Modern Girl's Guide to One-Night Stands (8 page)

Of all the things she’d expected this summer, finding out that her impulsive one-night stand was with her friend’s brother wasn’t anywhere on the list. Megan didn't know about that night, and now Julia feared it would all come out.

“Earth to Julia,” Megan said. “Are you coming?”

They’d already moved into the house and Julia was just standing there like an idiot. “I can’t. I’m sweaty and need a shower.” Afraid that Megan would read the panic on her face, Julia rushed past them and upstairs. “I’ll be down later."

She spent the better part of two hours in her room getting ready after her shower. It wasn’t that she took any extra care in looking nice. No, the truth was she was hiding. This was going to be a disaster. Julia went over every possible scenario in her head, and still didn’t know what to do.

She had slept with her friend’s brother. How did she not know it was him? Megan and Julia had been friends ever since Megan had joined the faculty last fall. Megan talked about Simon all the time. There had even been photos of him at Megan’s house.

She tried to remember the wall of family pictures. There had been a few studio portraits from when Megan was a kid. The skinny six-year-old Megan sitting on a bench in front of a serious-looking blond boy. A group shot of their frail-looking mother and the two kids, barely teens at the time. Her mother had died of breast cancer just a few months after the photo was taken. Megan had told her it was the last photo they had taken as a family. She did have a few candid shots. There was a photo of their trip to Aspen, just after Megan’s college graduation. Simon and Megan were huddled together, arm in arm, smiling. But they had ski gear on, right down to the goggles. And there was another at a Cubs game. But again, there were ball caps and sunglasses.

The two looked nothing alike. With her dark hair and curvy figure, Megan was the complete opposite in the looks department. Other than the striking whiskey-colored eyes they both shared, there were no family similarities. Julia paced the room, racking her brain for any clue she’d missed.

How the fuck was she expected to connect the sexual Adonis she’d met at the bar to those crappy photos in Megan’s house? One photo with his face visible could have saved them both some embarrassment.

Her karma sucked. Out of all the men she could have had picked in all of Chicago, it had to be Megan’s brother. He was supposed to be her one act of rebellion. A single night in a lifetime of doing the responsible thing. When he’d said he was there for a business meeting, she thought he’d been passing through. Julia was sure she’d never see him again.

There was a knock on her door. “Julia? Are you okay? You’ve been up here for a long time.” Megan’s voice came from behind the solid wood door.

Julia threw on a robe and cracked open the bedroom door. “I’m sorry Meg. I’ve got a headache. I’m going to try to take a nap and I’ll join you guys for lunch.”

“Is it Simon? You don’t hate him, do you? He really is the nicest guy if you give him the chance.”

“No, really, it’s not Simon,” she said, trying to soothe Megan’s feelings. But how could she tell her it was Simon? It was bad enough that she’d slept with him, but the fact that Megan was trying to set them up was almost comical. “I’m really feeling run-down, but since we’re talking about him, I’m really not interested in being fixed up. I’m happy to hang out and get to know Peter and your brother," she said, almost choking on the last word. “Please don’t give him the impression that I’m interested. I don't want to start another relationship. I was lost with Luke. I’m just starting to find myself again.”

“I’m not asking you to get married. I just want you to loosen up a bit. You need to remember that you’re still a young, attractive woman. Since the breakup, you've done nothing but work. You’re doing more at the school. You’ve added that evening class to your schedule. You even started running more. You’re not finding yourself, Julia. You’re filling your time so you don’t have to face how much you’re hurting.”

Leave it to Megan to cut to the chase, but only part of what she said was true. Julia wasn’t running away from a failed relationship. She was trying hard to ignore the fact that the relationship had completely changed her. She had changed into a different person just to please Luke, and she really didn’t like the woman she’d become.

“Please, just leave it alone.” Julia closed her eyes and pressed her cheek against the cool wood of the door. “I can’t do this right now. My head is killing me. I’m just going to lie down and take a nap. Tell Peter and Simon I’m sorry. I’ll see you at lunch."

“Fine,” Megan said. “But don’t think this talk is over." Reluctantly, Megan left without saying another word.

Julia could tell she was disappointed and perhaps a little angry, but she’d deal with that later. Right now, she needed some time alone to decide what she was going to say to Simon.

Julia collapsed on the bed. The fictional headache had developed into a real one. She stared up at the ceiling, watching the shifting shadows from the trees outside the window. They mimicked her own tumultuous feelings, going light then dark.

Should she get him alone and try and smooth things over? Would he even listen? He didn’t say anything on the driveway. Did he just want to pretend that night never happened? Could she do that? Especially since he’d starred in every erotic fantasy she'd had since. Or did he not recognize her? God, that would be even worse. The most incredible sex she’d ever had, and he might not even remember her.

There was a soft knock on the door and Julia turned to the clock. She’d been lying there having a silent debate with herself for the last half hour, and still hadn’t come up with an answer. The knock came again, and she rolled away from the door, slamming the pillow over her face. She wasn’t ready to talk yet. If Megan thought she was asleep, maybe she’d go away.

Julia heard the door open and click closed again. “Damn it. I don’t want to talk about it right now.” She sat up and tossed the pillow toward the door.

Simon caught the pillow before it hit him and frowned. “Talk about what?” he asked.

She was shocked to see him standing there, leaning against the door, a deep frown marring that beautiful face. His large hands clenched the pillow in a death grip as he waited for her to answer. Julia couldn’t help but remember the feel of those hands on her body, and had to shake her head to banish the thought.

