Page 76 of Harper's Holiday Romance
The two of them bombarded the chat with laughing faces: the standard one, the slanted one, the cat laughing one, and finally the purple suit dancing emoji that looked like John Travolta from the seventies; that had always been Billies favourite.
“What are you smirking at?” Julia asked.
“My idiot friends.”
“I know I haven’t spent a lot of time with them, but they seem pretty great.”
“They are the best.”
I climbed in bed next to Julia and laid my head on her chest. She began stroking the hair from my forehead. My stupid fringe had only gotten in the way for the entire trip, and I was one sex-fuelled session away from pinning it back off my head with a snappy metal hair grip like I did in high school.
“We need to sleep,” I mumbled.
“I don’t want to sleep.”
“We need too.” The curtains did their best to block out the light, but it was afternoon. We hadn’t left the hotel room since the night before. Sleep had been minimal. My eyes felt like someone had stacked mini wardrobes on top of them. The only thing keeping me from falling asleep instantly was Julia’s sweet voice and the worry I might wake from this dream if I did.
“I only have a few days left. If I sleep it means less time with you,” Julia whispered.
“I’ll see you in your dreams.” I leant up and pressed my lips to hers. She tasted like the green juice we’d had for breakfast.
“I hope so,” she said. I felt Julia’s body relax beneath me.
Why did it feel like I was losing control to something bigger than myself? Julia made me feel both emotionally and physically safe. I craved security and stability, and I didn’t believe anyone could give that to me.
I was scared to love.
I was vulnerable to the idea.
I was confused by this feeling of alignment.
The intensity of our connection went beyond physical attraction. I had no idea what that meant, or how to process it. I decided to sleep and pray for subconscious answers.
24 hours later
I peered through the slit of my eyelid. It was dark again. My body clock was completely out of sync. Morning was night; night was morning, and Julia was—gone.
My hand searched through the mass of bed linen. I felt no limbs outside of my own. The only warmth was radiating from the pillow in between my legs, which I’d spent the whole night straddling.
Once my eyes adjusted, I noticed the curtains ruffling. A small breeze made its way through the gap in the sliding door that led to the balcony. I covered my naked body with the crumpled robe from the floor; the cold from the stone tiles had seeped into the towelling, and it cooled my warm partially sunburnt skin. It was themost clothing I’d had on since we arrived in the hotel room the night before, not that I was complaining.
I peeled back the curtain. Julia sat in the circular wooden chair; her feet were propped up on the glass balcony railing. She didn’t notice the shift in the curtain. The sound of the sea crashing against the shore was hypnotic. The wind rustled through the trees. It was peaceful. Julia looked out into the dark night sky where a small hint of orange lay on the horizon. She was unmoving. Her head relaxed against the back of the chair. Her hair was loose and tangled around the wooden pieces at the back. The dull balcony light highlighted her profile and the softness of her jawline in the pale moonlight.
I could’ve watched her forever. She displayed such serenity. I pulled my phone from the pocket of my robe, ignoring the hundreds of teasing text messages from my friends, as I flicked the camera into focus. I wanted to capture the moment I knew I would never forget Julia Hanlow. People may never understand the significance of the photo, but I would.
This wasn’t just the woman who had spent the last twenty-four hours making me orgasm on more occasions than I thought humanly possible. I could’ve walked away with that notion. I could’ve accepted that Julia’s short-lived appearance in my life was to teach me a thing or two about my own self-worth, to teach me how to be confident, to teach me how to be unashamedly sexual, and how to get the most out of an orgasm—that part had been fun. The sound of her moaning in response to my tongue could’ve been my ringtone, if it weren’t deemed highly inappropriate. It was the most exhilarating sound.
She had taught me all the above, but the thoughts felt empty and devalued. Julia was much more than aneducator. She wasn’t just a brief encounter. Our connection went beyond surface-level conversations and initial similarities. It felt deeper than that. I thought myself crazy for thinking it, but it felt as though we shared a deep, honest, and unexplainable connection forged in my soul. I had no idea if she felt the same. I could only hope.
“What are you thinking?” I said softly. Julia didn’t flinch. She was too calm to be startled.
“The world is a fascinating place.” Julia sighed. She patted at her lap. “Come, sit with me.”
I obliged. The chair was big enough to accommodate. I squeezed my bum in beside her, draping my legs across her waist.
“What fascinates you?” I asked.
She smiled sincerely. “Everything. The planets. The sun. The sea. The birds. The trees. The human body. I couldn’t sleep, so I came out here to experience the sunrise, and I got to thinking—” She toyed with the belt from my robe. “We are so lucky we get to experience the sun rising. We are lucky we get to meet people, forge friendships, fall in love, build lives, and have hopes and dreams. I don’t know about you, but I know I take it for granted sometimes,” she expressed.
