She glances at the food on the stove behind me and then back to me, her face surprised but warm. “Yeah. It’s…really nice, actually.”
“Good,” I say, relieved. “I think everything should be done in about ten minutes if you want to go change into something comfortable while I’m finishing up. You can pick between wine and tea.” I set the choices on the island with the salad bowl.
“Wow,” she remarks with a laugh. “Change into something more comfortable? Is this dinner or the start of a porno?”
I smirk. “Your choice.”
She scoffs, sputtering. “Oh my God, Ace, stop. I’ll be back out in a minute.”
I wish us filming a porno together didn’t sound quite so much like a joke to her, but I’ll take it. It is a little outlandish, even if she finds my body sexy in all the ways that count.
The plotlines are always so outdated.
Kidding. I don’t watch porn. I’m clearly far too fucking busy trying to make Julia fall in love with me to fit in that kind of screen time.
I swirl the noodles in the water as they start to stick together and peek in the oven at my bread. I can’t tell if it’s really toasty or not, but the butter is melting, so I think that’s a good sign. I decide to leave it until the noodles are done, just for good measure.
The sauce in the back bubbles and splatters, so I turn it off and hope for the best. Julia returns from the bedroom in a pair of sweatpants and a tank top as I’m draining the pasta, and I have to do a double take when I realize she’s taken off her bra. I can literally see the outline of her perfect nipples underneath her top.
Fuck me.
“Better?” I ask, swallowing hard against the many, many raging thoughts diverting my blood from my chest to head to a location farther south.
“Yes,” she says through a relieved exhale that makes her breasts move deliciously under her tank top. “I felt like I was being strangled by the top for some reason.”
“Uh…that’s good. That’s great.” I honestly don’t even know what I’m saying right now and force myself to avert my eyes from her body. “Well, grab your drink and make yourself comfortable at the table. Dinner’s just about ready.”
“You know, Ace, I’m really impressed. You’ve been working so hard in all our classes, and now this meal… It’s almost like you’re growing up.”
I smile toward the stove, mixing the noodles and the sauce and putting servings on two plates. Garlic bread out of the oven and served up too, I grab Julia’s plate and carry it to the table along with the salad bowl before going back for my own and joining her.
I sit down at the table with her and hold up my own glass of iced tea for cheers. She matches my energy with a tap of our glasses. “To us. To a lifelong, unmatchable friendship and years and years of more,” I say just vaguely enough to carry the tone while I work up the nerve to really let it all out there.
Because that’s what tonight is about, I’ve decided—telling her I love her. But not yet, not right out of the gate. I want to spend time first, taking interest in her, asking questions, diving into the woman she keeps tenderly locked away.
I know her better than anyone, and yet, I long to know her more.
I want the key to the secret garden. The access no one else is allowed to have.
She takes a bite, chewing completely before swallowing it down and meeting my eyes with a smile. “Wow, Ace. It tastes really good.”
“Really?” I ask.
“Yes!”
She scarfs down several more bites, and then some of the salad, before taking a big swig of tea. And we just kind of eat in a companionable silence before I start asking her questions.
“So, Jules. After we’re done with college, any idea where you see life taking you? Do you want to stay in New York or go somewhere else?”
Her eyebrows draw together. “I don’t know.” She swallows hard, her eyes glassing slightly before coming back into focus. “I don’t know that I’ve thought about it that much yet. Why? What do you want to do?”
I chuckle. “That’s why I’m asking you, silly. So I can decide by copying you.”
She startles on a giggle. “Yeah, I guess that is becoming a pattern.”
“That’s because you’re good at making the right choices,” I compliment. “I trust you. You’re—”
A burp suddenly bubbles up from her mouth, and she startles, putting her fingers in front of it and her hand to her stomach.
