Chapter Eleven

Aaron woke early, he wasn't the best sleeper anyway, but the presence of his house guest seemed to make him even more alert. She'd been drunk the night before, very drunk...and that sadness he sensed in her back in London came out, but he was still none the wiser. She was running from someone, something...he shouldn't care, shouldn't want to know more, but he did. Luke knew something, he'd hinted at that at his engagement party, but it would be ultra stalkerish to contact him. He had to get over the need to control things; he couldn't manage her like he managed work. Sighing he rolled over in bed, checking his emails...the never ending list had grown hugely over night.

Tom had text him an hour earlier - he was an even earlier riser, the entertainment magazine had agreed to pull the images, cancel the story, which was a relief. He liked being private, he did his work, and went home. That was all he wanted out of life. His legal counsel had once again worked wonders. Tom lived out of the city with his wife and new baby, hence them rarely seeing each other outside of work. But he had stayed in town the previous night to sort this out. And now he was inviting Aaron for breakfast at his central hotel.

Normally he'd rush at the chance to spend time with Tom, but something made him feel he needed to hang around at his home Julia had been in town less than a week, she didn't know anyone...he needed to be around for her...and her hangover. But he hated blowing off his friend.

Tom was genial about it all, in reality he was heading home to his wife and little boy sooner, which was a win for him. The two C's, his collective name for his dogs, were getting rather antsy. It was still early, there was no way that Julia was about to wake anytime soon, so he jumped up and strolled into his dressing room.

He ran when he could, and the dogs nipped at his heels as they ran through Brooklyn Bridge Park. Half an hour that was no exception, the dogs thought it was fun to try and trip him up, but it gave them a good run which they missed on other days. When they both started to pant, he knew this was going to a brief jog. Stopping at a kiosk he bought water, then stopped to give them a treat, he always stuffed a few in his pocket. The walk back to the apartment was longer, and he ended up carrying them the last part.

As he got into the elevator, he glared at them, "you two are spoilt. Do you know that?" He lowered them to the floor then rolled his eyes as they started to nip and yap again.

"Come on, troublemakers."

The dogs skipped alongside him and raced through the front door when he opened it.

Feeding them breakfast in the kitchen, he was reaching for a towel to wipe his surprisingly sweaty brow, when he felt a presence behind him. Turning he met the rather green face of Julia.

"Hey," he offered. "You ok?"

She shrugged, and he felt for her, he really did, he had had a few horrendous hangovers himself in the past. "Think I drank too much last night."

He chuckled, "as long as you had a good night..."

She stared at him for a long moment, "I woke you?"

Grimacing, he offered, "you fell in the hall...I helped you to your room."

She groaned, covering her eyes, "oh my God. I am so sorry..."

Shaking his head, he filled the coffee machine, then turned to her, "don't even think about it. Though I am glad that you found your way back here."

She sighed, "I think one of the guys who I work with lives this way...he called the Uber anyway."

The thought of her being drunk, unaware of her surroundings worried him, he had no idea who she worked with, but this was a big City, and she didn't even know half of it. Not your business, his inner voice told him quite firmly.

"You want some breakfast? I'm ravenous." When she grimaced he offered, "line your stomach...it's the best way."

She hopped onto a stool across the island and groaned, "I suppose you're right, though it's the last thing I feel like." She looked him up and down, "you been for a run?"

He shrugged, pulling the eggs out of the fridge, "of sorts...those bloody dogs are bone idle!"

That made her giggle, "they've only got little legs."

Cracking eggs into a bowl, he nodded, "I know. I know."

Laughing he tipped the eggs into a pan, then leaned across to the counter, then turned on the radio.

Julia wanted the ground to open up and swallow her. She had shown him her worst side twice now, the hook up with Pete after the engagement party...and now falling into his apartment pissed. This was meant to be about the new her.

"So how was Chicago?"

Aaron looked up from the eggs and smiled, he was taller than she remembered, and this was the first time she was seeing him in anything other than a suit. He still had his black framed glasses on, and his hair was unruly, his skin flushed from his run. She ignored the way the light running top clung to his shoulders, and avoided looking down at his bare legs; she knew he was in shorts. Instead she focussed on the mug of coffee he'd placed in front of her.

The nausea was settling, that was the main thing.

He'd barely dished up the eggs onto toasted bagels, when a phone rang. Giving an apologetic smile, he crossed into the lounge and picked up a phone that she hadn't noticed before.

"Hello?"

She lowered her head and picked at the eggs, trying to ignore his conversation, but his husky laugh cut through everything. Then the handset appeared in front of her.

"It's for you."

Her head snapped up, "me?"

He laughed, "apparently you aren't answering your mobile."

Grimacing, she realised she had no idea if it had made it home. Taking the handset, she was above to speak when she heard Abi's voice calling out, "Jules? Jules?"

