to just relax.” Megan looked over Julia’s shoulder to Simon, and her brow creased. “What were you guys up to out here with all the lights off? And where are your clothes?”
“Oh, it’s nothing.” Her cheeks were on fire, but Julia managed to keep her voice steady as she answered. “I was all wet from wading into the lake. When I came up here to take some more photos, Simon was kind enough to find me some dry clothes. I even attempted to give him a lesson, but I’m not sure he grasped the concepts.” Julia shot him a conspiratorial glance. Holding his gaze, she said, "If he wants to learn how to handle the equipment, he needs a little more practice.”
Simon coughed, covering a choking laugh. “I can’t blame Julia for trying. She’s a really good teacher, but she seemed to lose focus when she finally got into it."
Now it was Julia’s turn to bite her lip. What was wrong with her? They’d almost been caught by Megan, and there they were, making fun of the whole situation. Where would things have progressed if Megan hadn’t come home so soon? More importantly, was she grateful for the interruption, or not?
Megan, still frowning, looked back at Simon one more time before she started dragging Julia toward the door. “We brought back ice cream from the Silver Spoon. Why don’t you join us, Simon, and stop being antisocial?”
“I’m going to pass. I’m not fit for mixed company right now. The last conference call I had really got under my skin and I need a few to cool down."
Julia couldn’t help but notice him shift in the chair, the glass of scotch strategically placed on his upper thigh. She just managed to shoot him a sympathetic grimace before Megan had her out the door.
“Gee, Meg. I guess I’ll collect my gear tomorrow,” Julia said as Megan continued to pull her away from the boathouse.
They were halfway up the stairs before Megan stopped, taking the stair just below her, so she was face to face with Julia. “Okay, knock it off. What was really going on? Was my brother hitting on you?” She looked down to the boathouse and back to Julia, scrunching her nose. Suddenly, her eyes got wide and she covered her mouth. “Oh, crap, you guys weren’t having sex, were you?”
“No, we weren’t having sex. God, Megan, get your mind out of the gutter,” Julia said, relieved that at least it was the literal truth. If she had come just a few minutes later, Julia wasn’t so sure that would have been the case. But one thing was certain—she wasn’t about to tell what was really going on. Because hell if she knew how to explain it. "I told you what happened. I got wet taking photographs in the lake, and when I went to the boathouse, your brother was already there. Simon was a great sport about the whole thing. He even listened to me geek out about shutter speeds and aperture settings.”
“It must have been a really bad day if Simon couldn’t muster the will to stop you,” Megan said, bumping her hip. Julia relaxed as Megan started back up the steps. "I didn’t really think anything was going on, but I had to check,” she said over her shoulder, not pausing a step. “You seemed pretty set about not starting a new relationship, but I haven’t talked to Simon yet because he was resistant to the whole idea from the start. I was really hoping you weren’t in the awkward position of having to shoot down my brother. You know, despite his current asshat-ness, Simon's quite the charmer. Growing up, I always dreaded bringing girls home from school because they would fawn over his every word.”
“Did he date a lot of your friends?” Julia asked. She knew it was irrational and more than a little pathetic, but she didn’t want to think of Simon with any of Megan's friends. She shouldn’t even be thinking of Simon with her , but even now her breasts ached, mourning the loss of his attention.
“No. Not that all the stupid girls from St. Agnes’s Academy didn’t try to get in his pants,”
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