by Case, Jaimie
“Hey Jules,” he said as he hurried over to me. “How’s it going?” His eyes searched mine as he gave me a wide smile and I pretended that my heart hadn’t just jumped out of my body when I’d seen him.
“I’m good. Just dropping off a letter for Lucas.”
“You mean Fitz?” he asked with a slight look.
“Yeah, Fitz.” I shrugged. “What about you? You’re in the post office a lot these days?”
“Oh?”
“Your ‘friend’ Ellen said you guys were coming to the post office the other day as well.”
“Oh yes, she did.” He grinned. “Good memory.”
“Hmm.” I frowned. “Are you still seeing her?”
“I was never seeing her, Jules.” He winked at me and I could feel myself growing angry.
“Oh, so just having sex?” I was annoyed at the fact that he seemed to just be able to go from woman to woman. “What are you, a sex machine?”
“No.” He laughed and grabbed my hands. “Ellen is a friend. She’s been coming over to get help with her new camera. She wants to become a wedding photographer.”
“Yeah right.” I tried not to roll her eyes. The only wedding she wanted to photograph was the one between her and Nolan. Though, of course, I didn’t say that.
“Are you jealous?” he asked as his fingers touched the side of my face and his eyes sparkled as if he were laughing at me.
“Jealous of what? I could have had sex with you, as well, if I wanted to.” I pushed him away from me, starting to feel flushed. His lips turned up and he moved closer to me.
“I think you did want to,” he whispered into my ear and I could feel his breath on my skin. I trembled slightly as I stared into his beautiful green eyes.
“What do you want from me, Nolan?” I said pushing against his chest, swallowing hard as he kissed me lightly on the lips. “What are you doing?”
“What do you think I’m doing?” he said as he kissed me again.
“You can’t just keep kissing me.”
“Don’t tell me you’re still not over Mark.”
“Who?” I blinked at him in confusion.
“The ex you were crying over in college?” His eyes studied my face. “That weekend I came up. The weekend I gave you that gift.”
“Oh yeah, Mark.” I laughed then. “I actually haven’t thought about him in years. So yes, I’m over him.”
“Good, good.” He grinned. “So you never told me what you thought about my gift by the way, did you like it?”
“Gift?” I blinked again. “Oh yeah, I never opened that. I put it in my suitcase and forgot about it.” I made a guilty face. “Sorry.” I laughed as he frowned. “It’s not a big deal, right? It wasn’t diamonds or something.”
“No diamonds,” he said and then a light suddenly appeared in his eyes. “Aww, that’s why,” he said as if to himself.
“That’s why, what?” I asked him, confused. I wanted to reach up and touch his hair that had fallen across his forehead, but I knew that it would give him the wrong signal.
“A lady’s imagination is very rapid; it jumps from admiration to love, from love to matrimony, in a moment,” he said in an English accent and I just stared at him in absolute confusion.
“What?”
“It’s from Pride and Prejudice,” he said gazing into my eyes intently. “It’s one of Mr. Darcy’s lines.”
“Oh, okay, I must have forgotten,” I said nonchalantly. “I haven’t read that book in years.”
“You used to love Jane Austen though,” he said with a small frown. “I thought she was your favorite author.”
“I mean, yeah, I went through a phase where I loved her, but that was years ago.” I laughed. “Don’t get me wrong, she’s an amazing author, but I didn’t memorize all of her books or anything.”
“I guess you had enough time remembering Juliet’s lines.” He chuckled.
“Hey, I was awesome as Juliet.” I grinned at him. “I was a natural.”
“A natural kisser,” he said and I made a face at him.
“Do not remind me of that night,” I said and shuddered. “That was so embarrassing.”
“Actually, I thought it was quite cute. In fact…” He started, but I stopped paying attention to him because about five yards away stood Lucas Sacramento and he was headed into the post office. “Earth to Jules?” he said and then turned around to see what I was looking at. “Who’s that?”
“That’s Lucas, aka Fitz,” I mumbled. “Oh my gosh,” I said and like magic, Lucas turned around and spotted me.
