Nico fit in with their group seamlessly, Julie Thought. He understood their dry sarcastic humor and corny jokes. Derrick, who would usually tick off all of the reasons why she shouldn’t see a guy, somehow had nothing to say. Due in part to his friendship bias, she suspected. Afterall, Nico was his pick. Still, it was strange for him not be giving side eye glances or snarky comments about any guy she dated. He was basically, the older protective brother Julie never had.
Derrick had never gotten along with Patrick, nor had he spent any significant amount of time in her ex’s presence. So, to see him fully engaged and laughing with Nico warmed her heart. Deep down, in the future Julie hoped that her and Liz’s guys would be as close as she and Liz.
Now, they going were back and forth about whether Michael Jordan or Lebron James was the best basketball player of all time. They shot off stats and compared longevity. Once they got to championships and rings, the women added Kobe Bryant and Magic Johnson into the mix, only to be instantly shot down.
Nico was arguing Jordan was a better all-around athlete since he played baseball and basketball, when a waitress came over to take the table’s order. A primped and plastic waitress who just so happened to look like Celeste. She introduced herself to everyone at the table. Something like Carol, or Sheryl. It was hard to be sure. She was talking to everyone, but hadn’t actually managed to look at anyone other than Nico.
Meanwhile, Julie was busy watching this imposter Celeste devour Nico like man meat with her hungry eyes. Goddammit. Was she jealous?
Why do I even care that she’s looking at Nico? Ugh, check yourself, Jules.
Whatever her name was, she was thin and had legs that began at her armpits. To add insult to injury, she was at least two cup sizes bigger than Julie, and she had pair of sparkly blue eyes that could throw any red-blooded male off his game.
The waitress muttered something about the specials of the day, but Julie barely heard a word. She was too busy measuring herself up against the leggy woman, until Liz’s eyes indicated that she had caught on, too. The “don’t even think about it” look written across Liz’s forehead meant the guard was on duty and ready to attack. Her slitted eyes trained on the waitress, daring her to even glance in Derrick’s direction.
Like the wise man that he was, Derrick averted his gaze. He wasn’t stupid. He was used to Liz’s shenanigans, so he studied the menu like he’d be quizzed on the ingredients the next day. Smart man.
Luckily for him, the young waitress had her eyes set on Nico. She made her way around the table with a strained smile as she jotted down Derrick’s veal parmesan. She moved on to Liz who ordered the fettuccine Alfredo. Under Liz’s watchful eye, Julie reluctantly opted for the low carb special—filleted chicken breast with broccoli florets and a light lemon-pepper glaze.
When Carol or Sheryl reached Nico, he seemed to be her stage cue to pull out all the stops. In a matter of seconds, she blossomed into batted lashes and a silvery voice with a seductive giggle. “What can I get for you?”
By the way she said it, it was apparent to everyone—everyone except Nico, who had yet to look up at her—that there might not be a limit to what she was willing to get for him. Something not on the menu.
Julie couldn’t blame her. Nico was hot as hell. She couldn’t keep her eyes off him either. And for some reason that made no sense to her at all, Julie was jealous and feeling more than a little bit territorial.
Nico ordered the spaghetti Bolognese and a round of limoncello shots for the table. And, ignoring a woman who basically offered herself up on a platter, he paid Julie the kind of compliment most women dream about.
Right in front of the girl. Right in front of Liz and Derrick and the whole restaurant, Nico dropped the full weight of those brown eyes on her and smiled. She would never admit it, but Nico’s hotness factor shot up for her instantly.
“What?” Julie murmured. She could feel heat crawling up her neck and settling in her cheeks. I’m blushing.
“It’s just that…every time I look at you—”
“What?” she asked, almost defensively, afraid of what he was going to say. Her stomach roiled and her throat was uncomfortably dry. Fear crept in at the thought of what he saw when he looked at her.
“I just…I have to smile. You’re gorgeous.”
Julie had braced herself for a few possibilities to finish his sentence. Maybe looking at her made him want to throw up, or cringe, or make sure his eyes weren’t playing tricks on him. But make him smile? Gorgeous?
She’d been in the man’s presence for all of thirty or so minutes and he’d given her more compliments than Patrick had in their two years together.
Julie shook her head. “Thank you. I…just…thank you.”
Her eyes darted to Liz, who knew exactly where her head was, but her friend only offered a sympathetic smile.
Derrick on the other hand, who’d been quarantined off in the corner, took it as his opportunity to dive in head first the second the waitress skimped away.
“My man.” He lifted his hand for a high five. “That’s what I’m talking about. I was worried for you at first, but now I’m thinking I might have to take a few tips from you.”
Nico gave a shaky laugh. “I’m sorry? I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Please.” Derrick dragged the word out and peppered it with sarcasm. “These two would usually be on the second round of twenty questions and have your balls in a vise grip by now, trying to figure your intentions. But you’re over there holding your own. Got your eyes trained on the menu. Didn’t even give a cursory glance at the waitress. Then, you lay it on thick like gravy and we haven’t even gotten our entrees yet.” He raised his hand for a fist pump which Nico did not return.
Out of habit, Liz punched Derrick on the shoulder. “Seriously, D?”
“You got me all wrong, Derrick.” Nico flicked a glance at Julie. “I just know what I want. I know it’s not some disrespectful waitress who thinks it’s okay to come onto me when it’s clear I’m here on a date. I don’t need to see her face to figure that out.”
Oh you’re good, guy. Julie stilled herself for the windfall of bullshit.
Ever on the same page, Liz pursed her lips. “Uh huh. That’s the story you’re sticking with?”
“What? What? That’s so hard to believe? That’s me. I just want to be me, you know. I’ve got three brothers, a sister, and a mother who all keep trying to shovel me into some idea they have for me, and I just want to be me.”
