The room seemed to take on a thickness as they both let the passion take control. Neither one knew who pulled back first. They suddenly where staring at each other, surprised at their behavior. Eli was looking down at Julie who was on the table with him above her. He quickly righted himself, pulling Julie with him. “What just happened?” he asked, unsure of whether that had been another dream. One look at Julie’s unease told him it was not.
“I was going to ask you the same thing,” she said, unable to look at him.
“Julie, I…” Eli was at a loss for words.
“You were touching my face and then… something happened,” Julie tried to connect the dots that led up to their actions.
“I didn’t do anything, Julie,” Eli assured her.
“I didn’t either… at least, I don’t think I did,” Julie responded, suddenly unsure. Julie rubbed her arms, feeling a coldness around her. She closed her eyes. Something about the incident was familiar to her. She looked up at Eli. “I think… this happened… before,” she spoke brokenly, trying to pull up a memory. She could only see flashes, and what she saw scared her. She shook her head. “I can’t think about it,” she said and wiped her face. She had started crying without realizing it.
“Julie,” Eli whispered and hugged her. First, Julie tried to pull out of his embrace, but he held her close. She finally let out her anguish, and hugged him back. She didn’t even know why she was crying. She wouldn’t allow herself to revisit the memory, but still felt the pain caused by it. Julie was glad that Eli let her calm down naturally. He released her when she moved back.
She let out a nervous laugh. “I feel so stupid sometimes,” she said.
“Julie, from what you have told me, you were taken from the one person who could’ve possibly told you more about yourself. You’re not to blame,” Eli tried to make her feel better.
“I just… I dunno…” she replied and laughed again. “I think I’m going to go home,” Julie said, then remembered that Austin was picking her up.
“I can drive you, give me a minute,” Eli suggested.
“No, it’s fine. I forgot, Austin is picking me up and taking me to dinner. I need to do that. I need to do something… normal,” Julie said. “Um, I’ll see you at home. Let me know how Michele is doing then. She’s… she’s not absorbing the fluid as quickly as she should be,” Julie told him, but her voice was distant.
Eli watched her go, worry creasing his face. He wanted to call out to her; to tell her not to go, but his voice was silent. He didn’t know what to say to make things easier for her. Eli looked internally to figure out why his reaction to her was so strong. He knew he was attracted to her, but the powerfulness of the attraction bothered him. It seemed too strong. His emotions were usually much more reserved.
“Doctor,” Nurse Hacher was calling him from the doorway. “Mr. and Mrs. Royal are waiting for you to give them your update on Michele,” she reminded.
“Yes, of course. I’ll be right there,” Eli responded, and had to put thoughts of Julie Miller out of his head, a feat which was getting harder and harder to do.
Julie changed out of her uniform. Thoughts of her sexually charged encounter with Eli danced in her head.
She was staring down at her hands when Austin came up beside her. “Hey,” he said.
“Hey, where’s your skateboard?”she teased.
“Right this way ,madam,” he gestured to the dark colored sedan parked in front. “I had it spruced up just for you,” he said, opening the door for her. “You okay? You seem kinda, I don’t know, sad?” Austin tried to find the right word.
“I’m fine. I think I’m just a little run down,” she explained.
“Do you want me to just take you home?” he asked.
“No. No, I’ve missed you,” Julie said, embracing him. “I feel like I haven’t spent enough time with you. Work has just been crazy,” she said.
Austin kissed the top of her head. “I have an idea. Wait here for one second,” he told her, placing her in the passenger seat.
“Wait…what are you doing?” she asked as he went back into the lobby of the hospital. As the automatic doors slid open, Julie saw Eli shaking hands with a man and a woman. Austin went right up to him. “Austin, what the hell are you doing?” she wondered aloud. As curious as she was, she found herself unable to move. She watched as Austin and Eli spoke and then shook hands. A few moments later, Austin was on his way back out to the car. Eli waved to her from inside. She waved back and gave Austin a questioning look. “Mind telling me what that was all about?” Julie asked.
