Page 68 of Only This Once
His mouth went dry as their eyes locked on him, a trapped feeling settling inside. The voices of the crowd faded into a distant hum.
“Oh, hey, you’re a cutie. What’s your name?” The one with a brown ponytail and heavy mascara who was nearest to him leaned closer. She had been the one who had asked him for help with her drunk friend years ago.
Her friend’s blue eyes flicked over his body, making the chill that had slid inside of him spread. “Oh, he is pretty cute,” she agreed. There was no recognition in their eyes. He’d known they’d been drunk at the party, but the fact that they didn’t remember what they’d done to him at all made his lightheadedness spread.
“Excuse me,” he mumbled, sliding off his barstool on the side farthest from them.
The nearest girl’s hand clamped on his arm. “Don’t run away. Are you the shy type?”
He stared down at her manicured nails with white tips, hating the helplessness that blanketed him. Her nails had looked similar back then, holding him down from behind. He swallowed and tugged on his arm, relieved when it slid out of her grasp. Turning blindly, he stumbled into the crowd around him.
Suddenly Julia was there in front of him, and he could breathe again.
“Hey, everything okay?” Her worried gaze shifted behind him, and he stiffened when he realized the girls had followed him.
“Julia?” the blue-eyed one said, making everything worse. She elbowed her friend, nearly sloshing their drinks to the floor. “You remember Julia, don’t you? We had biology and a few other classes together back in college.”
Julia barely looked at them, focusing on him instead.
Jesse was pretty sure he was about to be sick right there in the middle of the bar.
“The way you look…” Julia’s eyes widened, moving back to the girls. “Them?” She breathed out, a stricken look crossing her face before her eyes narrowed in fury. Then she threw her ginger ale right into the closest one’s face, causing the heavy mascara to drip down with the soda like dark tears.
The other one screeched in panic, and that was before Julia lunged at her, taking her to the floor.
Jesse stared down at where they grappled, frozen in place as he watched the woman he loved punch the person who had hurt him right in the tit and then the stomach.
“What the hell are you doing?” the mascara-streaked one asked, but she didn’t try to get between them. Her hands shook as she shifted in place.
The woman on the ground curled into herself, and Julia pushed off her, turning on the other one.
The ice inside of him melted, and he stepped between them. “It’s okay, Jules. You don’t need to do this.”
Her chest heaved as she panted for breath, glaring toward the cowering one she hadn’t yet hit. “They deserve a hell of a lot worse.”
“Break it up, or I’m calling the cops!” someone shouted over the staring crowd.
Jesse grabbed Julia’s still fisted hand, tugging on it. “Come on. Let’s go.”
Julia searched his face, then let herself be pulled away. He led her out the front door, the bar patrons’ eyes following them until they slipped around the side to the parking lot.
Julia stiffened when they reached her car, pulling her hand free to scrub at her face. “Shit. I can’t believe I lost it like that.” She stepped in close to him, cupping his face with shaking hands. “Are you okay?”
He stared into her eyes, the green somehow stark in the glow of the streetlight they’d parked under. “Yeah.” The word came out choked, barely a word at all.
Her thumbs slid over his cheeks. “No, you’re not.” She glanced over her shoulder, back toward the bar. “Let’s get you out of here.” She led him to the passenger side of the car, opening the door for him.
Jesse slid inside, exhaustion sucking at him. Julia climbed behind the steering wheel and began to drive. The more hestared at her, the more the panic inside of him settled, melting away.
“How about I take you back to my place?” she offered, glancing toward him. “We can watch TV on the couch or something.”
He probably should be turning her down, but every part of him yearned to cuddle with her. “If you’re sure it’s okay.”
“Of course, it’s okay.” Her hands tightened on the steering wheel. “We’re friends, aren’t we?” The light from the next streetlight they drove past flashed through the car, highlighting the redness that had taken over her knuckles.
“Always,” he murmured. It was his own problem that he wanted more than that. For a moment, when he saw how angry she was on his behalf, he’d hoped for more. Friendship would be enough, though. Any part of Julia he could have was more than enough.
She parked in front of her apartment, letting her hands drop to her lap and staring at the building. Shaking her head, she reached for her seat belt and let it slither back into place.
