Being around Rory felt like reading a great book that he didnāt want to end. And Julian was dyslexic, which meant heād always had a notoriously difficult time with reading in general. But something about her took him to another world entirely: a world where he was strong and brave and handsome and needed, where his stumbling and stuttering was endearing. In the span of 25 minutes, Rory had finally made Julian feel like a main character in his own life. And here he sat, eyes glued to her, turning the pages faster than he could read the words, waiting, waiting, waiting to see what happened next.
She was stuttering over him. When was the last time a girl had gotten nervous around him? In this strange new existence that actually revolved around him, Rory was the girl he fell head over heels for immediately ā the one he probably built up in his head, the one who probably didnāt have a personality outside of him. But Julian found himself enraptured with every single part of her, not just the mystique that had pulled them together in the first place. She was a baker. She had a bunny named Pancake. She was quick and gentle and smart and kind. She was beautiful, yes, but she was so much more to him.
His heart dropped into his stomach when Rory got up without a word and promptly left. Like a typical confused puppy, Julian tilted his head to one side, then the other, his eyes following her intently as she disappeared behind the bar. He looked back up to the clock, realizing their time together had expired. They were in San Francisco, which meant surely a meter maid would find him in about two minutes, slap a ticket on his wrist, and kick him out of the cafĆ©. It all seemed so strange to him. Rory hadnāt said goodbye, and he felt a gaping void within him as he peered over the bar, wondering for a moment if heād imagined the entirety of this perfect encounter.
He was just about to get up and leave when Rory returned, apron off and cheeks still flushed. Julian swallowed the lump in his throat, suddenly unable to stop himself from looking her over for the first time that day. Another pathetic whimper escaped his lips. How had she known that he liked plaid skirts and halter tops? How was this girl real? How was any of this real?
Julian opened his mouth to speak but the words wouldnāt come. It was only now that he realized Rory wasnāt just pretty ā she was breathtaking. He turned the page dizzily, clumsily, the fever in his brain heating up everything within and around him. And then she said those magic words: I think we should get out of here. It was the line the girl said in the movie when things had tipped past the turning point ā when the scene was changing, when the protagonists were growing ever closer. And she was the one whoād said it. Sweet, innocent Rory had said it.
Before he could even process Roryās words, her hand was on his cheek. Then in his hair. Then around his ear. It had been a simple gesture ā probably nothing for people who knew how to actually flirt around girls ā but it meant everything and then some to Julian. He felt her fingers drag along his temple, gently, and something in him yearned to feel her nails dragging their way down his back, leaving a trail of heat and fire in their wake the way they had in this moment.
He could barely hear her over the sound of his ears ringing and his heart ricocheting within his chest. Still, Julian somehow managed to focus in on Roryās voice, slightly softer, fuller, huskier. I donāt think I can take no for an answer, Julian. He pressed repeat on her words, his mind scrobbling back to the way his name sounded rolling off her tongue. Heād never heard something beautiful. No one had ever said his name with so much raw desire ā especially not in the middle of a record store.
Without a second thought, Julian took Roryās hand and gently pulled her up out of her chair. āI donāt think I could ever say no to you. You could probably ask me to set a building on fire and Iād do it,ā he murmured, not wanting to let her hand go again. The store wasnāt particularly crowded, but he gave Roryās hand a gentle squeeze and looked back at her. āSo I donāt lose you in the crowd,ā he said, throwing her a wink just for good measure.
He led her out of the store slowly, deliberately, teasingly. For a second, Julian felt drunk on power, watching Rory fidget in her seat while she looked at him. And then sheād gone and played with his hair. That one gesture had turned the tables instantly, and now Julian found himself wanting to return the favor. He liked this side of Rory ā feisty, confident, a little brazen. And he liked this side of him ā the one that took chances, that held a strangerās hand in the middle of a record store and held her closer than heād held anyone in years.
A gentle breeze brushed past them as they left the store, and Julian instinctively peeled off his worn leather jacket and placed it over Roryās bare shoulders. āAs good as you look in this top, I wouldnāt be able to forgive myself if I knew you were cold,ā he stated softly, offering her now-clothed shoulders a gentle squeeze of reassurance. Take two on the shoulder squeeze canāt be as bad as the first, right?
