Jules grimaced, trying not to inhale too deeply. The smell of meat and sugar frying in day-old oil was doing tricks in her stomach. That, and her head was spinning from the encounter she’d walked away from. For much of the conversation between Rosalind and that man, David was his name.
David.
She liked that name. It was a strong, competent name. To even utter it she had to bite her lip when her mouth formed the V at the center of it.
David.
She didn’t say his name out loud now. It whispered in her mind. Still, in reality, she bit her lip. A tingle crept across each of her pinky fingers, moving from her left hand all the way to her right. A shudder skittered down her spine as she stood in the noonday sun.
Her heart thumped. Her mind whirled. It had happened.
She'd always thought that when she felt it -that spark- that it would be like floating on a cloud.
It wasn't.
When she'd come face to face with David, it had been like an explosion. With each step he took nearer to her, smaller bursts of aftershocks had set off all along her body. It was as though her goosebumps had been boobytrapped.
Her breath had left her in a whoosh. Her belly had turned a somersault -not like a child turning a cartwheel. More like a gymnast stomping into the mat after a series of flips where they land with their hands over their heads. Her own knees would not have allowed her to stick such a landing. They’d gone to Jell-O.
He’d looked down upon her with those dark eyes that felt like a flashlight shining directly into her. Jules had wanted to shield her gaze, but she couldn’t look away from him.
Once she and David had breathed the same air, everything around her had stopped. She felt weary and energized, and worn and whole, tired and wide awake all at the same time.
So that was him. That was the guy who had made her heart kick into high gear. That was the man her soul recognized as it’s missing part. And, to hear Rosalind tell it, it turned out he was some kind of player.
Great. Of all the luck.
Aside from her hair care needs, Jules didn't know Rosalind well. She knew that the woman was strong-minded and independent. As a woman who tussled with raging bulls, wild horses, and randy cowboys for a living, Jules figured Rosalind didn't suffer fools easily. She was the type of woman that men chased after. So if she dismissed David as a lady’s man, it was very likely that he was indeed community property.
Jules had lived her life in a community where everything was shared. Her clothes were hand-me-downs. All meals were potluck fare. For once in her life, she'd wanted something of her own.
She'd thought that when she fell in love, it would be once and forever. Not for a moment with a man who had been passed around by the entire town. Her heart had to be wrong about him. Her soul had made a mistake.
Jules let go of her bottom lip. She would not be saying his name again. Not in her mind or in life.
"Hi."
Her two front teeth reached out and snagged the plump flesh at the corner of her mouth. Her heart tap-tapped in her chest, ignoring her mind’s determination. Heat blasted from her very soul, letting her know that her life would never be the same the moment she turned to that voice.
And she was going to turn around. It was inevitable. Because fate was not going to be ignored.
David towered over her. He was easily six and a half feet tall. She hadn't noticed his height at first. Jules was a tall girl, and most of the boys on the commune barely came up to her chin.
Not David. He had a good foot over her. He made her feel… Well, not small.
Instinctively, she knew that he was the kind of man that would keep her safe and protected. She had the urge to step into his arms and nuzzle her nose right into his chest because that’s where her head would fit.
He held out his hand. Had he read her mind? Was he giving her an invitation to do just that?
"I'm David."
Jules gulped once, then twice. Swallowing down her out of control desires. She took the proffered hand. The moment their fingertips touched, she felt another set of explosions go off. This time the blast tripped up her arm and set off fireworks in her heart.
Looking up into his eyes, she could've sworn she saw sparkles reflected back at her. His lips parted as he looked down at her. His hand was warm as it enclosed hers. The aftershocks of the bomb were gone now. All that remained was a warm glow between them.
“My name is Julia."
David smiled like he liked her name. He repeated it quietly, as though testing it out on his tongue. Jules loved the sound of her name coming from his mouth. But something wasn’t quite right about the way he said it.
"Everyone calls me Jules."
Yes. That was it. She liked the way he said Jules even better.
"I'm David."
She grinned shyly. “You said."
He nodded, tugging at the corner of his upper lip with his teeth as though searching for something more to say. “Everyone calls me Porco."
Jules wrinkled her nose at that. She knew kids were cruel. Had he been overweight growing up? If the nickname was a taunt, she certainly wasn't going to participate in the teasing.
"I like David."
"Then David, it is."
"David?"
"Yes, Jules?"
"Are you going to give me back my hand?"
They were standing in front of the long lines of the fried food station. People moved around them to get into and out of the line with their crispy, brown foodstuffs. Jules noted that she was no longer having trouble breathing in the oily smells.
"No," David said.
"No, you're not going to give me back my hand?"
He shook his head in the negative, but his lips curled in a smile. A possessive smile. The warmth emanating from that smile made another trek up to her arm and pulsed in her chest. David’s nostrils flared as though he’d sensed what he did to her.
"You feel it too, don't you?" he said.
Jules didn't pretend to not know what he was talking about. In answer, she gave a little nod of her head. It was all the movement she could muster being held in his gaze, being held in the palm of his hand.
“I do,” she whispered.
David's palm pressed firmly against hers. His thumb rubbed at the skin of her knuckles. Never in her life had Jules felt so cared for with such a simple gesture.
The moment was so big and life-altering. But, also light and natural. It was exactly how she dreamed meeting him would be. Except for the sizzling pig meat surrounding them.
She wanted to get away from here. To be alone with him. To know everything about him. Looking up, she saw an impediment to that desire.
In the distance, she saw her twin. Romey hadn’t spotted Jules. Because Romey's face was turned. She was chatting with Paris.
“I have to go," Jules said.
Jules snatched her hand from David. She only got her palm free. But David held onto her fingers.
“You can’t go. I just found you.”
Her gymnast’s heart flipped from one side of her chest to the other, sticking another boisterous landing.
David stepped closer to her. His gaze intent on her face. Then his eyes narrowed on her lips.
The world stopped. Everything centered on him, where his five fingers held onto her, where his dark eyes focused on her. She knew without any shadow of a doubt that her life would be entwined with this man. She just had to take care of one thing first.
“I’ll come back,” she said. “I just need to handle a family matter first.”
“I’ll let you go,” he said. “But I’m going to wait here for you.”
“Right here?” she grinned, looking at their surroundings. The overly sweet scent of deep-fried batter and pork made her senses rear back. David didn’t seem to notice.
“Right here.” He planted both feet and smiled down at her. “Promise you’ll come back?”
“I promise.”
That was all it took. David let her go. She could make her escape. Leaving him was the last thing she wanted to do, but she had to go and talk to the two most important people in her life to let them know that her life had irrevocably changed forever.