Chapter 9
Ian
If making a fool of myself on stage is how I get to spend more time with Julia, then that’s what I’ll do.
I’m eager to meet her friends, actually.
I want to make sure she’ll have a good support system after the pups are born.
I want to know more about her husband and how he treats her.
And if I’m being completely honest with myself, deep down, I want them to like me. I want them to root for me.
It’s a silly, selfish desire, and one that probably won’t come to fruition, but the mate bond won’t let me stop hoping that we can be together.
“Why is this place your favorite?” I ask, as we linger outside, waiting for her friends to arrive.
“Oh, it’s not my favorite. Just…fun,” Julia says.
She seems a little embarrassed by the homespun appearance of the exterior, but all I see is a place that’s well loved and been here a while.
Plus the window has a small sticker with a tiny pitchfork on it, indicating that it’s a monster-friendly business.
“Looks like fun to me, too. Do you want to go in and pick a table while we wait? That way we can get a good one.”
“I don’t think we’re going to have much competition,” she jokes, but moves toward the door. I hurry to open it for her, and we enter the bar.
It’s as old-school inside as out, with beat-up floors and a huge wooden bar that gleams in the lights from the stage.
Round tables cluster in front, where a handful of patrons sit, watching a harpy belt out a song from Beyoncé’s country album.
She ends her song and the five or six people watching hoot and cheer.
“Good vibes,” Julia says, a smile spreading across her face as she watches a human couple take the stage and launch into a pop ballad in Spanish.
“Let’s grab drinks and then find a table,” I suggest, catching the eye of the bartender.
But then Julia frantically waves at two women who just walked in the door. They spot us and then look at each other, exchanging unspoken words before they make their way over.
“Heyyyy! We were just getting drinks,” Julia says, giving each of them a cursory hug. “This is Ian. Ian, this is Heidi and Nicole, my neighbors, best friends, and sanity for the last fifteen years.”
So these aren’t just friends. They’re clan to her. The one called Heidi, who has wild, curly hair and a bold, open smile, sticks out her hand. I shake it. “Nice to meet you, Ian. We’ve heard a lot about you.”
“Not a lot,” Julia says quickly, her cheeks turning pink. So she’s been talking about me. That’s good. Very good.
“A little,” Heidi amends. She drops my hand and motions to the other woman. “Nic is my wife. We’re both so curious to meet Julia’s mate! It’s such an unexpected thing, isn’t it?”
I nod. “That’s putting it mildly. But I’m glad it’s Julia.”
“Huh.” Nicole, for her part, looks a lot less friendly than her wife, her dark brows drawn together as she angles her body so she’s partially standing between me and Julia. Her lips bunch when I offer my hand to shake, but she takes it grudgingly. “We’ll talk later.”
“Sounds good,” I tell her, meeting her skeptical gaze so she knows I’m taking this seriously. “Can I get you ladies some drinks while you find a table?”
“I like him already,” Heidi announces, linking her arm through Julia’s, who darts me a shy look. “Rum and Diet Coke? for me.”
“Me too,” Julia says. “Thank you.”
“Same,” Nicole adds.
While they head off to find seats for us, I order their drinks, plus a draft ale for me, from the satyr bartender.
“Which one’s yours?” he asks as he pulls the beer, following my gaze to the table where Julia is settling into her seat. I’m happy to see that her friends have left the chair next to her empty. I must have made an okay first impression.
“None of them, yet.”
“Better work on that,” he advises with a leer. “Don’t sleep on the MILFs. There’s still juice to be squeezed.”
“Wise words,” I say dryly. He’s really living up to the lecherous reputation of his kind.
“Start a tab for you?” I nod, and he slides a bowl of maraschino cherries next to the drinks. “On the house. Take it from me, the ladies love ‘em.”
Sure enough, when I arrive at the table, the cherries earn me some squeals. Julia adds three to her drink. Across the room, the bartender gives me a thumbs up, and I have to laugh.
“I added our names to the list.” Heidi holds up her phone so I can see the app on her screen. “What song do you want?”
“Something with howling,” I joke, hoping to make Julia smile. Success.
“You should do ‘Hungry Like the Wolf.’” Nicole snickers into her drink.
Julia makes a face at her. “That’s a little rude, isn’t it? Just because he’s a wolf—a wulver,” she corrects. “Doesn’t mean he should only do songs with wolf references. That’s like saying I should only do K-pop.”
“You literally picked a Jennie song! Anyway, he’s the one who started with the wolf jokes.”
“I like the song,” I break in, hoping to ease the tension a little. “I love ‘80s music.”
“Before your time,” Julia teases, leaning to bump her shoulder against mine. The backs of our hands brush together, the electric shock of her skin against mine freezing me in place.
“Got here as soon as I could,” I murmur so only she can hear. I hope she understands my double meaning. I’d give anything for a time machine so I could go back and tell her to wait for me.
“Julia, you’re up next!” Heidi announces, pointing at the digital display above the stage, where an LED ticker spells out her name and song choice.
