Just There: Julie always fell for the wrong guy. She’s dated enough jocks, jerks, and jackasses to last a lifetime. When she meets Matt, he’s all three rolled into one. But then again, he can also be very caring, extremely charming, and incredibly sweet.

Chapter 1: Boys, Boys, and well, more boys

“Alright, confess,” Gabby demanded as the door slammed open sending it crashing into the wall. I didn’t even bother to jump or even blink at the sound. She always had this odd habit of always popping up in the places that I least expected her to be so after five years, I simply trained myself not to be startled. “Alright, you have been gone for three months, who’s the guy?” she prompted as she flung herself down on my bed.

I couldn’t help but laugh. A death in the family had brought me home for the summer to help with the family business and the first words out of her mouth concerned my love life. No hello, how’s the family, or even how was your flight? I loved where her priorities laid.

“Which one?” I joked finally taking my eyes off my suitcase I was currently unpacking and glancing over my shoulder at the red headed beauty whose shoes were clearly on my nice and semi new navy comforter.

As quirky as she was, I couldn’t help but love her, however we weren’t always this way. In fact, when we were forced to be partners our junior year of college for a psych project, we were anything but friendly. She was peppy and popular and I was reserved and quiet. The only thing we had in common was a crush on the captain of the soccer team, Jason Johnson. In her words, he was beau-ti-ful. But to make a long story short, after a wild party one night, he ended up in three different beds of three different women only making us realize he wasn’t worth it. Cue bonding rituals, bash fests, and lots of ice cream and you have the beginnings of a friendship. Five years later, we were joined at the hip and unfortunately; she has worn off on me.

“You slut,” she joked seeing right though my remark. “You’re just yanking my chain.”

“Well,” I trailed off staring off into the distance and allowing a sly grin to spread across my face. This was all for show of course. I guess it was rather mean of me to torture her, especially when the opposite sex was one of her favorite topics, but she had it coming.

Glancing back over my shoulder, I couldn’t help but smile as she resembled a little kid waiting to open presents on Christmas morning. She was gently bouncing up and down on the corner of the bed with one strand of hair twisted around her index finger while her other hand was tapping against her thigh. The only different was that her expression was far from happy. I’d say she was pissed at me for giving her the runabout.

“Julie Anna Anderson. Tell me the truth right this minute,” she threatened and I instantly took a few steps back out of fear. It wasn’t like she was going to hurt me, well, a few objects might coming flying my way if I kept it up, but she does has a short temper and I was already pushing it. She could only put up with my allusive games for so long.

“Don’t do that again,” I warned, shaking my head as I regained my footing, “You just sounded like my mom right there.” I had expected her to laugh at my comment but she just continued to glare at me.

“Stop avoiding the subject,” she paused as she took a minute to carefully study me. Since I was horrible at hiding my feelings around her I knew that I was royally screwed. “I know there was at least one guy Jules, you’re too easy, I’m just not sure exactly how many more. On one hand, it’s you so there was probably just one, but on the other, you always seemed to be at one party or another.”

“Just one,” I finally admitted as I put the last pair of jeans out of my suitcase and placed them in the drawer. After two hours of unpacking, I was finally done and boy was it good to be home.

Let me take a minute to clarify everything. My family owns a restaurant in Lake George, New York, and since the start, it has been a family-run. When Grandpa, who was responsible for the financial aspects of the restaurant, passed away suddenly at the beginning of the summer, I offered my help. Dad tried his hardest but he was completely in the dark when it came to budgets, bills, paperwork, and shipment so luckily their only daughter had studied business in college and was able help out until they got the hang of things.

But after a week, their antics drove me crazy and my only escapes were nights at the local bars. Was it my fault that Gabby always called at the worst time?

And while I’ve dated a lot in the past - various types of guys - I’m a firm believer of monogamy, which means no sharing, no cheating and even no one night stands. Lake George was no exception.

“What does he look like? What does he do? Is he rich?” she asked as her face softened and I was finally able to see her pearly whites lighten up her complication. With red hair, blue eyes, and very fair skin, it didn’t take a lot to brighten it up, but a frown never suited her.

“His name is Jordan and he’s your typical bay boy who pretends like he doesn’t have a care in the world,” I replied as I lay down next to her on my bed as I prepared to tell her all the details. Gabby found the love of her life four years ago and on October twenty-seventh, she will be set for life in the romance department. Thus, she was now going to live vigorously though me until I settled down. Maybe it was not too late to convince her fiancé otherwise?

