You Can Be My Romeo

“When did you get back into town?! Nealer didn’t tell me-“

“Look, it was great seeing you Stamkos, but I-“

“Great seeing me?” Steven said as he smirked and walked over towards me, I leaned against my car when he was in front of me, “You saw me a lot in Florida.”

“I know.”

“I come back and you’re gone- Pulled the same trick you did to Nealer-“

“It wasn’t a trick,” I growled and Steven looked at me.

“Where’d you run to after Florida?”

“I came here- Home,” I said and he moved closer and if it wasn’t for the car behind me, I would back up as well, “Stamkos, I’m kind of in a hurry-“

“Really?” he asked, “You ran away from me, after I helped you in Florida?”

“Yeah, you helped me- I appreciated that, but we weren’t together-“

“We were together a few times-“

“And all of those few times were mistakes that James is never going to find out about!” I said and I felt Steven’s hand on my hip.

“I never knew what Nealer saw in you until you ran to me in Florida-“

“I didn’t run into you in Florida, you just so happened to be there,” I said as I looked up at James’ long time best friend.

“Whatever you say, Jewels,” he said, grabbing the tips of my hair and looking me in the eye.

“I need to go, Stamkos, please move,” I said and he looked at me and then looked to his side.

“When’d you get a dog?”

“Found him, that’s why I need to go, he’s hurt,” I said and Steven nodded his head and moved back, I opened my car door and then saw Stamkos lean against my door, “Steven, I need you to-“

“To what?” he asked and I looked up at him and then back up a little.

“Move,” I mumbled and watched as he smirked, moving back and pushing my door closed when I sat in the driver’s seat.

I quickly drove away from him, headed down the road and into town, speeding towards the vet clinic, arriving fifteen minutes before the business closed. I quickly and carefully helped the poor dog inside and he was immediately scooped up by a vet technician and brought to the back. I followed and watched as the people did their jobs to help the poor Collie.

I waited for about twenty minutes, the doctor came into the room that I was waiting in, the Collie propped on top of the table. She started to pet the dog and smiled towards me, explaining that the dog was a female and that it looked like she was hit by a car, her leg was damaged, but could easily be fixed with surgery.

“All right, how much would it cost?”

“Well, we looked for a chip because you did say that you found her on the street, but we didn’t find any, so will you be keeping her?” she asked and I sighed.

“I might regret this, but yes,” I said and the doctor nodded her head and then looked down at her papers.

“We’re going to have to do surgery on her leg, it’ll cost a- Well, what we can do for you is make a payment plan,” she said and I sighed and nodded my head, “And there’s one more thing.”

“All right,” I said and started to pet the Collie’s back.

“She’s pregnant,” the doctor said and my eyes widened.

“I’m sorry- She’s preg- Pregnant?” I asked and the doctor nodded her head and then had the dog stand up and was squeezing her stomach.

“We’ll have her prep for surgery and an ultrasound, to verify that she is pregnant,” the doctor said and I nodded my head, “Is there a number to call you at?”

“Yes,” I said and gave her my number, “Do you know when she’ll be finished?”

“I’ll let you know tomorrow- Does she have a name?” the doctor asked and I looked at the dog, scratched her head and looked at her sad face.

“Pepper,” I said and smiled towards her, “I like Pepper.”

“All right, hello Pepper, we’re going to fix you up and get you ready for your new home,” the doctor said and then picked the small dog up and left the room.


“So you got a dog?” Bridget asked as she looked at me, we were both behind the bar, it was Friday night and we were busy, but I was telling my friend about the dog that I found this afternoon.

“Found a dog, and she’s at the vet right now because I guess she got hit by a car or something,” I said and Bridget nodded her head, “There’s one more thing too.”

“Yeah.”

“I ya- I ran into Steven today.”

“Stamkos?” Bridget asked and I nodded my head and her eyes widened, “What the hell, Jewels?!”

“None of this shit was planned!” I said and she sighed and shook her head.

“What happened?” she asked and I groaned and shook my head, not wanting to talk about it, not knowing why I even brought it up.

It was midnight, two hours into my shift when I heard people being loud, I turned my head to look down the bar, I groaned and sighed, James and his brothers were at the end of the bar, taking back drinks left and right. I looked at Bridget and she gave me a sad look, I didn’t know how long they had been there, I didn’t want to know.

“Can I get another beer here, sweetheart?” I heard and looked back to see a group of college boys leaning against the bar.

“What kind?” I asked and then grabbed their empty glasses and refilled them.

“Why’s there not a smile on your pretty face?” the one boy said and I looked at him and gave him a small smile, “That wasn’t a good smile!”

“Sorry to disappoint,” I said and then turned around, and was about to help someone else, when the kid grabbed my arm and pulled me back, “Let me go.”

“I just want to see a smile,” he said and I glared at him.

“Let . Me. Go.” I growled and clenched my fist, about to punch him, when he was pulled off of me and I watched as James’ back appeared in front of me. My eyes widened and I looked towards Bridget, she hurried over and moved in front of me, demanded that James let go of the guy, and that the guy and his friends leave.

“Are you all right, Jewels?” Bridget asked and I looked down at my arm, he had gripped it pretty hard.

“I’m all right,” I said and then looked up and saw James’ eye looking into mine.

“Jewels,” I heard and looked at Bridget, “Go upstairs, take a breath- Better yet, go home, I’ll handle this,” she said and I shook my head.

“I’m fine, Bridge,” I said and she placed her hands on my shoulders.

“It’s all right, go home,” she said and I shook my head, “Jewels, you’re shaking right now,” my eyes widened and I looked at my hands to see that they were indeed shaking, “It’s all right, just go home, collect your thoughts, and I’ll see you tomorrow.”

I nodded my head slowly, left the bar, headed upstairs towards my locker and then was about to walk out of the room when I ran into a body. I looked up and was surprised to see James standing there, “James,” I breathed and he wrapped his arms around mine and I grabbed his shirt and pressed my face into his chest, “I’m all right.”

“Are you going home?” he asked and I nodded my head, “I’ll go with you- I don’t want you alone.”

“James, I just was grabbed, nothing happened-“

“Yeah, nothing happened because I tore the guy away!”

“We were in public, he wasn’t going to do-“

“How do you know that?” he asked and I sighed and backed away, “Juliet, how do you know that?”

“I don’t,” I breathed and he looked at me and nodded his head.

“I’m taking you home,” he said and I looked at him and sighed.

‘…He always gets what he wants…’ I thought, giving into what James wanted and the two of us walked out of the building, towards my car and I drove to my new home. He was surprised that I didn’t live with my parents anymore, but liked the new house. James said he was going to stay on the couch, but I wondered how this night was going to go, I wondered if he was going to come upstairs, I wondered if I was going to let him come upstairs, ‘…I told him that I didn’t want anything, but am I going to stop him if he comes upstairs…’