Absolute Lovers (Absolute #2) (4 page)

"What are you doing here?" I shouted while I tried
to remember how buttons worked.

"We're here for lunch," a second voice called out.
"You invited us, remember?"

Oh God!

“Richard is here, too,” I lamented.

I wanted to kill myself for being such a gargantuan idiot. I
had completely forgotten that my parents were supposed to come over today. In
all my excitement it had slipped my mind, and my idiocy was the reason why
Julia now looked like a deer caught in headlights.

"Stephen," she whispered. "My clothes are on
the living room floor. They know you have a girl in here. Either that, or they
think you're a cross-dresser," she added with wide eyes.

I honestly can't decide which option is worse right now.

I wasn't embarrassed about my relationship with Julia, but
having my parents almost walk in on me during sex was just about the most
mortifying experience of my life.

"Oh God," I groaned. Julia climbed out of bed and
pulled various items of clothing out of her bag.

"What are you doing?" I whispered.

"I'm getting dressed," she said quickly. "I
can't very well leave naked."

"You're leaving?" The desperation in my voice was
evident, but I couldn't bring myself to care. Julia looked like she was getting
ready to run and I couldn't let her.

"Please don't go. I'm so sorry!"

"I have to," she half-whispered, yanking her
clothes on. "I can't meet your parents like this." Her eyes were as
big as saucers and filled with panic.

"Julia, please," I begged.

"Stephen, I can't. They're important to you."

"You're important, too," I said immediately,
taking her hands in mine. Her eyes softened. "I'll send them away," I
offered.

"No! You should spend time with them. They're your
family." She looked very sad all of a sudden and I was reminded of the
terrible fact that Julia no longer had any family at all.

I don't even know what happened to them. I know so little
about her past.

"Look, I'm going to leave," she said and let go of
my hands. "I'm already messing up your life."

"No! Please don't go. You aren't messing up anything—I
want you here."

"Stephen," she sighed. "Your parents just
heard me come, for fuck's sake. I can't have lunch with them. There's no
way."

"You don't have to. Come back later. Please?"

She looked at me for what seemed like a really long time and
finally nodded. I breathed out in relief and pulled her against my chest.

"I'm so sorry," I whispered. "I completely
forgot that I was having lunch with them today. I never meant to put you in
that position, I swear."

"Well, at least they didn't see the other positions you
put me in," she said, motioning to the bed with a half-smile. I was
extremely relieved that she was able to joke at a time like this and that she
didn't seem angry about my monumental screwup.

"Are you ready?" I asked, wondering if
I
was.

"Believe me, if you had a fire escape I would so be
climbing out of your window to get out of this," she groaned. "Yeah,
let's go."

I looked at her and realized that this was a horrible idea.
With her short skirt, band T-shirt, and loose hair, Julia looked like a
teenager. And I felt like a dirty old man. With her dressed like this, my
parents wouldn't see the strong, smart woman I loved. They would see a
seemingly impressionable girl who was sleeping with her professor. This could
only end badly. But before I could say anything, she opened the door and walked
out of the bedroom with a determined look on her face. I had no choice but to
follow her.

My mother and Rich were talking in hushed voices in the
living room and Julia's face lit up, seeing the possibility of undetected
escape. Then, of course, my parents walked out of the room and almost bumped
into us.

I stared at my parents and they stared at Julia. My mother
looked somewhere between horrified and shocked. My stepfather looked somewhere
between shocked and…proud?

I cleared my throat and their eyes snapped to me. My mother
looked like she was ready to keel over and my stepfather was wearing just a hint
of a smirk on his face that I really didn't understand.

"Mom. Rich. I'd like you to meet Julia," I said.

"It's, uh, nice to meet you," Julia said
hesitantly. Neither of them responded, but finally my stepfather recovered
enough to remember his manners.

