Jules let out a laugh and fell back on the bed. “Yeah, right. I’m the jealous one of the two of us. You’re the most chill boyfriend ever. You never had a problem with Erin dating other people when you were broken up. Hell, you probably told her she could sleep with other people if that would make her happy.”
I thought back to the texting we’d done after the breakup letter. “I actually did that,” I admitted. “But make no mistake. My lack of jealousy and possessiveness over Erin has nothing to do with how I feel about you. You’re in a whole different category.”
He turned his head on the pillow to face me again. The little dark curl over his ear that I loved so much drew my attention the way it always did. “How do you mean?” he asked. “Why would it be any different with me?”
I rolled over on top of him and braced my arms around his head to look directly into his eyes. “Everything is different with you. It always has been. Do you remember in third grade when Heather Jamison spilled her fruit punch on you at lunch and told everyone you peed yourself?”
Julian’s brows furrowed in confusion. “Uh, no?”
“Well, she did. And when she got sent to the principal’s office the following day, you thought it was unrelated. It wasn’t. I stole Ms. Trainor’s emergency chocolate bar from her top drawer and shoved it in Heather’s desk. Then I got Bart what’s-his-name to find it and tattletale. I wouldn’t commit petty theft for just anyone.”
Jules turned his head to kiss my forearm. “Sneaky little shit. You’ve always had my back. Like the time we were at that bar watching the Broncos game and you almost got in a bar fight with that guy who got in my face.”
The memory of that night filled me with rage all over again. Jules had complimented a woman on her dress, and the woman’s drunk boyfriend had mistaken Jules’s compliment for flirting. I’d found out later Hazel had recently ordered the same dress, so Julian had known that particular item was popular and hard to find.
“Fucking prick,” I muttered. “I would have put him down if you hadn’t stepped in front of me.”
Julian’s eyes glimmered. “One good shove was enough, babe. Anything more would have gotten us both arrested. You for decking the guy and me for busting you out of the patrol vehicle.”
“I should have kissed you on the mouth instead,” I said, looking down at his plush lips. “Maybe that would have convinced him you weren’t interested in his girlfriend.”
He grinned. “You’ve obviously forgotten Erin was with us. Not to mention I was dating Shane at the time, and he was a rabid monogamist, unlike Nolan. He was angry enough when you defended me before he had a chance to.”
“Shane,” I scoffed. I remembered the man Jules dated that year. He hadn’t exactly been the aggressive type. “Did he ever tell you about the time Tiller and I had words with him after a Riggers/Broncos game?”
Julian’s eyes widened in surprise. “No?”
I couldn’t help but steal a kiss of those full lips before telling him the story. When I finished, they were red and wet. I kissed him again quickly before pulling back. “He told Erin he planned to get you a pair of lovebirds for your birthday as a surprise.”
If it was possible for his eyes to widen even farther, they did. “Jesus fuck. His mom had pet birds. I hated them. He knew that. They never shut up, and they live for, like, decades.”
“She told him you wouldn’t like that and it was never a good idea to get someone a pet without talking to them first. Shane told her he knew you better than we did. I think you’d been dating for maybe six weeks at that point.”
Julian’s legs came up to wrap around my ass. My cock was already chubbing up between us. Being naked and pressed against him was a new privilege.
“You and Tiller talked him out of it, I assume,” he said. “Why didn’t you just tell me?”
I leaned in close and dropped my voice. “I didn’t like the guy. He thought he knew you better than I did. He didn’t.”
Julian’s hands cupped the sides of my neck. “No. No one ever has,” he said softly.
“Tiller and I informed him that surprise birds were a little bit like boomerangs, and he might want to make sure he had all the necessary accouterments in place before receiving his boomerang birds. I may have also mentioned that birds tended to multiply in the process of returning to the original gift giver.”
Julian’s gorgeous lips widened as his laughter took over. “You’re such a meddling asshole,” he accused. Thankfully, he didn’t seem all that bothered. “How many other times have you gone behind my back as my own personal thug?”