Chapter Nineteen
THE ELEVATOR OPENED to Mia’s stunning apartment, even more opulent than usual in the late afternoon glow streaming through her windows.
A disco theme had taken over the condo for her birthday, with a sea of people in pastel clothes filling the apartment.
Mia had strung mirrored balls of varying shapes and colors about.
Only a few seconds passed before the birthday girl materialized out of nowhere, with a dreamy aura about her.
Her dark hair cascaded over her shoulders in big beachy waves, and she had donned bell-bottom jeans with a plaid crop top.
“Judge Julian, we meet again,” she said slowly, with no trace of the interrogation Cierra had expected.
Mia’s half-open eyes and permanent smile made Cierra suspect the reason.
“Happy birthday, Mia. Thanks for having me over. Your place is amazing, and the theme is on point,” Julian said.
“Right?!” she said, not in a haughty way, but like she was also appreciating her home for the first time.
“I’m so glad you could make it. There’s food, drinks, ‘flower power’ .
. . all in the kitchen.” She gave Cierra a peck on the cheek.
“I have to go mingle some more, but please, enjoy. I’ll find you later. ”
Pleasantly surprised at Mia’s lack of interrogation, Cierra looked at Julian with a happily confused smirk and shrugged her shoulders, before scanning the room for familiar faces.
Amber and James were sitting in the den area, and Amber’s face lit up when she saw Cierra.
She waved her over with glittery manicured nails, lifting an eyebrow at Cierra’s handsome male counterpart.
Cierra had always liked Amber, and it was nice to feel less awkward around her, now that more time had passed.
“Hey, girl, isn’t this party theme so fun?
Ugh, and these outfits? Y’all are killin’ it,” Amber remarked with a warm smile.
Cierra had picked her hair into a fluffy afro and found a mini dress with huge open sleeves and a colorful floral print.
Julian wore vintage jeans and a well-fitted V-neck orange shirt with a butterfly collar.
“And what about you?” Cierra said. Amber had also styled her hair naturally for the event and donned a form-fitting bell-bottomed jumpsuit with white platform boots. James stood up from his sitting position, with his legs spread wide in baby-pink short-shorts.
“I like the commitment to the theme,” Julian said, prompting James to look at Amber with a see-I-told-you kind of expression.
“Thank you! See, Amber? Someone appreciates my vision,” he said, and took a swig from his beer.
“I appreciate your vision, boo,” Amber said, kissing her himbo husband. “Cierra, aren’t you going to introduce us?”
“Ah, yes. James, Amber, this is Julian.”
Julian shook their hands, smiling. He effortlessly engaged them in conversation about how they enjoyed living in Williamsburg, if they’d ever hosted any themed parties — the usual get-to-know-you stuff.
“By the way, I think I saw a video on your Instagram page awhile back. You were talking about applying to Plated. Have you heard back yet about the application?” Amber asked.
“No, not yet. But they said they would get back to applicants at the end of next week.”
“Well, we’re rooting for you, girl,” Amber said with a warm smile, before getting distracted by a fresh addition to the group. “Oh, hey, Harry.”
“Hey, Amber. Hey . . .” His eyes widened when Cierra turned around. “Cierra, hi.”
“Hey, Harry, nice to see you.”
“You too.”
Julian’s friendly demeanor cooled slightly. He flashed his eyes questioningly at Cierra, and she nodded subtly. It wasn’t the awkward interaction she had been preparing for, but it was enough to send her heart pumping, nonetheless.
“Harry, um, this is Julian.”
Harry extended a pale hand in Julian’s direction. Julian shook it but never let up his grasp around Cierra’s waist.
“Hey, Julian. Good to meet you,” Harry said.
“Harry,” Julian said, more like addressing a colleague. “Nice to put a face to the name.”
Amber and James exchanged wide-eyed looks, and James piped up, “Hey, man, I need to get another drink. You want anything?”
“Uh, yeah, I’ll come with you,” Harry said, understandably eager to leave the conversation. “Nice seeing you guys.”
“Yeah,” Julian said, his mouth in a tight line.
As the two men walked away, Amber quickly made up an excuse to tend to her husband. “It’s nice seeing you again, Cee. Maybe we can get coffee sometime? Julian, it was great meeting you.”
“Likewise,” Julian said, as Amber walked away.
Alone, Cierra turned toward Julian. “You’re evil,” she said with a devilish smile, and gave him a kiss on the cheek.
“I don’t like people who don’t see you for the incredible woman that you are.”
Ever since their conversation at Oceans, Julian kept surprising Cierra with moments like these.
With every turn, he showed her how into her he was.
How committed. She felt like, finally, she’d chosen the right guy.
Erik was sweet, but he came from a different world than Cierra — and he still lived with his brother.
Julian had two houses, could relate to her, and he was sexy as hell.
For the first time in her adult life, she felt like she wasn’t settling on anything. Finally, she’d won.
The couple hung around for a few hours, mingling with various guests and snacking on 70s-themed food like cheese balls, until the lack of sleep caught up with Cierra again. Julian noticed her eyes glazing over and asked if she wanted to go home.
“Yeah, I think that’s a good idea,” she said sleepily, looking forward to snuggling against his muscular frame.
“But I’m not trying to rush you, though. If you want to stick around, I’m happy to. I really like your friends.”
Cierra smiled. She glanced across the funky living room and saw Harry, looking bored while holding Melanie’s drink.
“No, I think I’m ready to go.” She grasped Julian’s hand and squeezed it before they made their way toward the elevators. Erik still hadn’t shown, and she liked the idea of getting out of there before he did.
Julian hesitated. “Should we say bye to Mia?”
“In my experience, an Irish exit is the best policy, unless we want to add another hour.”
“Then, by all means, lead the way.”
After pressing the little circular button for the elevators, the reflective golden doors opened to a small group walking in.
Immediately, Cierra recognized two of the men: Randy and Erik.
Randy was busy talking with a woman who Cierra didn’t recognize, and he didn’t seem to notice her.
Erik and Cierra made eye contact, but rather than say hi, he just nodded with a simple smile, before making his way into the party.
“Can’t believe people are still arriving. This thing is probably gonna go all night,” Julian remarked, stepping in and pressing the elevator button for the first floor.
“Yeah, knowing Mia, that seems about right,” Cierra replied, her mind elsewhere.
Why had Erik’s casual nod, as if she were a passerby on the street, stung so badly? Then again, how would she have reacted if she’d needed to introduce the two men? It’s not like Julian didn’t know about Erik. She’d talked about him in the same way she shared stories about Zelda or Mia.
Yeah, but you didn’t sleep with them, she said to herself.
And based on the interaction with Harry, Cierra was honestly a little worried about how Julian might react.
Erik was . . . well . . . anyone with eyes would be suspicious, knowing their girlfriend was friends with him.
Close friends. Friends who . . . ugh. And while Julian’s jealous antics were somewhat charming with Harry, Erik was a different story.
He hadn’t done anything wrong. Except to place the idea in Cierra’s head that maybe, in some other world . . .
Ding. The elevator opened to the apartment building’s ground floor. “I’ll call a car,” Julian said, pulling Cierra back to reality.
“Great. Let’s get out of here.”