“Julia Montgomery?” he said a wide smile spreading across his face as he approached me with outstretched arms.
“Lucas Sacramento?” I asked him, trying to ignore the fact that he had some envelopes in his hand. Was he sending me another letter? He swept me into a big hug and gave me a big kiss on the cheek. I could see Nolan standing there with a scowl on his face, but I ignored him.
“How have you been?” Lucas grinned at me. “I was just about to send you a message for a date.”
“Oh yeah?” I smiled up at him. His big blue eyes were bluer than I remembered them being and he had filled out nicely. “A message or a letter?” I said jokingly looking at the letters in his hand.
“A message,” he said smoothly. “I can’t believe we matched on the dating app. How fortuitous.”
“Yes, it’s not like we would have spoken any other way.” I laughed at my joke. “Though I guess written words aren’t actually spoken.”
“Uh, yeah,” he said as he looked my body over in a way that let me know that he very much liked what he was seeing. It should have made me feel good inside, but his look repulsed me slightly. He was a bit too lecherous in his glance; I mean he hadn’t seen me in years. “So, I guess I don’t need to message anymore. What about tomorrow night?”
“Tomorrow?” I said, seeing that Nolan’s face was not happy at all. What was his problem?
“I can’t do tomorrow.” Nolan almost barked. “That won’t work.”
“Huh?” Lucas turned toward him, his face confused. “Who are… wait, is that you, Nolan? Nolan Montgomery?”
“Yes.” Nolan looked surprised that Lucas knew who he was. “I didn’t realize you knew me.”
“Ha, everyone in our literature class knew you. Jules talked about you all the time.” Lucas looked toward me, his expression slightly unfocused. “Didn’t you have a huge crush on him in high school?” He nodded. “Yeah, you did. Wait are you guys dating?”
“No,” I screeched out, my face red. “No, no, and no.” And then I turned to Nolan. “This is a real date, not a date for the paper, you don’t need to be there.”
“I don’t think that’s allowed.” He gave me a death glare, and I wondered what his problem was.
“Sorry, what are you two talking about? Why is Nolan going on your dates?”
“It’s a long story,” I said. “I’ll tell you about it tomorrow night.”
“Aww, okay.” Lucas grinned, and I watched as he brushed his hair back from his face. “Sounds good. So I, better just pop into the post office but I’ll see you tomorrow?”
“Sounds good.” I nodded.
“I’ll message you,” he said with a smile and I laughed.
“Better message on the app and not by mail.” I grinned at him, but he just gave me a blank stare.
“Uh, yeah. Bye sweetness,” he said and before I knew it he was giving me a firm kiss on the lips before he headed off. “And there will be more of that waiting for you tomorrow.” He winked and walked away with me standing there with my jaw open.
“You’re really going to go out with that douche?” Nolan stared at me with narrowed eyes. “Really, Jules?”
“I mean, he sent me really sweet letters. He’s just shy,” I mumbled, but even as I said the words, they didn’t ring true. Would a shy guy really have kissed me like that?
“Yeah, he’s shy. Keep telling yourself that. You’ll be saying he tripped and his di
ck just slipped in as well.”
“Nolan!” I exclaimed, shocked at his words. “What’s your problem?”
“I can’t believe you think he’s Fitz.” He shook his head. “You’re totally just in your head, aren’t you?”
“What the hell is that supposed to mean?”
“It means that you only see what you want to see.”
“Okay, Nolan, whatever.” I sighed. “I’m off to Betsy’s to grab a coffee and cupcake so I have to go.”
“You know she’s not there, right?”
“Huh?” I blinked. “What do you mean? Where is she?”
“She’s at the police station,” he said a smug look on his face. “Delivering cupcakes to Jeff and the guys.”
“She what?” My jaw dropped. “Is she dating Jeff?”
“What?” It was his turn to look shocked. “Of course not. She just likes to donate cupcakes to the police force.”
