Being Julia Read online

  I shrugged my shoulders as I flashed him a smile. He turned around and shook his head. My poor dad; at least he had Collin.

  Chapter 10

  We packed up everything we needed for the summer and drove to the beach house. As we walked through the door, I took my suitcases upstairs to my bedroom and laid them on the bed. The first thing I did was open my window to let the ocean breeze blow through. I ran down the stairs, out through the door, nearly knocking my dad over, and down to the beach. The minute my toes hit the sand, I felt like I was home. The beach was my place of solace here, like Central Park was back in the city. Collin came running down the beach with his surfboard and hit the water. I tried to surf once, but it just ended up being a disaster. As I stood at the shoreline, the water came up and soaked my feet. I ran back up to the house to grab my sketchpad and pencil. When I walked into the kitchen, my mom was sitting up on the counter with her legs wrapped around my dad’s waist as he had his hand up her shirt and they made out.

  “You two seriously need to stop it!” I exclaimed.

  “Julia, I thought you were down at the beach,” my dad said as he instantly removed his hand from under my mom’s shirt.

  “I just came back to get my sketchpad. If you’re going to have sex, please do it in your room with the door closed. You have no idea how much you’ve scarred me. To think of my parents having sex is just gross!”

  My mom started to laugh and my dad stood there and looked at me in shock. I started to walk away and I heard my mom yell, “Just you wait, young lady. You’ll find out what it’s like to have the love of your life and want to make love to him every day.”

  “Ellery, don’t tell her that,” my dad said.

  I smiled as I grabbed my sketchpad from my room and stopped in the doorway of the kitchen. My parents were kissing and smiling at each other. As I quietly watched them, I prayed what my mom said would come true for me one day. As I made my way back down to the beach, I sat on the sand, brought my knees to my chest, and placed my sketchpad on them. I began drawing the outline of London’s face. She would come to the beach house every summer with us and we would sit together on the sand for hours. I looked up as Collin walked over to me and sat down. He was soaking wet, so I threw him his towel.

  “Thanks, sis. Whatcha drawing?”

  “London. I’m drawing a portrait of London.”

  “I know you miss her and so do I. Can I talk to you about something?”

  “Sure; you can talk to me about anything,” I said as I continued to draw.

  “Hailey and I had sex last night.”

  My pencil stopped on the pad as I slowly turned my head and looked at my almost seventeen-year-old brother. “And?” I asked.

  He smiled as he looked down and started drawing in the sand. “It was amazing.”

  “How did Hailey feel?”

  “She loved it. You know, it wasn’t her first time.”

  “Yeah, I know.” I smiled as I bumped my shoulder into his.

  “Where did you guys do it?”

  “Her house.”

  “Ah, while Peyton and Henry were out to dinner with Mom and Dad.”

  “Yeah. We knew they’d be gone forever, so we weren’t worried.”

  “I hope you used a condom?”

  “Of course I did. I’m not stupid.”

  I put my pencil down and hooked my arm around his neck. “Congratulations, baby brother, on successfully losing your virginity and thinking it was amazing.”

  “Please don’t tell Mom and Dad.”

  “Are you kidding me? I would never tell them. Anyway, they’re too busy having sex in the kitchen to notice what’s going on around them.”

  “Ugh, again? Those two never stop.” Collin laughed.

  He got up and went back to the house while I finished my drawing of London. A while later, I walked up to the house and, when I stepped into the kitchen, all I could smell was Italian food. It was the aroma of my favorite Italian take-out place called Tivoli’s. They made the best pasta and sauce on the face of the Earth and their garlic bread was to die for.

  “Oh, honey, I’m glad you’re back. Could you set the table please?” my mom asked.

  “Is it time to eat now?” I asked as I grabbed the plates from the cupboard.

  “Yes, and we ordered your favorite.” She smiled.

  As I set the table, my mom picked up my sketchpad and looked at it. “This is beautiful, Julia.”

  “Thanks. I drew it while I was down at the beach.”

  My dad and Collin walked in, and my mom showed my dad the sketch of London.

