by Brie Kraus
Jules had never seen Emma like this. It was like she had let down all of her walls and she’d never been more beautiful to him. He wondered what had happened. Jules couldn’t count the amount of girls who had arrived to him, blubbering and in emotional crisis—he’d never cared. He’d never given a damn that they were upset. Perhaps, that was cold of him, but he just never cared.
Yet, here he sat wrapped around a girl for hours. It should have been awkward, but it wasn’t. It was perfect, and when her eyelids started to droop as the sky lightened, Jules suggested that she go to bed. His heart overflowed as she shook her head and led him into his bedroom.
He left while she got changed, slipping off her dress and taking out her hair, putting one of his t-shirts over her underwear. Jules laughed at himself when he realized that his hands were shaking. She smiled at him when he came back in and climbed under the sheets, patting the space beside her. There was nothing suggestive about that; she just wanted him near her. Jules ceased quivering and obeyed Emma’s wish, climbing in beside her and Emma tucked herself in around him. He wrapped one arm over her shoulders and the other in her hair.
“Goodnight,” she whispered, her dark blue eyes shining.
“Sweet dreams,” Jules said back.
Wrapped around each other, both feeling more than they knew, they fell asleep.
A few hours later, Emma woke up alone. She groaned and rolled over. Where was he?
This bed looked like hers, but it smelled different; it had a man’s scent.
Emma sat up and glanced down at the top she wore over her underwear. “Uh!” she said, pulling the sheets up and remembered where she was.
Julian had been so good to her last night.
She remembered her silent promise to herself that today they would talk and figure everything out. Suddenly, that was nowhere near as attractive a prospect as just having another day like last night.
Emma lifted the t-shirt up to her nose. It smelt like him. Thunderstorms and peppermint. The best smell in the world.
After walking to the bathroom to check herself out—holy crap!—she looked like a scarecrow—she fixed her appearance and tiptoed to the living room.
Julian stood against the window with a cup of coffee in one hand and the newspaper in the other. Emma stopped when she saw him and drank him in; he was far too gorgeous.
“Morning,” she said.
He spun around and smiled at her, thrilled to see her still in her underwear and his t-shirt. “Morning. I ordered you some breakfast. Take a seat.”
Jules pointed at the table, which was sagged underneath the weight of everything he could think of to order.
Emma sat down, grabbing some fruit and muesli with a big plate of crispy bacon. “Thanks.”
He watched her eat in silence. She was so beautiful, even when her hair was a fluffy mess and she had smudges of last night’s makeup caked under her eyes. He wished that he could have been with her when she had woken up. Jules had been pleasantly surprised when he had woken up still wrapped in her arms, only closer than before, if that was possible. Unfortunately, he’d also woken up with a dramatic case of morning wood and thought that it would be better for the situation if he got up and calmed himself, a little.
“So,” he begun, as Emma dug into her food, “are we going to talk about what happened last night?”
Emma gulped. “Last night?”
“With your dad? You were pretty upset after talking to him.”
Emma relaxed. “Oh,” she said, “he wants me to come home.”
Jules looked at her for a long moment. “But, you’re not going to are you?”
She frowned. “Well, no, but he gave me a lot of things to think about. He—he asked me what I’m doing here, in a place I don’t know, with no friends or family or…”
She stopped speaking and Julian realized that she was upset. Her father had rattled her. “What do you mean no friends?” he asked with a smile. “You’ve got me, haven’t you?”
“That’s other thing,” said Emma, “he said that our engagement was fake.”
Julian smile faded. “How would he know that?”
Emma just shrugged. “I don’t want to go home,” she said, “but I suppose that I just never wanted to think about what I’m doing here, and Luke is…”
Julian’s eyes narrowed upon the mention of Luke.
“Luke is more determined than ever. It’s like a challenge to him. I thought he would believe us by now.”
Julian reached for a glossy magazine and chucked it on the table. “Well this should help convince him.”
Emma picked it up. It was a popular tabloid with the heading reading “JULIAN”S CINDERELLA STORY”. Underneath there was a huge blown up photo of Jules and Emma. It was the one from the awards when Julian had leaned down to Emma’s ear to tell her to smile, but it looked as though he had brushed her hair aside and kissed her with Emma’s head turned towards it with a small, adoring smile on her face.
Emma gasped out loud. They looked like they were a couple. More than that, they looked like they were in love.
“I’ve already arranged for a copy to go to your father’s room with the morning paper. Hopefully, Luke gets a look at it too.” Julian looked at her shocked expression.
“Wow, we really look—I mean, wow!”
“Yeah, I know. And don’t worry; magazines are great at spinning stories however they want them.”
Emma nodded.
“Emma,” Jules started, “there’s something you should know, too.”
Emma looked away from the photo.
“I’m leaving.”
Emma’s face fell and her heart dropped in her chest. He was leaving? He couldn’t; he couldn’t just leave. She needed him! She wanted him!
“Oh,” she said in a flat tone, looking away from him.
