Rome and Julie

“Ha! I knew you’d love it!” Rome was trying to hide his smile as we finished the sixth Star Wars movie. By now, it was 2:00 in the morning. Despite the time, however, nor Rome or I was tired.

“No, Julie. I didn’t love it. It was… okay.” Rome’s voice, unlike normal, had a tone that was easy to tell he was lying. Rome Madden had loved the Star Wars movies.

“Rome, it’s okay that you like them. What’s wrong with loving Star Wars? Hello? Look at me! I’m obsessed with them!”

“Exactly…” I shoved Rome, causing him to lean farther into the arm rest on his couch. The brownies were gone, along with the cake. Rome smiled at me, and from my mood after Star Wars, I had to smile back. We had a few moments of silence, before Rome looked away guiltily. “Look… Julie. Thanks for doing this.”

“Doing what?” I asked innocently, popping a piece of popcorn into my mouth, the only food we had left.

“For coming over here, and bringing all of that stuff. You’ve really relaxed me.” His eyes finally met mine, and I gave him a big smile.

“You’re welcome.” More silence. Except now it was getting weird. Why couldn’t things just be casual all of the time? “So…” I paused, looking around the room briefly. “I call Scarlet in Clue!”

Rome groaned.

*

After playing board games and making more popcorn and getting more soda, I’d forced Rome to put in Titanic. As much as I hated the movie—Rose so could have moved her fat ass over so Jack wouldn’t freeze his off—it was a tear dropper. Any kind of emotion was good for Rome to experience.

“This movie is so… imprudent. No one would do all these things. Especially fall in love that fast. Love takes time.” Rome said as we watched.

Longer than seventeen years?

I had wanted to say it out loud, but knew things would just get weird, so I kept the thought to myself. Instead, I brought up something that a lot of my life is centered around.

“Have you read Romeo and Juliet?”

“Of course.” Rome said, looking down at me. Apparently anything to get his eyes off the screen was a relief to him.

“Well, that’s how I feel about that. It is so unreal. No one would actually fall in love that fast, then kill themselves over each other. It’s illusory shadows any romantic aspects of the play. I hate it.” Rome chuckled, and I looked up at him.

“I guess that’s why you got mad when I told you I wanted the company to be named Romeo and Juliet. I was joking, by the way.” I rolled my eyes and looked at the screen, Leonardo DiCaprio’s face overwhelming me for a few moments. A thought—however girly it may be—popped into my head.

“He is so hot.” I drug out my words, adding a small smile to my lips, making it seem like my love for Leonardo was the only thing on my mind. I saw Rome looked at me, back to the screen, then back to me.

“What?”

“Jack. He is so cute it’s unbelievable. I would so love to meet him in person. I’d attack him and make out with him, just to be drug away by his body guards.” I added a dreamy sigh to the end of it, looking at the ceiling.

“He’s not that great. He looks kind of like Kenneth Johnson.” I scowled and looked up at Rome.

“Really? You had to mention him?” Rome smirked, wrapping his arm around me to pull me close. I blushed and smiled a little.

“I had to somehow get your mind off other men.” I felt accomplished. I’d reached my goal. Rome was jealous. “You know engaged women aren’t supposed to be daydreaming about making out with other men.” The smile on my face grew.

“I’m sorry, Rome dearest. It won’t happen again, I assure you.” Rome squeezed my shoulder, popping a kiss on the top of my head. My smile vanished instantly. Why couldn’t he freaking just kiss me already?

“Good. Now let’s hurry up and finish this movie. It’s like 3:00, and we need to get to bed.” My attention immediately turned to the television screen, although I didn’t watch the movie. I was seething in my own thoughts. Was it that hard to just peck me on the lips once? Once?

As I sat there angrily, I started getting tired. My eyes started to droop, and my head fell over to lean against Rome’s shoulder. I’d wanted to stay awake so I could finished the movie, but my body wouldn’t allow it and went into slumber.

*

When I woke, I felt horrible. My eyes were crusty, my mouth tasted awful—a sure sign of bad morning breath—and my hair felt matted and tangled. Through the huge elegant bay window, I realized the sun was just coming up. The clock on Rome’s mantle told me it was only 8:17. The blue light coming from the television was making me dizzy, so I looked away, only to be met by Rome’s chest.

Horrified, I looked at my position and Rome’s. I was sitting in his lap, his arms wrapped around me tightly, my legs sprawled across the rest of the couch. My arms were around his neck, and although the position was as intimate as lovers, I was curious as to know how I got there. Did Rome put me there? Did I move in the middle of my sleep?

Another problem found its way into my mind. Rome most likely wouldn’t have let me sleep in his lap, so chances are he didn’t know I was in his lap. So, to save us both embarrassment, I needed to find a way out. Rome’s arms were wrapped around me pretty tight, so my dilemma was a big problem.

