by Sam Mariano
Julie kept noticing him stealing little glances in her direction too, and she would see his eyes darken even from a distance as he would take another drink.
It was a few hours into the party when the alcohol was beginning to work its magic on both brothers—she had never seen Matt drunk before, and had no idea what to expect—and while Aaron was easily talked into a slow dance, Matt's mood seemed to droop even lower as he shot glares in their direction.
Once she was in Aaron's arms on the dance floor, however, she didn't remember to keep an eye on Matt.
Aaron had dark brown eyes, and they didn't really twinkle, but they were like warm pools, and especially when he was being nice, Julie could look into them all night. Luckily, while they were dancing she had a perfect excuse to do just that.
"So, what's the verdict?" she asked as they swayed back and forth.
"About what?" he asked with an easy smile.
"It's not so bad, right?" she said. "It's almost over, and then we can go back to our room."
"Oh really?" he asked, lifting his eyebrows in a suggestive way.
She felt ridiculous for blushing, but she hadn't expected him to acknowledge an innuendo.
He chuckled, and she felt his breath as held her just a little closer and murmured, "I was just kidding."
"Were you?" she asked lightly.
"Yes. Partially," he said more honestly than he might have if he would have been completely sober. "Anyway, I can't give you a verdict yet because the jury is still out. If Matt keeps looking at me like that from across the room I'm going to have to punch him in his face."
Laughing, Julie shook her head. "No, you can't do that."
"I can do that; I did it when I was 15, I can damn well do it again. If he's jealous, it's his own fault," he said, glaring in Matt’s direction.
Nodding, she said, "True, but… he doesn't really have a reason to be jealous anyway."
Glancing back at her, he told her, "I would be jealous."
Smiling softly, she said, "Yes, but we've already covered that you're a caveman—which is totally fine, by the way. But Matt isn't," she said simply. "The only reason he's bothered is because it's you, I guess, because he was never like this with Jack or anything and I just don't really get the jealous vibe from him."
"I still think it would be fun to hit him," Aaron said, glancing back at his brother.
"Probably," she agreed, then she let silence fall so that particular topic could drop—she hated talking about Matt with Aaron.
It worked. He quit glaring back at Matt and turned his attention back to Julie, becoming Nice Aaron once more.
"You look very pretty, by the way," he told her.
That pleased her very much, but she felt the need to keep the mood light, so she said, "Ah, the drunk goggles are working to my advantage. Thank you. You look very… Greek God-ish yourself."
He must not have expected that, because he started laughing. When he stopped, he was still gazing at her with a look of appreciation that warmed her heart—she felt completely admired as he watched her, and even though she knew of at least two women in the room who were a million times prettier—one of whom he had slept with—as he looked at her with that gleam in his eyes, she felt like the only woman in the room.
She liked it.
"No drunk goggles," he told her, shaking his head just slightly. "I always think you look beautiful, I just never tell you."
Her heart did a flip then, and all she could do was smile at him. Since he was drunk, she hated to take anything he said to heart, because once the alcohol was out of his system the words and the thoughts might go with it. Then she would just be left feeling disappointed, and it would make things weird.
On the other hand, he never lied when he was drunk—quite the opposite, it was when he was at his most honest.
So she decided instead of making him feel like she wasn't welcoming such thoughts, she would voice her concern. "Why can't you say things like this when you're not drinking?"
Sighing, he said, "Because then I'm more sensible."
Frowning slightly, she said, "What does that mean?"
"It means when I'm not drinking I don't usually let these unfiltered thoughts out of my head. I figure it will make things… uncomfortable, and when I'm sober I actually care. When I'm drinking… I just kind of forget."
"Or it could be the drunk goggles," she suggested.
"I sleep with you every night, Julie. I have seen you with your hair piled on top of your head in… childish pajama pants with Disney characters on them and I still think you're the most adorable woman I know. That's when I'm not drunk. It's just… when I'm drunk, for some reason that I don't understand even as I stand here saying these things to you… I say them."
Sighing a little, she said, "I wish I didn't have to get you drunk in order to hear things like that. I think given the opportunity I would probably make an alcoholic out of you."
Smiling, he said, "Just because I tell you you're beautiful?"
Feeling a little bit bolder since he had made the first semi-suggestive joke, she said, "Well, and because you touch my ass."
His smile turned a little conspiratorial and he said, "Yeah, I do. I wouldn't do that if you didn't let me get away with it."
Shrugging, she said, "Maybe I want to."
"You're lonely," he told her.
Julie shook her head, saying, "Not anymore."
"Then why do you let me do it?"
Sighing, she said, "That's not fair, I haven't had any liquid courage."
Unfortunately that was when the song ended, and a faster one started going in its place. Aaron and Julie made their way back to the table, but Julie was already trying to get the promise of another dance out of him.
"You'll dance to the next one too, right?"
With a little smile, Aaron said, "You just want to milk me of more compliments."
"No, that one just went really fast," she told him. "I like dancing with you, and the more we dance, the less we have to mingle."