Immediately it all felt good. Abi did that.

"You didn't answer like a hundred calls, girlfriend."

Julia chuckled, then watched as Aaron slipped onto the stool beside her.

"I got a little drunk on my first night in the city, mate. You'd have killed me if you were here..."

Abi's laughter was infectious, "no. I'd have been worse than you! Anyway, I'm calling to say you're right. I'm coming to see you in a month. Me and Luke. Saying that he hasn't spoken to his bro yet."

"I can hear." Aaron's deep voice spoke from beside her. "You aren't the quietest, and he's a pain in the arse, but of course he can come."

Abi screeched with happiness and Julia had to hold the phone away from her ear, "I'm off to work now, but I'll email you the deets. Ok?"

Julia grinned as she hung up the call, then glanced at Aaron, an indecipherable look on his face. "Not good?"

He shrugged, "don't see enough of my little bro."

She took a mouthful of the egg, and chewed thoughtfully, "now you'll get a few days with him at least."

"Give me chance to get to know Abi a bit better too."

Julia grinned, "she's amazeballs. You can't not love her."

He rolled his eyes, "will she try to sleep on the shoe rack in the hallway too?"

This made her blush, "did I?"

His responding look was fairly enigmatic, and she grimaced, "you regretting inviting me already?"

Laughing, he laid down his cutlery, "not at all. I just didn't realise how boring my life had become."

"Luke said you're an old man!"

That made him stop and stare at her, "I'm thirty six, hardly pensionable yet."

"Yet it seems like a different generation..."

He spotted the glint in her eye and groaned, "you really are a piece of work, youngster...all of what thirty?"

She poked out her tongue, then offered, "twenty nine actually."

Clicking his tongue, he gave her a mock surprised gesture, "all of six years!"

Smiling she finished her breakfast, he was an alright guy, she'd got it wrong back in London.

"I'm going to get some dinner, in a café around the corner...they let the dogs in. You want to come?"

After breakfast, she'd had coffee reading on the sofa whilst Aaron caught up with previous evening's sports. It seemed he had a subscription to see all the British football, but he also watched anything else, hockey, baseball, basketball and when she would always call American football. Occasionally she had asked him about the rules, or the teams, but mainly she'd got absorbed in the historical fiction book she'd started on the flight out.

After a little while fatigue overwhelmed her, a delayed response to her excesses of the night before. So she'd been curled up on top of her SO comfy bed, snoozing for the last couple of hours. S

She was so tempted to stay there, to not have to move, but she couldn't spend all weekend like that. It was Saturday evening, she should be enjoying herself.

It was at an almost crawl that she emerged from the bedroom to see Aaron, obviously showered from his earlier run, in pale blue shirt, unbuttoned at the collar, and a pair of black trousers, smart ones.

"You going somewhere all dressed up?"

He shrugged, "had to dive into the office...some things can't wait. Didn't you notice the dogs run into you. They will literally change allegiance at the drop of a hat."

She glanced down at her denim shorts, t-shirt and flip-flops, "suddenly feeling over dressed."

He laughed, "no. Not at all...I just can't be arsed to change. I'm taking the dogs..."

The bar he took her to was his favourite place locally. A small fronted building, it made up for its lack of room with its garden, which was three times the size of the lounge, and filled with mismatched wooden furniture and several large fire pits, with strange of fairy lights and bunting making a fake ceiling of sorts and giving the open expanse an intimacy and friendliness that he loved.

The dogs loved the place too, rushing over to the bowls of water that the owners provided for the menagerie of animals that visited. The sun was shining, but the garden was partially shaded by awnings. Crossing the garden, eh led Julia to two wicker sofas in the corner, smiling at a few people that he recognised from previous trips to the same place.

Within moments of sitting, a waitress approached, and handed them a menu, "can I get you guys a drink while you choose?"

Aaron grinned, "please, can I get a light beer...the local one?"

"Sure, and for you?"

Aaron watched as Julia turned a little green, the thought of alcohol too much for her to stomach, so he offered, "they do amazing smoothies here...I swear by the blueberry and raspberry with spinach."

She grimaced, "sounds interesting...not into mixing my sweet and my savoury stuff..."

The waitress chuckled, "I don't go for that stuff either. Would you like the mixed berry smoothie with a grand scoop of ice cream?"

That made Julia nod with pure enthusiasm, "sounds amazing."

He sat back as the waitress disappeared, and watched as Julia took in her surroundings.

"I like it here."

Aaron nodded, "you're right, I like it here too. A nice vibe."

She lifted the menu then groaned, "their brunch menu is...to die for."

They ate in the afternoon sun, relaxed, and good company. Aaron was more relaxed than he had been in a while, and he even managed to switch off to his legal issues, work, everything.

