Modern Girl's Guide to One-Night Stands (27 page)

Modern Girl Tip #10: Play It Safe—When you’re going home with someone you don’t know, or having someone come home with you, make sure one of your friends knows what's happening. That way someone you trust will know what’s up, just in case.

“Hope you had fun, but it’s time to get up,” Megan’s voice echoed off the walls of the small boathouse. “And you’d better have clothes on.”

Julia woke with a start as she heard Megan coming up the stairs. She hadn’t meant to fall asleep last night. They had moved to the loft shortly after Simon had undressed her, and after another round of fantastic sex she’d passed out.

Now she was stuck, with her dress downstairs. Frantically, Julia elbowed Simon to get off the blanket so she could at least cover up before Megan made it up to the bedroom.

“Are you trying to kill me, woman? I’m not a machine. Let me sleep a little longer and then I’ll be ready—”

“Shut up and get off the blanket,” Julia said as she pulled on the covers.

“Whoa! Cover that shit up,” Megan said and turned her back to them. “I could have done without the visual of my brother's junk, thank you very much.”

Simon was finally moving and yanked the covers over their exposed bodies. Propping himself up on the headboard, he pulled Julia into his side. “What are you doing here, Megan?”

“I thought Julia might need a change of clothes, so she didn’t have to do the walk of shame in heels and a formal.” Back still turned, she held up a pair of shorts and a t-shirt. "You’re on your own, Simon. But you’d better get back to the house. Matt wanted to talk to you before they leave.”

Julia wanted to dive under the covers and die of embarrassment, but she had to say something. Megan wasn’t supposed to find out like this. She didn’t want her friend to think that she had been using her to get to Simon. “Megan, this isn’t what you think.”

“It better be,” she said. “I didn’t think anything was ever going to happen, but after the way you two were eye-fucking each other last night, I knew.”

Julia tried again. “What I mean is, I didn’t come here because I wanted this to happen.”

“Gee, don’t mind me,” Simon said as he got out of bed. He leaned down and kissed her on the top of the head. “I’m going to talk to Matt before he leaves. Come see me before you head out for the day.” And without any sense of modesty, he strolled past his sister.

“Dude, really? Put some pants on!” Megan said.

“Knock next time,” he replied as he strolled down the steps.

“I’m sorry, Megan. Please don’t be mad,” Julia said after Simon was downstairs.

“Are you kidding? This is great.” Megan said, jumping on the bed beside her. “His ex was such a bitch, and don’t get me started on Luke again. You two are perfect for each other. I mean, sure, Simon can be an asshat when he wants to, but nothing you can’t handle. And now you won’t have any excuse not to come over for Christmas.”

“It’s not like that…” Shit, how did she explain to her friend that she was having a casual sexual relationship with her brother? "He’s leaving and I’m not ready for another relationship. We’re taking it slow and seeing where things lead."

“We must have different definitions of slow. But whatever, you’re both adults.” Megan shrugged and handed over the clothes, as though it made no difference to her one way or the other.

But Julia still wasn’t convinced she was fine with it. “I’m not like your other friends. When I met him, I didn’t even know Simon was your brother. I was shocked when he showed up last month.”

“What do you mean, you didn’t know he was my brother?” Megan said, eyeing her suspiciously. “When did you meet him?”

Crap.
She hadn’t meant to mention their one night together. Julia hoped that Megan didn’t put two and two together and figure out that Simon was the guy she'd had the one-night stand with in January.

“Are you telling me you’ve had a thing with Simon all along? Is that why you guys were acting so strange over Memorial Day?” After she didn't answer, Megan jumped out of bed and started pacing the room. “And there I was, thinking you were uncomfortable with the idea of being set up with my brother. When did this happen?”

Double fuck.
She needed to change the subject. “Have you heard back from the editor? Did she have any more changes for you?”

“Even though your asshole of an ex screwed everything with a skirt, I know you wouldn’t have cheated on Luke. It had to have happened after you broke up,” she said more to herself. "You haven’t been on any dates, and you’ve been working crazy hours after school. The only time you ever mentioned—” Megan stopped in her tracks and spun around, pointing an accusatory finger in her direction. “Oh my God! You hooked up with him at the hotel after I left. Of course! The guys use the conference rooms there all the time.” She laughed and covered her eyes with both hands. "To think, out of all the guys in Chicago, you’d run into him. What are the odds? Thank you, by the way, for not telling me about your one-night stand. There are just some things a sister doesn’t need to know."

Julia was almost dressed by the time Megan had stopped her musing. She pulled on the tee, feeling a little more in control now that she was dressed. “I would have told you. If he’d given me his last name I wouldn’t have—”

“I’m not mad,” Megan said and gave her a squeeze. “Just know that if things go bad, I’m getting you in the breakup. I’ve had Simon for the past twenty-nine years, and you’re more fun than he is these days."

The idea of them being together was still fresh in Julia’s mind, and she didn’t want to even contemplate the end right now. After spending an entire night with him, she wasn’t even sure she could make it through the week without becoming hopelessly attached. This whole “taking it slow” plan was a mistake and she knew it, but she’d promised to give it a try.

“I’m starved, and I really need to get started on work. I’ve already lost most of the morning,” Julia said, heading downstairs. “We can talk when I get back.”

Thankfully the house was quiet when she arrived. She managed to slip away from Megan, grab her gear and a bite to eat before heading back to the dock. It was really too late to get any shooting done today, but a little distance would do her good. There were still a few items she needed to set up at the house, anyway.