“I’ll tell you on the way, now put your legs in and buckle up,” he ordered. She frowned at having to wait to find out but did as instructed. Austin put the car in gear and exited the hospital lot.
“Spill it,” she commanded.
“I asked the doc if it would be okay if I took you home, meaning his place, so you could rest, and we could order a pizza,” Austin explained as he parked in the parking lot of the apartments next to the hospital. “He was very accommodating, actually,” Austin continued. Julie was silent, absorbing everything that Austin was saying. “He agreed that it was a good idea. He said you’ve been working too hard,” he finished.
Julie didn’t know whether to feel perturbed or comforted by all of this. “What if I said I wanted to go dancing or partying? Would you take me, or would you insist on me staying home?” Julie asked.
Austin was puzzled by Julie’s reaction. “Where’s this coming from, Jules?” he asked.
“I just need to know that if I make up my mind to do something, that you and guard doc will not try and convince me otherwise,” Julie argued. She could tell by the look on Austin’s face that he was dumbfounded by her attitude, and of course, he would be. He knew nothing of her past. “Austin… I’m sorry,” she sighed, lowering her head. “I’m overreacting as usual,” she stated, closing her eyes. She opened her eyes when Austin raised her chin.
“Julie, you know I would never make you do anything you didn’t want to do. Is someone making you do something?” Austin asked.
“No,” Julie replied. “Not now. That was my past talking,” she said. She knew Austin was waiting for a better explanation. He deserved one, but Julie wasn’t ready to change the relationship that they had. She needed him to be disconnected from that part of her, to keep things between them normal. “Please, Austin. Don’t push me on this subject. I don’t want to revisit my past by talking about it. I just want to live the normal life of a normal girl,” she explained.
It pained Austin to see the distress the conversation was having on her. “Okay,” he said softly, resting a hand on her neck. “So what does this normal girl want to do tonight? Pizza, dancing or both?” he offered.
Julie smiled. “This normal girl wants a quiet, normal evening at home, with a normal boy, and a pizza… fully loaded,” she laughed.
“Fully loaded, huh?” Austin smiled. “Such an adventurous normal girl,” he teased and got out of the car. The two walked slowly toward the main entrance, holding hands.
“Aw, ain’t that sweet,” the man watching from his dark blue van commented to himself. “Laney, Laney, Laney. You never learn. Time’s almost up, beautiful.” He laughed, imagining the look on her face when she realized that he had been close by her the whole time. His cell phone rang, breaking him from his thoughts. “Yeah,” he answered. “Nope, no luck on my end either. I’m thinking Texas. Yeah. I’ll be heading that way soon, myself. I bet he’s still pissed. She covered her tracks good this time,” he replied and laughed. “Yeah, see you in about a week,” he ended his conversation. “Stupid assholes,” he cursed, lighting his cigarette. “We’ve got big plans, Laney. Big plans,” he said and snickered.
Julie went to freshen up. She didn’t like the antiseptic smell on her clothes. Even though they had been in the locker room, they still seemed to have absorbed the scent of the hospital.
Austin was in the kitchen, taking down plates and putting them on the co
unter. “Feel better?” he asked her.
“Much,” she replied.
“I ordered a large, fully loaded pizza from Sal’s. They make the best pies,” Austin said and smiled. “Should be here in about twenty minutes,” he informed.
“Sounds awesome,” Julie replied. She perched on a stool in front of the counter.
Austin rested his chin on his hands. “What’s with the decor?” he asked. “It just seems so… boring,” he commented.
“I noticed that too. I just figured he was too busy to add any personal touches. His office at the hospital is the same way,” Julie stated.
“I’m surprised he has a television. I couldn’t find a radio at all,” Austin complained.
“I don’t think he spends a lot of time here,” Julie mentioned.
“Oh, I wanted to ask you something. Tomorrow, my school is having an end of the year carnival. Kind of a last horrah before graduation. I was wondering if you would like to go with me?” he asked.