“Let’s see,” I muttered as I closed my eyes to picture Jordan. There was no better place to start than with his physical description. “He has dark brown hair, kind of shaggy and always messy to give off the impression that he just got out of bed. Chocolate brown eyes, is about five foot eight and has an athletic build even though he has never picked up a ball or entered a gym.” I paused as I remembered how his body felt against mine. His muscles were hard, especially his abs and his hand did this amazing thing where –

“Earth to Julie,” Gabby called out after noticing I was staring expressionless up at the ceiling, and when I still failed to response, she whacked me with a pillow.

“Er, right. Sorry about that,” I apologized halfheartedly. The only reason she hit me was because she needed to know the rest of the story, not because she was worried. I had been rather vague on the phone with her but it wasn’t my fault that my preferred method of talking was in person.

“What else?” I continued deciding I wasted enough time, “Um, he can be extremely charming when he wants to, an ass at other times, and always has a comeback for everything. He drinks, parties, and hates anything to do with the morning or anything too cheery. Jordan hates when people ask too many questions and is prone to starting a fight every once and while.”

I’ll be the first person to admit that Jordan was not prince charming or even someone you would introduce to your family and in fact, I made every effort to make sure they knew nothing about our relations. He wasn’t the type of guy you would be with for the long haul and I doubt he would remain faithful after a few weeks. However, his charm was alluring and if you ever happened to see his dashing looks and perfect smile, it would all make sense.

Also add the fact that I wasn’t looking for anything serious and there is nothing wrong with having a little bit of fun with a bad boy every once in a while. While they do break hearts, as long you keep yours locked, there is no harm.

“Some catch,” Gab rolled her eyes at me.

“You’ve done a lot worse in the past so you shouldn’t be speaking.”

“How far did you two get?” she asked, poking me gently in the side.

“All the way – although it was a mistake,” I admitted, trying my hardest not to cringe at my words. It had been a mistake and I’m usually a lot more careful as to the men I sleep with. We had only known each other for a week, we were both buzzed, there was nothing better to do, and things just got a little out of hand. Thankfully we still had enough sense to use protection and much to his displeasure, the act was never repeated. We got close on multiple occasions; I was just never comfortable with going all the way again.

“Alcohol played a small factor but it wasn’t a huge deal,” I continued remembering Gabby was eagerly waiting for the full story. “We were both aware of the situation and decided it should be a one time thing.” I shrugged as I sat up and hug my knees into my chest.

So I lied a little, there was no harm right? The truth was that he wanted to repeat the act on multiple occasions but luckily he never pushed too far and I just brushed it off as a typical guy gesture.

Out of the corner of my eye I could tell that Gabby was carefully studying me so I discretely turned my head away from her knowing eyes. She was concerned for my well-being but luckily knew not to express it.

“On a scale from one to ten, how does he rate,” she finally asked after several minutes after deciding to let me slide for now. I smiled weakly into her glowing eyes and I couldn’t stay mad at her for prying too far.

“I’d say about a seven,” I laughed remembering that night. While I loved being up against his body, his lips expertly moving over mind and his hands roaming where they pleased, sex for me was more than just the physical aspects. There were no true feelings present. In order for sex to be great, mind blowing even, you need to feel a strong connect with the person, an emotion that goes past just lust. And with Jordan, no matter how good his lips, tongue, and hands were, all the pieces just weren’t there.

“That’s good because if it was any higher, I might have had to go and get a background check on the guy,” she joked but I knew she was relieved as she supported my grading system. She also never failed to remind me that with her fiancé Jake, every time was a perfect ten. And trust me, I really did not need to be reminded of that small tidbit after every occurrence.

“Will you be seeing him again?” she added as a second thought as I tried to get the image of them fornicating out of my head.

“I don’t know,” I replied casually, “He actually lives in town over on Fifth Street but I haven’t really decided if I should look him up or not.”

No one was more surprised then I was when I learned that he also resided in Auburn, Rhode Island and I guess you could say that it was a major reason as to why we started talking in the first place. While I was in Lake George helping out the family, a buddy of his owns a construction company and needed a hand for a few months during the summer since they were running behind schedule. Of all the coincidences.

“Do you have any plans of seeing Jordan?” Gabby asked, the one question I’d been debating the entire car ride home. If I took the trouble to pursue him, it would clearly mean I was interested in pushing the relationship further. I just feared he would see further as wanting to have sex again.

