Fall Romance (Title TBA)

10 - Coffee Date

Juliette may as well have been on the moon for how weightless she felt under the flashing strobe lights. Slick with sweat, her body moved almost of its own accord to the deep, rhythmic bass blaring from the speakers.

Ian was close – so close Juliette could distinguish his sweet, natural musk from the dark, woody cologne he wore. She perceived very little outside of how his chest and arms looked in that white linen shirt, which had been unbuttoned to just below his collar bone; his tie had long since been lost and forgotten. Green and blue hues of shifting laser lights complimented his rich brown skin, illuminating beads of sweat on his neck and chest.

The two of them seemed to be playing a game of how close they could dance to each other without actually touching. Electricity crackled within the inches of space between them, where the heat of their bodies reverberated off each other.

With her back to him, Juliette ran her hands up her body, snaking her fingers into her hair. She felt her buttocks brush against Ian's hips, and it sent a rippling wave of heat up to her crown and down to her toes. She whirled to face him; her hungry gaze locked onto his not for the first time during this game of theirs.

All at once and without speaking, they both decided they were finished playing. Or perhaps it was simply time to move up a level.

Juliette pressed her hips to his just as he slid one arm around her waist, a firm but gentle hand holding her against him. She threw one arm up in the air and draped her other over his shoulder. They moved as one in an intoxicating blur of lights and music. She closed her eyes, feeling safe enough to give into the chaos, the recklessness, as long as he continued to hold her close.

Suddenly, his hand traced a featherlight touch just above her décolletage and warmth blossomed on her skin beneath his path; his fingers found the curve of her collarbone as they traveled to her shoulder, then up the side of her neck. He pushed loose strands of hair away from her eyes, then grazed his knuckles against her jawline until they settled beneath her chin. She tilted her face up towards his, her heart thumping hard in her chest under the heat of his gaze. In fact, her heart was beating so loudly she could no longer hear the song the DJ was playing, only the strangely rhythmic drumming in her chest that sounded an awful lot like the Chop Suey intro. And then —

"Wake up! (Wake up) / Grab a brush and put a little make-up / Hide the scars to fade away the shake-up–"

Juliette sucked in a breath as she lifted her heavy head from the pillow to silence her phone's obnoxiously loud ringtone. Her vision swam and her cheek was wet with saliva. Who could be calling her at this hour?

Caller ID said "Hot Teacher," and "this hour" turned out to be 11:30am.

"The hell?" Juliette grumbled, squinting. Her curiosity overrode her irritation, and she answered. "Hello?"

"Good morning, sunshine," Ian's voice was far too chipper for having partied until god knows when last night. "I'm outside. You up?"

Juliette had to stop her head from reeling. "Ian?" she said, her voice gravelly and hoarse. "You're 'Hot Teacher'?"

"Huh?"

"Wait, why are you outside?" She pushed herself to sit up in bed. She was still wearing her shimmering green gown, and her tangled up do fell halfway into her eyes.

There was a beat of silence. "You don't remember, do you?" he said, then proceeded to recount the events of the previous night.

~~

Ian swapped Juliette's new glass of champagne out for a cup of ice water as she hiccupped in her seat, still bobbing her head to the music.

"Oh, water," she said. "Smart. Thanks." She had been slurring her words for a little bit now, but she still had the wherewithal to carry a conversation. "So you are a college professor?" She said the words like she was making sure she had heard them right. "That's crazy! What do you teach?"

"Philosophy." He sat in the chair opposite with arms crossed, watching for any tell-tale signs that Juliette's food from earlier might be coming back up. It's not that he thought she couldn't hold her liquor, but the fact was he didn't know her well enough to know.

"No freakin' way, dude," she paused to gulp down more water. "That is so cool. You're so cool, Ian. I'm not hitting on you, I swear. I barely know you. I mean, I know you're a great dad. But I want to know more." She gasped. "What are you doing tomorrow?"

"Well, it's Saturday, so... aside from some errands, I should be free. Why?" He liked the way she leaned towards him, like she was trying to close the gap between their chairs.

"I'm taking you out on a coffee date," she said with supreme confidence, dropping her hand onto his knee. "You want to go on a coffee date with me? Don't think I'm hitting on you, 'cause I'm not. I just really want to take you out on a friendly coffee date. Keats is invited, too!"

Ian laughed. He appreciated the addendum. "Are you sure? It's late, and you've had a good amount to drink. You sure you're going to remember this and still want to go?"

"Are you kidding me?" She blew air through her teeth and waved away his doubts like flies. "Trust me, I'll remember. Here, take my number down. And I'm not–"

"You're not hitting on me," he finished with a grin. "I got it." He put her number in his phone, then gave her a quick call so she could have his.

Juliette lifted her phone right up to her eyes to add him as a contact, giggling and muttering, "Philosophy." Then she shot him a text that read, "Pick me hp tomorww 1130 SHARP!!! Be there or be sbuarf"

~~

Juliette was glad he couldn't see how red her face was as she sat in mortified silence.

"Wow," she eventually managed to say. "That sounds about right. And now I'm eating my very horribly misspelled words. Say..." The images from her dream suddenly flashed in her mind, deepening the color in her cheeks. "I didn't happen to do anything... like... super embarrassing, did I? Aside from all that, I mean."

She could hear the smile in his next words. "I don't think so. You were rather elegantly sloshed, if I do say so."

Her next breath was a sigh as her shoulders fell out of their stiff posture. "Oh, good. Well, look, give me ten– give me 15 minutes, and I can–"

"Hey, slow down," Ian said with a soft laugh. "I am sure you are very hungover, which is quite painful if I remember."

"How are you not hungover?"

"I don't drink."

Juliette could have punched herself for not remembering he hadn't picked up a single drink other than water the entire night. "Oh," was all she said.

"Listen, don't even stress," he said. "I'm not really outside. I was just calling to make sure you were okay... and to hear the sound of you eating your words."

Juliette laid her aching head in her palm and let out a long breath that curled into a laugh at the tail end. "Touché." He must have had her unreliable, drunk ass pegged from a mile away. "Thank you for checking on me, and for taking care of me last night. And seriously, we are going to have that coffee date. I may not remember saying all that, but I meant it. I want to get to know you better. Rain check?"

He didn't answer right away. She wondered if she had messed up her chances. Chances of what exactly, she was still unsure.

"I'm down," he finally said, "but I get to choose the venue."

Juliette was pleased to hear it. "Sounds good to me. You have a place in mind?"

"Maybe. Have you ever been blackberry picking?"

"I can't say that I have." Her phone buzzed against her cheek and she checked the screen. Alonzo was calling. Oh, man. She had been avoiding him, but maybe it was time to face the music. "Hey, I'm getting another call. Sorry, I need to take it. Text me, and we'll work out the details?"

"Alright. We'll talk soon. Fell better."

"Thanks." Juliette wished she could keep talking to him. Her chest felt kind of warm and her stomach was all prickly. But maybe it was the hangover.

Meaning to end the call and swap to Alonzo's, Juliette accidentally hung up on both of them. She groaned, then fell back onto her pillow – immediately regretting the swift movement as the pounding in her head became her whole world.

~~

Outside, just across the street, Ian climbed into his car and drove home.