Looking down at Rory, Julian felt his heart flutter yet again. There she was, so small, so innocent, looking up at him with the light green eyes heād fallen for instantly. There she was in her halter top and skirt, his jacket draped around her shoulders. There she was, looking like every song heād ever written coming true right in front of his eyes.
A beat passed between them as Julian searched his mind for what to do next. He kept turning the pages between them, perplexed at how blank they all felt, before it hit him. It was his turn to write the next part of their story. Looking down at her hand, Julian realized Rory still hadnāt pulled away from him. With this in mind, he breathed in deeply and led her around the corner of the store.
āRory, I justā¦ā he began, taking her other hand gently as they stood next to a very un-romantic loading dock. He looked down again at their hands, his strong and protective, hers small and soft, and felt his heart begin to race for the millionth time that day. āIāve never met anyone like you. And I donāt usually do this. Iām not usually soā¦ forward. I donāt usually even talk to people, really. Itās hard for me to open up. But with you, I just feelā¦ā
He looked back up at her, searching her eyes for any hint of discomfort. What he was about to do next shook him to his core, but something about it felt so right, even if the timing felt all wrong for someone as timid as Julian. āI want you,ā he stated simply, firmly, his eyes locked on Roryās. āI want you so bad that I canāt even explain it. I want to know your favorite color and your favorite food and I want to hear about how you grew up in Georgia and I want to learn how to bake from you because Iām a terrible baker. I want to go on a date with you. And then another date and another one after that. I justā¦ wantā¦ā
Julianās heart kicked in before his mind had a second to catch up. Here he was, reading the pages too quickly again, his brain still trying to piece everything together. In one motion, he scooped Rory up into his arms and gently pushed her against the wall of the building, right next to the stupid loading dock and the employee entrance to Jukebox. It wasnāt necessarily romantic, and if he were the author of this story, Julian wouldāve done this somewhere prettier. But he wasnāt the only one writing this story ā this was their story. Their spontaneous, enthralling, perfectly fated story. And in some weird, incongruous way, this felt right.
Julianās eyes fluttered closed and he pressed his lips against Roryās instantly. Just like that, everything felt right: the sky streaked with cotton candy clouds, the smell of vanilla perfume, his hand tangled in the length of her hair, his thumb trailing the fishnet fabric along her thigh. It was passion and romance and hunger and desire. It was gentle and soft and needy and caring, all at once. Finally he tasted the vanilla lip gloss heād been looking at this whole time. Finally he felt the softness of her hair, her skin, her everything. Finally he felt her breath hitch and his chest pressing against hers. Finally.
He wanted to do this forever: kiss her here, now, their lips explaining all the things their words couldnāt quite say. But he remembered the jolt of shock that had run through Roryās system when heād first taken her hand and suddenly the reality of the situation came tumbling down upon him like an avalanche. They were perfect strangers. Theyād known each other for a whole 30 minutes. And here he was, kissing her up against the wall of her workplace.
Julian pulled away gently, his lips already missing hers the second they broke apart. Reality came back to slap him across the face again, and his cheeks flushed a deep scarlet as he set Rory back down on her feet. His hand found his hair again, his words tumbling out of his mouth before he could stop them. āRory, Iā¦ Iām so sorry, I shouldnāt have done that. I donāt know what came over me. That wasā¦ so out of line. Iāmā¦ really ashamed of myself. Iām so, so sorry. If you want to slap me, you can. Orā¦ I can wā¦ walk you to the police station if you need toā¦ make a police report forā¦ assaultā¦ā
Panic began to set in as he looked everywhere but directly at Rory. āDid you want to, um, get lunch? You must be starving. Or, if you hate me now, I could justā¦ get you lunch and bring it back here. Or maybe I could justā¦ move to a different state and change my name. Whatever you want. Maybe I should go turn myself inā¦ā
I want you, I want you, I want you.
Julianās words played over and over in Roryās head, punctuated by the screech of a record. Unable to take her eyes off of him, she listened to him speak with her breath hitched in her throat. She felt the heat in her cheeks and figured that would just be a regular thing around Julian now. Without moving her gaze, she reached up and took her hair out of its ponytail, letting it fall messily around her shoulders and give her a hiding place if she so needed to run to one out of sheer embarrassment.