She’d just loaded the last studio light onto the speedboat when Simon came strolling down the dock.

“I thought you were going to see me before you headed out this morning,” he said before reaching her.

“I’m still here.”

“It sure looks like you’re running away. Just because Megan knows, it doesn’t have to be weird.”

“No, but Megan walking in on us this morning made it weird. I didn’t want her to find out like that.”

Julia turned around to find him just a few feet away. He was in shorts and no shirt, with an iPod strapped to his arm, ready for a run. It was hard to think straight with him looking like so sexy. All she wanted to do was drag him back to the boathouse and have her way with him. That was the real reason she didn’t stop to talk to him.

“You’re not having second thoughts, are you?” He reached out and grabbed her hand, pressing a light kiss on the inside of her wrist. "Because if you are, I might have to remind you about how great last night was.”

A shiver ran down her spine with the contact. She didn’t need reminding, but if he wanted to…

No.

She pulled her hand back. If she didn’t leave now the entire day was going to be a wash. “I have a lot of work to do and I’ve lost most of the day already. I'll be back for dinner, and we’ll talk then.”

Julia picked up her backpack and turned to get into the boat, but Simon grabbed her hand. With little warning he pulled her into his arms and kissed her softly, his hands on either side of her face. The gentle kiss quickly turned into something more, his lips parting hers, his tongue invading her mouth. One hand tangled into her hair, locking her into place.

When his other hand moved under her shirt, Julia emerged from her stupor and pulled away, breathing hard. “Simon, I really need to go.”

“I’m sorry. I just get carried away around you.” Nuzzling her neck, he whispered into her ear. “Don’t think too hard about it. Just go with it.”

Not being able to go with it wasn’t her problem. Julia was afraid of not being able to find herself again once she did. She’d gotten lost in a man before, and she didn’t want that to happen again.

She stepped out of his reach and turned toward the ladder. “I’ll see you tonight.”

It was just past four when she made it back to the house. It hadn’t taken her long to get everything in place. And if she’d left on time that morning, she might have had some good shots to work with. Now she only had four days on site.

It wasn’t how she wanted this session to turn out. The artistic shots were new for her. She’d done self-portraits before, but nothing like this. It was fifty-fifty odds she’d even get the shots she wanted.

Sweaty and covered in dirt, Julia snuck upstairs to grab a quick shower. Not that she needed to creep in—the house was empty. There was a scrawled note in Megan’s handwriting that said they went to town to stock up on supplies. Knowing Megan, that was code for booze.

Being alone gave her too much time to think, and it didn’t take long before Julia was a bundle of nerves. She wasn’t sure how the night was going to turn out. It was one thing to talk about spending time together and exploring the possibility of a relationship when she was alone with Simon, but now Megan knew. Were they supposed to act like a couple or just try to act like nothing happened?

And just like Megan always accused her of doing, Julia released all that worry into cooking. She started with cherry scones for breakfast the next day and then moved on to dinner. She made pork chops with potatoes, kale, and a chopped salad. When they still weren’t back, Julia started a soup for lunch the next day. By the time Megan walked through the kitchen door, Julia had meals prepped for three days and had just pulled fresh rolls from the oven.

“God, Julia. You do know we had enough leftovers from the party to feed a small country.” Megan waved her hand at the mess in the kitchen. “What's all this?”

“I had the time. After I’d finished dinner, I thought I might get a head start on stuff for tomorrow. There’s nothing wrong with a little planning."

“Anxiety cooking,” she said over her shoulder. “What did I tell you? I bet she even made dessert.”

“I do not anxiety cook. It’s just…”

But she couldn’t finish the sentence. Simon came through the door carrying a bag, and Peter was on his heels. Julia bit her lip and went back to buttering the top of the rolls.

“Are those hot rolls?” Peter asked, reaching across the counter.

“You’d better not touch Julia’s rolls,” Megan teased, slapping the bread out of his hand. “Simon might get jealous.”

“I think you might be right,” Peter said, nodding in agreement. He was trying hard to keep a straight face, but he couldn’t pull it off as well as Megan. "I noticed last night he was awfully proprietary of her tarts.”

“Julia’s tarts are his favorite,” Megan said in agreement. “He certainly got his fill of them last night.”

“Grow the fuck up,” Simon said, setting a bag on the counter. “I had enough of both of you in the car.”

“Simon, it’s fine,” Julia said.

It was so not fine, but what could she say? This was Megan. This kind of ribbing was the least she’d expected from her.

“What?” Megan said, batting her eyelashes. “Did I say something wrong?”

Simon looked as if he was ready to strangle his sister. She couldn’t blame him. Megan was doing her best to push his buttons.

“And you wonder why none of your friends ever wanted to hang out with us,” Simon said.

That was so not the right thing to say. Julia could see this conversation taking a nasty turn, so she decided to step in. “What do you know? Dinner’s ready. Megan, can you help me set the table?”

Megan picked up a stack of plates and stormed out of the kitchen to the sound of Peter’s laughter.

“Dinner should be fun,” Julia said under her breath and picked up the plate of pork chops.

The guys followed her in with the other bowls and they sat down to an awkward silence. Simon sat next to her, and Peter and Megan in the seats across the table. Obviously still upset about his comment, Megan filled her plate, all the while giving her brother the stink eye.