White Lie | Danny Amendola

Chapter 8

** Julian's POV **

My heart was racing as I looked down at my phone to confirm that I was at the right address. "Jesus christ, Kris... Please let this be the right address," I mumbled as I killed the engine and got out of the car.

I slammed my car door shut and let out a sigh as I looked up at the building in front of me. I thought I was going to throw up as my legs involuntarily brought me up the steps and to the front door of the building.

Once I was inside, I walked down the hall to A8. As I stood in front of her door, my legs shook. My head was pounding as I wondered if I should have really knocked or not. I'd never been so goddamn nervous in my entire life. Before I had even realized it, I was knocking on the door, quite loudly, actually.

After a few seconds, there was a shuffling on the other side of the door, then the locks jiggled. The door was cracked open and she looked at me with wide eyes. "Julian, what are you doing here," she asked, pulling it open a bit more.

Before I could say anything, there was a barking behind her. "Ugh! Buddy! No, you can't go for a W-A-L-K! It's too early still," she said as she looked down at the doberman.

"Oh... I-I... I'll go then," I said as I pointed my thumb in the direction of the exit of the building. "I'm sorry."

"No... Uh... It's okay, Julian... You can come in," she said as she moved leaned down to hold the dog by the collar.

I sucked in a breath and moved into her apartment. She motioned to the couch. I nodded slowly as I moved over to the living area and sat down. Still holding the dogs collar, she moved over and sat down in a chair adjacent to me.

"What brings you here this morning, Julian," she asked. The dog began whining, while it tried to get over to me.

"Er... Merry Christmas?" I said, even though it came out as more of a question. I was trying to get my breathing under control, but it wasn't really working.

"And happy late Hanukkah to you, Julian, but that doesn't answer my question," she said. Her blue ares were looking at me with such a soft look. God-- She was beautiful. All I wanted to do was launch forward and smash my lips into hers.

Part of me regretted letting her walk away the night of the Christmas party. "I-I... Vicki, I haven't been completely truthful with you," I told her, looking down at my lap.

"What do you mean, Julian? You haven't been truthful about what," she asked, quite confused. Her grip on the dog's collar got a little softer.  

"I... Vicki... I've had my eyes on you for the past three or four months. I think you're the most beautiful girl that I have ever seen, and I'd love to have so much more with you," I spat out, nearly forgetting to take a deep breath between all of my words. "And I'm so sorry I'm doing this on Christmas, but Danny and Kristene... They encouraged me to do this. They're so happy together... And... And I-I want that. I want to be happy, just like they are. I don't care if it's with someone in the organization... But jesus, I am not giving up."

She lost her grip on the dogs collar as her jaw dropped open. Before I could say anything to save myself, the dog jumped up onto my lap and began licking my face. I began petting him and was able to hold him away from my face. His tag read "Melvin". "Hey Melvin... How are you, boy? Can you do me a favor and get off of me?"

It was like he knew exactly what I was saying, be backed off a bit and rested his head on my thigh. "Vicki," I mumbled as I turned my attention back to her. The look of pure shock was all over her face. "Please say something, anything."

"I-I... Melvin... Come here," she said in a stern voice. The dog immediately moved away from my and back to my owner. "You don't just attack people like that... Whether it's with kisses or not!" The dog began to whine at her.

I coughed, unsure of what to do. Her beautiful blue eyes looked back to me.

"This couldn't wait until after Christmas," she asked quietly.

I shook my head. "Kristene told me you liked me... And gave me your address last night when I was at Danny's... It was driving me crazy. I had to talk to you. I couldn't help myself."

She didn't say a word, all she did was stand up and moved over to sit down on the couch next to me. She was so close. I swallowed as my heart rate began to pick up again. The smell of sweet southern peaches hit my nose, and I knew I was done.

The next thing I knew was one of her small hands was up on my cheek, and those eyes were extremely close to mine. In the matter of seconds, her warm lips met mine, and I melted into her touch.

This kiss... This kiss was a lot better than the one we shared at the christmas party. This one had a lot more behind it. Our lips moved in synch as my hands moved up to be tangled in her hair.

A whining and a snout caused us to pull apart. Melvin began licking at my neck, causing both of us to chuckle. "Ah, come on boy!"

Vicki's fabulous laugh filled the room. After a second, her eyes met mine again and she let out a sigh. "Julian... Could you please just explain one thing to me?"

I nodded slowly. "What's up?"

"What do you mean about Danny and Kristene," she questioned, those blue eyes looking at me with confusion.

Ah, fuck.