Absolute Lovers (Absolute #2) (5 page)

"Thank you, I will."

"So you're really serious about her?" he asked.

"Yes. Absolutely.”

"How old is she?" he asked curiously. My mother
made a sound and rolled her eyes at him.

"Twenty-two.”

"Well, at least she's legal," my mother muttered. I
shot her a look.

"Sorry," she said, sitting down on the opposite
end of the couch. "This is something of a shock."

"It was for me, too," I said. "I've never met
anyone like her before and I never expected to fall for her."

"And does she feel the same way about you?"

"I don't know," I admitted. "Julia is very…gun-shy
about relationships. I'm trying to win her over."

"I'm sure us barging in on you didn't help," Rich
said. "I'm really sorry. We heard…uh, noises. It sounded like—"

"Please don't say anything else!" The last thing I
needed was my stepfather giving me a description of said “noises.”

"Sorry.”

"If you're really serious about her, I want to meet her
again," my mother said in a very determined voice.

Oh no.

"I…I
really
don't think that's the best idea.”

"Stephen, I wasn't exactly polite to her before. I want
to change that," she said. "You can bring her over for the Fourth of
July."

"She won't go," I said immediately.

"I'm sure she will if you ask her nicely," my
mother said, as if the matter were resolved. "Or you can give me her
number and I'll invite her myself."

"No!" I half-yelled. "I'll ask her."

I will?

"Good," she said with a smile. "We should get
going. We can have lunch another time. I'm sure the two of you will want to be
alone right now. Richard?"

She stood up and when she wasn’t looking, my stepfather
grinned at me. I followed them out and my mother gave me a hug.

"Take care, dear," she said and kissed my cheek.
"Give Julia my best."

"Uh, I will," I said, completely shocked by the turn
of events.

"See both of you on the Fourth, son," my
stepfather said with a smirk as they walked out. I had almost closed the door
when I heard Richard laugh in the distance.

"I told you the boy wasn't gay. Pay up, dear!"

Oh my God. My own mother!

I shut the door, resting my forehead against the cool glass.
How on earth was I going to invite Julia to my parents' formal garden party
without scaring her away completely?

Is it too early for a drink?

I spent the two hours after my
parents left trying to find a good way to ask Julia to go to their Fourth of
July party. Not surprisingly, I came up empty. Going to my parents' house for a
party would definitely move our relationship beyond that of sex-buddies and
dangerously close to boyfriend/girlfriend. I wanted us to belong to the latter
category more than anything, but I wasn't sure if this was the right time to
take such a monumental step forward. Julia was already stressing about finals
and grieving for her grandfather. I feared that something like this might be
too much for her to handle. And yet I wanted nothing more than to enter my
parents' house with her hand in mine, showing the world—or at least my
family—that she was with me and I was with her.

My phone beeped.

I wrote back immediately.

I realized too late that I had just referred to my apartment
as “home” and hoped that it wasn't too much for her.

That has got to be the best text message ever written.

My heart pounded with excitement and I could hardly sit
still while I waited for her to return to me. When I heard the front door open,
it made me ridiculously happy all over again. She didn't knock or ring the
bell, but simply walked in as if she truly lived here with me.

I jumped up and met her in the hallway where she was hanging
up her jacket. She only had time to put her messenger bag on the floor before I
was all over her, kissing her like I hadn't seen her in days rather than hours.
She threw her arms around my neck and kissed me back just as passionately until
we had to pull apart to breathe.

"Wow," she panted into my neck. "That's quite
a welcome."

"I missed you," I whispered.

"I missed you, too.” She took my hand and led us into
the living room where we sat on the couch.

"So," she said, and pulled out a takeout bag of
cookies for me. "Does your mom hate me for corrupting her son?"

"No!" I said immediately. "No, not at
all."

She raised her eyebrows at me. "Really?"

"Richard was a little…proud, I think," I said, fidgeting
with the bag.

She laughed and shook her head. "He sounds pretty cool.
He’s your stepfather, right?

I nodded.

“I hope you don’t mind that I called them your parents.”

“Well, they are,” I said. “I mean, Rich has been around for
almost as long as I can remember. And Matt, of course.”

“I can see the resemblance. They’re both pretty outgoing,
aren’t they?”

“Definitely.”

“And your dad?” she asked. “What was he like?”

I thought for a moment. What could I tell her? Most of my
knowledge came from what my mom had told me. My memories of him were hazy, like
a dream, and I wasn’t sure if most of them were real or imagined anymore.

“He was like me, I guess,” I finally said. “Or I’m like him,
I suppose. That’s what my mom says, anyway.” I pointed to my record collection
and the player across the room. “Those were his. And a lot of my books as well.
I don’t remember him that clearly, but when I listen to his albums or read
something he liked…it’s like knowing him in a way.”

