I grab his arm and pull him toward the kitchen when Charlie’s footsteps bustle down the stairway. “Wow, Adriana, how good is that strawberry body wash. I should recommend it to a lady in my gym who has the stinkiest vag—” She halts at the bottom of the stairs, keeping her expression to no more than a faint smile.
“Was going upstairs to get you, but—”
She interrupts me, smiling warmly at both of us. “No. Hey, it’s okay. Hi, Julian.”
“Hi, yourself.” He grins back at her.
Oh, this is awkward.
“So, how you been?” Charlie asks politely.
“Great, and you?”
“Yeah, good.”
We all fall into a digestive silence until I open my mouth. “Okay, this is awkward. And I mean more awkward than the scene in America Pie where Jim is caught humping the pie.”
Julian and Charlie laugh in unison, breaking the tension in the room.
I realize the only person making this awkward is me. I wrap my arms around his waist and snuggle my head into his chest. He smells like aftershave—sweet, cool, and sensual. Dressed in a white polo and navy dress shorts, his tan looks nice and even. I missed him.
“Oh, shucks, you two.” Charlie beams. “No awkwardness from me, okay? And I reiterate… me.”
“Thank you, Charlie. It means a lot to us,” Julian says.
“I know you got my back. So, are you going straight home?” I ask.
She nods. “Yep. Hopefully, the beast has sobered up and not trashed our house.”
“Call me later, okay?” I let go of Julian to hug Charlie.
She squeezes me tightly and whispers in my ear. “I think this will work out.”
I smile at the sentiment, letting go of her. She steps forward and makes an effort to hug Julian. At first, he seems conflicted, but I see his body relax.
“It was nice seeing you again. Take good care of my girl, okay?” She pulls away and says goodbye, exiting through the back door.
Relief washes over me, and I immediately feel like a weight is lifted off my shoulders. Okay, maybe only one weight. My hands entwine with his as I lead him up the stairs to my bedroom. I said I was uncomfortable having him here, but my body needs him more than ever. He is quick to discourage me, but I hush him, closing the door behind me. Inside the room, my drapes are wide open with the sun filtering through. I tug on his shirt, pulling his body in flush with mine. His eyes are boring into me, filled with hunger and thirst, the same strong emotions which consume me. He tilts his head moving in, brushing his lips softly against mine. It travels directly to where it intended to go, the fire of passion ignites in just one kiss. My mouth moves back to his, nibbling his bottom lip with a gentle tug. His moans are trapped in our kisses, urging me to take a few steps backward until we’ve both fallen onto my bed. I pull away for a brief moment, staring directly into his eyes.
“Make love to me. Here. Please.”
And just when he opens his mouth to say something, my cell rings, the loud noise bouncing off the walls. I excuse myself, worried it could be Andy. I roll over until I’m within arms’ reach of the bedside table just in time to see the name Mary Jean flash on the screen. Just fucking great. If I don’t pick up the phone, she will call like a crazed stalker ten times in a row.
“Hi, Mary Jean.” I mouth to Julian “I will be quick.”
“Darl! How is my gran-baby? Can I talk to him?” she almost shouts.
“Andy’s great. He isn’t here with me. Slept at a friend’s house last night.”
“Well, why would he need to? You’re his mama…”
This isn’t the first time Mary Jean has put in her two cents worth, and judging by her raised tone, she may have slipped some bourbon into her morning coffee.
“Listen, I need to go. How about I give you a call tonight when he’s home?”
Seems like a good compromise, but typical Mary Jean has to ramble on. I listen for another two minutes before I quickly say goodbye, hanging up the call. I switch the cell to silent, not to be interrupted.
“We should probably talk,” Julian insists.