5. Chapter 4
J esse gripped the steering wheel hard, staring at the side of the building and reminding himself that it was Julia he was meeting up with. Bubbles floated in his stomach but also twisted and popped. Once he saw her, his nerves would settle, if it was really nerves at all.
Was it possible to be so excited you wanted to throw up?
He told himself to get going. Julia was waiting for him. She tended to show up early. The reminder let him release the steering wheel, but it still took three more deep breaths and another mental nudge to climb out of his Jeep.
The downtown coffee shop was trendier than he expected.
Julia normally hated trendy. If a place was popular, she deemed it overrated and chose somewhere quieter.
While she took responsibilities and respect seriously, she was often frustrated with cultural expectations.
She used to tell him that only the entitled got to decide on those expectations, while those less fortunate had to find a way to live with them or to work around them. It wasn’t fair.
Julia had always been worried about what was fair. Phoebe tended to roll her eyes at her friend and tell her she couldn’t change the world.
Jesse thought maybe Julia could, or at least those she came in contact with. He hadn’t expected to encounter anyone who would hate her or treat her like she’d been treated the other night.
His gaze searched through the crush of bodies inside the café, reminding himself that she no longer dyed her hair black when he realized he was searching for the goth version of her from years ago.
A lifted hand near the far windows caught his eye, and the smile Julia shot his way sent tingles over his arms. He pressed his fingers into the cotton of his pants and glanced down at himself.
Shoot. He should have brought something to change into that wasn’t loose scrubs and comfy sneakers, but it was too late to have regrets now.
It wasn’t like this was a date or anything.
He wished he hadn’t had that last thought, his mouth too dry as he carefully navigated the crowd to the table Julia had snagged.
“Hey,” he managed to squeak out, telling himself for the tenth time that day to get it together.
“How was work?” she asked.
Jesse breathed in the coffee scent surrounding them. “It was good. Mostly. My last client tried to flirt to get me to take it easier on her.”
Julia shook her head. “Gotta be careful flirting with clients.”
“Oh, no, it wasn’t me doing the flirting.
She was an eighty-year-old who cracked up when she told me exactly what positions she hoped to work up to with her new knee replacements.
” Jesse had been uncomfortable, but not in the way he was used to.
His older client had been teasing him. He could take teasing.
Serious passes were what made him panic.
Julia grinned, studying his face as her hand circled her own drink. “I can see it. You’re so cute, even age isn’t a factor.”
His cheeks heated. “I’m not cute,” he mumbled, pushing his curly hair back only to have it flop over his forehead.
“Totally adorable. Especially when you blush.” She sipped through her straw. “All the girls used to think so. From what I saw the other night, they still do.”
He ducked his head. “Thanks for that, by the way. I appreciated the save.”
“You already said that when you called. Don’t sweat it.” He lifted his head and found her eyes steady as they focused on him. “I’ll always be there for you, Jinx. I figured you knew that.”
“I did. I mean, I do.” He swallowed. “Doesn’t mean you don’t deserve thanks.”
“Just don’t overdo it.” She nudged a drink toward him. “Here. I got you something with vanilla and sugar. I hope you still have a sweet tooth.”
“Jules!” He stared down at the white paper cup with his nickname scrawled on the side. He shouldn’t have liked seeing his nickname that much. “I was going to buy you something. As thanks.”
“The lines are long. Besides, I’m not a coffee drinker anymore.” She frowned down at the pink liquid in her clear plastic cup. “I can’t believe they didn’t carry any decaf. This fruity tea was all they had caffeine free.” She sipped at it again and made a face.
“You’re caffeine free?” He felt a lurch. “You should have said something. We could have gone for ice cream or something instead.”
Her grin returned. “Ice cream? That takes me back. You still like getting banana splits?”
“Hey! Ice cream is for all ages.” He dragged the drink she bought for him closer and hid behind it a little. The hit of sugar helped and was exactly what he would have ordered.
Coming back to town hadn’t felt fully familiar until that moment. It was nice to have someone know him so well. Or, at least, know the old him.
They talked about how both of their older brothers used to take them to the ice cream shop whenever they asked.
They both had siblings who were almost a generation older, as well as sisters close to their age, while they were the youngest of their siblings.
Jesse hated the idea that opposites attract.