  “That’s a beautiful picture, Princess,” he said as he kissed me on the head.

  “Thanks, Dad,” I said as I grabbed the bowl of pasta and set it on the table.

  We sat down and ate dinner as a family, reminiscing of the days when we were younger. Little did I know that tomorrow would be the day that changed my life forever.

  ****

  I awoke to a whole lot of noise going on downstairs. As I yawned, I grabbed my phone and texted Collin to come to my room. He opened the door and stepped inside.

  “What?” he asked.

  “What the hell is going on downstairs?”

  “Did you forget that today is your graduation party and the caterers and planners are here?”

  “Already? My God, it’s only eight o’clock in the morning.”

  Collin shrugged his shoulders and walked out of the room. I stepped out of bed and walked down the hallway to my parents’ room. I knocked on the door and my dad told me to come in. He was sitting up on the bed, checking his phone.

  “Good morning, Princess.” He smiled.

  “Morning, Dad,” I said as I cuddled up next to him. He put his arm around me and kissed my head.

  “Is something wrong?”

  I sighed. “No, I just don’t want to go downstairs yet with all that racket going on.”

  “Ah, me neither. That’s why I’m sitting in here.”

  “Mom’s okay with that?”

  “I told her I was running up here to change clothes. She’ll realize it soon enough and come look for me.”

  “I miss London, Dad.”

  “I know you do, sweetheart. We all miss London, and I know it’s hard for you without her being here. But, today’s your graduation party and there’s going to be about 300 people here, so you need to try and at least act happy. I know you’ve been doing that a lot lately, but once today is over with, you’ll have the whole summer to relax.”

  Suddenly, the door opened and my mom stood in the doorway, staring at us. “Good morning, sweetheart. Connor, why are you sitting up here?”

  “I’m comforting our daughter, Ellery.”

  She glared at him with knitted eyebrows as she walked over to the bed. “Are you okay, sweetheart?”

  “I’m fine, Mom.”

  “Connor, downstairs! Julia, why don’t you go take a shower and get ready for your party?” She smiled.

  I sat up and looked at my dad as he winked at me. As soon as I walked out of the room and shut the door, I heard giggling. I rolled my eyes because I knew what that meant.

  ****

  The party was a success, and I could tell how happy my mom was. People were everywhere. Tables filled the patio and backyard under the beautiful white canopy tents. The spread of food was amazing and could probably feed a small country. The DJ was awesome and played everything my friends requested. My mom had a play area set up for the smaller children and then games were set up down on the beach for the older kids and adults. I made my rounds and tried to talk to as many people as I could. It was nearing dusk and I needed to step away from the party for a while to gather my thoughts. With as many people that were here to celebrate my graduation, it still felt lonely without London. I didn’t want my parents to worry if they couldn’t find me, and I didn’t see my mom, so I told my dad I was going for a walk.

  “Dad,” I said as I pulled him aside. “I’m going to go for a walk down the b
each in case you’re looking for me.”

  “All right, sweetheart, just be careful,” he said as he kissed my head.

  I took off my shoes and headed down the beach. Once I made my way down, far enough away from the house, I sat down in the warm, soft sand. As I was thinking about my life and college, a dog came up and sat down next to me with a stick in its mouth.

  “Hi there.” I smiled as I reached my hand over to pet the dog. “You’re so cute. Look at that face. Where did you come from?”

  Suddenly, I heard a voice from a few feet away. “Mozart, there you are. What are you doing, boy?”

  I gulped as I looked at the fine male that was standing in front of me, in just a pair of cargo shorts and no shirt. I couldn’t help but stare at his ripped abs and muscular arms. It felt like I couldn’t get enough air as I looked at him. My eyes finally traveled up to his face and, once again, my airway felt constricted. He was the hottest guy I’d ever seen in my life.

  “Sorry about that. Mozart loves girls and, when he sees one, he wants to be friends.” He smiled.

  That smile. I felt something when he smiled. It was the kind of smile that no matter how bad your day was, it made you feel better. It was the kind of smile that fixed you. I needed to speak, but the words weren’t coming out. I was stunned by this boy, this guy, this man. He had me speechless and that was not easy to do.