Slowly, to be sure to not wake him, I unwrapped my arms from his neck, resting them in my lap so I could assess the situation. If I could pry Rome’s arms off me, I could go back to sleep on my own side of the couch. I grabbed Rome’s forearms, pulling on them gently.

They barely budged. I pulled harder, but Rome stirred, so I quickly let go, putting my hands back in my lap, my head on Rome’s chest, and pretended to be asleep. Mentally, I imagined him opening his eyes, looking down to see me on his chest. He would most likely be surprised, then would try to get himself out of the situation.

I felt him kiss the top of my head gently, pushing my head back, probably so he could see it. Keeping my face completely relaxed was tough, but somehow I managed to make Rome believe I was sleeping. I felt him push away some of my hair, smoothing my face.

His lips on my cheek surprised me, and then he repeated it by kissing the other cheek. Then my chin, forehead, nose. Suddenly his lips weren’t on any part of my face anymore. I felt his hot breath on my lips, and carefully, I peeked.

Rome’s eyes were gently closed, and his lips were mere centimeters away from my own.

Do it! Do it! Do it!

My head was screaming at him, and I wanted so badly to lean up a little so I could kiss him. But for some stupid reason, it was important that he be the one to kiss me. Not vise versa.

Rome sighed, and I closed my eyes again. He leaned away, and carefully slid himself out from under me, laying me down gently on the couch. He once again pushed aside my hair, and his presence was gone.

I was mentally murdering Rome. He was so stupid! Why can’t he effing kiss me already? God!

While I was arguing with myself, I still had to pretend to be asleep. I heard the shower turn on, and decided I could finally get up. My stomach growled, so I went to the kitchen to get cereal.

In the doorway, I stopped, surprised. Everything was still white. Despite how angry I was, I chuckled, stepping into the kitchen to get cereal.

After I was almost done eating, Jetta came in, and slowly took in the kitchen’s messy state. She shook her head, looked at me, then started to laugh hysterically. She just kept laughing and laughing. I didn’t get the joke, so I smiled politely, put my bowl in the sink, and walk out of the kitchen.

The shower was turned off, so I walked up to Rome’s room, to find myself shocked standing in his doorway.

Rome was wearing nothing but a towel around his waist, and it was the most naked I’d ever seen him. His chiseled chest glistened with water droplets, and my heart ached for me to go run up to him so he could wrap me in his well muscled arms. He grinned at me, and I dumbly smiled back.

“Is Jetta here yet?” Rome asked, apparently not noticing what he was wearing. His causality about the situation kind of scared me, and made me feel like I was overreacting.

“Uh… y-yes.” I had to clear my throat afterwards, noticing how suddenly dry my throat had gotten. I’d never seen any guy this naked before, and although it was creepy, it was… gorgeous.

“She has a lot of mess to clean up in the kitchen, don’t you think?” I couldn’t do anything but nod, so Rome turned toward his dresser, getting his clothes, and going back into the bathroom to change.

Scared to think about anything else, I noticed that was the second time he’d showered in twenty four hours.

When he came out, he asked me if I’d like to shower. I declined, saying I’d simply just freshen up.

I washed my face, leaving it feeling refreshed and clean. I brushed my hair, relishing the smoothness of it before putting it up into a pony tail. I brushed my teeth with my finger, using plenty of mouthwash to wash out the icky taste.

Rome was downstairs in the living room when I was finished, talking on the phone.

“What do you mean, you’re coming over?” He paused, and I felt suddenly like I was eavesdropping with my standing silently in the doorway. “Yeah, she spent the night last night.” My heart jumped when I knew he was talking about me. “No. Nothing like that.” Another pause. “Okay, whatever. Just give us an hour or two.” Then he hung up. Rome sighed deeply, running a hand down his face. I walked all the way into the room, and around the couch, plopping down beside him.

“What’s up?”

“My mom and dad are coming over here. They want to talk to us about something.”

“Did they say what?” Rome looked over at me, giving me a small smile that didn’t reach his eyes.

“Nope. But I really don’t want to find out. The tone of his voice was… I don’t know…” He trailed off, muttering incoherent words to himself. “We need to have the house clean when they get here.” I got off the couch, pulling Rome up by his hand, leading him to the kitchen. Jetta was on her knees scrubbing the floor, a bucket of soapy water beside her.

“Jetta, you can clean the rest of the house. We’ll clean the mess we made in here.” I told her nicely, trying to forget the way she laughed. She smiled gratefully at me, getting off her knees, leaving the kitchen.

“Why must you be so nice?” Rome asked, rubbing his eyes. I shrugged, walking into the kitchen to assume Jetta’s position.

“You clean the cabinets and counters, and I’ll clean the floors.” Rome groaned, but did what I told him to.

