She has a look of utter disappointment on her face as she hands me her drink. I knew she looked young, but I didn’t realize she was that young. Suddenly I’m worried if I should’ve invited her here. I should’ve taken her somewhere private instead of asking her to come to a party with a bunch of crass Marines.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t realize. Do you want to go somewhere else?” I ask. I don’t want her to get upset and leave, and I’m not finished with her yet. I'm also not ashamed to beg. Again.
Her face turns bright red, and she looks anywhere but at me. “It’s fine, I just didn’t want to get you in trouble. I tried to say no and I knew this was a bad idea.” She reaches for her cover up, and starts to put it back on. “I’ll just find Sierra and we can go.”
She stands up and my brain kicks in. “No!” I shout, and grab her wrist. I look around and see everyone staring in our direction, and her friend makes her way over to us. I reluctantly let go of her wrist, and people go back to what they were doing, trying not to cause a scene.
“You okay, Jules?” Sierra asks.
“Yeah, I’m good. You ready to go?” I can see they do some eye exchange and Sierra nods her head.
“Wait. Please don’t go.” I panic and try to think of something to get them to stay. “Look, there’s a theater room in the house. Why don’t we put something on, and you and I can talk some more? Please. No drinking, nothing crazy. Let’s just talk.” I can hear the note of desperation in my voice, but I don't give a fuck.
“Hang on a second,” Sierra says, and pulls Julie over to the side. They have a short convo, and walk back over to where I’m standing.
Sierra looks me in the eyes, and after a second I guess she finds what she’s looking for. “You’re in luck. Your friend Knox, I guess you call him ‘Scribe’, is kind of cute, so I don’t mind hanging out while you guys talk a bit. But the second she asks to leave, we are out of here. No protests, no arguments. We are gone. Got it?”
“Got it.”
I don’t waste any time, taking Julie by the hand, leading her inside to the end of the house and into the room Scribe uses as a movie room. There’s a big projector screen at one end and a couple of couches at the other. I walk over and choose a movie at random while Julie sits on the couch. Once it’s up and playing, I go sit beside her and turn my body so I’m facing her.
She’s got her cover up back on, but I’ve got my shirt off. I feel like I should have put on more clothes for this, but I’m not losing time away from her by getting dressed.
“I’m sorry. I should’ve said something in the store.”
“I didn’t give you much of a chance.”
She laughs a little at that. “No, you’re right, you really didn’t.”
“I’m twenty seven. I don’t know if that makes a difference to you, but just in case you wanted to know.”
“It doesn't bother me.”
“Your age doesn’t bother me,” I say, and I mean it. Something about her has taken a hold of me, and it’s like nothing I’ve ever felt. I don’t know what it is about her, but I can’t let her go. It’s like there’s this pull between us, and I’ve got to figure out what it is.
Her cheeks blush a little and she nods her head. “Good then.”
“So,” I say, reaching out and taking her fingers in my hand. The feeling is still there, and oddly enough, it comforts me. “Tell me all about my shortcake.”
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