“I’m sorry. I thought you were Megan,” Julia said as she climbed out of the bed, thankful she was still dressed. But even with the yoga pants and a t-shirt, Julia felt naked under his gaze. Screwing up her courage, she crossed her arms over her chest and looked straight at him. “Did you need something?”

“What don’t you want to talk about with Megan?” His shirtsleeves were rolled up to the elbow, as though he was about to start a dirty task.

Maybe that’s what he thought—she was a dirty secret he needed to clean up. It certainly felt that way when he looked at her with that stern and angry expression. Like he was judging her.
Just like Luke used to do.

“It was nothing,” she said, lowering her gaze.

“Was it about me? Does Megan know what happened between us?”

“No,” Julia said a little too fast. She sighed and leaned her hip against the dresser for support. “I mean, sure, it was all her idea, but she doesn't know I actually went through with it. I never told her what happened after she left.”

“Are you telling me my baby sister put you up to sleeping with me?”

“No. Not exactly. She just thought it would be a good idea if I found someone…” Julia trailed off, too embarrassed to finish. Did she really just tell him she’d been looking to hook up that night? Julia looked down at her feet and chewed on her lip. “I had no idea who you were.”

“Well that changes things.” He let out a deep breath and relaxed, relief evident in his posture. “We’re both adults. What happened that night was consensual. But I do have to warn you, Peter and I have been friends since grade school. If you decide to start dating him, I’ll have to tell him about us.”

“Dating him? Why would I want to do that? I’m not looking for a relationship.” She stopped, realizing how her words must sound after what had happened between them. God, Simon must think she went around sleeping with random men all the time. “I just came out of a bad relationship and I’m not ready to start a new one. I told Megan before she invited you guys out that I didn’t want to be set up. But you know her. Once she gets an idea, she doesn’t let it go.”

“She’s notorious for trying to play matchmaker.”

Julia wondered what would have happened if she’d agreed to let Megan set her up with Simon before Christmas when she’d first suggested the idea. Would they have hit it off? Started dating? Would she be here with him this weekend, enjoying lazy morning sex? God, she really needed to stop going down that road. It wasn’t going to happen again.

“You know, you’re right. We can just pretend nothing happened. What happened was nice.” Julia almost choked on that word. What they had done wasn't nice. It was primal. Mind-blowing. Life-changing. Any number of words would work better, but she needed to stop thinking about it that way. “Neither of us expected anything more than what happened. Like you said, we’re adults. We can handle this.” She picked up the clothes she’d laid out for the day and started toward the bathroom. “I’ve got to get ready. I promised Megan I’d join her for lunch.”

As she walked past, Simon reached out and grabbed her arm. “Julia, wait.”

His touch sent a jolt of desire through her. But just as fast as he’d grabbed her, he let go as if burned. Simon looked down at his hand and rubbed his fingers.

“I’m glad we had this talk,” he said, finally pulling his gaze away from his hand to meet hers. “What happened that night was between us and we don’t have to get Megan involved. I know you’re important to her. She doesn’t have a lot of friends, and I don't want to make this weekend awkward for anyone.”

Well, that ship had already sailed, but Julia smiled and nodded. “Me, either. We can just pretend like nothing happened.”

She continued on to the bathroom, not waiting to see if Simon had left her room. After shutting the door, Julia collapsed on the vanity bench. Her hand went up to the spot on her arm where he’d touched her. The feel of his fingers still tingled there, and every nerve in her body buzzed awake, remembering his touch.
Christ.

The only way she’d survive the weekend would be to have as little contact with Simon Shelton as possible.

This was a fucking disaster. He felt like punching something. Simon didn’t understand where all this anger was coming from. Sure, Julia had left before he’d gotten up. He’d had enough one-night stands in his life to understand how a night like that usually ended. Commitment wasn’t part of the deal, just because they’d had great sex. He sure hadn’t been looking for commitment that night, but it didn’t mean he hadn’t been disappointed when he woke up alone the next morning. Still, she’d just left without a word. To be honest, he half expected to find a couple of hundreds on the nightstand.

But that wasn’t the only thing bothering him. Simon’s memory of that night was cast in a new light now that he knew Julia was Megan’s photographer friend. Had Julia targeted him in that bar, like so many other girls who’d called themselves Megan’s friends? She said she’d had no idea who he was, but this was too big of a coincidence. How could she not have known?

This was the last thing he needed right now. Maybe he’d stay in the office all weekend. Even though Megan seemed thrilled to see him, she’d be just as happy to spend the weekend with Peter. The two of them had always been close. She probably wouldn't even know he was missing. Simon tossed the suitcase on the bed and started to unpack.

“What the hell, Simon?” Megan came bursting through the door without so much as a knock. “Mind explaining to me what that was about on the driveway? You practically knocked Peter down so you could get back to your work. You’ve been up here for hours. I thought you were going to spend some time with me.”

So much for Megan not missing him. She looked pissed and hurt, and Simon felt like an ass. There had to be some way for him to spend time with her and not let this thing with Julia ruin the weekend. “Meg, I’m sorry. I did come out here to spend some time with you, but I thought you wanted to set Julia up with Peter. I’d just get in the way.”

The words sat heavy and sour on his tongue. He loved his friend Peter like a brother, but the thought of him and Julia together seemed wrong. Peter liked sweet, docile women. Julia would eat him for breakfast. She was passionate and hot-blooded. Not afraid to take what she wanted. No. Julia needed someone who could match her passions.