Secretly

This was quite possibly the nicest thing that Jon had ever experienced. Julie had these perfectly bee stung lips that convinced Jon he was kissing a cloud.

He’d finally done it; he’d kissed her. And it was perfect. He didn’t really think about it, he just did it. He didn’t think about anything in the moments leading up to the kiss, he just concentrated on her. Her pained, trembling voice as she tried to justify her actions.

Not that Jon had needed any justification. What Julie did was her own business; Jon just wanted her to do those things with him. So he kissed her.

Jon wasn’t a big cheese ball like Sharpie, who was a big believer in fairy tale endings and eternal love, but he had to admit it; he was kissing Julie, and it was magical.

And best of all, she was kissing him back. It wasn’t only magical, but it was Jon’s very own fairy tale.

Jon had never been so happy in his life.
His hands were on her back, and she gently placed her hands on his chest.

And then she pushed him back. It was a light push, but it made him step back far enough to break their kiss.

“Jon,” she gasped. “We can’t.”

Jon was stunned. So much for magical. “Of course we can,” he insisted. And then he demonstrated by kissing her again, pressing her back against the counter. Only to have her push him away a second time.

“Jules,” Jon protested, grabbing both her shoulders. “I don’t understand why you’re fighting this. You like me, I know you do.” Julie blinked, starting into his brown eyes with her own. She looked away quickly.

She paused. “Maybe, but--”

“Bullshit,” Jon cried. “You do!”

“It doesn’t matter,” Julie replied, her tone just as impatient as his. She ran a hand over her bottom lip, and Jon wished she’d stop directing his attention there. “I can’t do this. I just… can’t.” Julie’s attempt at an explanation was even worse than Kaner’s trying to explain his break up with her. She looked down, not meeting his eyes, and played with the hem of her shirt, twirling it with her fingers.

Jon put a finger under her chin, tilting her face up and making her look at him.

“That’s it?” he asked sarcastically. “That’s all you got for me?” His eyes shone defiantly.

“For now, yes, but I’ll call you soon as I know anything,” her tone mimicked his again, and he couldn’t help but smile.

He shook his head. “That’s it? You can’t?”

“No, I can’t, but,” she sounded desperate now, all the sarcasm gone. “Can we please be friends? Please, Jon?” Her big brown eyes silently begged him to agree, and he couldn’t say no. So, reluctantly, he nodded.

“And tell Patrick to stop avoiding me,” she added. “You must be getting sick of him.”

Jon barely heard her, because he was busy planning. It was the biggest cliché in world, but Jon counted on it. He knew no man and woman, with as strong an attraction to each other as they had, could be JUST friends.

And the sooner Jules realized that, the better.
…..

"Jules! We're on the same team! Don't shoot me!" Patrick yelled, swerving in real life to avoid a hail of virtual bullets from Julie's spitting machine gun.

Julie winced, dropping her controller. "This game is so violent. Why can't we play Mario Cart once in a while?"

Jon laughed, taking aim at Patrick's character onscreen and sending a string of bullets his way.

"Shit!" Patrick cursed, adding smugly, "Mario Cart is for children. And away games. This is a man's game. It's not really for women, either," Jon shook his head as Julie got up to leave.

"Patrick, sometimes I want to shoot you for real," Julie smiled sweetly before exiting Kaner's apartment.

Jon groaned as Patrick killed his character, taking advantage as Jon focused his attention on the closed door. He wished more than anything for Julie to waltz back in, instead of getting ready for her date.

"So is Jules going on a date with another guy part of your brilliant master plan to make her fall in love with you?" Patrick asked, his voice dripping with sarcasm as he got up to grab a drink.

Jon threw his head back, letting it fall on the back of the couch. For the past several weeks, he had been Julie's "friend." Jon had hoped that with time and a little push from Jon, Jules would come to her senses and see that they were meant for each other.

All he'd manage to do was fix the severed bridge in between her and Patrick, and somehow push her towards Andrew.

Stupid, good for nothing, handsome, lawyer Andrew.

Jon hated the guy. He was too perfect.

"I don't get it." Jon struggled to keep the whine out of his voice but was failing miserably. "What’s so good about Andrew?"

Patrick looked at his friend sympathetically.

"He's not a womanizing hockey player," he offered, repeating, Jon knew, Julie's words verbatim. Not only had Kaner and Jules reconciled, but they had become even closer than they were when they'd been dating. Apparently, there had been a lot of late night talks. "She likes you. She's just scared."

His friend’s gentle tone and serious demeanor surprised Jon. He knew without a doubt that Patrick was right. Julie did have feelings for him. She was just choosing to ignore them.

He just wished there was something he could do about it.