“I haven’t decided yet. I guess only time will tell,” I mumbled as I collapsed back on the bed. I figured I would only call him if I was bored enough, or lonely enough for that matter. “So what is the latest news with the wedding?” I asked changing the subject to one I knew she could talk for hours on without me saying a word. “Have you decided to throw in the towel and just elope already?”

“Julie,” she gasped and her body stiffened, “don’t you dare suggest such a horrid thing.” Gabby was all for the traditional wedding and even had most of the details worked out before she even met Jake. Luckily, Jake decided this was her day and has given in to her demands so there haven’t been too many arguments to deal with. Jake was practically a saint for putting up with all the craziness of this wedding and if he didn’t love her as much as he did, he would have bolted when he first saw her wedding book the day after he proposed.

“Why not?” I shrugged my shoulders as I got up off the bed and made my way over to the door. “Color schemes, flower arrangements, seating charts, guest lists, blah blah blah blah blah. It’s a hassle so why bother,” I teased as I walked into the kitchen to make a snack with the little food I had left. My loft had remained empty for the entire three months I was gone and even though Gabby kept an eye on it, she still failed to restock my fridge.

Besides the single bedroom and the bathroom, everything was out in the open, which was nice for when I entertained guests. The high ceilings gave it good acoustics but in decorating I made sure to make it light and cheery rather than contemporary and modern so it wouldn’t seem as large and drafty. Gabby always gave me a hard time for my choice because that wasn’t what a loft of this statue was supposed to look like but I could care less. She was the artist, not me, and since it was my apartment, I could break all the rules I wanted.

“You’re throwing too much money down the drain,” I called out as I continued my search through the cabinets, “If you want a decent life after the wedding, save your money. Just get the ceremony over with as quickly as possible.”

“I will pretend like I did not hear that,” she huffed as her icy eyes trying to burn into mine even though we both knew I wasn’t kidding. If I ever got married, my wedding would be small and simple. A small guest list and a small reception probably resembling a family barbeque was all that I needed. I’d much rather spend the money on a house, or a car rather than one day. A marriage is for a lifetime so spending the money on the actual marriage seemed more reasonable to me.

“Pretend away,” I waved my hand not bothering to look up at her. We could argue about the subject for hours but neither of our views would change.

“When you meet the one, your opinion will change,” she said knowingly, pausing to take a sip of water. “With him, you will want what every other girl wants on her wedding day.”

“To get laid?”

“No you idiot,” Gabby groaned sinking back onto my brown lumpy - but oh so soft - couch, “A big fancy wedding surrounded by family and friends.”

“And Jake understands this?” I grabbed the sole can of tuna fish, opened it, drained it and joined her on the couch, before eating it straight out of the can. Even if I did have mayonnaise and spices, I always enjoyed plain tuna.

“Yes,” she replied but not before rolling her eyes at my meal. I should really start making her pay a fine for every time she did that.

“I somehow doubt that.”

“Well, I guess his attention does tend to wander when I talk about certain details. And – ”

“He is probably planning on how long it takes to get to Vegas.” I cut her off smiling.

“Jules, stop it.”

“Fine.” I crossed my arms and pretended to sulk as Gabby spoke nonstop for the next hour filling me in on every single detail about the wedding. Besides the occasional nod and yes, she ran the show.

Ivory and maroon was the color scheme, the wedding party has been finalized, red wine will be served at dinner, the first dance will be to ‘I’ll Be’, guests will choose between chicken and pork, lilies will be the primary flower, bird seed will be thrown instead of rice – see? I was listening.

Gabby and Jake were lucky to have one another. They were both quirky and yet their quirks seemed to complement each other rather than clash. They had met during our senior year of college on a blind date, a double blind date I might add, but the other couple present never had a chance. The duo was nervous the entire time and it took Jake two weeks before he dared to ask her out again. There was also the fact that I had to hunt him down and politely threaten him before a phone call was made but we will not dwell on that point because I had made it a point that Gabby never found out that her soon-to-be husband was a wuss.

They had gotten pretty serious pretty quickly and we all knew where it would end up even though they took their time getting there. They both had enough common sense to wait until after college and give themselves times to start their careers before agreeing to marriage.

I’ve been jealous since day one but not because I was harboring a secret crush on Jake. Sure, he was adorable with his eyes and that crew cut blonde hair of his, but I never bothered because he only had eyes for one girl.

I was jealous because of what they shared. Gabby knew she was done looking at guys her senior year of college while I continued to go through guy after guy, hoping that one of them would stick, yet all falling short of my perfect guy. And the worst thing was that this perfect guy – yeah, I have no idea what he is like.

