Did she care? Did it affect her? Nope. She came back that summer and in only a couple of months she was seen by one of my friends with Dan the Douche. I hated that fucking guy since the day I met him. He had this way of speaking down to you in a completely nice way. He’s everything that’s wrong with people who were born into money. I never got why he and Jules were friends because she was nothing like that. At least I thought she wasn’t.
Apparently, Jules followed her dream of opening her own bakery and it’s been doing well these past few years. Half the reason I fell in love with that girl was because of the things she could do with food. I don’t know how in the hell she pulled that shit off with her parents. Her dad had been grooming her to be a part of his company for as long as I knew her. I think that’s a big part of why he hated me—he saw me as an obstacle in his dream of what her life should be.
When she chose Dan over me that night I couldn’t handle it. The next day, a few of my buddies were enlisting in the marines and I decided getting the hell away from everything that reminded me of Jules was exactly what I needed. My best friend, Jordan, had said they were all applying for Special Forces. I followed suit with them and luckily we all passed the ridiculous amount of tests, health screenings, and background checks. I was sent to training camp a week before Jules was set to come home from Europe, which was bittersweet. A part of me wanted to say screw it and beg her to take me back, but the other part of me said that she had finally accepted what everyone else told her behind my back: I wasn’t good enough for her.
I pull up outside of her shop and freeze as my hand reaches to open the door. I can see her through the window and her smile knocks me on my ass as much as it did the first day I met her.
Thank God this is my senior year. I can’t wait to say goodbye to this god forsaken place. After I get out of here, if I ever see another brightly colored polo shirt or a pair of plaid shorts I might shoot myself in the damn head. Everyone in this damn school is so involved with themselves it’s hard to believe they can retain any actual information.
I reach into the top of my locker to store the expensive ass books that will stay here until I have to return them at the end of the year. I hear the crash before the locker door smacks me in the head. “What the fuck?” I throw my shit on the floor ready to punch the prissy ass mothe fucker that feels like testing me today. I slam the door shut and am shocked when I see a mess of blonde hair and books at my feet.
I kneel down next to her trying to calm the anger rolling though me at thinking that this was another attempt at picking on the middle class loser. “Are you okay?”
Her hand brushes her hair away from her face and the biggest pair of green eyes I’ve ever seen are looking up at me. “Um, yea, I think so. I’m sorry I’m such a klutz.”
She looks away from me and bites her lip as she starts to gather her books that scattered everywhere. I can’t tear my eyes away from the way her teeth are digging into her full bottom lip. She clears her throat letting me know I’ve been caught staring, and I grab the rest of her books off the floor. I stand up and offer her my hand. She takes it gently and I help her get to her feet. Her knees buckle and she falls into me. I drop her books so that I can catch her.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” The smell of strawberries invade my senses and my hands clasp the loose material of her shirt. She’s pressed against me right now and it’s like we are alone in our own world.
“Yea, I just hit my head.” Her hands are resting on my hips and when the bell rings she jumps. “I should really get going.”
She starts to walk away but I follow her. “Brian.”
Green eyes turns on her heels to look at me. “What?”
“My name, it’s Brian.”
She smiles at me and I swear I have never seen a more beautiful girl in my life. “Nice to meet you, Brian. I’m Julia, thanks for saving me back there.” Julia. She starts to walk away but I follow her again. When I catch up to her she looks over at me as if she is surprised I’m still with her. “Don’t you have to go to class, Brian?”
I smile at the way my name sounds coming out of her mouth. “I do, but I figured that I should make sure you get to class safely. I mean the lockers in this place can be brutal.” She shoots me a dirty look and I can’t help but laugh. “You know you could give me your number that way if any other lockers attack you I can be there to save you again.”
She stops walking and looks over at me. “Are you serious?”
I look at her in confusion. “About getting your number definitely, about lockers attacking you hopefully not.”
She laughs and opens up the notebook on the top of her pile of books. After she scribbles on it, she hands me the paper with her number on it. “I really do have to get to class now.”
She walks away from me and I’m frozen in place. I can tell that this girl is definitely going to give me a run for my money.
I take a deep breath, open the car door, and walk into the shop. The bell dings signaling my arrival and Jules’ warm eyes rise to greet me. When she sees me, her eyes widen and her mouth forms an “O.” After all this time, she is still the most beautiful girl I have ever seen. Her long blonde hair is braided to the side and she has on a black v-neck t-shirt which hugs the curves that are engraved in my memory. I sit down at one of the small tables and pretend to browse the menu while trying my damnedest to cover up how much I have missed her.
Chapter Two
Julia
When I hear the bell ring I look up to greet the new customer just to have the wind knocked out of me. Brian. Why is he here? How is he here? I haven’t seen him since the night he decided I was no longer good enough for him. I can’t help but stare at the man who was the first love of my life. Brian and I had a crazy all consuming love that ended in heartbreak. I cried over him for months just to find out not only did he abandon me but went as far to leave town just to get away from me.
He sits down at one of my tables and my stomach drops. As I look him over he is wearing the same t-shirt he was the night he gave up on me. It’s like another knife in my heart to see him in it. I don’t know what type of game he is trying to play, but Brian Evans is my past and will never be part of my future. I look over to Sara, one of the girls that works for me, “Hey can you take that table? I need to make a phone call.”
She nods and heads over to Brian’s table as I slip into the back like a coward. I look down at my shaky hands trying to get a grip on myself. Why would he come in here? I’m sure he has heard about me and Dan by now, he has nothing left in this town. It doesn’t make sense for him to come back.
I smooth out my clothes before taking a deep breath and walking back out front. “Why are you hiding from me?”
A deep voice whispers in my ear and I jump at the sound. Brian is standing next to me the two of us too close for comfort in this tiny hallway. As I breathe in my senses are invaded with his cologne. It’s the same one he wore all those years ago. I feel like a lovesick teenager again. Like the same little girl who couldn’t control herself around him. I’m not her anymore though, she was broken. As I stare at the man who destroyed my life all those years ago, contempt and anger run through my body.
“I’m not hiding. I just have no desire to see you,” I say as strong as I possibly can but know my voice is still a little shaky. I move to walk away from him when he grabs my arm. I turn to face him and he takes a step closer, forcing me to step back until my back hits the wall.