by Jones, D. F.
Sloane playfully pushed Julia away, and teased, “Don’t start getting all sappy on me or you’ll have to redo your makeup, and you’re sooo perfect as it is.” She reached over and hugged Julia. “I don’t know what I’d do without you, either. Let’s come back tomorrow afternoon to swim. Just the two of us, okay?”
* * *
Returning to the house, Julia glanced up at Bunny who stood on the porch tapping her foot in agitation. “Young ladies, you have approximately thirty minutes to get dressed and be downstairs to greet our guests.” She narrowed her eyes at Julia and said, “You’re not wearing that. I’ve picked out a lovely light blue party dress for you, and I left you Grandmother Boatwright’s pearls too.”
Bunny turned to Sloane with her hands on her hips. “Darling, if you continue to dress like a boy, you’ll never find a husband. Get in the bath, and for heaven’s sake, clean your fingernails. I have a lovely dress for you too, and you can wear my diamond pendant.” She kissed both girls, and they took the cue to run into the house to avoid further fashion critiques.
Thirty minutes later, Julia and Sloane stood at the front door greeting guests from the country club, Bunny’s Women’s League, Julia and Sloane’s sorority sisters, and young men from all the best families in the area.
Champagne flowed like the Cane River, and Julia vowed to drink as many flutes as possible. Bunny knew how to throw a party. The orchestra played all the top hits of the day, and the ballroom filled with guests dancing and flirting as the evening wore long.
The dining room table was laden with an assortment of hors d’oeuvres and sweets along with the silver tea and coffee service set. Gentlemen stood in the breezeway smoking cigars, and ladies floated to and from the powder room.
Julia strolled through the rooms making polite conversation when she caught Sloane’s eyes. She nodded then pointed to the gardens. The sisters met on the terrace and walked through the heady gardens filled with hollyhocks, pink and red hibiscus, and a variety of peonies in pink, red, and white. The full moon rose high in the sky as the big band orchestra music filtered softly through the warm spring air.
At the end of the garden pathway, Julia leaned against an old willow oak tree. “I’m almost drunk, and I haven’t been kissed once. It’s always the same boys at every party.”
Sloane twirled her full skirts out and sat on the ground. “Brooks Davis is good-looking.”
“He’s a pompous ass and ancient history.” Julia and Sloane giggled loudly.
“A good-looking pompous ass with the right qualifications.” Sloane placed her gloved hands in her lap and glanced up at Julia. “You don’t like him anymore, do you?”
“Ah, heck no. Brooks is a cheater, and the only person he loves is himself. He also has a bad temper when he drinks.” Her gaze dropped to the dreamy look on her sister’s face. “Sloane, not you. Please tell me you haven’t…”
Sloane chuckled and said, “Nope. I just wonder what he looks like naked.”
Julia bent over laughing while holding onto her sides. “You crack me up, and I wouldn’t know. Don’t look now, but one of the waiters is on his way over here with two flutes. Shoo, fly. This one looks like a keeper.”
Sloane’s eyes went wide. “Oh, no. Not the help. Bunny will have a stroke.”
Julia narrowed her eyes and whispered, “Scram or I’ll tell Brooks you’re sweet on him.”
“You’re utterly foul.” Sloane stood and brushed her skirts out, then left.
Julia called out, “I love you, Sloane.”
Turning her attention toward the yum-yum waiter, Julia crossed her arms over her chest and waited for him to approach. Her gaze followed his long, graceful strides. The handsome man bowed and offered Julia a glass of champagne. With a raised brow, she said, “Hey, I know you. Don’t you teach at BFU?”
He had an air of confidence about him. His shiny black hair was slightly longer on the top, slicked back with a side part. The night finally showed some promise. “Yes, Miss Boatwright. I teach at BFU.” His thick black lashes surrounded dark golden brown eyes that seemed to undress her.
Boy, oh boy, he spells trouble. Heat rushed into Julia’s cheeks. “Do you have a name or are you going to keep staring at me like I’m not wearing clothes? And if you’re teaching, why are you working here tonight?”
His deep rumbling laugh washed over her like spring rain, and she wanted to drink him in. He lifted the other flute and dropped Bunny’s silver tray on the ground.
