Page 76 of Shameless

I brace myself for the jealousy I’ve felt every time Jules and I have ever crossed paths. As predicted it hits me square in the face, but it’s short lived.

The look in Lula’s eyes when she sees me is what changes everything. She’s looking at me the same way she was looking at Jules earlier, when I decided to be nice and play wingman.

I’ve known that she’s in love with him since the day I met her. That was what made me take an interest in Lula to begin with. I’ve always hated Jules Cutler and I wanted to piss him off when I realized that he cared about her too.

Falling for her wasn’t my plan, but I had very little choice in the matter. I fell for Lula little by little and now all I want is to see her happy. Even if that means watching her hold Cutler’s hand.

Even if I know that the flush on Lula’s cheeks and the happiness that shines in her eyes are there because she had sex with him.

I feel possessive of Lula, but it’s not the way I thought it would be. Being able to share her with Stefan surprised me but I rationalized it by telling myself that Jules would be twice as mad when he found out.

It’s crazy but I was lying to myself. I could share Lula with Stefan because he makes her happy and he’s my brother. If the same thing is true for Jules, maybe Stefan is right that things between me and my rival can change.

As long as Lula doesn’t love him more than she loves me, I can learn to tolerate Jules.

It wouldn’t be possible with anyone else, but maybe that saying that “blood is thicker than water” has some truth in it.

“Hey James,” Jules asks. “Where’s Jenna? Is everything ok?”

I nod. “Yeah, she’s fine. My mom and yours got her from the bouncy castle and there’s a raffle going on right now for the kids.They have tons of prizes, including a giant teddy bear the size of Stefan. Jenna has her eye on it.”

He shakes his head. “Fuck. I hope she wins something good or she’ll be sad.”

I reassure him. “Arianna said the raffle is rigged so that every child gets a prize. Usually I wouldn’t like the idea of a participation trophy, but those kids are all full of sugar and have been playing in the sun all day. Can you imagine the tantrums if they don’t win anything?”

He shrugs. “When we have kids tournaments we don’t usually issue participation prizes, but on the Fourth of July and Christmas, we make sure every kid goes home happy. Not that these are underprivileged kids, but their parents pay a boatload of money for their memberships. We think it’s good business practice to keep our future members happy.”

It makes sense. “Jenna was excited, that’s for sure.”

Jules looks perplexed. “I bet. Is it that late though? I thought the raffle was going to be later. I promised Jenna we would go on a jet ski and for a swim.”

“Yeah,” I confirm. “They brought the raffle forward because the wind is picking up and the lifeguards raised a red flag. No swimming in the sea or water sports right now. It doesn’t look that bad but with a hundred kids, it’s better to be safe than sorry.”

Cutler’s lopsided smile is annoying, but I choose to keep my focus on Lula.

“Come on baby,” I offer her my hand and I’m relieved when she doesn’t hesitate to take it. “Let’s walk back to the clubhouse. Igot us a bottle of champagne squirreled away, so we can start our own Fourth of July celebration.”

Jules hasn’t learned the art of keeping his mouth shut, especially when he owes someone. “Are you trying to get my girl drunk?”

Motherfucker.

Next time he needs help to get some time alone with Lula, he can forget it.

“No. You should fucking know I would never take advantage of a drunk girl. Besides, we were gonna share the bottle with Stefan. That’s not enough champagne to get drunk.”

Jules glares at me. “Share it with Stef? Why does it sound like the champagne isn’t the only thing you two are going to share?”

He doesn’t understand and I’m not going to explain how hot it is to see Lula and Stefan together. And how much of a turn on it is to see Stefan watching me with our girl.

“Ready to go, baby?” I ask, ignoring Jules.

“Wait guys,” the pain in the ass says. “Just let me make sure the boathouse is locked and we can all walk back together.”

At least the asshole isn’t careless with our assets. “Is the new boat in there too?” I ask. “I haven’t seen it yet.”

“If you wanted to see it, you should have helped Tory and the team when we moved everything here last night.” He provokes me.

I roll my eyes. “I don’t have to justify myself to you, but Mom was swamped at the bakery last night. She had a large order for a wedding and several orders for the holiday weekend, includingthe club’s pastries. With Rikki at rehab, she had no one else to help.”

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