“Carnival?” Julie tilted her head. “Is that, like, with rides and stuff?” she asked.
He was about to question her on whether she had been to one or not, then thought better of it. He was learning fast to not question her about her past. “Yes it is,” he replied. “Along with games and make-you-sick-to-your-stomach-but-it’s-so-good carnival food,” He embellished.
Julie’s eyes lit up. “Sounds positively heavenly. Count me in,” she said.
Austin came around and stood in front of her stool. “I can see the way to my girl’s heart is through her stomach,” he teased.
“Your girl, huh?” Julie smiled and wrapped her arms around his neck.
Austin rubbed his nose against Julie’s. “Uh huh,” he whispered before kissing her. There was something about Austin’s kisses that made her tingle from head to toe. She ran her fingers through his hair as the kiss deepened. She was lost in his kiss when she felt him pull back. “Julie,” Austin moaned her name. She tried to pull him back into the kiss, but he stopped her. “Julie, slow down or the pizza guy is gonna get a hell of a show,” he breathed. The doorbell was ringing.
She laughed; she hadn’t even heard it. “Oops,” she giggled. The doorbell rang again, but Austin wasn’t moving.
“Um, I think you better get it,” he said. “I can’t really go anywhere at the moment,” he said and chuckled.
Julie raised an eyebrow, not understanding, then she looked down and realization hit. “Oh! Yeah, no problem,” she said with a big smile. Austin just shook his head as he watched Julie head to the front door of the building.
Julie was glad she that had a habit of always keeping money in her pockets, but found it was unnecessary this time. “Bill was paid over the phone by the caller,” the delivery man stated. Julie tried to hand the man a five dollar bill for a tip, but the driver declined. “That was covered too, ma’am,” he replied.
“Oh, okay,” she said, accepting the pizza. “Have a good night, then,” Julie replied and closed the door. The aroma of the pizza wafted up to her. “Oh my, that smells good,” she voiced and headed back to the apartment.
Austin seemed to have pulled himself together as Julie placed the pizza on the counter. She was tempted to tease him about it, but then thought better of it. She had been just as aroused as he had.
“Tomorrow, at the carnival, you are going to let me pay for some things,” she advised him.
“Why are you so hung up on paying for things?” he asked, sliding a slice of pizza onto each plate.
“We don’t live in the era where woman cannot pay their own way for things,” she reminded him.
“I know, but I kinda like the old male chauvinist ways of taking care of the woman while she stays at home and has babies,” he said taking a bite of the pizza.
“Oh we are not going to have this conversation, are we?” Julie argued. Austin had a big grin on his face. He had known the comment was going to provoke her. He slid her plate closer to her.
“Eat up. You’re gonna need your strength for battle,” he teased.
“If I thought you were serious for even a second…” Julie started to preach.
Austin had come around to her side of the counter. “I know, I know. You’d gather all the feminist women of the world together and kick my ass,” he said and laughed, holding up a piece of pepper from the pizza to her lips. She ate the piece from his hand and chewed.
“Actually, no, I’d kick your ass all by myself,” she said with a satisfied grin. Julie reached for her own plate and began eating. Austin hopped up on the stool next to her.
The rest of their conversation was milder and less confrontational than earlier. They fell into an easy banter and had soon polished off the whole pizza, washing it down with water. “I should have ordered some soda,” Austin said, throwing away their trash.
“Home of Mountain Dew,” Julie recited, remembering the welcome sign when she first arrived.
“That’s the real reason you came here,” Austin said. “For the Mountain Dew, right?” he teased.
“Yep, you found out my secret,” Julie said, hopping down off the stool. Taking Austin’s hand, she pulled him towards the sofa. “Let’s see if we can find a good movie to watch,” she suggested.
“Betcha he doesn’t have cable,” Austin surmised.
“Oh, stop,” Julie admonished as they sat down. Austin began flipping through the channels.