"It's nice to meet you, too," he said warmly,
reaching out his hand. Julia stuck hers out, only to yank it back and hide it
behind her back, looking down. A few awkward seconds followed before I
remembered that Julia hadn’t had a chance to wash her hands after having sex.
Neither had I, for that matter.

Oh, shit!
We should have tied some sheets together
and escaped through the bedroom window!

My stepfather elbowed my mother
discreetly to bring her out of her trance.

"Yes, nice to meet you," she said, with absolutely
no warmth in her voice while she glared at Julia.

Thanks, Mom!

"I should get going. Excuse me," Julia mumbled and
practically ran toward the hallway.

"Stephen," my mother said.

"Julia, wait," I called and followed her. She was
already halfway out the door with her sneakers untied on her feet, clutching
her jacket.

"Wait, wait," I said, wrapping my arms around
here. She sighed and wouldn't meet my eyes.

"I'm sorry," she whispered. "I just can't
really deal with anything family-related right now."

"It's OK," I assured her, kissing the top of her
head. "You'll be back later, right?"

Please come back.

"I have no choice," she said and gave me a small
smile. "You're keeping my laptop and books hostage, remember?"

I returned the smile. "Do you want me to get them? Do
you need them?"

"I could use my laptop," she admitted. "I
thought I’d just go to a Starbucks and work on my paper for a little
while."

"I'll go get it. Wait here, OK?"

She nodded, bending to lace her shoes, and I walked back
inside to get her computer from my office. My parents were talking quietly in
the living room again and when I passed by, they stopped immediately. I got
Julia's messenger bag and put her laptop and a few books that she’d been using
in it and passed my parents again on my way out back to her in the hallway. Now
they were silent. Frighteningly so. 

Back in the hallway, I handed Julia her bag. “Here you go. I
kept a few of your books just to be on the safe side."

She didn't smile.

"You know I was just kidding, right?" I asked.
"I mean, I won't force you to come back if you don't want to."

She shook her head lightly and surprised me by initiating a
hug.

"I want to stay here with you," she said. "I
just feel a little guilty about leaving you to face the firing squad
alone."

I felt a huge sense of relief hearing that she did still
want to stay. And sitting down with my parents after everything they had
probably heard wasn't something I was about to subject her to.

"You should go," I encouraged, rubbing her
shoulder. She was unbelievably tense and I understood just how uncomfortable
and anxious this whole situation with my parents made her. The fact that she
was reluctant to leave my side despite her level of discomfort made my heart
jump. I couldn't interpret it in any other way than that she must care for me
as well. She still seemed hesitant to go and it made me feel warm all over.

"Julia, you should go and relax," I said softly.
"Have some coffee and maybe a cigarette."

She gave me an incredulous look, raising her eyebrows. "Now
you're encouraging me to smoke?"

"It relaxes you," I said with a shrug. "Just
have some chewing gum or something afterward. I want to kiss you a lot when you
come back."

"Is that so?" She smiled. "When did you
become so bold and demanding?"

"I have no idea," I admitted. "But I like
it."

"Mmm. I do, too." She stood up on her toes and
kissed me gently. I sighed and wrapped my arms around her, wanting more of her.
After a few seconds I pulled back and kissed her lips softly three times.

I. Love. You.

I wished that I could tell her with words, but I was convinced
that it would only hurt my chances of becoming Julia's boyfriend. I had to
tread carefully around her, even though I was dying to say those words out
loud. We were making so much progress and I wasn't about to jeopardize that.

I picked up her bag and opened the door for her. "Come
back to me soon," I said, unable to stop myself.

"I will. And I'll bring you a cookie," she said
with a smile. "You might need something sweet after…that," she added,
looking behind me toward the living room.

"I just need you to come back.”

"Are you saying that I'm sweeter than a cookie?"

"You're sweeter than anything or anyone," I said,
holding her face between my hands.

"Oh,” she whispered, looking a bit anxious.

Oh God, have I said too much?

I tried to mask my mistake by leaning down to kiss her
again. She kissed me back immediately, moaning and pressing herself against me.