Julie gave a sheepish nod. “I could see that.” The fact that she’d said it aloud shocked her.
“Um…I was just thinking. I’m kind of in the same boat, is all,” she stammered, trying not to stare at him. “My mom and my aunt want me to be one thing. They’re constantly comparing me to my cousin. And at work, my friggin’ boss wants to keep me on a leash to pad her paycheck. I don’t even want to get into the rest of the dirty pranks God’s been playing on me lately.”
“Exactly,” Nico agreed.
The way his eyes bore into her, Julie thought he could certainly see through her. See that she wasn’t the outgoing, sassy woman with the flirty jokes and confidence that went with the clothes. And no matter how endearing his words, he couldn’t be that sweet guy. He couldn’t possibly be that…nice.
Julie wished she hadn’t already gotten a glimpse of the real Nico at the gym, wished she could unhear everything about the man who needed a net to catch all of his women with their broken hearts. She fought off the urge to meet his eyes again and turned her attention back across the table.
Derrick took Liz’s right hand in his and pulled her under his arm. “I feel you, Nico. I’ve always known how to separate what I want and don’t want. Once you know, it’s like tunnel vision. Blinders on both eyes, you know?” He leaned down kissed Liz’s hair. “I keep telling this woman, I want to start a life with her and make a boatload of babies. She’s it for me.”
At his words, Liz shot Julie a wide-eyed stare through clenched teeth.
None the wiser, Nico turned to Liz and said, “That’s awesome. You guys look great together.” She only offered him a tight-lipped smile that failed to reach her eyes.
“I could see myself having a couple down the road. I don’t think I could handle a boatload, though,” he referred back to Derrick’s earlier comment. “When you grow up in a full house, or when you get to the double digits in nieces and nephews, it kind of changes your perspective on kids, one way or the other.”
A loud choking sound erupted from Julie.
“You all right, Jules?” Liz reached for her hand.
“Yeah…I uh, I just drank the water too fast, that’s all.”
Derrick kissed Liz on the head and took a swig from his water glass.
“Be careful. Stuff’s dangerous,” Julie warned Derrick with a wink.
By the time the food arrived, the awkwardness had died down, save for light exchanges between the couples. They began to eat and allowed the silence to ease the tension. The shots arrived and Julie thought Liz might kill someone when Nico made a toast to boatloads of babies.
Before it could get anymore awkward, the ladies excused themselves to visit the restroom where Liz proceeded to vent all of the frustrations she had kept bottled up until that point.
“Where in the hell does he get off talking about babies and marriage, huh?” Liz blurted out the second the door closed behind them.
“He just loves you.”
“And being with me isn’t good enough? He can’t respect the fact that I want to wait? That I don’t want to end up another stereotype with a bunch of babies before I even figure out who I am?” she blustered through a stream of rolling Rs and melded words, hints of her roots surfacing.
Her hands slammed down on the porcelain sink as she huffed and let her head hang low. “Jules, I don’t want this right now.” Her words were strangled and desperate.
“Then tell him.”
“I have. But he doesn’t listen. He thinks I’ll change my mind.”
Julie shifted from one foot to the other. Who in the hell was she to be giving any type of advice? All she could think to say was what Liz had told her over the countless times Patrick made her feel worthless. “Make him listen, then,” she said.
“How? How do I make him listen when I love him? And I don’t want to lose him. I just don’t want what he wants right now, you know? But he keeps pushing.”
She swiped at the trail of tears rolling down the curves of her cheeks and buried her face in her friend’s open arms.
“I don’t know what to do,” she breathed into Julie’s neck.
“You know what you have to do.”
Before the guys became suspicious, Julie cleaned Liz up and mopped away all the traces of her frustration. When they reentered the dining room, the staff had cleared the section of tables in the front of the house to make room for an old-school parquet dance floor and a single spotlight at the center.
A few spread-out couples swayed to a low elevator-style ballad, but most of the patrons sat in surrounding tables as if they were waiting for a show to begin.
Back at the table, the guys stood and asked the ladies for a dance. And while Nico seemed genuinely pleased to see Julie, Derrick stiffened at the sight of Liz’s reddened face.
“Everything all right?” He searched her eyes.
“Yeah. My, uh, contact got stuck,” Liz explained.
Nico honed in on the palpable tension between them. “Maybe Julie and I will sit this one out. If that’s okay with you, Julie?” He slipped his hand on the small of her back and led her to their table.
“Are you having a good time?” Nico asked, his voice low and measured. He was tracing lines through the condensation on his water glass, but Julie caught his gaze and found as much hesitation in it as there was in his tone.
“I am,” she said. “I’m just worried about Liz.”
He looked over to the dance floor where Liz and Derrick shuffled in choppy forced steps, her head on his shoulder, and his large arms draped over her lithe body. “Everything all right with them?”
Julie thought she heard relief in his voice that her worries weren’t related to him. “Same as everyone. There’s always someone who wants more than you want to give at the moment.”
He seemed to consider her words, then he looked over to her and covered her hand with his. She inhaled sharply, startled by the move. When she met his eyes, there was something genuine and sweet in them, and she felt herself relax. Those eyes made her want to be closer to him, get to know him.
She wanted to say something, something profound, or sexy, but when the music stopped abruptly, the trance was broken. Julie tore her gaze away in time to see the crowd had tapered off to the edges of the dance floor.
She nearly shit a brick. “No.” Her eyes bulged from their sockets and her mouth fell open. “He’s not doing this.”
As Derrick began a shaky speech on a microphone handed to him by the leggy young waitress from earlier, he dropped to one knee, and Julie knew he was doing the one thing on which Liz wouldn’t budge.