“Okay, what are you in the mood for?” he asked. He stopped on a station that showed a tornado tearing through a town.
“Is that, like, a disaster type movie?” she asked.
“Yeah, the best kind,” Austin replied. She took the remote from him.
“Let’s see what else is on,” she said, flipping the channels. Julie stopped on a channel that showed two young lovers gazing into each other eyes.
“Not a chick flick,” Austin moaned, grabbing the remote back from her. Austin flipped some more and stopped on an animated show.
“Oh, come on. Cartoons?” she laughed and tried to take the remote back, but he held it out of her reach. Julie got up on her knees and tried to reach it, but Austin switched hands and held it behind his head, laughing. She climbed onto his lap to try and reach it. Austin pulled a fast maneuver and she ended up on her back, with him grinning victoriously over her. “Think you’re slick?” Julie smiled, before using her full body weight to roll them off the sofa and onto the floor. She smirked down at him as she was now on top. “Think again,” she smiled.
“Actually, I’m kinda liking this position,” he said as he quickly sat up with her in his lap. He locked his arms behind her waist, preventing her from moving. “You were saying…?” he teased.
Julie poked the remote up from in between them. “I still won,” she laughed.
Austin grabbed the remote from her and tossed it onto the sofa. “I won,” he said before kissing her. The television was forgotten by both. As the kisses grew more intense, “Where’s your room?” he breathed. He didn’t want to be interrupted by the doctor coming home.
“Somewhere,” Julie said, not caring about anything but staying lost inside Austin’s kisses.
Austin stood up, Julie’s legs wrapped around his waist. He was moving. “Jules,” he growled.
She finally took a second to point, “That one,” she gestured toward her door, which was a crack open. Now that Austin had a destination, he moved quicker, pushing the door open with their bodies. He kicked it shut with his foot and made his way to the bed. Falling onto the bed, the heat and passion erupted once more. Their bodies moved fluidly together and continued until both fell into a comfortable slumber.
Eli would sometimes spend days at the hospital, but now found himself with the urge to go home. He still pondered the event in the conference room with Julie. Austin seemed nice enough. It was the concern he showed for Julie that lead Eli to give the permission for them to hang out at his place. He just hoped he had made the right decision. “Oh, enough of this, I’m going home,” he said to himself
.
First thing he noticed upon entering the apartment was the fact the television was on, but no one was watching it. A glance over to the kitchen area showed a few dirty plates in the sink along with two glasses, making him feel slightly better. It was obvious they had eaten. A stroll over to the trashcan showed the discarded pizza box folded in half and shoved inside. The sound of a ringing phone could be faintly heard just below the volume of the television. Eli walked in the direction of the sound. Lying on the floor was the cause of the ringing: a cell phone. He picked it up and glanced at the caller ID. It read ‘Mom’. He turned off the television in annoyance, and his eyes automatically went to Julie’s closed bedroom door.
Austin stirred in bed. He smiled when he felt the warm body next to him snuggle closer. He looked over at the clock. It read 1:00 A.M. “Shit,” he whispered.
“Hmm,” the body murmured.
“I gotta get home,” he spoke quietly.
“No, stay,” Julie moaned, hugging him closer. “I like the feel of you next to me,” she added.
“I want to Jules, I really do, but I gotta get my skateboard home before it changes into a pumpkin,” Austin teased. “You keep sleeping. Neal is gonna drive us to the carnival. We’ll pick you up around five,” he told, throwing the covers back on his side of the bed.
“Mmm,” Julie moaned into the pillow. Austin laughed as he slid his pants on. “Sleep tight, grumpy,” Austin kissed her on the head. He flung his shirt over his shoulder and picked up his shoes before opening the bedroom door. He closed it quietly and put down his shoes before zipping up his pants. The sound of Eli’s voice startled him.
“You know, Mr. Dorsett, when I agreed to your idea of coming to the apartment with Julie so she could eat and get some rest, I did not expect you to indulge your teenage hormones in the process,” Eli said sternly.
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