"I'll be back soon," she whispered. "I'll
miss you."

Before I could respond, she hurried out the door and down
the street. I stood stunned, letting her remark linger.

She'll miss me.

When I couldn't see her anymore, I closed the door and took
a deep breath. Time to face the music.

My parents were standing in the living room when I walked
in. I had no idea what to say to them. What on earth do you say when your
parents have just walked in on you having loud, incredible sex in the next room?

Awkwardly, I bent down and picked up Julia's shirt and bra,
resisting the urge to hide them behind my back.

"So that's the reason you turned down Lily," my
mother said.

That's what she's choosing to focus on? Lily, the blind
date she set up for me?

"Yes," I said, seeing no point in lying about it.

"What are you doing, Stephen?" she asked.
"That girl looks young enough to be one of your students."

My face flushed and my mother narrowed her eyes. Then her
mouth popped open and she took a step back.

"You didn't. Tell me she isn't one of  your
students, Stephen."

"I can't," I said weakly.

"Stephen!" she yelled. "How could you be so
stupid? What about your career? What about ethics? Your life could be ruined if
someone finds out!"

"You think I don't know that?" I shouted back.
"You think I was planning on this?"

"Honestly," my mother scoffed. "This is the
kind of thing I would have expected from Matt. What are you doing with
her?"

"Well, she's obviously very beautiful," my
stepfather remarked under his breath. My mother looked ready to kill him.

"Men!" she growled. "Is that all you can
think about? Stephen, you need to end this. Right now! She can't stay here with
you anymore."

"Excuse me?" I said slowly. "Last time I
checked, I was a grown man and this is
my
house."

"You can't actually defend shacking up with her,"
my mother protested. "There are things that are more important than…
that
.”
She made a face and pointed toward my bedroom. "You can't let your life be
ruined by a little—”

"
Careful
," I growled. I wouldn’t let her refer
to Julia as anything unpleasant. My mother sighed and scrubbed her face with
her hands.

"I'm sorry," she said, looking up at me. "I'm
sure she's a lovely girl, but you can't have her staying here with you. Don't
you see that?"

"Listen to me!" I thundered, feeling extremely
angry and wanting to defend the woman I loved. "Julia just buried her
grandfather, her last remaining family member. She has to take care of
everything surrounding his death by herself, and she has finals to worry about.
She needs me, and I want to take care of her! She's the best thing that’s ever
happened to me and I'm just trying to make things a little easier on her. She
can stay here for as long as she wants, and that's final!"

I took a deep breath. "And she
is
a lovely girl.
And yes, she’s also my student. But my final class is tomorrow, and then the
semester is over. There's no conflict after that." I drew another calming
breath.

"Look. I know that you're just worried about me, but
she needs me right now. She's all alone, Mom. Her parents are dead and she
doesn't have any siblings. She's been taking care of her grandfather and now
he's gone, too. I'm not letting her face all that alone."

My mother's features had softened considerably during my
monologue and now she looked sad.

“I’ve never been good with girls,” I admitted, wringing
Julia’s shirt between my hands. “Not with any of it. It was always so difficult
for me, figuring them out and knowing what to say. You know that, Mom.” I could
tell she was about to disagree, so I kept on talking. “You
know
. I’ve
never had a girlfriend. Ever.”

Reluctantly, my mother nodded her head.

“And now I’ve met this girl, and she’s everything. I didn’t
think we’d fit together but we do. And she likes me.”

“And it’s not difficult for you now?” Rich asked. “Being
with her, I mean? Figuring it out?”

I smiled. “It still is at times. But it’s worth it.
She’s
worth it. And now an awful thing has happened to her, so how could I not
invite her to stay?”

"Poor girl,” my mother sighed. “You said she was taking
care of her grandfather?"

I sat down on the couch, feeling tired after my long
outburst. "Yes, he had Alzheimer's. It was very hard on her."

"I'm so sorry," my stepfather offered.
"Please give Julia our condolences."