Borrowed Time

Chapter Fifty Two

Apparently Esme was very good at holding a grudge, or at least at ruminating on an issue until it became something that festered into a grudge... Juliette understood why Esme was upset, she had been too... But it seemed to be all that was on her mind.

It was a little worrying, if Juliette was being entirely honest.

"Hey... You're brooding." Juliette murmured, and Esme sighed and nodded, looking down at where their fingers were linked. She was worried, she'd never seen Esme look this upset for this long... And she wasn't entirely sure what the healthy way to fix it would be, because she was pretty sure that throwing herself at her wouldn't solve anything, Esme would probably just back her off.

"I know." Okay... But why was she still brooding? It'd been an hour, she hadn't said or done anything but stare at the ceiling of the van as she rubbed her hand up and down Juliette's back, it was getting a little concerning.

"Why?" She watched Esme's face harden as she sat up, turning so she was leaning over Juliette, a hand supporting her next to her head... God, she looked fucking hot like this, it was taking every ounce of Juliette's self control to not pull her in for kiss, to not let her do whatever she wanted to her...

But she also wanted to know what was on her mind, she wanted to help her get out of that mindset.

"I should've killed her, you know. I should've beat her into the fucking ground for talking about you like that, and I'm sorry I didn't-." Juliette did lean up and kiss her at that point, but not because she just thought she was sexy, because she needed her to quiet down.

And because she thought she was sexy, but it was an honest afterthought. She left her hand lingering on Esme's cheek, chuckling at the way that it seemed to take her a moment to open her eyes, to come back to reality... Pretty girl...

"Shh... Stop it, you handled that perfectly. I really appreciate it." Juliette promised, and Esme sighed, not looking convinced as she did. It made Juliette sad to see her beating herself up this much... Esme was the perfect girlfriend, she'd handled that really well and she'd remembered to stand up for Becky as well... It was the single hottest thing she'd ever seen her do, and that was saying something.

"Thanks." It was clear from her expression that she was working toward the root of why she was so upset, and Juliette was completely ready to hear it... Why was she mad, aside from just... The upsetting encounter? "I just hate people who judge you like that, they know nothing... Also, why would it matter if you've had sex with me or not? Why does she care so much about other people's relationships, it's fucking weird." Oh. Well. That wasn't why Iris had taken that dig, it was because she was jealous, Juliette could tell that... She was jealous that Juliette had something she wanted... Someone she wanted.

And she'd never get a chance for herself. That was why she'd said what she said, not because she actually cared if Juliette was a virgin.

"I don't think she cared if I was having sex, I think she was jealous that I was having sex with you." Juliette clarified, and Esme shook her head, still looking lost.

"But you're not." Fair point, but it was the illusion that she was that had gotten to Iris so easily, the idea that someone like Juliette could easily land someone like Esme had bothered her, it'd been an upset to her societal ladder that she had in her mind... and Juliette was hoping to keep that pretty shaken up.

"I know, but she thinks I am." This seemed to confuse Esme, mostly the reason behind it seemed to confuse her, why Juliette was going to claim it in the first place... She was claiming it because it sent a message: Esme Panchek was off the market, and anyone who tried to change that was going to lose their fucking teeth.