We walked the property and he showed me the spots where fallen trees needed to be cut and hauled away. Grass and leaves needed mowing and bagging. The fence surrounding the place needed to be repaired, potholes in the dirt road needed filling in. A lot of labor. But I formulated a plan for how to tackle each task. Every day after school, I hauled my ass out there and worked the solid four hours the home allowed.
The counselors were so impressed with my work ethic, they even arranged a schedule to pick me up at the end of my shifts. Of all my years in foster care, this was the first time my life didn’t feel like a clusterfuck of chaos and frustration.
Ulfric worked me hard. But at least he had the right equipment for all the jobs he wanted done. If I needed something he didn’t have, he made sure I had it right away.
This new, tighter schedule didn’t allow me much time with Juliet. We still met every morning. In the afternoons, I’d walk her home before jumping on the bus.
“I miss you,” she said as we passed Mrs. Shields’ house one afternoon.
“Miss you too, butterfly, but—”
“No, I’m not trying to make you feel bad. I’m really proud of you.” The corner of her mouth curled up. “Maybe jealous.”
“Ulfric’s going to be hiring for the ice cream shop out front in a few weeks. I’ll get you an application.”
“That would be perfect. We can spend all summer working together.”
“Juliet!” Mrs. Shields called. “Roman!”
I smiled and waved as Juliet and I headed up the driveway.
“How are you, Mrs. Shields?” I asked.
“Good!” She focused on Juliet. “I wanted to talk to you, dear. I’m going to go visit my daughter for a couple weeks and wanted to know if you’d watch the house for me?”
“Oh.” Juliet glanced at me. “Sure. I can do that.”
“You can stay here. I’ll make up the guest room for you and you can use my car.”
“Oh no. I don’t need…You don’t have to do that.”
“Please, dear? I feel much better if someone I trust is here watching the place. And your aunt and uncle aren’t far if you need anything.” An edge crept into her voice, surprising since Mrs. Shields was generally such a pleasant woman. Maybe she knew how useless Juliet’s guardians were.
“You have your license, right?” she insisted.
“Well, yes.”
“So, there you go!” Mrs. Shields ushered us into the house and pressed a set of keys into Juliet’s hands. “There is some food here, but I’ll leave you grocery money on the counter.”
“Mrs. Shields—-”
“No, no. No arguing.” Mrs. Shields pressed a finger against her lips, making Juliet laugh.
“When are you leaving?”
“Tomorrow morning.”
“Oh! Wow. Okay.”
Mrs. Shields shrugged. “Might as well live a little and be spontaneous, right?”
Juliet laughed. “I guess so.”
Twenty-Six
Juliet
Is it wrong that the first thing I thought about was how maybe house-sitting would give me an opportunity for private time with Roman? I wasn’t worried about how to explain it to my aunt and uncle. I doubt they’d care one way or another, except that I wouldn’t be around to clean up after dinner for them.
I was dying to be alone with Roman. Really alone. Where no teachers would burst in on us. No angry uncles would show up.
Just the two of us.
After we left Mrs. Shields, Roman and I walked to my house slowly. I knew he needed to catch the bus to get to his job and I was about to remind him when he took my hand.
“How would you feel about a visitor?”
A thrill ran through me. He had the same idea.
I knew Roman cared about me. He showed me every day. But I still couldn’t help wanting the reassurance that he was as into our relationship as I was.
“I’d feel good about it.”
“I can’t stay…late, but…”
“It’s okay. Whatever you can do.” I already knew he felt imprisoned by the home’s strict oversight of his whereabouts, I didn’t want to call attention to it and make him feel worse.
“There’s a chance our curfew will be extended for prom. I was going to talk to you about it.”
Prom would be expensive. For both of us. I knew he’d been working hard and saving his money. I hated to have him blow it on one night of frivolous high school stuff. Not when he was trying to save for his future.
“Let’s skip prom,” I suggested.
He stopped and stared at me, a slight frown crinkling his brow. “You don’t want to skip prom. Vienna said you already have a dress and everything.”
Sure, before I met Roman, prom seemed like the height of my high school existence. Now, when our time together was so precious and rare, the last thing I wanted to do was waste it on bad food, loud music, and the people I saw every day in school.