Aaron merely smiled at her as he took his seat. For a little while, the flirting stopped and they just sat at the table, laughing about the half-drunk people on the dance floor and talking about everything from work to Julie's little blueberry.
When another slow song came on, Julie grinned and stood up, playfully yanking him out of his seat. "Come on, come on."
"The song just started, calm down, Tiger," he said, following her out onto the floor.
She smiled as they got onto the dance floor and they got into position, liking the way his hand felt resting at her waist. "Want to know a secret?" she asked. "It's not a very good one, but I just thought of it."
"Sure," he said with a nod.
"I have always wanted a guy to slow dance with me, and you're the first one who actually has."
Shaking his head, he said, "You need to stop dating assholes. Dancing is such a small gesture, and the fact that these guys didn't even care enough for you to do something so small if it would make you happy means they were obviously assholes."
"You know, 'Stop dating assholes' is actually right at the top of my to-do list right now."
"Good," he said. "You're going to be having Poppy Seed; you don't need assholes in your life."
"I know," she said. "That's one of the things that kind of sucks about accidentally getting knocked up and not having the father around. Now I have to worry about bringing people around my kid if I want to date."
Smiling, his gaze absently dropped to her stomach. "Don't worry, you have plenty of time."
She just enjoyed being in his arms for a few seconds, then she said, "Thank you for taking me to the doctor and going in with me, by the way. I really appreciated it."
Aaron just shook his head. "No problem at all."
"And thank you for everything else that you've done for me. Not to sound corny, but I really don't know what I would have done without you."
"You're a strong woman, you would have figured something out," he r
easoned, absently reaching out and brushing her hair behind her ear.
She swallowed and hoped the gooseflesh that rose on her skin as he did that wasn't visible. "Yeah," she allowed. "But… I wouldn't be in as good a place as I am. I probably would have had to go back to Jack's temporarily, and once he found out I was pregnant I really don't know what he would have done. For someone who cheats, he's oddly jealous if he thinks another guy is even flirting with me in front of him, and he definitely would not have been receptive to the idea of me carrying anyone's child, but especially the child of anyone but him."
"Jack is an asshole; you would be breaking the rule of your to-do list."
Nodding, she said, "It's funny, I really don't think that I even believed there were guys like you out there anymore," she mused.
Smiling slightly, he said, "Is that a good thing or a bad thing?"
"It's a good thing that there are guys like you in the world."
"Oh yeah?" he asked, smiling and subtly pulling her a little closer. "Why's that?"
Julie smiled and said playfully, "Now who's fishing for compliments?"
"Not me," he said innocently, although she didn't believe him for a second. "I was just curious."
"I've just never met someone like you before," she told him. "How often is it that you find a man who's… so very well-coordinated when he's drunk?"
Aaron chuckled.
Julie smiled and continued. "And a man who… while rough around the edges at first glance, listens to Frank Sinatra and rescues college girls from their own stupidity? And even those girls who do find such a rare breed aren't usually so lucky as to also have him be… absolutely gorgeous," she said, ignoring the way she flushed as she said it, "and just…completely…"
He didn't let her finish. His finger caught under her chin and he tilted her face up toward his. She could see the tenderness there, he smiled slightly, and then he was leaning in to close the distance between them.
Feeling a rush of anticipation, Julie closed her eyes and leaned in to meet him halfway…
"Aaron," a female voice interrupted.
Aaron’s hand dropped to his side and he turned toward the intruder.
Biting back the urge to growl, Julie also turned to the interruption, a less than pleasant expression on her face.
Rebecca blinked and then abruptly smiled. "I'm sorry, was I interrupting?" But before she let either of them say yes, she went on, "Aaron, you still have not danced with the bride."
Letting out a breath, Aaron looked tiredly at his sister. "And you couldn't have waited until the next song?"
"Matt's feet were getting tired," she complained, rolling her eyes like a petulant child.
"Matt," he repeated, his gaze briefly perusing the room until he landed on Matt, taking a seat at his table and offering Aaron a smug little smile. "Bastard," he muttered under his breath.
Then Aaron glanced apologetically at Julie. "Do you mind…?"
"No, not at all," she lied, offering a fake half-smile and stepping away from Aaron. As she walked back to their table, she had to fight the instinct to turn and glare at Matt, but she thought better of it.
He didn't deserve to be acknowledged for ruining her perfect moment, he deserved to be ignored. If she acknowledged him—especially angrily—he might feel as though he had won.
And he may have won the battle, but he had not won the war. Matt may have met with success in ruining her perfect, romantic first kiss on the dance floor with Aaron, but there would be other opportunities.
Maybe not such classically perfect opportunities, she thought with annoyance, but opportunities nonetheless.
So without looking at Matt, Julie sat by herself at the table, casually watching everyone dance on the dance floor and patiently waiting for the song to end and Aaron to return to her.
But when that song ended the DJ said, "It looks like these folks are having such a nice time we're gonna play another slow one. This one's really gonna take you guys back…"
And then Frank Sinatra was singing, "The Way You Look Tonight," and Julie was stuck watching in horrified fascination as Rebecca—who coincidentally stopped dancing right by Shannon—took a step back and basically handed Aaron off to Shannon, all but pushing him at Shannon as she apparently also got tired feet.