The air was stale and stood still, capturing them in a moment Rory would never forget. The feeling of Julianās hand in hers, big and comforting, the curve of his lips when he smiled at her, how heād reacted only moments before when sheād shook out his hairā¦every little thing, Rory committed to memory. Her breathing went shaky as they stood closer than sheād ever anticipated. She wasnāt used to this, falling this hard this fast. But just because she wasnāt used to it, didnāt mean she didnāt love every second.
Her stomach bubbled in anticipation, biting down on her bottom lip to keep from smiling too wide. The ghosts of her past lingered in the corners of her mind, reminding her that they could pop up at any given moment. She knew getting involved with Julian could end with him getting hurt. Rory was a flight riskāshe always would be. While it wasnāt her choice to be that way, her ex had made sure that she would need to be able to leave anywhere at any given moment if he were to show up. This was why she avoided attachments. The thought of leaving Julian behind to get somewhere safe put a hairline fracture in her heart, splintering into a greater crack at the thought of him getting hurt because of her. Doubt flashed on her face for a split second before she looked into his eyes and was immediately overcome by a sense of peace.
Julian was her haven. Maybe she didnāt need to run anymore. Maybe sheād found the place sheād been looking for in a person instead.
Before she had a moment to think, his lips found hers and she melted into him like vanilla ice cream. They fit together perfectly and, against everything she was, she wrapped her legs around him almost instinctively. Her vision flashed in front of her like a strobe light and Rory felt like she finally knew what it was all about. Sheād spent her life looking for what was right in front of her, kissing her like heād been looking for the same thing. Rory could live in rose colored glasses for the rest of her life as long as she never had to take her eyes off Julian.
Then, as soon as it had started: she was back on her own two feet, her lips tingling like they did after a shot of fireball. Julian stood in front of her, apologizing profusely and looking sheepish. Rory loved every side of Julian, whether it was him flushing bright pink and stumbling over his words or him lifting her off the ground and pushing her against a grimy brick wall with hungry eyes and an agenda she hadnāt thought about in a long time.
Re-shouldering his jacket and lightly touching her buzzing lips, Rory blew a strand of hair out of her face and kept her eyes on Julian without saying a word. He continued to talk circles around her and she only watched, observing his tendencies and committing them to memory. After knowing him for only forty-five minutes, she felt confident in her ability to write a book of all of his adorable fidgeting, rambling, and quirks. By the end of the day, sheād have an entire library filled of only him.
When he looked down at the ground and refused to meet her gaze, she took a few steps forward to close the gap between them. Again, here was Brave Rory making an uncharacteristic appearance. Her fingers curled into his belt loops and she pulled him closer to her with a playful smile. āJulian, I think youāre everything,ā she said softly, looking up at him from her small 5ā1ā stature. āI donāt know who has ever told you differently or made you think anything less, but you are everything.ā
True, they were perfect strangers. Rory didnāt even know Julianās last name. She didnāt know anything about him, but she did know that he made her feel something completely new: safe. He made her feel less alone than she had in a long time and, right now, nothing else mattered. She brought a hand up to fluff his hair a bit again, lovingly dragging her fingers through his hair. āI know weāve only just met, but I donāt think I can go back to a time before Julian. My life is absolutely divided into Before Julian and After Julian, and I only want to live in after,ā she said, walking him backwards until they were stopped by another wall.
The earthy smell of the alley overwhelmed Roryās senses as she pushed up on her toes and connected their lips in another kiss, this time gentle, sweet, and slow. Fireworks exploded behind her eyes and her cheeks tingled like TV static. She didnāt know who had instilled a deep sense of self-doubt in Julian, but she was determined to show him exactly how she felt about him. She wanted to make him feel as safe and cared for as he did her.
When she rolled back off her toes and looked up at Julian, her hair was windswept and her lipstick was smudged. Left breathless in the alleyway, Rory looked up at the unexpected boy who had changed her life in a single afternoon and couldnāt believe her luck. āMy favorite color is pink, my favorite food is any kind of Chinese takeout, and my favorite thing about Georgia is the peach cobbler funnel cake they serve at the state fair with soft serve vanilla ice cream on top. I buy it from an old couple named Pam and Bob and they talk to me about their grandkids while itās frying. My last name is Graham, my first name is Aurora, and I really like you. We should go to lunch,ā she said, slipping her hand in his and lacing their fingers together before leading him out of the alley.
Smudged lipstick be damned. She wanted everyone to know exactly what sheād just found. Ā