Jules chuckled slightly and Emma glared at him. “No, I’m not leaving you. I’m just leaving the hotel. My apartment is ready.” He looked at her surprised face. “You didn’t think I lived in a hotel did you?”
“Um, yeah, I kind of did.” Emma felt sheepish.
“Nope, I have an apartment near Hyde Park.”
“Oh, well, that’s nice for you.” He was still leaving. Emma began to realize what this meant. No more late night comfort calls, no random moments with him showing up at her door…
“Emma,” Jules said, snapping her out of her mental coma with his deep, and husky, voice that she loved, his slight accent thicker than usual, “I want you to come with me.”
“Say again?” Emma couldn’t believe what he had asked her.
“Move in with me, Emma.”
Chapter 22
Emma had managed to sneak the magazine back to her room as she hastily fled the scene. Thinking back, she realized that she probably over reacted. Jules probably didn’t mean move in with him, as in, move in together, but to move in with him so that their little scheme looked more authentic.
That hit her long after she stammered an “I’ll think about it” and hightailed it out the door.
Now she sat on her bed with the magazine spread in front of her, still in her underwear and Jules’ t-shirt, which she delayed taking off for as long as possible. Emma took a moment to look at the picture on the front of the magazine again. They really did look cute and happy, which was a testament to how good that photographer must be because Emma remembered only feeling terror at that awards show.
She flipped to the article inside. There was a page of pictures here as well. The first was a promotional image of Julian with a guitar propped on his knee, looking like his usual godlike self. There was another of Emma and Julian at the awards show and one of just Emma by herself, with little arrows pointing to places on her dress which said “WOW” and “MISTAKE”. Emma squealed with horror as she looked to the bottom of the page and saw that the magazine had somehow got a hold of her senior school photo where she’d been going through a haystack hair phase. The article ended with a picture of her and Julian the firs
t time they had left the hotel to get some dinner. He had held her hand and pulled her through the crowd, while looking back at her and Emma stared back at him, part terrified, part pissed off.
At least, that’s how she thought she looked. The magazine had written underneath “The Look of Love”.
Emma huffed and read the article.
Yesterday, international superstar Julian Brex broke the hearts of millions as he was seen on his first official outing with his new girlfriend, 18 year-old Emma Corzeica. The couple were seen at the MTV Music Video Awards, both sporting big smiles and loving glances. American born Emma was said to be “obviously smitten” with the rock-star and who could blame her! Voted one of the sexiest men alive for the 3rd year running, 20 year-old Julian is every teen girl’s dream catch.
Emma rolled her eyes and once again realized why Jules had such a big head.
Julian’s publicist announced the relationship officially yesterday, and hinted that the young lovers were “quite serious”, despite the fact that they have only been spotted together in the last week. Sources say that they met last year while Julian was completing his world tour and since Emma arrived in London, they have been living together in the Ritz hotel. But this is far from a boring relationship, with the gossip mill running wild about what enticed Julian to finally settle down! While the rock-star hasn’t quite reached playboy status yet, he has in the past been tied to such starlets as Zooey Deschanel, Taylor Swift, and Ashley Olsen.
In a personal interview with sexy Julian, he called the beautiful Emma “Special” and said that she “meant a lot to him.” It is also widely speculated that the acoustic love song that Julian performed at the awards was written about his new love. Do we even hear rumors of a baby bump in Emma’s young belly?? Or is the gossip about their secret engagement true? One thing is for sure; from the looks of it these two have been sporting they are well and truly smitten!
Emma frowned as she read the last line. She was not smitten. She was not! Just a couple of days ago she contemplated running Julian over with her car rather than kissing him
At least, Emma thought, she knew that the pregnancy rumor wasn’t true. A strange heat flooded her as she thought about having sex with Julian, about actually surrendering to his kisses and touches which she secretly lived for, but had to say no to because she valued her sanity. If there was one thing that Julian Brex was good at it was messing with Emma’s head.
There was a knock on her door and Emma almost jumped out of her skin.
If that was Julian, she didn’t know what she’d do. She felt so strange after last night, and after looking at the photos in the article, Emma wasn’t sure she’d be able to control herself if she saw him right now.
She stood up and walked towards the knocking.
If Emma opened that door and saw Julian’s arrogant, but perfect, face she thought that she would just have to—“Luke! What are you doing here?”
He smiled devilishly and Emma, reminding that he was quite attractive himself. “I’m bringing you the headlines.” He held up the same glossy magazine that she had just been reading.
“Thanks, but I’ve already seen them.”
“I figured.” Luke pushed past her and into the room, picking up a mars bar she had left sitting around and opened it.
He flipped to the pages about her and Jules while munching the candy. “You know I was quite impressed.” He looked up and her and raised an eyebrow. “You really are the sweetest couple.”
Emma gritted her teeth. “Thanks. I know.”
“Which is why you chose him of course.”
“Sorry?” she asked.
“For how it looked.”
Emma’s mouth jaw dropped to the floor.
“Attractive,” Luke said please by her expression. “I wonder if we would have looked that in love—” Luke pointed at the magazine. “—if they had gotten us a few weeks ago.”