She giggled. Julia liked him already.
He clinked the crystal flute next to hers and said, “My name is Phillip Clayborn. I saw a sign posted in the Science Department about your party and only applied for this gig to meet you. I took a chance when I saw you walk outside.”
Julia sipped champagne and stared at him over the rim of the glass. With a tilt of her head, she said, “You took the job to meet me? Pretty sure of yourself.”
Phillip leaned in close, and she could feel his warm minty breath against her cheek. “Pretty sure. Was I wrong? Or do I need to go back to work?”
Julia swallowed hard, then slowly raked her eyes over his body before lifting her gaze to his eyes. “Nope, you’re not wrong.”
Phillip smiled in the moonlight and sent her heart into flutters. “So, are you bored with the fuddy-duddies inside?”
Julia hesitated, then nodded. “I am. How about we blow this joint?”
Phillip took a deep bow and replied in an elongated drawl, “Why after you, Miss Boatwright.” He stood upright and gave her the sexiest grin.
“Where did you park?”
Phillip raised his arm and pointed. “Next to the barn.” He grabbed her suddenly around the waist and placed a crushing kiss on her lips, one of his hands placed firmly on the small of her back and the other at the nape of her neck. Julia’s knees went weak. His spicy cinnamon scent mixed with vintage leather and a hint of sunshine nearly made her swoon.
Hmmm, Phillip was the best present of the day. Julia’s heart raced as she allowed herself to melt into the indulgence of his romantic kiss. It was her party, so propriety went straight out the window. She broke from the kiss and released a deep sigh. “Ahem, you’re quick on the trigger.”
“My apologies, but I couldn’t resist.” He angled his head and smiled that charming smile.
Julia relented. “Forgiven. Meet me at the barn in five. Oh, and take the glasses because I’m going to steal a bottle of champagne.”
Julia lit out across the gardens to the outside kitchen where they kept the champagne on ice. The exterior kitchen hopped with the activity of the cooks and the waiters. No one noticed when she swiped the bottle. Julia slipped her shoes off, holding them by the straps in one hand and the bottle in the other as she raced to the barn.
* * *
Phillip took off the borrowed tux and laid it on a chair in the tack room where the waiters had dressed for the party. He quickly changed back into his jeans and black dress shirt and slipped on his loafers. He’d spoken the truth.
Phillip applied for the waiter’s job to see if Julia Boatwright might remember him. He’d watched her at BFU and knew she would be graduating next Saturday. So, tonight might be his only chance to get her alone. Julia ran in the high society pack and dated fraternity boys. Not the kind of crowd he ran in. Not that he had a crowd.
Phillip walked out of the barn and looked over to the exterior building next to the big house. Julia Boatwright was running to him. He leaned against the driver door of his Jeep. He didn’t care he forfeited his paycheck for the night.
Julia stopped short of slamming into him and stared up at Phillip with emerald eyes which seemed to glow in the dark.
Hot damn. She’s a beautiful woman.
Julia said, “Don’t just stare. Let’s get out of here before Bunny figures out I’ve flown the coop.”
Chuckling, Phillip said, “I’ve met your mom. She’s the one that hired me for the party. Why do you call her Bunny?”
“Dad said it’s bec
ause mom jumps around as fast as a bunny rabbit. We’ve called her Bunny for as long as I can remember.”
Phillip helped Julia into the Jeep and ran around the back before he jumped inside. He gave her a smile before twisting the key in the ignition, and the engine roared. He drove down the tractor lane with only the light of the full moon. “Where are we going?”
“Phillip Clayborn, you mean to tell me you’ve been teaching at BFU for what, a year or two, and never visited Burkett Falls?”
“No, ma’am. I’ve never been invited until tonight.” Left hand steady on the wheel, he leaned his right arm on the back of her seat. His fingertips toyed with the silky strands of her hair.
Julia glanced at him and smiled. “Keep your eyes on the road, or you could pop a tire.”
Phillip laughed, thinking he could pop more than his tire. “Jeeps are made for rough terrain. You just keep me going in the right direction, pretty lady.”
