• Tomorrow Will Be Different • {J.C} (P.1)

• Chapter Sixteen •

Sitting in the passenger seat, Albert stole glances at Julian sitting behind the wheel. He hadn't said a word—not since before Erin had came into the kitchen.

Now it was just them, and Julian was still mute—staring through the windshield while pretending to focus on the traffic ahead.

"So are you gonna tell me what happened last night?" Al asked.

Julian's eyes widened before quickly darting to Albert. He looked toward the road again before glancing back at him, as if second guessing what Al had just said—seemingly ripped from a trance.

"What do you mean?"

"You were gonna say something earlier—before Erin walked in. So what'd you do last night?"

Julian sighed, subtly shaking his head. He swallowed hard, reaching for the cigarette pack in the empty cup holder.

"It's nothin." Jules spoke against the filter. He steered the wheel with his knee, using both hands to cup the tip as he lit the end. Smoke billowed around his face—a white cloud filling the front of the cab of the car.

"So then why the fuck are you acting so weird around Erin then?"

Julian wiped his face on the inside of his arm—his hand in the 12 o'clock position on the wheel. He licked his lips nervously, suddenly realizing that his mouth was dry. He anxiously tried to pull up his sleeves; the cuffs of his jacket too small, making it impossible.

"It's nothin. Just a... misunderstanding about something—it's nothin serious."

"I'm just glad you guys are, at least the very least, acknowledging each other. When I got back she was asleep in my room and all her stuff was there, so I figured you guys finally talked out your differences."

"Yeah."

"So what was the misunderstanding about?"

Biting his bottom lip, Julian inhaled deeply as he shook his head. What had happened was bound to come out eventually—he was sure of it.
"I did something stupid last night. Like—really fucking stupid."

"You mean like... stupid-stupid? Or you mean like...stupid-stupid?"

"I kissed Erin last night." Julian admitted. He didn't dare look over to see Albert's reaction. "It's not a big a deal; I just misread some signals—read the room wrong."

"Erin's a tricky one."

Julian's eyes completely moved to Albert—his statement capturing his full-attention. He wasn't sure why, but he was slightly offended.
     "The fuck's that supposed to mean?"

"She's just hard to get read on. Getting her to talk about herself—her life—it's like pulling teeth." Albert searched his pockets for a lighter, stealing a cigarette out of Julian's pack.
"She's friendly, she'll talk to anybody about anything; but when you start asking her questions, it's like... she'll give you the shortest answer she can get away with giving you."

Julian was somewhat relieved by this. He had tried asking questions on their way back to the apartment—basic questions; but found himself getting stonewalled at every turn. It was nice to hear it wasn't just him, that Erin was like that with everyone.

"Has she mentioned anything to you before about her Mom?" Julian asked.

Erin told Jules that she had been on the phone with her Mother when he had walked in on her in his room—crying.

Albert shook his head. "Mike's mentioned her. Apparently, her Mom found out she could read music at an early age—I'm talkin' four- maybe even three. Her Mom spent all this money on prepping her to be this... protégé of some kind. Erin's a classically trained pianist—she was supposed to go to Juilliard."

"Why didn't she?"

"Her Mom put too much pressure on her." Albert said, just before lighting the end of his cigarette.
"So is that all that happened last night? You and Erin didn't... you know."

Julian's face felt warm—a smile sprouted across his face against his will as he shook his head. "I just kissed her. I don't think I could've done much anyway... I was fucking hammered."

"I'd really appreciate you keeping your dick away from Erin, honestly." Albert took a long draw; his eyes narrowing at Julian—studying his face.

Julian's gaze quickly shot to Albert, then swiftly back to the road—realizing Al was serious.
"I was drunk. If it had been you that came knocking on my door at three in the morning, I woulda kissed you too—so don't be jealous."

"Erin's a good friend. I don't wanna see anybody's heart gettin' broke—I don't wanna be caught in the middle of that shitstorm."

"You got nothin to worry about; that girl doesn't even like me... not even as fellow Homo Sapiens." Jules forced a laugh; though he wondered if it were true. He had been so impertinent towards her, it only made sense that she disliked him—even on a basic human level.

"You're a fucking Neanderthal." Albert teased.

"I feel it sometimes."

"So what'd Erin do when you kissed her?"

Julian pressed his lips together, still remembering how hers felt. It was strange—he had never been able to recall with such vividness the sensation of someone's lips. It wasn't just Erin's mouth, it was the feeling of her fingers grazing against the side of his neck.

He had been drunk, but knew he wanted her in that moment more than he had ever wanted anyone before. Julian assumed the reason he could recall the moment with such detail, was because of the embarrassment that quickly followed after.

Julian tittered, "She walked out... she just... slipped by and walked right out the door on me."

"That's fucking brutal." Albert was laughing—his eyes were swimming with tears as his face gleamed red. He was damn near squealing at Julian's expense.

"Tell me 'bout it." Julian's jaw clenched as he forced a smile that didn't reach his eyes.

"I wouldn't worry too much about it—Erin's not gonna say anything to anybody. There's gonna be all kinds of strange crawling on you by the end of tonight. Maybe you can think of Erin when you're-"

       Julian punched Albert's shoulder—his lips forming a hardline, trying to hold back a devilish grin.