The week progressed rapidly and reasonably uneventfully for Julia, and mainly involved in perfecting and acclimatising the exhibition for Bogda. Jerome and Taylor were so committed that it made her job so much easier. They worked late several nights, but she still seemed to get home before Aaron, who was quite obviously a workaholic. She barely saw him; he was always out before she woke, though always left her a note to explain what was happening, where he was.

Wednesday night, Julia arranged to go to a Pilate's class with Taylor after work, Thursday there was a dinner meeting with the local university department who were sponsoring the talks and conferences that were happening whilst she was in the country. It was almost a relief to make it to Friday unscathed. The previous day, Aaron had gone to Boston, she wasn't sure when he was back, but she had planned so much as she had a reasonably early finish to the day.

Pizza and wine. Her first drink since the hangover from hell, and a box set she'd downloaded in the week. A great relaxing end to a hectic week...after she'd spoken to Abi. Her mother had called her several times over the last few days, so she knew that would have to be part of her evening too.

Julia was uncorking her bottle of wine when the chime on her open laptop informed her of the incoming Skype call - Abi.

"Hey, girlfriend!" She announced as she connected their devices. "How's the world of Doctor Harding-to-be?"

Abi rolled her eyes for a second then leaned into the screen, "it's the same...but that's the apartment?"

Julia glanced behind herself at the chrome modern kitchen, then nodded, "this is an awesome pad...I would give you a Skype guided tour, but as you're coming here soon...then I'll leave it a surprise. Tell me the news."

As she poured her wine and settled on to one of the bar stools, she heard all about the wedding plans...there was a concrete date - December, that was just eight months away.

"So it's game on then," Julia giggled.

Abi rolled her eyes again, "that's if I make it that long. This whole thing could kill me!"

Julia blew her a kiss, "can't wait till you're here, so I can hug away all that shit."

That made her friend smile, "so it's Friday and you're sat in."

She nodded, "I'm catching up. Been a really busy week."

She filled her in on the arrival of her charge, and the set up of the exhibition.

"Hate that you're alone, in the city that never sleeps though."

Julia smiled, "I'm not alone, I've got you!"

"Where's my almost bro-in-law? Is he looking after you?"

"He's away, business. Boston, I think. He's good. He's showed me around, I know where things are. And I'm going to the Nine/Eleven museum tomorrow. Starting on my NYC checklist."

"He's ok though, Aaron?"

Julia loved her friend's concern, "he's good. I was wrong to be so reticent, I mean he's a workaholic, he never relaxes, but that's him, I guess. I promise he won't rub off on me. Ok?"

She was still sad to end the call. But after an invigorating shower, she dressed in the 'loungewear' that she'd brought with her. Bed normally meant shorts and a vest, but this was a little more modest, three quarter loose trousers and a slinky t-shirt, comfortable for lounging, but covering enough to not feel awkward if Aaron came home.

All she needed was her delivery pizza, and she'd be set.

She'd just lined up the first episode of some gritty show staring far too many Hollywood actors when the door bell rang. She almost ran to the door with excitement...and hunger, pulling open the door with a smile.

But it wasn't a delivery person stood there with twelve inches of spicy meat feast...but a tall, ridiculously tall, brunette, hair wafting around her, she was perfect, beautiful, except for the scowl that marred her face.

"Hi," Julia offered nervously. "Can I help you?"

The woman tried to barge past her into the apartment, but Julia wasn't about to be intimidated.

"Excuse me, I asked if you needed something?" she blocked her doorway with her body. She was not about to let this stranger march into her home.

It wasn't the response the woman expected, she huffed, flicking her hair over a shoulder, "Aaron, I want to speak to him, not you."

Folding her arms, Julia rebuked that comment with a glare, "he's not here. You'll have to come back another time."

"I don't believe that he'd leave you here without him." Her haughtiness was tempting Julia to lash out, push her away...but she didn't. This wasn't her deal.

She rolled her eyes, "I live here. Of course he leaves me here alone."

Her face dropped, mouth open, eyes wide, "he moved you in? YOU?" She shook her head, genuinely bewildered for a moment, "really? What the fuck? I mean just because we're argued, that doesn't mean he can move some..." She looked Julia up and down, then shook her head, "I have no idea who the fuck you are..."

"I'm..."

Any attempt to respond, was silenced by the dark haired woman holding her hand out palm facing, then with a 'shush' noise, she drew all fingers together. It was ruder than rude, and Julia could feel the blood boil in her veins. Aaron hadn't mentioned a girlfriend, there'd been no calls or dates...she knew that. He'd either been home in her company or working since she'd arrived, and that was two weeks. Before she could formulate a response, the other woman snarled at her.

"Not interested. I don't care who you are. Typical that he moves his latest whore in, though he really IS scraping the bottom of the worst barrel this time..." She shook her head, "he'll pay for this!"

With that she turned and left, leaving Julia stunned, silenced and more than a little upset.