“Uh-huh.” I shook my head. “And I’m the one that sees what I want to see.” I grabbed my phone and saw that I had some messages from some new guys on my dating apps. “Looks like work calls, I’ve just received some messages from some new guys.”
“Why don’t you let me help you choose your next date?” he asked with a grin. “I feel like you need some help.”
“Excuse me?”
“Well, Jose wasn’t a great match and Lucas doesn’t seem much better.”
“Lucas isn’t a work date,” I protested but he held his hand up.
“Come on, let’s go to Betsy’s. Grandma Elsie is there today and she’ll hook us up.” He grinned as my expression changed. He knew how much I loved Grandma Elsie and he also knew that she hooked me up with a lot more cupcakes than Betsy did.
“Fine,” I said with a sigh. “Let’s go.”
* * *
“Oh my dears, is today my lucky day or what?” Grandma Elsie beamed as we walked into the coffee shop. “My favorite grandson and my granddaughter’s favorite friend.”
“I’m your only grandson, Nana.” Nolan laughed as he hugged her. “And Jules is Betsy’s oldest friend.”
“Hi, Grandma Elsie.” I gave her a hug. “Nolan and I just came to do some work.”
“Ooh yes, for your dating articles, right? You guys must be working very hard together.”
“Uh yeah,” I said as she continued to beam at me.
“I did tell your parents and Malcolm that I thought this would be a great idea.”
“It was your idea?” I asked, surprised as she handed me over a plate of cupcakes. “What? Why?”
“Well, I did remember how well you and Nolan worked together in high school,” she continued as she started pouring two cups of coffee.
“We did?”
“When he helped you with your play dear…” She smiled at me as she handed me the cup. “The milk’s over there. Go easy on the sugar.”
“Thank you.” I blushed as she mentioned the play. “Oh yeah.”
“Though I don’t suppose you need much help with kissing anymore,” she said and my face went redder.
“Grandma Elsie, stop.” Nolan laughed as he took his cup of coffee from her. “You’re making Jules blush.”
“I’m not blushing,” I said and took a quick sip of coffee. “Hmm delicious.”
“We got some new free trade beans from Kenya.” Grandma Elsie nodded. “They are very good.”
“This coffee tastes almost as good as your lips,” Nolan whispered to me as he sat down across from me and I gave him a sharp look. “What?” He smiled innocently as I swatted his hand.
“Nothing.” I glared at him.
“Oh, you two,” Grandma Elsie laughed. “Still acting like you did when you were youngsters.”
“No,” I protested, but then laughed as I realized she was right. “I guess we bring that out in each other.”
“I guess so.” She smiled sweetly. “I always did wonder why the two of you never dated; especially after Nolan gave you that Pride and Prejudice first edition.”
“Huh?” I blinked, confused. “What first edition?”
“She never opened it, Nana.” Nolan shook his head at her. “She didn’t even know I gave it to her.”
“Oh, but didn’t she see what you wrote in it?”
“Nope.” He shook his head and gave me a wry smile. “Anyway, we have work to do.” He smiled at her. “So we need to concentrate.”
“I get the hint.” Her voice tinkled, and she stared at us for a few seconds before walking away. “They’ll figure it out,” she said under her breath and even though I didn’t know what she was talking about, I didn’t bother asking her to explain.
* * *
“So we have John, Oliver, and Barry lined up as good potential dates,” Nolan said after we’d gone through all my messages. “They seem interesting and will make for good articles.”
“Barry has a foot fetish,” I said, shaking my head. “And John says that he likes to wear women’s panties.” I glared at Nolan as he burst out laughing. “These guys are not good potential dates.”
“They are good potential stories, plus, I thought you were all about Lucas?” he said with narrowed eyes.
“I’m not all about Lucas,” I protested, and then sighed. “I don’t know, I want to give him a chance. His letters really made me feel good in high school and college and well, he just dropped off of the face of the earth. And I was never able to tell him.”
“Oh why?”
“He never left a return address before. And he never revealed himself. I always wanted to know who he was. Always wanted to meet him.”
“And you always hoped it was him?” he asked me with his head cocked to the side.
