Page 72 of We Are Yours

Chapter

Twenty-Six

Isla

Certainty is the calm before the storm. -Stewart Stafford

* * *

Six months later.

* * *

“You don’t have to work today?” I asked, sitting at Julius’s desk. “You’re usually gone all weekend.”

Julius grinned. “You trying to get rid of me?”

“I mean,” I teased, cocking my head to the side. “I am really busy these days. My calendar is just scheduled to the max.”

“Oh yeah? What’s it filled with?”

“Let’s see, I have to finish this homework and then I have to start dinner. I was thinking of maybe trying out that new grill you bought. What do you think about shish kebabs?”

With a playful expression, he implied, “You know how to handle a kebab?”

I giggled, blushing. I felt the heat instantly sweep my skin.

This was definitely one of the biggest things that changed between us over the past year since we met.

We’d openly flirt.

Play around.

Cuddle.

His favorite spot to fall asleep was with his head on me as I scratched his back.

We acted like we were dating, but we weren’t even kissing.

At all.

Despite all of that, we were still best friends. It felt natural to behave this way around one another after I began talking. His hands were always on me in one way or another, or trying to be. Whether it was to tickle me, touch my skin, or even hold my hand.

When he wasn’t working, we did everything together. I experienced so many firsts with him over the past couple of months. He took me to the movies, the beach, and the parks all over New York. We rode the Staten Island Ferry and visited Grand Central Station. The list went on and on. It was his first time going to most of these places too.

I started to enjoy life with him, and it was very much mutual.

He wasn’t working nearly as much as he was before, but he was making more money. Not that I paid any attention to that. He still performed with his brother whenever they could get together. I think it was more about bonding than the money these days.

However, it was hard not to notice that Julius seemed less stressed and was smiling much more.

He seemed really happy, and I loved that I was part of the reason. It was like that for me, too.

We laughed.

We joked.

We busted each other’s balls.