Page 22 of We're Just Friends
As we kept talking about old memories, we found ourselves at the same playground we went to as teenagers. To our surprise, everything was pretty much the same. We walked over to the swings, and I reluctantly let go of her hand.
“I’m so happy that you found someone,” I said as we swung back and forth.
Julianna just stared at the ground, and I could tell that something was bothering her.
“Yeah,” she said quietly.
The wind blew her hair back from her face, revealing a sullen frown and a quivering lip. I reached over and stopped the swing. “What’s wrong?”
She bit her lip and then burst into tears. My eyes went wide, and I immediately reached for her.
“I’m not married anymore,” she said in between sobs. “Well, I mean technically I am, but we’re separated. He cheated on me, and my life is one big mess.”
She wiped away tears, and I could hear Hillard’s voice in my head, telling me to just go for it.
I shook it away. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I don’t know,” she said sniffling. “Maybe I’m still in denial.”
She hiccuped and then tilted her head back.
“Any man who does that to a woman like you is a fool,” I said. “Julianna, you are one of the most beautiful and intelligent women that I have ever known. I can’t imagine what you’re going through, but please know that you deserve so much better.”
Julianna tried to stand up, but it was clear that she’d had a little too much to drink. She threw her hands out and poked her lip out. "Oh yeah, and graceful too."
I smiled, sliding off my swing and bending down in front of her. She glanced down at me nervously as I slipped her heels off and stood up, putting out my hand. There was a moment of suspicion in her eyes, but she eventually took my hand and pulled herself up. I wrapped my arm around her waist, and she laid her head on my shoulder as we walked through the park. Unlike the city parks in San Diego, which never seemed to be empty, all I could hear was our footsteps and crickets.
I tried to get her to tell me more about her ex, but all she said was that he’d cheated and ruined her life. As a man with a history of being a womanizer, I was in no place to criticize her ex-husband. As her best friend, though, it made me want to punch him.
We talked about some of the parties we attended back in high school, the teachers we did and didn’t like, and the popular girls who’d made her life a living hell.
“Thank you for sticking up for me,” she said.
I remembered that day in the diner. I walked in after school, and there she was, just sitting, minding her own business doing homework, while a bunch of girls hurled insults at her. I told them to knock it off and to leave her alone. Maybe it was because I’d been popular myself, but they actually heeded my advice. From then on, it was just the two of us. She became the best friend I never thought I'd find.
Now, it was starting to get chilly, and I had to make a decision. I could offer to drive Julianna home or to my brother’s mansion. I hoped she chose my brother's place, both because I wanted to be around her and because it was obvious she needed a friend.
“Why don’t you come back to Richard’s house,” I said as we walked back down to the bar.
It was nearly one in the morning by that point, and crowds of people were standing outside the eateries and bars that lined Main Street. Some of them were smoking, others were just waiting for a ride, and a few women were flirting with the street cops. “Richard’s letting me stay in his guest house, so there’s room for both of us.”
I removed my hand from her back and stroked her hair as she leaned her body even further into me. “That sounds like a plan.”
I immediately thought of her lying naked in my bed, her full breasts staring back at me as I trailed kissed down her neck. If all went well, I told myself, then I owed Hillard a round of drinks. He always gave me the courage to go after what I wanted. And I had wanted Julianna for a very long time.
I hailed the cab sitting on the corner and helped her inside. "456 Truman Circle."
Once we were on the road, Julianna seemed to cheer up a little bit. "That was a lot of fun. To go back to where we had spent so much time together."
I smiled. "That it was. And don't think because you're having a personal crisis, I'm ever going to let you live down that awesome fall you had."
She punched my arm. "Man, at least give me some reprieve time." I pursed my lips. "One week, and then it’s to the tabloids I go."
She snorted. "Please, the only thing they'll care about is you."
"Yeah, I hate that."
She glanced up at me with a look of pity and laid her head back down on my shoulder. When we turned onto the drive, her eyes went wide. “Whoa. Your brother is loaded. Then again, so are you. Although you’ll always be Jakey to me, Mr. Moneybags.”
