Chapter Twenty One
“I don’t think your dad seemed too keen on letting you come out with me today,” Joel commented, sticking his French fry in the ketchup before popping it into his mouth, chewing thoughtfully.
“Oh no, it wasn’t that,” Julie informed him, offering him a smile. “Really. He’s just worried about my step-mom, you know? She had a hard time with my sister and he’s been preoccupied with her and everything. It has nothing to do with you.”
Giving her a sweet smile, Joel winked at her playfully before taking a bite of his cheeseburger. He swallowed before continuing. “I’ll not go as far as to say that you’re completely wrong, but believe me. I’ve got an older sister at home. My father behaved the same way,” he told her with a grin.
She gave a nervous laugh and reached up to brush her hair from her face. “So you’re not… completely terrified of him to the point of never wanting to see me again?”
“You can’t get away from me THAT easy, lady,” he told her with a playful wink. “I’ll just have to hope that your dad gets comfortable with the idea of us dating sooner than later.”
“Is umm… is that what we’re doing? Dating, I mean?”
“Unless you’d feel more comfortable if we didn’t specifically call it that.”
“You probably think I’m the world’s biggest loser, Joel! I swear I’m not normally this… strange,” she laughed. “I’m just… really nervous, you know?”
He held his hands up and shook his head. “Hey, you don’t have to explain anything to me Julie. And don’t worry about how you’re coming off to me. I like you. I think I’ve established that by asking you out,” he told her with a smile.
She blushed slightly and gave him a smile, brushing her hair from her face once more. When he finished his cheeseburger, he stood up and headed towards the trash, giving her a smile. Once she caught up to him, he reached for her hand and linked their fingers together, squeezing gently as they headed towards the movie theatre.
~*~
“I had a really great time with you today, Joel.”
“I’m glad,” he said with a smile as they stood on the front porch. After having lunch together, they’d headed to the movie theater to catch a movie. He’d held her hand through out the entire thing. It had been heaven. “Does this mean that next time I ask you out, you’ll say yes the FIRST time?” He asked playfully.
She gave an emphatic nod before leaning up to kiss his cheek gently. It had been the first bit of contact that she’d initiated, but she felt it was right. He gave her a smile before pulling away. “I’d like to call you,” he told her. “Maybe tonight?’ She nodded.
“I’d like that. I’ll talk to you later.” She gave him another smile before turning and opening the door, and hurrying inside. Once she had closed the door, she let out an excited little squeal announcing her presence. She sighed dreamily and practically waltzed into the living room.
“You look like a dork!” Abbi snickered from her place on the floor. She was laying on her back, her up in the air as her daddy scratched them. Even her sister’s taunting could not bring her down. JC glanced at his younger daughter, giving her a look of warning before turning to Julie.
“How was”“
“Oh my GOD daddy! Oh my GOD! I can’t believe it! Today was absolutely PERFECT! He held my hand and paid for my lunch and for the movie and he was a complete gentleman!”
Though JC’s nose wrinkled in distaste at the thought of this young man holding his daughter’s hand, he couldn’t help but laugh as she rambled on and on about her date. “So you had a good time then?”
“Oh daddy… a ‘good time’ is the understatement of the year,” she sighed happily, hugging a pillow against her chest as she giggled. Snuggling against his side, she closed her eyes. “Hey, where’s Jen?” She asked, her eyes opening as she realized that her step-mother was nowhere in sight.
She noted how drastically JC’s demeanor had changed. He’d gone from smiling and laughing at his daughter to somber and quiet. “She’s upstairs resting. She’s not felt good all day.”
“Are you okay?”
Her question caught him off-guard. He’d not been aware that he looked so forlorn! “I’m… well, just worried, you know? You were too young to remember when she had Abbi but she really… had a hard time with her. And while the pregnancy itself has been much easier on her… well, I’m just worried.”
“I’m sorry daddy. I know that there’s nothing I can say to make you feel better, but just… Abbi and I are here and we’ll do all that we can to help out and to make this next month go by as smoothly as possible,” she offered, nudging Abbi with her toe until she agreed. JC couldn’t keep the smile from his face. He had no idea how he’d done it, but he’d managed to snag two of the sweetest children. He truly was thankful for them.
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