Page 143 of The Holy Grail
JULES: You can’t see me right now, but I’m rolling my eyes.
JULES: Wait …
A few seconds later, a short video of Jules dramatically rolling her eyes popped up, making Evan crack up.
MALCOM: Very funny.
EVAN: Speaking of funny, I saw the list of my so-called red flags that Jules left me.
JULES: So-called?
EVAN: I found them to be all petty and inaccurate—especially the one accusing me of being a pervert because I mentioned nibbling on your nipples. I’ll admit to it being a kink—by the loosest of definitions—but don’t think it qualifies as a red flag, so I crossed it off the list.
JULES: Fine. I’m sure there are others that I’m just not aware of yet that can take its place.
A half hour later, Malcom texted again.
MALCOM: Did you really eat the rest of the peach cobbler??
EVAN: Yes. In my defense, though, you didn’t have any cereal.
EVAN: I might have eaten the rest of the ice cream, too.
Chapter 45
Putting your ass on the table
The second week of dating turned out to be somewhat of a nothing burger, since Evan got called in to cover two shifts, and Jules had to work late at one of her jobs. They ended up not having a public date because they all agreed hanging out at ‘headquarters’ sounded better, especially to Evan who’d put in extra hours at the bar.
When Jules arrived at 7:00 p.m. and let herself in, the first thing she heard was music. It took her a few seconds to recognize it as U2’sThe Joshua Treeand as she hung up her coat and set her purse down on the entryway table, she felt an overwhelming sense of peace and contentment settle over her. Even though it wasn’t her home, it was starting to feel that way, and when she spent time in her actual home of more than ten years—her apartment—the emptiness there was making it seem less like a home.
She could smell something delicious cooking (an Italian dish of some kind, which would be perfect since she’d gotten her period that morning) but when she got to the kitchen, there was no one in it, so she wandered into the living room. Malcom and Evan were both on the couch, with Evan reclining on his side and Malcom spread out flat. They were tangled up together, and it made Jules pause as she took in the scene, struck by the intimacy of it.
Adding a bit of whimsy, was Dawn Corleone, who was perched on the back of the couch like a loaf of bread.
As Jules approached the couch, both men turned to look at her, their smiles fading a bit with concern after she gave them both a kiss, then she sat down on the floor next to the couch.
“You look tired,” Malcom told her, reaching out to touch her cheek.
Because she wasn’t one to be easily offended by the truth when it was pointed out to her, she nodded. “I am tired.”
“Bad day, Squirt?” Evan asked.
She inwardly sighed at what was apparently her new nickname. When he’d first started using it after the night they all took a bath together, she’d told him, “No.”
“You don’t get to choose your own nickname, so … ‘Yes’.”
“What if people ask about it?”
“Just tell them it’s ironic because you’re tall. They’ll never know the real reason.”
She had a feeling he was wrong about that, but there was no going back.
Stepping over the nickname, she explained, “I got my period earlier and I usually feel like ass on the first day, so ...”
It was the first time discussing ‘women’s issues’ with either of them, and they took it in stride.
“I’m sorry,” Evan said.