Emma’s eyes narrowed. “I doubt it, considering we were never in love.”
“You were in love with me.”
Emma’s blowing up Luke’s head by sticking a grenade in his mouth.
“Oh, don’t look at me like that, babe; you know I loved you too.”
“Oh, did I? And don’t call me babe. I am not a little pig. How dare you say you love me now after everything.” She was dangerously close to either crying or throwing Luke through the window and knowing her usual reactions to him it was likely to be the latter.
“Okay,” Luke said, throwing his hands up. “You caught me. So I didn’t love you; I wanted you. I still want you; isn’t that something?”
As he talked, Luke moved closer to her, winding one of his hands in her hair. Emma had been too shocked with sudden rage to think of moving away. “Don’t pretend you don’t want me too. You used to beg me to kiss you, to be with you.”
Emma’s face went up in flames as she remembered the way she used to have to persuade him to kiss her. “Exactly, which proves that you only want me now because someone else does.”
Luke’s hands moved to her collarbone. “I want you now because you’re beautiful and because you’re rightfully mine. Parading yourself around with that famous dickhead is just to make me want you more; I know.”
Emma shoved him away from her. “Could you be anymore full of yourself?”
“Could you be anymore delusional? Do you really think someone like Julian Brex is actually going to marry you?”
“Why wouldn’t he? He loves me.”
“Yes, probably. I’ve seen the way he looks at you, but he won’t love you for long.” Luke came closer and moved so his lips were almost on hers. “He’ll get bored with you soon and then there will only be me left.”
“Now who’s delusional?” Emma spat, while moving away from him; trying to pretend that she didn’t agree with him.
It was only a matter of time before Julian started to wonder why he was putting himself through so much trouble for someone like her, someone who couldn’t even admit to herself that she liked him, that she’d fallen in love with him.
Chapter 23
“Wow,” Emma said; her eyes wide like dinner plates.
This was the most amazing place she’d ever seen. A hundred, no, a thousand times nicer than anything she would have expected from a young, bachelor rock star.
“Your house is really, really nice,” she said, still looking around.
His deep voice chuckled. “Our place, remember? I’m so glad you came to your senses and decided to move in.”
Emma just smiled. “All of a sudden, I am too.”
His apartment was in the old part of the city and resembled a house more than an apartment with its two floors, and though narrow, having been built in the 1700s, probably the town house of some wealthy lord back when they all flittered casually from their country to city houses, it was still spacious. Of course it had been redone to fit the 21st century. The bedrooms (two, Emma had made sure ) now decked out in plush carpet, but everywhere else was left to the old hardwood floors, and modern fixtures had been put in the bathrooms and kitchen. While it had all of the modern comforts like a 50 inch, flat screen TV in the lounge room, washing machine, and even heated towel racks in the bathrooms, it still possessed the old world charm, which made it special: huge, glazed windows, high ceilings, and little window seats to curl up on and read.
Emma was in love, with his house that is. She felt happy, because now she had the excuse that staying here was a thousand times nicer than staying in a hotel for, and she wondered why she had never wanted to leave it.
“What are you thinking?” asked Jules in a quiet voice from right behind her.
Emma sighed. “That this is probably going to be a lot nicer than I expected.”
It was true. At first, she had felt like the biggest sell out for agreeing to move in, but Jules had left her a note before he left for some interview, or something, which gave her the address and told her that he had more than one bedroom, so it wasn’t like they would be living toget
her like a real couple. He had said that he didn’t care either way, but that he thought it would look much better to her family if she was to want to live with him.
Emma had sighed, trying to make herself see that this was a good thing, but she still hadn’t felt sure about it. If she was being honest with herself, she wasn’t sure that she’d be able to control herself if she lived with Julian. Seeing him every morning, smelling that delicious Julian smell on everything, knowing that he slept just a few feet away.
Emma had had to give herself a mental beating after that one, but she still hadn’t made up her mind until she went out to lunch with Becca.
Becca had been sickeningly nice to her all morning that Emma snapped and asked her why she acted like such a snob.
“I just thought that you might have needed a little tender loving care,” Becca had replied in her usual self-praising manner, “after I saw someone carrying out all of Julian’s bags this morning.”
Emma had just gaped at her.
“Oh, you poor thing,” Becca had continued, “finding out that another man didn’t really care about you. You must be heartbroken.”
Emma had gritted her teeth and curled her fingers into fists underneath the table.
“Actually, they were just moving his stuff into his new place. Whoops,” Emma said, looking carefully at her. “I should say, our new place.”
And that had been that. She couldn’t back out and say that she wasn’t going to move in with him now. Emma had too much pride for that and if it meant sacrificing sleep, and her sanity, so that her family stayed convinced that she couldn’t marry Luke, then so be it.
Jules snapped her back to reality as his hands closed on her shoulders, steering her towards another room. One of his hands dipped to the bare skin just below her collar bone and Emma shivered all over. “This is the music room,” he said in her ear.