Page 12 of Sugarplum

“Just remember: men think with their dicks, not with their brains,” Melissa took the money and buried it in her pockets. She devoured what was left of her cupcake. “Where are you guys going anyway? Do you need a chaperon? I can go and hide behind you. I promise you’ll never even notice I’m there.”

Julie swatted at her. “Sprinkle fairy dust elsewhere, Tinker Bell. We’re going to meet up with some high school friends and plan out our Christmas reunion.”

“Last year you went to the reunion and Chace wasn’t a part of it,” Melissa noted. “Was it because you two broke up or just some odd coincidence?”

“He left for that business gig in Guam,” Julie answered. “It didn’t pan out for him but it did work out for me. I got to show everyone in my batch that I’m still as boring as watching paint dry.”

Melissa wagged a finger in contradiction. “You’re a wallflower, not boring. Flowers blossom and smell really good. When I picked you up last time you smelled like apple cider and vodka.”

“Thank you for smelling me,” Julie retorted.

Melissa pursed her lips and continued on. “Ah, ah, ah, I’m not done. You’re a flower, like I said, and you need to give yourself some time to bloom. That also means letting other bees come by and spread their gooey stuff on you, not just Chace’s.”

“Gooey stuff is good,” Julie remarked and she felt the rush in her chest when she recalled the night she had with Chace. “I can’t believe how good it felt.”

“Sex is supposed to feel good, hon, otherwise we wouldn’t do it and that would doom the human race,” Melissa replied. She then took the remote control from Julie and flipped to the shopping channel. To their pleasant surprise, the channel was currently advertising a pair of lingerie.

Julie then pointed to the TV and remarked. “See, Mel? Even the shopping channel is on my side. Sex is good so don’t let me starve. You know you love me so let me fly away and have some fun.”

“Jules, I’m not trying to stop you,” Melissa commented and she looked at her friend with caring eyes. “I’m just softening the blow in case this doesn’t work out.”

“Mel, it’s going to work out. I’m the one that fucked it up last time. I just need to make sure I don’t repeat that process.”

“Jules, just don’t forget to feed him,” Melissa finally relented. “We’re getting out of here around five. How about you?”

Julie shrugged and turned her head back to the TV. “I don’t know, maybe around the same time. We’re going to meet our batch mates at the Flaming Margarita and I don’t know what’s after that.”

Melissa pointed at the TV. “Whatever you do, don’t wear that. It doesn’t have a flap so if you and he-who-must-not-be-named get all kinky again, there won’t have a door for easy access.”

They both laughed and Julie promised not to wear such restrictive lingerie. Maybe something with a removable pair of breast cups would be a better substitute. Maybe she could ask Chace to buy her one for Christmas.

Chapter Six

By five-thirty Melissa and Ned were already gone and Julie was on the couch fumbling with her shoelaces when the doorbell rang. She clumsily got up and answered the door to see Chace waiting for her.

He looked even more handsome than before. Now that she wasn’t so drunk and pissed off from that encounter with Dorian, she finally got to study Chace’s features a little bit more. He still looked the same after all this time but she did see his teeth were straightened out, maybe from wearing braces, and he seemed to have gained a little weight. Unlike her, however, his weight went to pure muscle.

Chace was wearing a tight blue shirt that easily showed off the ripples of his abs, chest and biceps. He had on a nice pair of tight, ripped jeans that exuded the masculinity in him and it made Julie’s mouth water. She couldn’t help but just stare at how freaking hot he got over time.

She, on the other hand, wore an off-shoulder blouse with a really low, daring neckline. She felt a little more confident wearing this now that she knew she was actually going to use her assets for someone she was interested in instead of hoping she’d catch the attention of a random asshole like Dorian. To pair it off she put on a pair of high shorts that were really so skimpy she might as well be wearing denim panties. It made her smile deep inside and that smile erupted on the surface when she saw Chace staring at her with big, wide ogling eyes.

“Like what you see?” she asked with a nudge. He greeted her with a nod and a kiss on the lips.

“I’d rather eat what I see but we’re running a little late,” he told her. “Sofia and the others are there already. There’s like nine other people dipping their hands to organize this reunion.”

Julie shrugged. “It’s going to be like a cheap orgy – disgusting and unfulfilling. Come on, let’s dip in too and swim in the sea of nastiness.”

Chace laughed and he took her by the arm and to the car. As they began driving he turned on the music player on the dashboard and started playing Debbie Gibson’s “Foolish Beat.”

“Is this a subliminal message you’re trying to drill into my brain?” Julie asked when she started recognizing the meaning behind the lyrics.

Chace’s face cracked with a grin, marked with a subtle hint of remorse and melancholy. “No. It’s random. I guess it was just some odd twist in fate that this is what plays now we’re trying this thing again.”

“I could never love again the way that I loved you,” Julie sang along. “That’s literally how I felt Chace. That’s how I felt for so long. It’s like being sucked in a black hole and I can’t escape. Even all the light around me plunged down into the pit with me.”

He knew how she felt. He felt that way too. “I know. I’ve been there too. When we walked away from each other I felt like my whole world was blowing up. I said a lot of mean things to you. I’m sorry.”

“Let’s just promise not to repeat those mistakes,” Julie stuttered as the tears slowly welled in her eyes. “I can’t imagine life without you.”

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