Julia nodded, drawing a breath. “That’s really nice,” she
whispered. “That you’ve kept so much of his stuff and you use it so often.”

“Did you, ah, do the same? With your parents, I mean?” I
asked carefully.

She shook her head. “I would have,” she said. “But they died
in a house fire. Our house. There wasn’t much left, so…”

“I’m—I’m so sorry. Julia, that’s… God, I’m so sorry.” Not
sure what else to do, I threw my arms around her, holding her tightly. She had
been through so much for someone so young, and I wanted nothing more than to
somehow shield her from the cruelty of the world. No wonder she was usually so
closed off. I couldn’t imagine losing both my parents like that, so suddenly. I
still had my mom, and she rebuilt our family, giving me not only a loving
stepfather but a stepbrother as well.

Julia sighed, leaning into my embrace. “I’m OK,” she said.
“Can we talk about something else, please?”

“Of course,” I promised, easing my hold on her. “Whatever
you want.”

"So what did your mom say after I left?" she asked
after a little while. "Do I even want to know?"

"She wants you to come to their Fourth of July garden
party," I blurted out.

That was definitely
not
the way to ask her.
I am an idiot.

"She what?" Julia asked slowly, leaning back to
look up at me. "A
garden
party? Do people even have those outside of
the movies?"

I sighed. "Every year."

"Wow," she said. "Your family is like from a
different time."

"So…what do you think?"

She blinked. "About what?"

"The, um, party. Do you want to go?"

Oh, real smooth. What happened to romancing and wooing
her?

"Are you going?"

"I have to," I admitted.

Now ask her properly, and do not say “um.”

"Um, Julia—"

Moron!

I sighed and ran my hands through my hair. Why was I so
nervous? The worst thing that could happen was that she would say no, and it
wouldn't change anything between us. But deep down, I knew that wasn't true. I
wanted her to come with me, if not as my girlfriend then at least as my date.
If she turned me down now it would be painfully clear that we were just sex-buddies
in Julia's mind, and it would break my heart a little.

I took a deep breath and tried again, holding her hands in
mine.

"Julia, I would be honored if you would accompany me to
my parents' garden party. It’ll be boring and formal, but if you're there with
me, I won't even notice. You're smart, funny, and beautiful and I love spending
time with you. Please come with me?"

"OK," she said with a small smile, reaching into
the bag for a cookie.

"Holy shit—really?"

I clamped my hand over my mouth, not accustomed to the sound
of myself swearing and not comfortable with it. At least, not outside the
bedroom. During sex it was oddly gratifying and something of an aphrodisiac for
some reason.

"Sure." She shrugged. "If it means that much
to you, I can schmooze with a few WASPs over cocktails. Plus, I'd like your
mother to get a better impression of me."

My lips were on hers instantly and my hands were buried in
her hair. She made a surprised sound but kissed me back after a few seconds.
When she parted her soft lips I slid my tongue into her mouth. She tasted like
chocolate from the cookie and I couldn't get enough of her. I groaned when her
tongue massaged mine and I felt her hands on my shoulders pulling me closer.
After a few minutes, I cupped her face in my hands and kissed her three times;
my way of saying “I love you.”

"Thank you," I whispered.

"No problem.” Her smile was radiant. "I should get
back to work."

"Yeah, you should go study," I agreed. "I'll
come get you when dinner's ready."

She sighed and leaned in for another kiss. "You're too
good to be true, Mr. Worthington."

"That's
Professor
Worthington to you, Ms. Wilde,"
I growled playfully, grabbing her backside.

"Oh God," she whispered. "Don't start. I have
to study. Maybe we can do something tonight."

"Sorry," I murmured. "Go. I won't distract
you anymore."

She stood up and grinned. "Puh-lease," she said,
motioning to me with her hand. "Just knowing that you're out here is more
than enough to distract me. But I'll go anyway and try not to think about your
fine ass or any of your other attributes." She smiled over her shoulder
and walked out, hips swaying sensually with each step.

And she thinks that
I'm
a tease?

I kept myself busy and tried not to think about Julia
sitting in my office in her short skirt. When she took a shower before dinner I
did my best not to imagine her naked body, warm water cascading down it. And
during dinner I made every effort not to think about her lips wrapped around a
hard, throbbing part of my anatomy, even though it was nearly impossible
whenever she took a bite of her grilled chicken. She ate it with her fingers
and licked them repeatedly, much to my pleasure and torment. The entire meal
seemed like a long session of foreplay, and when Julia suggested a movie after
dinner, I knew that I had no intention of actually watching it.