She jumps up, mounting the steps to the DJ booth to check in as the current performer launches into their rendition of a classic Beatles song. Julia holds the hem of her skirt and takes the stairs extra carefully, her delectably thick thighs pressed together to preserve her modesty.
Right, her panties are still in my pocket. I reach in and rub the silky, peach fabric between my fingers while I think about the fact that she has nothing on underneath her flippy little dress. I am a fucking pervert, but this might be the closest I ever get to her.
“She’s a really special person,” Nicole says, eyeing me like she can see inside my skull. I pull my hand out of my pocket, feeling irrationally guilty. “You better not fuck this up.”
“You don’t think I know that?” I shake my head and take a swig of my beer. “I told Julia this afternoon that I don’t want her to go through with his if she’s going to be hurt by it, and you know what she said?”
“I can guess.” Heidi, who’s sitting opposite me, leans across the table. “She said not to worry about her.”
I nod. “Not in those words, but yeah. She said love hurts because you always lose it, but that’s okay because it’s worth it.”
Nicole mutters a swear word.
“Right? How do you even respond to that?”
“How did you?” Heidi asks.
“I kissed her.” They both suck in a breath, and I nod. “It was not the best move.”
Nicole guffaws. “Did she slap you with a chest hit? I showed her that striking technique. Can stop a heart if you do it right.”
I shake my head, although what Julia actually did stopped my heart, too. “Nope. She kissed me back.”
Heidi gasps. “Our Julia? I’m actually shocked. She doesn’t usually do impulsive things like that.”
“Naw, you know what? Good. She deserves to be kissed.” I’ve earned the first hint of approval from Nicole. But I’m too stuck on what she said to bask in my success.
“What do you mean, she deserves it? Her husband doesn’t—?”
“Fuck Richard, that’s what I mean,” Nicole interrupts. She tips back the last quarter of her drink and slumps in her seat, crossing her arms.
Heidi gives me an apologetic grimace. “We have some strong feelings about Richard. He’s not our favorite.”
Alarm bells go off in my head as adrenaline floods my system. Every muscle tenses, ready to defend my mate. “Does he hurt her?” I growl.
“Yes,” Heidi says at the same time that Nicole says, “No.”
They trade looks. “What Nic means is that he doesn’t hurt her physically,” Heidi explains. “He hurts her other ways all the time. I don’t want to air their dirty laundry, but…he’s not a kind person.”
“Or faithful one,” Nicole chimes in.
My teeth clench so hard, I think they might crack. Is this why she thinks love has to hurt? As much as I don’t like Julia’s husband just because he exists, I want him to treat her well. I want her to be happy. “Why does she stay with him, then?”
“Loyalty?” Heidi guesses. “She’s the kind of person who keeps her promises.”
Nicole shakes her head. “It’s the girls. She doesn’t want to mess up their lives.”
“And maybe the money.” Heidi sighs heavily. “I mean, she’s not materialistic. She’s just been a stay-at-home mom for a long time and her family is all overseas, so she doesn’t have any of her own resources. It’s all his. She depends on him to support her.”
My ears perk up at that. I can’t ask Julia to break her marriage vows or mess up her kids’ lives, but I can definitely support her financially, if that’s what she needs. “Good to know.”
“The only good thing about that dickhead is that he’s gone a lot,” Nicole declares. I file away that little factoid, too. His current business trip is a regular thing, not a one-off.
Before I can press for more details, my attention is drawn back to the stage as the first few notes of a bright, electronic pop song play.
Julia crosses to the mic and brushes her hair back from her face.
She looks nervous as she stares out at the slowly growing audience, but then she opens her mouth.
She’s good. Really good.
A few lines in, and her shyness falls away. Her shoulders square and she wrenches the mic from its stand so she can strut over to our side of the stage and sing directly to us while we cheer her on.
She has the voice of a goddamn siren, and I’m completely in her thrall. The song’s a fierce, punchy anthem that she delivers in a breathy staccato. I only understand the occasional English line, but her meaning is clear: she’s living life on her own terms and not going to take any shit from anyone.
She looks beautiful, and she sounds powerful. I can’t look away. I’m completely mesmerized by the goddess in front of me.
“WOW,” Heidi mouths at me across the table when Julia makes her way over to the other side of the stage, where she finds another receptive audience.
Nicole nods in agreement in my peripheral vision. “I didn’t know she had this in her. I mean, I knew she could carry a tune. Her usual karaoke is a lot more shy. Who is this bitch?”
A smile quirks the side of Heidi’s mouth. “That’s our girl.”
I like these women. I like how much they care about Julia. How they’re protective of her and want the best for her. “I’m really glad she has you two in her life.”
“Awww.” Heidi wells up a little. “We’re lucky to have her as a friend. She’s pretty amazing.”
“I agree. And the more I learn about her, the more amazing she gets.”
“Uh-oh, Nic, you better go check in,” Heidi says, motioning to the DJ booth.
Nicole cracks her knuckles, grinning, and heads for the stage, but not before patting me on the shoulder. “Glad you’re in her life, too, baby daddy.”