Bent (21 page)

The second was a new bakery, hoping to capitalize on the popularity of cupcakes. They were going to have a tough time given some of the competition in surrounding neighborhoods. Julia shook her head as she realized the women who started the bakery had far too much money and not nearly enough business sense to do what they wanted to do.

The other two proposals required some assistance from other associates, so she primarily worked on those during the day. Luckily, the time spent with her co-workers kept her mind off the fact that time seemed to halt as soon as she booked her flight.

At four o'clock on the Friday before Thanksgiving, Julia knocked on Krista's office door. "Hey, here's the last of them," she said when she was motioned into the office.

"Thanks." Krista smiled as she flipped through the manila folder. "You did a good job on these."

Julia rolled her eyes when Krista turned her back. The condescension that started as soon as Julia asked for time off was getting old. If it wasn't for the fact that Julia was still trying to prove to herself that she was capable of being independent and successful, she would have told her former roommate where to shove her folders.

"Hey, thanks for the time off," Julia said, quickly changing the subject to give her time to lose the attitude that was coming to the surface. "I really do appreciate it. It hasn't been an easy transition out here and I have some things to take care of."

Krista leaned against the walnut desk that was completely out of place amongst the otherwise contemporary furnishings.

"You're welcome," she said, "And hey, I know I've been hard on you. It doesn't excuse anything, but I have some things going on right now and you were kind of an easy target because you know me." Krista's eyes dropped to the floor. "Promise me you'll come back after Thanksgiving?" She looked up and laughed.

"Yeah, you can't get rid of me that easy," Julia chuckled, "But do it again, and I'll have no problem throwing your scrawny ass into the Hudson."

"What time do you leave?" Krista asked grabbing her black wool pea coat from behind the door.

"Not until almost nine, but I'll probably head over there early." Julia responded.

"Tell you what, let's get something to eat and then I'll run you to the airport. That will give you some time to tell me what's so special about podunk that you can't wait to get there," Krista shot a mischievous smile over her shoulder.

Julia laughed, "I have no idea what you mean." She couldn't help but smile. Julia had spent the day trying to avoid counting the minutes until she would be in the air. She needed to see her guys.

Two glasses of wine and a slice of pizza margherita later, Julia felt better about flying home. Beyond Krista's repeated apology for her poor behavior over the past two weeks, there was no mention of anything work related. They were simply former college roommates catching up on the past.

"Are you going to try to tell me there's not a hot guy waiting for you back in... wherever it is you're from?" Krista asked, eying Julia's reaction carefully.

"Why do you think there's a guy?" Julia asked, wondering if she was really that transparent. She hoped not because that would mean she was failing at being independent even more than she realized.

Krista leaned back in her chair. "One," she said, holding up a finger, "you always swore you'd never go back there. It was all you talked about freshman year."

"Two," she continued, holding up another finger, "you told me it was a mistake to go back there when you emailed me about the job, but now you're going back almost a week before Thanksgiving and you're not coming home until the following Monday. That tells me something is up. Your brother is here all the time and you live with one of your friends from there, so I know it's not missing your family." She raised an eyebrow, begging Julia to dispute her.

"And if that's not enough to tell me there's a guy back there, you've been lovesick and mopey since you got here." Krista put her hand back in her lap, "So, do you want to tell me I'm wrong?"

Julia looked down before responding, "No, you're not wrong," she shrugged narrowing her eyes, "You think you're so damned smart, don't you?"

Krista glanced at her watch. "We have to get you to the airport. You can tell me about him on the way there."

Walking to the car, Julia had to think fast. She couldn't tell Krista that Micah, high school sweetheart and heartbreaker, was the man she was racing home to. She didn't know how much Krista would remember from their first weeks in the dorm. It hadn't been Julia's finest hour.

When she wasn't in class, Julia spent most of her time in a fetal position, crying over Micah. If there was one thing Julia learned from their dinner conversation, it was that Krista was good at holding a grudge and didn't think there was such a thing as second chances. She'd never hear the end of it if Krista knew that she had reunited with the boy she spent a month crying over.

"It's someone I went to high school with," Julia said, hoping she could spin the story enough to satisfy Krista's curiosity without encouraging her to pry. "We didn't talk much after high school, but he was doing some work on the place I rented there and we got to know one another."

Stopped at a red light, Krista looked to the passenger's seat. "So, if you met someone and now you're racing home to him, why did you come here?"

"Because I need to justify those student loans somehow," Julia shrugged, "Josh was always the career person when we were married. He didn't want me to have to work since we never knew when he'd get reassigned. And then, it was all gone."

"The sad thing is," Julia continued, "it took me four years after I knew there was no hope before I left because I didn't know who I was anymore. I guess the divorce showed me how much I had given up and I'm not in a hurry to jump back into that life."

Krista shook her head, "Again, why are you here? I talked to your clients in Nashville. None of them were concerned when you moved. They said you were doing a great job working remotely. You're in one of the best fields for being able to work from anywhere at any time. People would kill for that. So, it makes no sense that you would have everything you needed there and still move out here. There has to be something else."

Julia had never been so happy to see an airport as she was at that moment. "He has a kid and I'm not mom material. Seeing as the kid's not going anywhere, I don't know that there's any chance of a future. Plus you've been emailing me every few months for two years asking me to work for you. I figured it was the only way to get you off my back."