Julie's jaw just dropped. She couldn't help it. Although she meant to look at Aaron and Shannon, she found her eyes following Rebecca as she walked away in a white little blur. What caught Julie's eye was the way that she smiled and offered a wink in Matt's direction.
Then she was forced to look at Matt, who smiled back at Rebecca and looked very satisfied with himself.
Her feet itched to carry her over to his table, to yell at him for being such a bastard. Hitting him with her purse even seemed like a good idea, if a little dramatic.
But she forced herself to sit back, and instead she watched Aaron and Shannon.
Feeling strangely unsettled, she thought he didn't look miserable enough as Shannon danced in his arms. The grating feeling in her stomach could only be jealousy, and she couldn’t seem to look away. The feeling intensified as she watched Aaron twirl Shannon, and Julie caught sight of Shannon's dazzling, happy smile as she spun in Julie's direction.
Deciding not to bother watching for the end of the song, Julie stood up and took a trip to the bathroom.
How could the whole night shift so dramatically in the time it took to play one song? Less than four minutes before, Aaron had Julie in his arms and he had been just about to kiss her, and then Rebecca had to ruin everything.
Why would Aaron dance with Shannon? Shannon was the enemy!
Sighing miserably, Julie fished around in her little purse for her tube of lipstick.
The bathroom door opened and Julie didn't look up, but then she caught sight of purple out of her peripherals and she accidentally froze, her lipstick still touching her lips. Recovering quickly, she finished applying it and waited to see if the newcomer was going to step into the stall or not.
But Emma waited patiently for Julie to finish putting on her lipstick and then slip it back into her clutch.
Not in the mood to deal with Emma, Julie turned and said, "May I help you with something?"
Emma shook her head. "No, not really."
"Okay, then, if you'll excuse me," Julie said, taking a step forward and waiting for Emma to move so she could get to the door.
Emma didn't move. She blocked the door quite competently for a woman so small.
"What do you want?" Julie asked tiredly.
"Are you really dating Aaron?" Emma asked. "At first I didn't really believe it, but… I'm beginning to wonder."
"I fail to see how that is any of your business, Emma."
"I'm just curious," Emma said, no malice detectable in her tone. "You two make a cute couple. I know we've all had our…indiscretions, but I just wanted to let you know I have no hard feelings, and I personally think that when the dumb little whore out there isn't trying to claw her way back into him, you two look good together. Between women, I'm sure the only reason she's trying to come back is because of his success. She's playing the remorse card right now, but she was always a lousy little actress, and I understand better than most people the undeniable appeal of a person with money."
For one split second, Julie almost sympathized with Emma.
"I mean, that's the only reason she went after Matt," Emma said sensibly. "She knows that she obviously meant a lot to Aaron because he was so wounded after her. She probably assumes she can get him back because she had that edge. Women like us are ruthless, Julie. You don't seem to have figured this out yet, but they are. They will do anything to get what they want."
"Why are you telling me this?" Julie asked her.
"Because you don't know how to fight back," Emma stated. "If you care about Aaron, if you want to keep him, don't go hide in the bathroom, get your ass out there and take what's yours. You're not like Shannon, and Aaron knows that, I can tell. He wouldn't have avoided being
around you as much as he did if you didn't faze him."
Frowning, Julie said, "How did you know…?"
"It's not important right now," she said impatiently. "The important thing is that Aaron is drunk right now so he's a little easy, for lack of better word, and you're letting that skank put her paws all over him. Don't. He's yours, so act like it."
Julie asked suspiciously, "Why are you doing this?"
"Aaron has been unhappy for a long time, Julie. He deserves more."
Julie was completely befuddled at that point, but without another word Emma turned around and walked right back out of the bathroom.
Shaking off her confusion, she acknowledged that most of what Emma said made sense. Aaron was drunk, and he was always more agreeable when he was drunk. Of course, that could also mean he had only tried to kiss her because he was drunk…
How did Emma know Aaron had avoided being around Julie? And why was Emma giving Julie advice? Emma had hated Julie since she met her, and suddenly there were no hard feelings?
Nothing made sense. The whole night had gone to hell.
Exiting the bathroom, Julie decided it didn't matter why Emma had decided to momentarily take Julie under her wing, it only mattered that Emma was actually right. Hiding out in the bathroom was probably only making it easier for Shannon to push Julie from Aaron's mind.
With that thought in mind, Julie marched back out to the dance floor, searching for Shannon and Aaron. When she didn't find them, she searched again. Frustrated, she was searching the floor more carefully a third time when she felt a peck on her shoulder.
She turned around, her expression still determined, but thankfully it was Aaron.
He gave her a charming smile. "Looking for someone?"
Julie offered a smile in return. "There you are."
"Yeah, I was looking for you, too, but you disappeared."
"Had to freshen up," she offered. "You were occupied, so… I didn't think you would notice."