The Jeep bounced over the bumps in the road as Julia held on to the door grip and pointed. “Turn, there to your left. The Falls are just beyond the open field.”
Phillip’s thoughts whirled. She doesn’t remember me.
But he’d never forgotten her.
He drove through the opening and was rewarded with the panorama of the Falls rushing over massive cliffs while the moon rose behind the mountains in the starlit sky. It looked like something out of a motion picture. “Wow, incredible view. So where do I park?”
She giggled and replied, “Anywhere, silly. It’s a Jeep. But don’t drive into the water, it’s deep.”
Phillip pulled the Jeep to a stop, reached in the back seat, and drew out a quilt. “Wanna sit in here or out there?”
The smile left Julia’s face, and she shook her head. With a hint of sarcasm, she said, “Well, it looks like you came prepared. I hate that I was a foregone conclusion.” She jumped out of the Jeep in her bare feet and slammed the door.
Damn it. Julia had reached the beach before Phillip grabbed her hand. “I didn’t think anything. The quilt has been in the Jeep since winter. It gets cold in there when the heater quits working.”
She turned and tilted her head. “Promise?”
Phillip crossed his heart with his forefinger. “Promise. May I spread it out? We can just talk.” She nodded yes, and he spread the quilt out on the soft grass. Sitting down, he patted the quilt with his left hand. “Come on, sit down. I promise I won’t bite too hard.”
Julia knelt and sat on her heels. “Did you really take the job to meet me tonight?”
Leaning back, he propped his upper body with his elbows. “Yeah, I took the job to see you. You don’t remember me, do you?”
Looking down at him, she said, “Am I supposed to?”
“We went to elementary school together. I was in sixth grade and walking with my buddies to the jungle gym during recess. You were swinging on the playground and jumped in midair and fell to the ground on your knees and started crying. I ran to you. I-I—”
Julia interrupted and said, “You helped me into Mrs. Troop’s room and fetched the first aid kit. You cleaned and bandaged my knees. That, was you?”
“That was me.” His fingers brushed lightly against her gloved hands, and she didn’t pull away.
“What happened to you? I never saw you again.”
Phillip took a deep breath and exhaled. He sat up and placed his hands on his knees. “My mom passed away. I came home from school and found a neighbor waiting on me. She held my hands and told me that Mom had a heart attack, and she was living in heaven. That night, my dad began to drink heavily. He dozed off in his chair, and I tried to take the bottle from him. He didn’t mean to, but he jerked the bottle out of my hand and broke my arm.”
Phillip swiped his hand over his face. “Talking about that day still brings back bad memories. My mom’s twin sister, Aunt Doris, from Upstate New York, came down for the funeral and took me back to live with her.”
Shifting positions, Phillip sat cross-legged. “Aunt Doris raised me. I visited Dad during the summers and holidays. He’d make trips to spend the long weekends with me. But I didn’t move back here until after the war, and I enrolled at BFU to finish my Ph.D. I was lucky enough to land a position teaching and given free rein to run my experiments in the lab.”
Julia squeezed his hand and said, “You’re finishing your Ph.D.? Impressive. I’m sorry about your poor mother. How sad it must’ve been for you as a little boy. Did you serve in the war? And why didn’t you ever come and see me? Why haven’t you talked to me before now?”
Phillip nodded. “While I served in the Air Force, I became interested in theoretical physics. My unit teamed up with the Navy on a secret project, and I got to work with Tesla. When the war ended, I moved back here to re-establish my relationship with my dad, finish school, and…” His voice trailed off.
For a long quiet minute, Phillip rubbed her hands gently while they locked eyes. “I did see you around during the summers. But you were four years younger than me. Not that that’s a big deal now, but back then, I would’ve been robbing the cradle. I saw you once at The Bijou when I was on leave. You were about eighteen and all grown up. I would’ve asked you out then, but you were dating Brooks Davis and knee deep with your sorority sisters.”
Phillip released Julia’s hands and stared at the Falls. “And I confess, I hadn’t been able to let go of the feelings I had for the girl I’d fallen for as a kid.” He paused and turned to Julia. “I thought if I could see you at the party that I’d finally get the nerve to approach you. Any chance you’d go out on a real date with me?”