“Do you like vampire movies?” I asked, holding up my DVD copy
of
The Hunger
.

“I’m not really a romance kind of girl,” Julia replied,
shrugging. “But I’ll try anything once.”

“You will? Anything?”

She laughed, reaching for the movie. “Does that surprise
you?”

“No.” I sat next to her again. “I like how open-minded you
are. And this isn’t strictly a romance. You’ll see. ”

She smiled at me before turning her attention to the cover. “Holy
shit,” she whispered. “David Bowie is in this movie.”

“Uh, yeah, you like him?”

“Like him? I
love
his music!” she exclaimed. “How
have I not watched this before?”

“I, uh, don’t know. I guess it’s not that well-known amongst
you young people.”

She rolled her eyes at me. “OK, old-timer. Educate me. What’s
it about?”

“It’s about a very old vampire who takes human lovers, who
get to live for a long time as her consort. But after a few centuries, their
time is up, and she has to find a new human as her companion.”

“So what happens to them?” she asked. “They just die?”

“Let’s watch it,” I suggested. “Visually, it’s a beautiful
movie, and the score is fantastic, too.”

She looked up at me, smiling. “You’re very different from
any other guy I’ve ever been with, you know?”

“Is that a good thing?”

“Very.”

I returned her smile, elated. Julia quickly became engrossed
in the movie, whereas my focus kept shifting to her. After holding back for a
full fifteen minutes, I finally leaned over to kiss her neck, placing my hand
on her naked thigh. As the movie progressed, my advances became more insistent.
I wanted her to enjoy the movie, but I couldn’t keep my hands off her.
Eventually, Julia turned away from the screen, looking amused by my advances. But
since she didn't object, I saw no reason to stop. I smiled and trailed soft
kisses down her neck.

"Turning a movie into a makeout session? God, Stephen,
this is like high school," Julia chuckled.

I snorted. Obviously, my high school experience differed
greatly from Julia's.

"What?" she asked, placing her hand on the back of
my head.

"I never did this in high school," I admitted.

"You never had sex?" she asked, massaging my scalp
gently.

I looked up at her. "Julia, I never even kissed a girl
until college."

"Why not?”

I shrugged. "I was so shy and nervous that I probably
would have vomited if a girl even touched me back then."

"Poor baby," she said softly, brushing her lips
against mine. "Well, feel free to make up for lost time with me. If you’d
like, we can pretend that we're seventeen again and all alone in your parents'
house.”

"R-really?” I gulped.

She nodded and smiled before turning back to the movie. I
stared at her, trying to wrap my mind around the scenario that she had created
at the drop of a hat. She certainly looked the part of a seventeen-year-old,
wearing a short denim skirt and a T-shirt with no makeup on her face. She was gorgeous
and why she wanted me, I couldn’t understand.

I wasn't about to let that stop me, though. The fantasy she
offered was far too enticing to pass up. But I did feel unsure about how to do
this sort of thing—role-playing, I supposed. I had played a bit of Dungeons
& Dragons in high school, but I found myself woefully unprepared,
regardless, and hoped this experience would be very, very different!

“So, uh, should we make up characters and stuff?” I asked.

Julia looked at me again, pressing her lips together. She
was trying to keep from laughing.

“Sorry,” I mumbled. “That was a stupid question, wasn’t it?”

Julia placed her hand on my cheek, gazing into my eyes. “No,”
she whispered. “Not stupid at all. But I don’t need to pretend to be someone
else when I’m with you. I’m Julia and you’re Stephen. That’s more than enough.”

Oh my God.

“For me as well,” I assured her. “I don’t want anyone else.”

“So what do you want to do?” she asked.

“Be with you. Touch you and kiss you, maybe…seduce you,
while you watch the movie?”

Flashing me a sexy smile, she nodded.

“And I…” My face heated.

“What?” she asked. “Tell me.”

“I, uh, I like the idea of pretending we’re seventeen. I
never got to experience anything like that. Is that…is that OK? We’ll be Julia
and Stephen in high school?”

“Baby, of course it is. We already talked about fantasies,
right?”

I nodded, remembering when Julia had dressed up as a
schoolgirl and how, at first, I’d felt like a pervert for liking her in that
outfit until she explained it to me.

“Well, this isn’t any different. It’s just a bit of fun.
Besides, I think seventeen-year-old me would have liked seventeen-year-old
you.”

I snorted. “I was such a loser.”

“Stop that!” she snapped. I recoiled slightly and she
reached for me, a look of contrition on her face.

“I’m sorry,” she said. “I don’t like it when you put
yourself down like that. I guess…it reminds me of how I used to be.”

I gaped at her.

“We were probably a lot alike,” she continued. “Bookish and
shy, and not good with the opposite sex.”