Phoebe was more of Julia’s polar opposite.
He’d always seen himself as similar to Julia, except for the confidence part.
He had none, while she had more than her fair share.
“Do you remember when that baseball shattered the window of the ice cream shop? Phoebe panicked, your brother was furious, but you were just sad that the glass ended up in your ice cream.” Julia frowned.
“I didn’t like that the glass nicked your cheek, but you were calm, like always.
Stuff like that constantly happened, but you never screamed or yelled or got upset by it. ”
Jesse snorted. “That’s because I always froze.
When faced with unexpected challenges like that, it’s never fight or flight for me.
It’s complete shutdown, as if nothing processes.
” His hand tightened on his cup at how true those words were.
“It’s the worst,” he mumbled. He’d grown to hate that aspect of himself even worse after the party.
Julia’s hand came down over his, and she gave it a squeeze. “I know. I don’t know how many times I worried something worse would happen to you during those times I wasn’t around.”
“You never freeze like that.” He’d always admired that about her and been grateful. More than once, it had been her arms wrapping around him to pull him aside or tackling him to safety. “I’d be dead a dozen times over, if it weren’t for you.”
“Ooh, this sounds promising. How grateful are you?” She pulled back, smiling at him again. “Are we talking lifetime slave or what?”
He wondered what expression she would show if he wholeheartedly agreed. “I—”
“Jesse?”
He froze at the woman’s voice right behind him. She shifted to his elbow, and he saw the drunk colleague from the other night. He was pretty sure her name had been Tricia. “Oh, hey,” he said, clearing his throat to remove the slight squeak.
She smiled. “Hey! I didn’t expect to see anyone here in scrubs. Did you come from work?”
Jesse thought that was too obvious to answer and didn’t want to encourage her to stay. Ants already crawled along his arms. “I came to meet up with a friend.” He nodded toward Julia.
Julia gave her a finger wave, and Tricia rolled her eyes, turning her shoulder slightly and making the ants skitter up to his neck when she leaned down toward him, her hand landing on the back of his chair near his shoulder.
“You’re new, so a bit of advice? Julia Caldwell is not someone you want to associate with. ”
“I’m sitting right here,” Julia said, sipping at her drink. “And didn’t I also drive you home the other night? That’s some gratitude.”
“I didn’t ask you to!” she snapped. “You butted in when Jesse had already volunteered to be the DD. I wasn’t even that drunk.” Her hand shifted, burning his shoulder when it landed there. “I just wanted to get to know you better.”
He swallowed down the constriction in his throat. “Oh, um…”
“Not that drunk?” Julia cut in, earning his gratitude since he’d had no other words to say. “I had to drag you stumbling from my car to the door. I guess this means you don’t remember a word I said on the drive, either?”
Tricia blew out a breath and rolled her eyes. “Like I need a lecture from someone like you.” Her voice lowered into a mock whisper. “You know what she did, right?”
Jesse’s shoulder twitched. He wanted her to stop touching him. “Um, look—”
“I mean, everyone was talking about it, though I guess that was before you came. Still, you must have heard the rumors. Well, not rumors since it’s all true.
” Tricia wore a floral perfume that burned his nose.
Words pounded in his head. He wanted to tell her to stop talking, to not touch him, but his lips couldn’t push the words out. It was the party all over again.
He hadn’t changed at all.
Tricia’s hand was suddenly no longer on his shoulder. Julia had grabbed it, and she loomed over the other woman now, getting into her space and making Tricia back away from him.
“Go bother someone else,” Julia said, glaring. “In case you missed it, we were in the middle of something here.”
Tricia jerked free from her hold. She looked at Jesse. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you,” she said before heading toward the door.
Julia sighed as she settled into her seat. “What a piece of work.”
Jesse swallowed. “Sorry.”
“Don’t apologize for her. She was the one causing a problem.” Julia ignored the nearby patrons looking their way.
He rolled his shoulder, and her eyes slid to it. She opened her mouth, then closed it and frowned down at her drink.
“I should have been the one to say something,” he mumbled, heat gathering below his ribs in a tight ball.
“That’s not your style, and that’s okay, but…” She stared at his shoulder again before looking away and reaching for her drink. “Never mind. People should get a clue. You were obviously not interested.”
He flushed. Was he really that obvious?