“Hey Gab,” I spoke up, startling her just a tad after my long period of silence. “How did you know Jake was the one?”

She had always told me every detail about their relationship from day one and I know exactly how she feels about him, but I’ve always wondered, how do you decide that the guy you are seeing is enough for the rest of your life.

“He just makes me smile,” she grinned and allowed her head to drop on my shoulder. “He’s always been able to understand me even when he barely knew me. I never needed to explain my actions to him; he just had an odd habit of figuring it all out for himself. I know I can tell him anything without him judging me and we’ll talk for hours on end without running out of things to say. He’s not perfect which you know from the multiple occasions I’ve come to you complaining but he always makes it up to me. We have this bond that goes beyond physical and emotional and we just fit together.

“You’ll find that one day,” she pressed on. “The right guy hasn’t come along just yet but trust me, you’ll know it when he does.”

“What if I ignore him or just give up too early?”

“Knowing you, you will probably hate him at first,” she told me honestly as she lifted her head up and smoothed my curls back into place.

“What a great start to a relationship.”

“Don’t dismiss it so fast. That’s how we started,” she laughed and I knew that the image of Jason Jackson was flashing through her head. “You have this odd tendency to put up a strong front and make the person tear down your walls before you let them in.”

“I guess so,” I muttered agreeing with her words. Gabby and I have come along ways since junior year and my next closest friend, Jake, sort of got a break since he was dating my friend. But as long as you had a defense, you could easily keep all the creeps out. Or maybe even some of the good guys?

“Don’t worry,” Gabby assured me after I expressed my last thought to her, “that guy will fight to get in. He’ll see that you are worth it. Just do me a favor and at least give him a chance.”

------

I never expected miracles with Jordan but after everything that Gabby told me a few nights ago, I was more afraid not to try. I knew his type and I knew that he wasn’t in it for a relationship and in fact, it would be close to impossible. So why was I even bothering with him?

Unfortunately, I couldn’t even answer that for myself. I just knew that he was cute and an amazing kisser.

So I was shocked when I had wandered over to his apartment on Saturday afternoon. When we had parted a week ago, he gave me his number and address urging me to look him up. Hence, I found myself standing outside apartment 342C without a clue as to how I got there.

Glancing around, the building was far from my expectations. He gave off the impression that he lived in a run down building with broken ceiling tiles but this place was anything but that. Located in a decent neighborhood, the tile in the lobby was clean and spotless and the brightly colored carpet with multi colored rings was anything but faded. The walls were painted an off white and everything smelled fresh with a hint of cinnamon. Granted, it was no Caesar Palace, but the fact that they had doormen was enough to impress me.

Once again I looked at the door before me and confirmed that the brass numbering on the door matched the one on the ripped piece of paper I held in my hand. Jordan never struck me as the type of guy who had money to toss around, especially when he wore jeans and plaid t-shirts most of the time.

After noticing there was no doorbell, I straightened out my shirt for the final time and did a quick check of my outfit: a pair of light washed jeans and a dark green halter top that was nothing but conservative. My almond color hair was thrown back into a messy ponytail and flip flops were on my feet. I wanted to keep this meeting as casual as possible because after all, it was not a big deal.

Taking a deep breath, I softly knocked on the door half of me hoping Jordan was home and the other half hoping he was no where to be found.

After several moments and the door remained closed, I decided to try again but with a little more force. There was a good chance that he had music blasting or even an appliance running. A soft knock could have easily gone unheard.

Still nothing.

I guess noon on a Saturday was a little too early to stop by someone’s house for an unannounced visit. Even though Jordan never slept the day away, he always had to be up early for work so they was a small chance that when he was able, he slept in like the rest of the world.

I was about to give up and all it a day when Gabby’s pesky words floated through my head. Give a guy a chance my ass. A girl could only do so much in pursuit of a fellow before it wasn’t worth it anymore.

With another sigh, I realized there was no harm in trying again so I pounded on the door with the notion that my attempt would go unanswered. I didn’t even bother to wait around for a response and I started to make my way back towards the elevator, trying my hardest to keep myself from dragging my fingertips along the wall as I made my way down the hall. I must have taken six steps when the door to apartment 342C slammed open and from the huff that barely reached my ears, this person was not happy.

My assumption was confirmed as I spun around and came face to face with a figure leaning against the doorframe, clad only in a pair of navy boxers.

And this person was not Jordan.

AN: Hey guys, this was one of the ideas I've been toying around with lately.

Let me know what you think

ALEX