A Royal Mess

Chapter Twenty-One

"Miss Royal." Maria knocks on the library door. "Mr. Elliot is here."

Julian finishes buttoning his shirt up. "Why is Elliot here?" He snatches his tie from the back of a chair. I don't miss the way his jaw tightens. Here we go... "Are you two going out tonight? Is it a date?"

"Are you actually serious right now?" I snap. "You are unbelievable, Julian!" I pull my t-shirt over my head and put my hair back up. "You honestly think that low of me. You think that I would go out on a date with someone else after I just had sex with you. Ugh! I can't even believe that you just asked me that. You are such a jealous pig!"

"I don't like the idea of you going out with anyone other me." His voice is deep, almost scary. I find myself rolling my eyes at how jealous he sounds. He seems to notice, because before I know it, he has my body pressed against his chest. "You are so naive, Aspen. You don't see the way other men look at you like I do. They practically undress you with their eyes. Do you know how hard it is not to break their fucking necks for looking at you like that? Elliot looks at you just like them. So I am sorry if that makes me a 'jealous pig'."

I stare at him with my mouth pressed in a firm line. His chest rises dangerously fast as he stares down at me with blazing eyes. "Elliot is my best friend. He was my best friend when I had no one else. He was there for me when my mom died. I promise you that he doesn't have any kind of romantic feelings for me, just like I have none for him. He is like another big brother. You are the one that I have feelings for."

"I just don't want to lose you." He sighs. "Not again."

"You aren't going to lose me." I kiss the tip of his nose. "I am just going out with a friend, my best friend at that. We are going to McDonald's and ice cream, Jules. That's not exactly a five star restaurant."

He chuckles. "He really knows how to woo a woman, huh?" 

I slap his chest. "Hush. Elliot isn't that bad. Besides, if you want me, he comes with me. I really think you two could be really good friends. Ellie may not be a part of some bad ass gang and know how to use every gun known to man, but he is a good guy with a big heart that means a lot to me."

"Well, if he means a lot to you, then I'll learn to get used to him." 

"Thank you." I peck his lips. "Now, I gotta go. See you later?"

"Nothing can keep me away."

***

When Elliot pulls into the McDonald's parking lot, it is flooding. People run to and from their cars to escape the weather. A jolt of thunder shakes the ground. My best friend turns to me with wide eyes. I forgot how much he hates bad weather. The lightening sends him into overdrive. He explodes out of the car, leaving me, and bolts inside. I find myself laughing as I run through the rain behind him.

"What's so funny?" Elliot asks, brushing his now wet hair out of his eyes. 

"You being scared of a little thunderstorm." 

A few onlookers have started watching us. Elliot shifts uncomfortably on the balls of his feet. Another thing he hates besides thunderstorms is having attention on him. He rather stay on the sidelines than have someone solely paying attention to him. His red cheeks prove that. I, however, don't mind the extra attention. I've gotten used to it. People are constantly watching my every move.

"Let's order."

By the time we have ordered half of the food in McDonald's and stuffed our bellies full, the rain is nearly nonexistent. The radar I checked earlier showed more heavy thunderstorms headed our way. After telling Elliot this, he thought it would be best to try to beat the rain coming straight for us. It's dark and wet, which means the idiot drivers are sure to be out. The sooner we get home and out of this weather, the better.