"Who cares if he has a kid," Krista said almost laughing. "Do you have any clue how many of the good guys out there have kids? A lot. You need to really think about what you're doing because you're draining a lot of water out of that pool by saying you won't consider a man with a kid."

"It's not that simple," Julia mumbled as they pulled into the parking area.

Minutes later, Julia gave Krista a quick hug and grabbed her carry-on. How was it that even Krista seemed to be on Team Micah? Of course, that wouldn't be the case if Julia had told her who he was but it didn't change the fact that she was starting to feel like she was the only person on the face of the earth who thought she was justified in trying to live her own life.

Chapter Fifteen

Even though she'd spent her entire childhood in Wisconsin, the cold air that hit Julia as she entered the jetway slapped Julia's groggy mind to life. She'd slept through the entire flight, only waking when the plane jostled to a safe landing.

As she descended the escalator to baggage claim, she realized just how much she missed Micah when she found herself crouching a bit to try to see him. When he wasn't there, her heart sank. By the time she reached the carousel, her phone had come back to life and she was growing more agitated by the minute. He would have left a message if something came up. She couldn't think of any time he hadn't answered his phone when she called.

If he wasn't there, how was she going to get home this late at night? She could call Annie or Adam but it would take them close to an hour to drive to the far side of Madison and she didn't feel like waiting that long.

After trying Micah's cell four times, she left a message.
"Micah, where are you? Please, just call me and let me know that you're on your way. I'm here. I have my stuff. I'm just waiting on you." 
With every call that went to voicemail, Julia grew more anxious.

Julia wanted a cigarette. She hadn't smoked in almost a year, but the thought of not knowing why Micah wasn't there to pick her up was making her mind jump to crazy places. She would regret lighting up later, but it was the only thing that would calm her nerves since the airport lounge was closed and she didn't think to pack a mini bottle of tequila.

Just as she accepted a cigarette from a fellow traveler, something caught her eye. Micah's full-size black truck at the other end of the terminal drop-off area. Without a word, she walked away from the group of smokers and tried to restrain herself from running across the snowy sidewalk to Micah's truck.

"Micah," she called out once she got closer. She didn't see anyone in the cab of the truck but she didn't see him outside the truck either. Was he inside and they had missed each other? If that was the case, she planned on telling him what an idiot he was for leaving his truck in the drop-off only lanes where he was sure to get towed. She'd tell him that right after kissing him. There was nothing she wanted more than to kiss him after two months apart.

"Micah," she yelled again. She should have been calm knowing he was there but she wouldn't relax until she saw his face.

As she neared the front of the truck, she saw the top of his beautiful head of dark brown hair through the back window of the cab. He was sitting on the bumper, not paying attention to her. "Hey, I don't even rate you coming in to pick me up?" she criticized.

Micah raised one finger telling her to hold on. Julia started to wonder if something was wrong with Caleb. It was the only thing she could think of that would keep him from acknowledging her.

"Micah," she said again trying to hide her frustration.

"Hang on a minute," he whispered covering the mouthpiece of the phone.

Julia wished she hadn't handed the cigarette back. Her frazzled nerves were getting the best of her and she needed something to calm them. He hadn't even looked up at her yet. Two months apart and he sat on the bumper of his truck acting like she wasn't even there.

"Dammit, Micah. It's cold as hell out here," she complained.

He finally looked up from the ground. "Hang on, I have some really sexy woman leaving me voicemails," he said, his voice low and filled with need.

Still groggy, Julia couldn't comprehend what he was saying. She heard the words but they made no sense.

Micah laughed, "Oh, I guess those were from you." 

If he wasn't so damned sexy with his tight jeans and his black leather jacket, she would have killed him. "You're an ass, you know that?" she said slapping him forcefully in the chest. She turned to get in the truck without so much as a hug when Micah pulled her back to him.

"I've been told that," he laughed, "And yet you fell for it. Seriously? Give me a little credit here."

Julia rolled her eyes. "Why should I?"

"Because you love me," he whispered as he nuzzled into her neck.

Never in Julia's life had she felt the pain of separation that she felt being away from Micah. It didn't seem possible that it would be more painful to be in a long distance relationship than to have broken up with someone, but it was. Julia couldn't remember being as happy to see anyone as she was when she wrapped her arms around Micah's neck and drew him in for a long, passionate kiss.

After a nearly indecent amount of time, Micah withdrew his lips from hers. "So, did you miss me?" After hoisting her suitcase and carry-on into the bed of the truck, Micah lifted Julia off the ground and spun her around playfully.

"You have
no
clue how much I missed you," Julia admitted. "I keep thinking it's not healthy to miss someone as much as I miss you. I felt like part of me is missing when I'm out there."

"This is where I keep my mouth shut, right?" Micah said as he led Julia to the passenger seat.

Before shutting the door, Julia leaned over to give him one more kiss. "And for that, I thank you." It meant the world to her that he was still respecting her decision, even when she opened the door for him to ask her to come home.

The ride home was spent discussing plans for Thanksgiving. Somehow, both of them had been so excited at the thought of Julia having a week back in Wisconsin that neither of them had thought about what to do for Thanksgiving dinner.

Julia wanted to do a big meal for their friends and family. Micah pointed out that many of them might already have plans for the lunch. As a compromise, they decided to spend a low-key lunch at the house, only inviting Adam since Julia knew he didn't have any other plans, and then plan a casual get together for Thanksgiving night after the tree lighting ceremony downtown.