“Not to Jules.” Theo shook his head. “Jules doesn’t lose his cool like that. He’salwayspolite. Always. I’ve pretty much only heard of him raising his voice in public twice, and both of them have been since you two started dating.” The look he gave me said he blamedmefor this turn of events. “The first time was when he stood up in the diner and defended you toeveryone.”
“Ah, that’s not the same thing as this at all, though,” Sam said. She grinned softly. “That was just classic romantic-movie bullshit. Sappy and sweet at the same time. Defending your honor, right in front ofeveryone.”
My heart squeezed just a little. I’d been a really shitty friend, but I could do better. Iwoulddobetter.
“Well, you can tell everyone that Julian and I are fine. Okay? I’ve been busy this week, and we haven’t gotten to see each other.” I smirked. “I’ve been cranky,too.”
Theo narrowed his eyes at me, then nodded slowly. “And you’re still coming to Thanksgivingdinner?”
“Of course,” I said. “Why wouldn’t I? Julian’s myboyfriend.”
Theo nodded again, once, and his shoulders loosened. “Sorry. I’m just a little protective. He’s a really good brother, you know? And it seems like some guys don’t appreciatehim.”
“And you know this how?” Sam’s voice dripped with scorn. “Julian doesn’t talk to you about his sexlife.”
“No shit, and thank God.” Theo shuddered. “But my mom says he doesn’t open up to people very well.” He shot an uncomfortable glance in my direction, like he was worried he’d said toomuch.
Meanwhile, I couldn’t imagine who he was talking about. Julian had always been open with me, from dayone.
“You can set your minds at rest, young ones,” I told them. “I was just on my way to see Juliannow.”
“Yeah? Cool. That’s… cool. He’s at the clinic,” Theo added. “We drove by there on our way out and it waspacked.”
“Betcha half of them are just there to make sure Doc Ross hasn’t been abducted by aliens and replaced with a pod person,” Sam laughed. “An impatient podperson.”
Sure enough, when I got to the clinic, the place was more crowded than I’d ever seen it. There were easily a dozen people packed into the tiny waiting room, though only three or four animals, as though every animal required an entire posse ofcaretakers.
Even Julian’s assistant, Kathy, who usually had the air of a perky cheerleader, looked frazzled today. She sat behind the desk rubbing her pregnant belly, and barely glanced up when the bell jangled as I opened the door, though every other eye in the place tracked mymovement.
“No, Ms. Dorian, I’m afraid we don’t have time to see Lexie today. We’re booked solid all day long. We could try tomorrow, or… Yes, I understand you’re worried, but there’s simply not… No, ma’am, he will not let you come in after hours to see her. No, ma’am, I willnotjust go and ask him.” She huffed out a breath. “Tomorrow is the soonest we… Okay, yes. Ten o’clock tomorrow. Thank—” She broke off, then pulled the phone away from her ear and stared at it. “Sorude!”
At that moment, the door behind the reception desk swung open and Julian ushered out an older man cradling apoodle.
“I think she’ll be fine, Jay. Maybe just some extra water and a little morewalking.”
Jay nodded. “Yep. Sounds good. Thanks for looking at her, Doc—” He lifted his head and spotted me, then he licked his lips and his eyes gleamed. He turned to Julian with a coy smile. “Actually, I maybe just had a couple morequestions.”
But it was too late. Julian’s blue gaze had found mine, and he wasn’t paying attention to Jay anymore. Instead, he was fixated on me like I was an apparition, and maybe with good cause. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d walked into the clinic during operating hours, and maybe he’d worried I’d skipped town after not talking to him for a week. I felt the back of my neck heat as the weight of a dozen stares fell onus.
I moved forward, before anyone else could call his name or claim his attention, wedging myself between him and the poodle-man, and then pushing Julian into the exam room. “We’ll just be a minute,” I told Kathy. Then I kicked the door shut behind me with myboot.
“Hi,” I said, once the latch had clicked into place. The damn door didn’t have a lock, but that was fine. I was here totalk.
Exceptfuck, Julian was a sight for sore eyes. He looked good—not objectively good, given the dark circles under his eyes and the pallor of his cheeks, but he was Julian, and he was gorgeous, and I’d missed seeing his face, so I drank in the sight of him like rain after adrought.
Without conscious thought, I took a fraction of a step closer, and closer, and closer again, until I’d eliminated all the space between us. I put my hand on his waist, just to feel his muscles flex under my hand. Part of my brain was whisperingdanger, danger, but the other part was screaming,Oh, thank God, finally, so I let ithappen.
“Uh, hi?” Julian swallowed convulsively and his eyes were huge as he stared up atme.
“Jules, I’m sorry,” Isaid.
He blinked. “F-forwhat?”
“For not being around this week.” I shook my head. “It wasshitty.”
“No, no! God, no. It’s fine. It’s cool. You were busy. Withthings. I get it.” He laughed, and it sounded a little forced. “And I figured I freaked you out with that practice kiss. I, um… got a little too into it, huh?” His cheeks flamed and he couldn’t seem to meet my eyes. “I mean, in my defense, I’m a red-blooded gay man, so kissing an attractive guy is, you know, gonna elicit a certain response. But you were trying to be all PG-rated practice-boyfriendy and I was all‘Rawr! I haven’t had a Grindr hookup in months!’and basically tried to cannibalize you, which would freak anyone out, right?Heh heh.If anything, I oweyouan apology for pushing things and getting all into it when I know you weren’t,really.”
“That’s not what happened. I… Wait, Grindr hookups?” My mind snagged on that one crucial piece ofinformation.