Julia tilted her head to the side and said, “Hmm, I think I’d like to go out with you, Phillip Clayborn.”
He inhaled, catching a whiff of Julia’s lightly scented floral perfume. He resisted the urge to kiss her and began to remove Julia’s long satin gloves, one finger at a time. “What do you want in life?” With each word he freed one finger, sliding the glove from her hand on the final word.
The sensual movements seemed to unnerve Julia. Her gaze locked with his eyes as he repeated the movements with her other hand. She took the gloves from his hands and placed them beside her on the quilt before answering.
“I want to move to New York and become a writer for a television show. Or maybe develop my own radio broadcast. I want to be someone other than a debutante on display, like I’m some prize heifer, just waiting to get married.”
Phillip grinned and said, “Good for you.” He reached over to caress her peaches-and-cream cheeks. “Julia, may I kiss you?”
She nodded yes and closed her eyes.
* * *
Julia knew the moment Phillip’s lips connected with hers that he was different than the rest. Time seemed to suspend. The mingling of his soft lips brushing against hers made her heart flutter. No French kissing, just a gentle kiss meant to woo her, and Phillip was wooing her. He cradled her face in his large, strong hands.
Julia opened her eyes and found herself searching Phillip’s face. She became overwhelmed with emotion and felt intense chemistry for him. For the first time in her life, Julia didn’t care what others thought. She reached up and cupped his face with her hands.
In an instant, Phillip’s eyes flew open and locked with hers in a smoldering stare. He caressed her cheek with one hand while the other slipped behind her neck. Phillip leaned in and closed his eyes. He gently brushed his tongue over her lips and just inside her mouth.
Julia’s stomach flipped. She’d never allowed anyone to French kiss her on a first date, and this wasn’t even the first date. Nice girls never went to first base, but Julia wanted to bypass all the bases and go for the grand slam.
She parted her lips and released a moan. Her adrenaline charged and Phillip must’ve sensed it because his tender kisses became harder and more demanding. Julia slipped her tongue inside his warm, sweet minty mouth.
Heart pounding, Julia’s want seemed to waltz with Phillip’s obvious desire. She returned his kiss with s
uch ferocity that Phillip pushed her back onto the quilt. He caressed the curve of her face and trailed his fingers along the column of her neck, down her arm until he intertwined his fingers with hers and brought her hand to his mouth.
Phillip kissed the back of her hand, then turned her palms over and pressed feather light kisses on the soft skin of her wrist. Julia’s body came alive with warm sensations igniting her nerve endings with burning passion.
She broke out in a sweat when Phillip broke from kissing her wrists and trailed his tongue along the delicate pale skin of her throat, and she arched her back pressing her chest upward.
Phillip whispered, “Make love to me, Julia.”
She replied with a hoarse whisper, “I can’t. I’m saving myself for marriage.”
Phillip’s tender kisses trailed to the cleft of her breasts. Julia stiffened and pushed him away. “Don’t, Phillip.” She rolled away, sat up, and tried to make herself presentable. Who was she fooling? Breathing hard, she said, “You’re just like every other guy I’ve met. You just want inside my panties.”
He chuckled again. “Yeah, I want inside your panties and your bra too.” His face sobered. “But unlike other guys, what I really want is to spend time with you. I can wait for everything else if you give me a chance. Don’t you feel it? I know you do.”
Phillip sat up.
Julia’s gaze followed his movements as Phillip rubbed his hands along his very muscular thighs. “People live their whole lives without experiencing the fiery passion I feel for you. In the war, I learned you don’t wait for things you want in life. Life changes in a split second. I knew the moment I saw you again that I wanted you. I’m sorry if I pushed you too fast. Forgive me?” he pleaded.
He moved quickly, wrapping Julia up in his embrace and nuzzling his face against the soft skin of her cheek close to her ear, giving Julia pleasant goosebumps on her arms.
She giggled. “That tickles, and if you behave yourself, then you’re forgiven for a second time tonight.” In her heart, Julia was screaming yes— yes—yes. But, she was also pragmatic. She’d give Phillip a chance, and then she’d decide whether she’d give him her innocence.