Page 157 of Alive At Night

“I thought you’d never ask.”

CHAPTERTHIRTY-SIX

juniper

ICOULD REALLY GET used to waking up in Julian’s bed. I could really get used to wake-up calls filled with kisses and slow, hot sex. I could get used to hearing his gravelly voice tell me how he’d wanted mornings like this from the first time we’d accidentally woken up in the same bed together.

I could get used to this—all of this. The mind-blowing orgasms, the sweet dates, and the attentiveness.

Everything was absolutely perfect. Everything except…

“Gemma texted me,” I announced on Monday morning as I prepared for another week of work. “She wants to get together. She also asked if I ever learned if Noah is a good kisser.”

Julian’s eyes shot to mine, the fire in them bright until it clicked in his brain why she would ask me that. His irritation dimmed, but only slightly.

“Tell her you wouldn’t know, and you never will.”

Of course he would say something like that. Ignoring his bristly possessiveness that secretly made my insides turn to mush, I cleared my throat.

“I think I’ll just ask Gemma if she wants to grab dinner this week, and then I can tell her everything.”

Julian, who was in the middle of putting on his tie as we both got ready for work, stilled.

“I wouldn’t tell hereverything, Daisy.”

He looked horrified at the idea that I would tell his sister how he’d eaten me out in an elevator after our first date.

“Of course I’m not going to tell her everything.” I opened the drawer that Julian insisted on giving me in his dresser and grabbed a pair of tights. “Although, it’s a little annoying that I can’t.”

Julian’s brows furrowed as he continued getting dressed, his movements slow and measured like he was overthinking each step.

“What do you mean?”

“She’s my best friend.” I sat down on the edge of his bed to pull on my tights. Julian’s eyes dropped to my legs, and his hands fell to the side, his tie forgotten. “I’ve always told her everything,” I added. “Especially about the guys I’ve been with. She made me promise a long time ago that I would tell her about my first time. It’s been weird staying quiet.”

Julian’s handsome face tightened, his lips pressing into a firm line. His silence was longer than I expected, but finally, he spoke, and his words surprised me.

“It’s very important to me that your friendship with Gemma isn’t affected by our relationship,” he said, voice unyielding. “I never thought…This, what you’re saying, isn’t a problem that I even considered.”

The way he was taking my offhand comment so seriously made my heart flutter. He was so cute, and he didn’t even realize it.

“It isn’t aproblem,” I assured him. “It’s just something I have to get used to. Throughout the whole time we’ve been doing this…thing—”

“Dating, Juni,” Julian amended. “We’re dating.”

“—the only person I’ve had to talk to about it all has been Noah, really.”

“Noah?” he repeated, looking like he was about to choke on his own tongue.

“When he took me out for dinner,” I explained, smoothing my tights up to my knees. “We talked about you almost the whole time, actually. He convinced me not to give up on you after you pushed me away.”

Julian swore under his breath, mumbling about how he owed Noah more than he realized but sounding oddly pissed about it. His expression remained tense and irritated as he chewed on his bottom lip, thinking. Julian was a fixer, and this wasn’t something he could fix.

“Well…” He cleared his throat, shrugging on his suit jacket. “You have my permission to tell Gemma whatever you’re comfortable with.” He paused again. “Do you want me to be there when you first explain about us?”

I looked up at him, pausing my struggle with my tights. “Do you want to be there?”

A shrug. “I want to be supportive if you want me there. But I have no problem letting you tell her alone if you think that’s better. I can talk to her later.”

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