I tugged on his hand, drawing him closer. “Let’s have our own, private prom. You and me.”
He swallowed hard and searched my face. “Are you sure? I don’t want you to be mad at me later because you missed it.”
“I think I’ll be more upset if I waste the night with our classmates, when I could be alone with you.”
“I can’t disagree with that.”
Twenty-Seven
Roman
I couldn’t believe I was nervous about prom night. Something so mundane. An event I never thought I’d attend.
Well, technically, I wasn’t attending prom. I’d be dropped off with the other four kids from the house who were going, but then I’d slip away and meet Juliet at Mrs. Shields’ house.
It cost me a prom ticket and a tuxedo rental, but it was worth it.
“Slumming it with us tonight, Roman?” Sam sneered as I sat in the first seat in the van.
“Roman’s been so busy,” Janet added. “I’m surprised he can leave the house for some fun.”
Both of them still blamed me for Evie’s banishment. As usual, I ignored their taunts.
“That hot piece of ass girl gonna put out for you tonight?” Sam asked.
“Fuck off,” I snarled. While I didn’t care what they said about me, talking about Juliet that way wasn’t happening.
“Sit down and shut up or you’re not going, Squire!” Mike yelled.
“She’s not that hot,” Janet simpered. “She’s kinda fat.”
I rolled my eyes but didn’t turn around or acknowledge the comment. Every inch of Juliet was fucking perfect. That’s why girls like Janet tried to tear her down all the time.
At the school, Mike stepped out of the van with us and patted me on the shoulder. “Have fun. You deserve it. You’ve been working hard.” He squinted at me. “Just not too much fun.”
“Thanks.”
“Midnight!” he yelled to the others. “You’re late, you’re grounded.”
Everyone groaned but promised to be waiting out front at midnight. After he left, I said hello to a few other kids I knew who were hanging around outside. Once Mike drove off, I edged away from the crowd into the shadows. When I was sure no one noticed my disappearance, I sprinted for the park.
Enough moonlight filtered through the trees to illuminate the way. Prom sounds from the school followed me into the woods. A few kids had also snuck away for some “alone time.” Soft moaning and other noises came and went as I jogged through the dirt path that would take me to Juliet.
As I came out on the other side, the glow from one of the upstairs windows of Mrs. Shields’ house caught my attention.
Low, soft lights. Candles?
My cock stirred in my too-tight, rented tuxedo trousers. We hadn’t talked about what exactly we planned to do with our night. I couldn’t deny t
hat I was dying to make love to Juliet. I’d even taken a few of the condoms the counselors kept shoving at me and stuffed them in my pocket. Just in case.
Except losing our virginity to each other when I couldn’t even spend the whole night with her didn’t seem right.
I pulled out my phone and sent her a text.
Almost there.
The lights downstairs winked on and I picked up my pace. By the time I arrived, I’d have sweat rolling down my ass crack, but I was so eager to see her, I didn’t even care.
This house-sitting gig of hers made me nervous. I hated that she was alone and unprotected all night. Not that her aunt and uncle provided much protection, but at least she wasn’t by herself. I’d warned her not to answer any knocks at the door for any reason after dark.
As promised, she didn’t open the door until I knocked and called her name.
I had no words when I finally saw her.
“Juliet.” My gaze roamed over every inch of her slight frame. From shoulders to just above her knees, she was encased in dark red, shimmering lace. The material hugged her curves and glimpses of skin at her shoulders and legs teased me through the lace. It still covered more than most of the girls’ dresses I’d spotted at prom before slipping away. Maybe that’s why it was so much sexier. “You’re beautiful,” I finally added, realizing I was staring at her like a slack-jawed moron.
“And you’re very handsome.” She stepped back. “Come in.”
She’d been house-sitting for over a week now, and I hadn’t come inside once. I'd been convinced we’d lose control and rip each others’ clothes off if given the chance. Now, I cursed myself for being an idiot.
Her breath hitched when I brushed up against her. She peeked up at me from under her long, darkened lashes. She’d obviously spent time on curling her hair and all the other primping girls did for big events. A pang of regret resonated inside my chest. Maybe she’d be sorry we didn’t go to prom after all. It wasn’t too late. I still had my ticket and I could buy her one at the door.