Page 47 of Hard Rock Muse
“I’ll get her out of the house,” I told him. “You wait in here.”
I quickly got dressed, opened the bedroom door only a few inches, and slipped out, making sure to close the door firmly behind me.
I shuffled my way to the kitchen where Abby was unloading the dishwasher. That had been what the noise was all about.
“Don’t you have class today?” I sat down on a kitchen chair, feigning a casual tone. “What are you doing home?”
“It’s Sunday,” she reminded me as she put one last dish away in the cupboard. She straightened, then turned to me with a pointed stare.
“So…?” she drawled.
I raised an eyebrow. “So… what?”
She nodded to the entryway. I didn’t catch her meaning at first, until my eyes fell on Julian’s shoes, clearly a man’s and several sizes too big for either of us.
So much for being discreet.
“I know you like to keep your cards close to your chest,” she began, “but if Julian Woods is on the other side of that bedroom door, you better tell me immediately.”
Before I could open my mouth and deny it, Julian opened the door and stepped out.
“Hey, Abby.” He ran his hand through his messy hair looking almost sheepish, his lips curling into a small smile.
My little sister let out a squeal and practically flew across the room to throw herself into Julian’s arms and squeeze him to death.
“Julian!” she cheered. “Welcome back!”
He accepted her bear hug without complaint and patted her on the head.
“Good to see you, too, kid,” he said.
She made a face. “I’m not a kid anymore.”
“I thought you had a study group on Sundays?” I said loudly. “Shouldn’t you be taking off soon?”
She caught my hint and gave me a silly little grin. “I’ll leave you lovebirds alone.”
She gave Julian one last hug and went to grab her bag from the table. She bent down to whisper in my ear.
“Don’t mess it up this time.” She turned her bright smile to Julian as she left the apartment. “Have fun!”
I put my hands in my face and sighed deeply. “Great.”
“Is it the worst thing in the world for Abby to know we’re together?” Julian asked.
“Is that what we are?” I peeked at him through my fingers. “Are we together?”
“I thought that’s what last night was about.” His expression turned worried. “Are you regretting it?”
“No…”
“I sense abut,” he replied.
“Julian…” I let out a long breath. “We never actually talked about what happened.”
He came to sit next to me and took my hand. “What’s there to talk about?”
I looked at him, incredulous.