“Well, no…” My voice trailed off. How could I tell Nolan that I’d always hoped it was him that had been sending the letters? That I’d dreamed about him revealing himself to me and sweeping me off of my feet. Obviously, that hadn’t happened and I didn’t want him to feel awkward. “So, tell me about you, why do you have such an aversion to long-term relationships?”
“Who said I had an aversion?” His smile was wide as he sat back.
“Well, you’ve never been in one and you’re always telling me all you do is hookups. Like in college…” My voice trailed off again.
“Oh that,” he said with a frown. “That wasn’t exactly true.”
“Oh?”
“I didn’t just want a hookup, but I didn’t want to take advantage of you.”
“Take advantage of me?”
“You were crying over Mark.” He sighed. “What sort of man would I be to sleep with a woman still in tears over her ex. I wasn’t going to be that guy, no matter how much I wanted you.”
“Oh.” I bit my lower lip and thought hard. Should I tell him that I hadn’t been crying because of Mark? Should I tell him that I’d been crying out of happiness and that my body had been delirious with the pleasure that he’d given me? No, I couldn’t tell him that. It was embarrassing to have him know that his tongue had given me more pleasure than my ex’s cock.
“Yeah, so that was why.” He leaned forward now. “I’d quite like a relationship with the right girl.”
“Oh?” I was surprised and my heart started racing. “Really?”
“Really.” He grinned. “But until I meet her, I’m ready to just have some fun.”
“Oh, I see.” My heart dropped then. He just wanted to have fun with me. “Well, I better go now, I’m sure Malcolm is wondering where I am.”
“Oh, okay.” Nolan paused for a few seconds as if he wanted to say something else. “I sent him the video so I guess your first article will be going live soon.”
“Yes, it will.” I groaned. “Only twenty-nine more dates to go,” I said and jumped up. “Well, I’ll be seeing you. Bye, Nolan, bye, Grandma Elsie.”
15
“Betsy Montgomery, you better call me back ASAP,” I said to her answering machine as I arrived home after work. “A little birdy told me you were at the police station. What’
s going on?” I said before I hung up the phone and headed to my bedroom. “Hey, Heathcliff.” I patted my dog as he looked up from my bed. “I’m looking for a gift that Nolan gave me,” I said as I opened my closet. “Where had I put that package?” I rifled through my things and when I came up empty, I sat on the bed and tried to think. As I was sitting my phone started ringing, and I grabbed it, surprised to see Nolan’s number and not Betsy’s.
“Oh hey,” I said as I answered the phone. “What’s up?”
“Were you expecting someone else?”
“Yes, actually,” I said and he laughed. I didn’t bother telling him that I was waiting on a call back from Betsy. Let him think I had lots of guys after me.
“What are you doing tonight?”
“Tonight?”
“Yes, tonight.”
“Nothing, why?”
“I was thinking we could play a board game or something,” he said smoothly. “And you could bring me a bottle of wine this time.”
“You want me to play a board game with you?” I was shocked. “Why?”
“Because I think it will be fun. Or do you not agree?”
“Can I not agree?”
“Come over at seven. I’ll order a pizza.”
“Yes, boss,” I said and with that, he laughed and hung up. “Well, that was Nolan,” I said to Heathcliff who had already gone back to dozing against my pillow. “He wants me to come over to hang out. It’s totally not a big deal,” I said. “I bet he just wants sex. Well, little does he know, I’m not about to just hook up with him,” I said out loud again and in my mind I really meant it. That didn’t stop me from running to the shower to wash my hair and shave though. And when I say shave I meant everywhere (just in case, of course).
* * *
“I cannot believe that you beat me.” Nolan grabbed his can of beer and chugged it down. “Again.” He groaned as I did a little victory dance.
“Well, I am the Queen of Monopoly,” I said laughing, feeling slightly tipsy from the lemon drop cocktails he had made me. “And Uno.”
“You’ve gone from the Queen of First Dates to the Queen of Uno,” he said and stood up and moved closer to me. “What shall we do now?” he said as he stopped in front of me.