*

“Star Wars?” Mrs. Madden questioned incredulously. I blushed, embarrassed that we’d left the movie boxes on the coffee table. I quickly got out of my chair to pick them up and put them back into my bag. I was always afraid of what the Maddens thought about me. They seemed to like me a lot, but there was something judgmental behind those smiles they gave me.

“What did you guys want to talk about?” Rome’s voice was strangely dull and bored, as if he wanted this conversation to be over as soon as possible.

“Well, actually Rome, to start with, how about you and Julie sit in the loveseat together.” We complied without a word, even though we were confused about Mrs. Madden’s intentions. They sat in the couch Rome and I slept on, looking rich and sophisticated, and I felt horrendously underdressed in Rome’s sleepwear.

“We’ve come to realize that Julie is turning eighteen soon, and before long, you guys will need to start planning your wedding.” My stomach dropped to my feet at Mr. Madden’s words. Uh oh. This was so not a conversation Rome and I were ready for. We weren’t even in love! What if our first kiss is the one we have after we say ‘I do?’

“And we can’t help but notice you guys aren’t exactly… intimate with each other. Your relationship can be described as brother-sister. And that is not acceptable.” Mrs. Madden piped in. I swallowed hard, and noticed the way Rome’s jaw kept clenching, over and over.

“So, we’ve decided that you guys need to go out on dates, take vacations alone together. Spend some time together isolated from anyone else around you. Perhaps then you guys will acquire the relationship necessary for marriage.” Mr. Madden was more polite than his wife, but his words hurt.

“We know this is probably awkward for you two, so we’ve already got you started. You’ll take a vacation at the Caribbean in a weeks time. Improvement on your passionate relationship must be visible to our eyes. By the annual Christmas party, we want to know you guys are truly ready to get married.”

Rome and I were silent, both angry at his parents for pointing out the obvious truth that we didn’t want to hear.

“We know the age difference might be odd, but you’ve lived with it for many years.” Mr. Madden said, getting the last word in, before Rome stood up to see them to the door. They left without another word, leaving Rome and I to stand in awkward silence.

“So… that was… interesting.” I said, looking at Rome from my seat on the couch. Rome’s eyes stared at me for a long time, and I suddenly felt very self conscious. I tried to keep my eyes on his, but soon I had to break eye contact. His stare was too intense.

“I’ll drive you home.” Rome’s words startled me. I got off the couch, trying not to let the hurt I felt show on my face. He already wanted me home, and I started to worry that he’d realized what a big mistake he was making by marrying me. I nodded, though, walking past him to get my dress from his room. With it draped over my arms, my heels hanging off my fingers, I met Rome at the front door.

The sidewalk hurt my bare feet, but the pain got my mind off of other things.

When I got home and Rome drove away, the silent car ride had me in a secluded mood. Locking myself in my room all day to read a good book seemed like a good notion.

Maggie had other plans, however, when I walked into the door.

“I know you want to spend time with your fiancé and all, but please, Julie, you’re still in school, therefore schoolwork continues as well.” I groaned, rolling my eyes as I shut the front door behind me.

“I’m not in the house five second before you go teacher on me.” I muttered, following Maggie to the kitchen table, where my books were already placed. “What’s my assignment, teach?” Maggie gave me a scornful look that was telling me to take this seriously.

“ACT and SAT testing is coming up, so you are going to study.” Maggie said. I peered closer at the books on the table, and sure enough, they were all books about the ACT and SAT. Glancing at the thickness of every book, I grimaced.

“How long exactly do I have to study for them? I mean, I’ve taken the ACT three times already. I’m pretty sure I know the type of content they ask for.” Maggie crossed her arms over her chest.

“What scores have you gotten?”

“28, 29, and 31.” I answered, knowing what she was getting at.

“And what’s the highest score you can get?”

“36.” I rolled my eyes. “Maggie, a 31 is really good! I mean, I have a feeling, considering my previous scores, that my next score will be higher. I’ve got the ACT down.”

“And the SAT? What about that?” I shrugged.

“I don’t know.”

“Exactly.”

So, that argument was over, even though I was positive I’d get a pretty good grade on the SATs too. Maggie gave me three books; two about the SATs, and one about the ACT. When I thought I knew all the content in the books, Maggie looked doubtful. We argued a bit more over that, the conversation turning a whole different course.

“Besides, why do I even need to get good grades on these things? I’m not going to college. I already got my job handed to me when I was a baby.” Maggie’s face turned slightly red at my words.

“Excuse me? Did I really hear you just say you’re not going to college?” Her voice was getting louder, and frankly, I didn’t want to be there. I rolled my eyes and started to walk towards my room. “Don’t walk away, Julie! We’re having a conversation we needed to have a long time ago!” I continued walking, slamming my door shut behind me, the lock sliding quickly into place. A lone tear ran down my cheek from today’s problems building on my shoulders, causing a weight-like feeling to press down on me.

Seclusion. In some cases—like mine—seclusion is the only thing that will work.