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?"