Page 51 of Shameless

His scowl deepens. “Not that it’s any of your business, but I’m in love with Lula too. I told her the night of the storm and she said it back to me too. So what the fuck are we going to do about it, huh? Are you going to pencil me into your schedule?”

A part of me wants to have fun and keep ribbing him, but Jules isn’t totally wrong that we have a problem. “If that’s what Lula?—”

“Sayif that’s what Lula wantsone more time and I swear to fucking Jesus.”

I grip the steering wheel to have something to do with my hands. The alternative would be sinking my fists into Jules’s face but I know what good that would do, other than making me feel better for a few seconds. “What the fuck do you expect, Jules? I’ve known how I felt about Lula for fucking ever. And I knew that we would have to have this conversation one day. So, let’s fucking have it.”

Jules’s jaw is tight, his eyes blazing with fury. I hate the realization that we have the same expression when we’re pissed off.

“I knew one day we would get to this point too,” he bites out. “What I didn’t know is thathewould be a part of this talk.” He points at Crew.

“Well fuck you too, Cutler. If you’re thinking about calling dibs, or anything equally moronic, save your breath. I’m not going anywhere.”

I love and hate Crew’s commitment to pushing Jules’s buttons at the same time. “I don’t have a problem with Crew’s feelings for Lula,” I admit. “You on the other hand? I don’t think you even know how to love someone, Jules. You’re too selfish and I don’t think I could put up with your need to always be number one. This isn’t what love is about anyway. If you love someone, you fucking put them first.”

My brother’s reaction surprises me.

“You are the reason why I talked myself into staying away from Lula for years,” Jules counters. “I’ve always known that you were in love with her and I thought you deserved Lula more than I ever could. That’s why three years ago, I tried to distract myself with hookups. Then I met Jasmine, and Mom and Tom got together and it looked like the universe was trying to push me away from my girl. But I’ve never stopped loving her. So before you open your big mouth and call me selfish, just know that I already walked away from her once to give you space. I’m not going to do that again. Especially not whenheis in the picture too.”

11.Working Together

Crew

Fuck.

Jules spits out the last few words like poisonous arrows and I’m the obvious target.

I thought Cutler was chasing Lula just to piss me and Stefan off.

It’s always been that way between us. We’ve been fighting for the same things since the second we met.

Jules has almost always won. In part because his family name has so much weight in town and I was just a nobody stepping on his turf. But also because getting to play QB or nailing more cheerleaders wasn’t the end all and be all for me. It just mattered as long as I could show Jules Cutler that not everyone was ready to roll a red carpet for the town’s golden boy.

This is different.

Lula is it for me and if he thinks I’m going down without a fight, he’s even more delusional than I thought.

In a perfect world, I wouldn’t have to share Lula, not even with Stefan. But while I can coexist with the younger Cutler brother, Jules is a real problem.

“Stop acting like you have some kind of claim on her, Cutler.” I retaliate. “This isn’t a tryout at school or even for Eddie’s team. And stop acting like a martyr. If you walked away from Lula, I’m sure you had other reasons than just to give Stefan space. I’ve never seen you doing anything for someone else’s benefit.”

“You think you know me, James, don’t you? You think I’m a selfish douche who only cares about himself. I guess you and I aren’t that different after all.”

Fuck, he’s right.

And that pisses me off more than anything else. He’s been putting his family first just like I did in the aftermath of Eddie skipping town. I haven’t seen him with his daughter, but Stefan told me countless times that Jules is a great father. Arianna told Mom the same thing. “So what do you propose we do?” I ask both my half-brothers.

“Dating Lula together can work with Stefan but it’s obvious that Jules and I can’t even be in the same room without fighting.”

Jules crosses his arms over his chest, but for once he agrees with me. “Yeah. And if you think I’m not going to fight for Lula this time, you’re both crazy. She told me how she feels about the two of you and while it’s an inconvenience, I know I can win her over. One day she’s going to have to choose and I’ll do anything in my power to make sure she chooses me.”

I lose my shit. “The fuck she is. If you think giving her an ultimatum will make her choose you, you’re even more of an asshole than I thought.”

Jules snorts. “Oh believe me, I’m not that stupid. I’m confident about Lula’s feelings for me. All I have to do is wait until the two of you do something stupid, or push her too far. She’ll see that she and I are meant to be and you’ll be nothing more than a notch on her bedpost during a wild summer.”

I open my mouth to tell him to fuck off for the umpteenth time, but Stefan cuts me off.

“You two will have to cut this shit and learn to coexist, at least for now. At least while Evan is in town. We lost track of Lula for five minutes on that ferry and that bastard approached her. Thank fuck Napoleon was with her and scared him off. Mason Morelli is another problem. I don’t trust him not to try and lure Lula back into addiction in a moment of weakness. He wants her and he already tried to convince her to resume their old deal. If Lula felt scared enough and like she had no other choice…”

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