Chapter Forty-Two
Julian
“, how did my shoe get stuck in the lamp?” Josephine asked as I buttoned up my pants.
I turned to look over my shoulder. Sure enough, Josephine’s high heel was wedged between the wall of Dean’s boat and the bedside lamp. A few inches to the left and I would have busted the light bulb.
“I think I was just ripping stuff off you,” I explained. “I don’t have great aim when you have your shirt off.”
She glared at me and then bent to retrieve her shirt from the floor. I’d wanted to just throw it overboard but I knew she would have killed me. Even still, as she buttoned her blouse back up, I took every opportunity to get my fill of her while I could.
“They’re breasts, Julian,” she laughed. “You can literally type ‘boobs’ into Google and see half a million of them.”
I smirked. “None quite as perfect as yours though. I know; I’ve tried to find them.”
She reached to throw one of Dean’s pillows at my head and I realized I’d underestimated her ability as it clocked me in the side of the face.
“Oh my gosh, I’m sorry!” she said, rushing toward me. “You were supposed to duck.”
I laughed. “It didn’t hurt, Jo. It’s a pillow.”
She held my hands back so she could get a good look at the side of my face and I made the most disgusting face I could imagine.
“It’s okay, right?” I joked.
She rolled her eyes. “Even with pillow-face, you’re still the hottest guy I know.”
I smiled. “Is that why you let me sneak you down here?”
We’d both had a free Saturday afternoon and I’d come up with the brilliant idea to sneak onto Dean’s boat to finish what we’d started weeks ago. Fortunately, I knew where Dean hid a spare set of keys to the cabin. We’d decided to skip over the boat’s bed; laundering sheets isn’t really my thing. Instead, we started out in the cabin and then made our way to the bathroom and beyond. Dean’s boat had officially been christened.
She let go of my hands and turned back to retrieve her pants from the floor.
“To be honest, I have zero willpower where you’re concerned,” she admitted.
I grinned. “Good. That works in my favor.”
We spent a few minutes cleaning up Dean’s boat and ensuring we left it in the same state that we’d found it. Dean was a stickler for order. Every single piece of furniture had to be in an exact spot. His obsessive behavior extended into all areas of his life, which is probably why his businesses were so successful.
“Seriously, the cabinets in here are labeled,” Jo yelled from the bathroom. “He has little tags that say ‘towels’ and ‘toilet paper’.”
I laughed.
“I feel bad for the girl who ends up with him,” she said. “Could you imagine living with him?!”
I tried to recall one of Dean’s girlfriends. There were dates every now and then, but I couldn’t recall a single woman who’d managed to hold his attention or met his standards for more than a few weeks.
“I don’t think he’s planning on settling down anytime soon anyway. He’s too busy taking over the earth,” I said.
She walked out of the bathroom a few minutes later after declaring it clean.
“And what about you?” she asked.
“Am I too busy to settle down?”
She nodded and watched me carefully.
I smiled. “I care more about enjoying earthly pleasures. You can put the towels and toilet paper wherever you want, so long as you keep doing that thing with your tongue.”
She stepped forward and kissed me. I reached out to hold her against me to prolong the kiss as long as possible, but she was too quick.
“Why am I not surprised by that answer?” she asked.
I shrugged and attempted to concentrate on much more pressing matters, like my stomach.
“I’m starving. Are you hungry?”
Her smile faltered. “I have to head home and pack.”
“Pack for what?” I asked, forcing a calm demeanor. In reality, it felt like someone had hit me in my gut as hard as they could.
She crossed her arms.
“I’m going home for a week to visit my dad for his 60th birthday, remember? Stop giving me that look!”
I immediately changed my face. What? Was I frowning or something?
“Already?” I asked, confused by how quickly time had passed in the last few days.
She nodded.
Another punch to my gut, this time a little more on its mark. I tugged my hands through my hair, trying to calm down. Why did it feel like she was leaving for good? Maybe because in the last seven days, she’d hardly had any time for me. Part of the reason I’d stolen her away to Dean’s boat was because I knew she wouldn’t be able to get cell service out at the marina.
“I leave tomorrow.”
WHAT?
Calm down, asshole. It’s only a few days.
It’s nothing.
“I wish you weren’t leaving tomorrow.”
You were supposed to calm down before you spoke…
She furrowed her brows and crossed her arms tighter. Her green eyes, usually clear and inviting, were warning me to relax.
“I’m sorry,” she said, though she didn’t sound like she actually was. “I didn’t think it’d be that big of a deal.”
Shit. Shit. Shit. I was fucking all this up. It wasn’t a big deal.
I stepped closer and reached for her hands; she kept them wrapped around her waist until I pried them away and clutched them tightly.
“What if I got us some takeout and came to your place to help you pack?” I asked.
I didn’t care if I sounded desperate. I was a little desperate, and what did it matter as long as Dean wasn’t around to hear me sound like a sad sap?
Her face softened. “Chinese?”
I smiled. “Whatever you want.”
She nodded. “Okay, but I seriously have to pack. I leave at 6:00 in the morning and haven’t even printed out my ticket.”
I held up my hands as a sign of innocence.
She arched her brow and I smiled. She knew me better than that.
“All right, I’ll be honest. I had plans to take advantage of you once you were in a wonton-induced haze, but now, I promise I’ll keep my hands to myself.”