  “That’s okay. I love dogs.” I managed to spit out.

  He looked at me and cocked his head. “I know this is your typical crappy line, but I’m serious. I feel like we’ve met before.”

  I laughed because at least he was being honest about it being a typical crappy line. “I don’t think so.”

  “Come on, Mozart, let’s go,” he said.

  Mozart looked at me, laid down, and put his head on my lap.

  “Mozart, what are you doing? Come on. Come, boy.”

  “He obviously doesn’t want to go,” I said.

  “He never acts like this. He always listens when I tell him we have to go.”

  I felt my heart beating rapidly as the nervousness in my stomach began. “You could always stay for a while until he’s ready to go.”

  He looked at me with a smile. “You don’t mind? You sort of look like you want to be alone.”

  “No, I don’t mind. I was just escaping the craziness of my graduation party.”

  He sat down next to me and all I could think about was running my hand down his torso, feeling every crevice and well-defined muscle he had. “Ah, I remember my graduation party last year. My parents went all out. By the way, I’m Jake Jensen.” He smiled as he held out his hand.

  “Nice to meet you, Jake Jensen. I’m Julia Black.” I smiled back as I shook his hand.

  The feeling of my skin heating up when I touched him was unreal. It was a feeling that I’d never felt in my eighteen years of living.

  “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Julia Black. So, why are you trying to escape your graduation party?”

  I felt instantly comfortable with Jake, and I didn’t seem to have any reservations about telling him my problems. “My best friend died a month ago from a drug overdose while she was in rehab.”

  “Wow. How do you overdose in rehab?”

  “I don’t know. Neither the doctors nor the facility could give us an explanation. She used to come here and stay with us every summer, and not to have her here, especially at my graduation party, is really hard.”

  “I’m really sorry, Julia,” he said as he looked down.

  “Thank you, but it’s okay. It’s all just a bit overwhelming. Enough about me. Tell me about you, Jake Jensen.”

  He laughed as he looked up at me. “My parents just bought the house down the beach. I have two sisters, and I just finished my first year at Columbia.”

  “Columbia? I’m going to Columbia in the fall.” I smiled.

  “Really? You’ll love it, and now you know someone who can show you around.”

  “That’s great; then, I won’t feel so scared,” I said as I looked down.

  “No, you won’t,” he whispered.

  I looked over at him and, for a moment, we stared into each other’s eyes.

  “Julia,” I heard Collin yell from a distance. “Dad said you need to come back now.”

  “That’s my brother. I guess I have to go,” I said as I stood up.

  “It was great to meet you, Julia Black. I hope to see you around.” He smiled.

  I smiled back at him as I put my hand up and gave him a small wave. I started to walk towards Collin, stopped, and turned around. “Hey, Jake,” I yelled. “Would you like to come back with me so you can see the craziness of my graduation party?

  He smiled as shouted back. “Sure, just let me take Mozart home and grab a shirt. I’ll be back in a minute.”

  “I’ll wait for you.” I smiled. “Collin, tell Dad that I’ll be there in a minute.”

  Collin walked over to where I was standing. “Who’s that?”

  “Someone who just swept me off my feet,” I said as I put my head on Collin’s shoulder.

  Chapter 11

  As I waited for Jake to return, Collin went back to the house. I stared out into the ocean as I whispered, “London, did you see him? Jake Jensen? I know I’ve only known him for about thirty minutes, but I think he’s something special.”

  “Hey,” Jake said as he walked up to me. “Thanks for waiting.”

  “Hi. No problem,” I said as we walked through the sand back to my house.

  We could hear the music and the laughter as we walked towards the house. “My God, how many people did your parents invite?”

  “About 300 people.” I smiled.

  “Seriously?”

  “Yeah, me and my dad were trying to hide out this morning, but my mom caught us.”

  We walked up to the patio and made our way through the crowd. I saw my mom standing in the kitchen, talking to my dad. Both of them turned and looked at me as we stepped through the door.

  “Where have you been?” my mom asked.

