, and please tell your friend I’m sorry.”

  Five

  “Dude. You need to snap out of it. I know Bella leaving sucks, but you know all you had to do was say the word, and she would have stayed. Plus, I think you’ll like the new girl...”

  Aaron silently stuffed Bella’s things from her desk into one of the empty paper boxes from the supply closet while Seth was rambling on, but he didn’t care.

  It had been a week since Aaron’s lunch with Bella – the same day she’d found Julie in his bed. Of course she wouldn’t let that go. So, Aaron had to break it to her. Tell her that their “arrangement” was no longer working for him. He told her as nicely as possible that even though she kept asking for a commitment, she didn’t really want one. She wanted security, and Aaron was that for her … but he couldn’t do that to her. They both knew they wouldn’t work as a couple.

  Then they argued about her time at Genesis coming to an end. Even though that had been the plan all along, she didn’t want to go. Didn’t know what she was going to do next. And she didn’t want to go back home to her parents.

  But it
was time for her to go. The business was taking off and the partners had agreed to hire a real-life corporate assistant to work for the company; instead of individual part-time assistants for each of them. Aaron wasn’t complaining, because it had never been his idea to hire Bella in the first place. She’d managed to push her way in through Seth. He wanted to keep his personal and business lives separate.

  That’s when Bella went on the attack. She was furious and accusatory, blaming him for wasting the last few years of her life with promises he’d never intended to keep. Aaron did what he could to keep her calm, but the way she lashed out at him and spun their story into something completely unrecognizable did nothing but solidify for him that they had no business being together. She only saw Aaron as one of the founders of Genesis … not the complete man.

  She was still ranting when he’d paid the bill and walked out of the restaurant.

  She’d texted him two days ago asking for him to clean off her desk and mail her the contents. She made sure to emphasize that he was the one to do it. “Hey, asshole. Are you even listening to me?” Seth playfully punched Aaron in the shoulder.

  “Fuck off.”

  “Seriously though. The new girl is going to be here any second, and you’ve hardly said a word all week. Are. You. Okay?” He grabbed Aaron’s shoulders and shook him.

  Aaron shrugged a bit too forcefully out of his friend’s grasp. “I’m fine. Fine with you and Gideon. I’m even fine with Bella leaving.” What he wasn’t fine with, was the fact that he hadn’t heard from Julie since Bella had shown up at his place and probably ruined his chance with her. He pushed that thought away and looked Seth straight in the eye. “Seriously, man. It was time for Bella to move on, from Genesis and from me. It was definitely time. I’m sorry that I didn’t help a whole lot with the search for her replacement.”

  Aaron could see his friend relax as he spoke. Seth and Gideon had both been so worried about him the last two weeks that Aaron felt a little bad about it. He put a hand on Seth’s shoulder. “So tell me about the new girl.”