  “I told Dad that I was taking a walk down the beach.”

  “Yes, you did, Julia, but that was a long time ago,” my dad said as he looked at Jake. “Who’s your friend, Princess?”

  “Dad, Mom, this is Jake Jensen. We met on the beach.”

  Jake held out his hand to both my mom and dad. “Jensen,” my dad said as he looked at Jake.

  “Daddy!” I exclaimed.

  “You wouldn’t happen to be William Jensen’s son, would you?”

  “Yes, sir. He’s my dad.” Jake smiled.

  “Ah, I knew it. Jake’s father owns the largest dealership in the city, where I buy my Range Rovers. I’ve been buying from your father for years.”

  “Mr. Black, that’s right. I’ve heard your name before. You own Black Enterprises. My dad talks about you.”

  “All good, I hope.”

  “Of course.” Jake smiled.

  Okay, this was perfect. My dad knew Jake’s dad and he seemed to really like him. I couldn’t have asked for this meeting to be more perfect.

  “You and Julia have already met,” my dad said.

  “What? How?” I asked.

  “Back when you were about eight years old and I bought a new Range Rover. You wanted to come with me to the dealership and Jake was there. He was sitting behind his father’s desk. The dealership had a playroom and your father asked you to take Julia and show her the toys while we went over the numbers for the purchase.”

  “See, I told you I felt like we’d met before,” Jake said as he smiled at me.

  I wished I would have remembered that, but I didn’t. Jake and my dad continued to talk while my mom pulled me into the living room.

  “Oh my God, Julia. He’s hot.” She smiled.

  “He took my breath away, Mom.”

  “Sweetheart.” She smiled as she put her hand on the side of my face. “I don’t know what to say except ‘be careful.’”

  I smiled at her as she placed
her arm around me and we walked back into the kitchen. Jake turned around and flashed me a smile.

  “Mr. Black, would it be all right with you and Mrs. Black if I took Julia on a date?”

  I looked at my mom and she was grinning from ear to ear. My dad looked at me and then back at Jake before giving his answer.

  “Yes, Jake. You may take my daughter on a date.” He smiled as he put his hand on Jake’s shoulder.

  Jake walked over to me as his amazing green eyes stared into mine. “Julia, I know we’ve only known each other a couple of hours, but I was hoping you would do me the honor of going on a date with me tomorrow night.”

  I was so excited that I wanted to scream “yes!” and jump up and down, but I remained calm and smiled at him as I nodded my head and told him yes. He continued to smile at me as he nodded his head like he was happy with my answer. The fact that he asked my parents first scored him big points. As the guests were starting to leave, Jake said that he should get going. When I walked him down to the beach, he pulled his phone from his pocket and asked me for my number. I gave it to him and he told me that he’d text me so that I would have his.

  “Goodnight, Julia Black. I’m looking forward to our date tomorrow night. How about I pick you up around seven o’clock?”

  “Seven o’clock is perfect.” I smiled.

  He leaned closer to me, kissed me lightly on the cheek, and began to walk away. I called his name and he turned around. I put my hand up and gave him a small wave.

  “Goodnight, Jake Jensen.” I smiled.

  “Sweet dreams, Julia,” he said as he turned back and walked down the beach.

  I said goodbye to the last guest and closed the door. I leaned up against it and sighed. My mom walked over to me and smiled.

  “What a great party, but I’m glad it’s over.”

  “Me too, Mom. Thank you for everything.”

  “Aw, you’re welcome, sweetheart,” she said as she hugged me.

  I went upstairs and started a hot bath. I twisted my hair up, set my phone on the edge of the tub, and climbed in. I slid down until my head rested comfortably on the bath pillow. As I closed my eyes, the sweet smile of Jake Jensen filled my head. I couldn’t help but think of his almost six foot height and his light brown, tousled hair, which made him even sexier. The shape of his lips and the smile that came from them. A smile that made his green eyes light up and captivate me when he looked into mine. As I was dreaming about Jake, my phone beeped. I opened my eyes and looked over to see a text message from him. My heartbeat picked up pace as I read his message.