If This Was a Movie (Evergreen Park #2)

Chapter 27 – Jules

TWENTY-SEVEN

JULES

Sophie is still asleep in my lap when Nate walks in an hour later, looking exhausted. He smiles at me with tired eyes as I put a finger to my lips and then look at her.

“She looks like she had a lot of fun,” he says quietly with a smile.

“She did. She’s shot, but she had fun. Gotta warn you, though, she may want a cat sooner than later. She was really good with Peach.”

He shakes his head, a small smile on his lips as he moves closer to sit on the couch next to me. His hand reaches out, brushing Sophie's hair back, and in her sleep, her lips tip up like she knows her dad is near, making my heart nearly explode.

“Yeah, I think I can handle her.”

I snort out a quiet laugh because I listened to her spend an hour with Ava, planning on how to convince Nate to let her get a kitten. Ava gave her advice based on her own experience of forcing Jaime to fall for Princess Peach.

“Sure, bud,” I say before we fall into a comfortable silence, watching a grown-ass man throw snowballs at children on television.

“What are you guys watching?” he asks.

“ Elf .”

“God, she conned you into that? That one’s the worst.” He says it with a wide smile, and I feel around gently for a pillow to smack him with. He laughs quietly, and I reach for another to launch at him, hitting him square in the face this time. “Okay, okay!” he says, hands raised. “I surrender.”

“ Elf is a classic, and I will not hear you dishonor its name like that.”

“It’s not a rom-com, though,” he says.

“Are you kidding me? It’s totally a rom-com.”

“So Top Gun isn’t a romance, but Elf is? Isn’t it about a guy who finds his dad?”

“For one, no one tragically dies in Elf . Yes, he goes to New York to meet his dad, but then he also meets Jovie, who doesn’t like Christmas and convinces her it’s the best thing with the ultimate Christmas date,” I inform him, feeling self-righteous. “It’s definitely in the top five Christmas romantic comedies.”

“That high, huh?”

“Oh, for sure. It goes Love Actually , Serendipity , Elf , then The Holiday . Four Christmases comes in there too, depending on my mood, but a relationship in distress isn’t my favorite, so I have to be in the mood.”

“Noted. I’ve only seen two of those.”

“Let me guess, I’m the one who made you watch them?” He smiles, and I roll my eyes. “I’m so sorry I subjected you to my girly trash.”

He reaches over, grabbing my hand, and suddenly, his face is less joking.

“It’s not trash, Jules. You like it, so I like it. That’s how this works. If it means I get to spend a few hours on the couch with you, I’ll choose it every time.” I still do not know how to reply when Nate looks at me like he means every word he’s saying, but I don’t have to respond as Sophie shifts in my lap.

“Hey, Soph,” Nate says.

“Tired,” she replies, rubbing her face further into my lap.

“All right, honey, let’s get you to bed,” he says, standing and scooping his daughter up from my lap and starting to move away.

“No, no,” she mumbles into her dad’s neck. “Jules.”

“Sophie, we?—”

“I want Jules to put me to bed,” she says, her eyes opening and a tired panic creeping over her face as she reaches for me. “Both of you.”

“Okay, girlfriend,” I whisper, grabbing the small hand she extends my way. “I’ll come.” Her lips tip up, and if I hadn’t watched her fall asleep and enter zombie mode, I would have thought it was her little matchmaker side faking it.

We easily get Sophie to bed, me tucking her in and watching Nate press a soft kiss to her forehead before she rolls over, cuddling Ashlyn to her chest.

“Thank you,” he says as he steps out, clicking the door shut. “Really. I’m not usually this late, but when I am, it’s nice not to have to pick her up at my mom's and then drive her home.”

“It’s all good. I think I had more fun than she did, if we’re being honest. I wouldn’t be surprised if she got enough of me to last a while.”

He shakes his head with a small smile.

“Doubt it. Us Donovans could never get enough of you.” I bite my lip, not sure what to say. “But really, thank you. I can tell she had a great day. I can’t wait to hear all about it tomorrow.”

“Anytime,” I reply, meaning it, then stepping toward the back door, but his hand grabbing my wrist and pulling me close stops me.

“You can stay, you know. Finish your movie,” he says, making my heart flutter.

I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t been hoping he’d offer, considering how much I really like our movie nights. But also, he’s been working all day, bound to be exhausted…

“You’ve been working all day. I’m sure you want some alone time.”

He shakes his head, taking a step closer, then grabbing my hand.

“I missed you. I had alone time all day, away from you. I want my Jules time.”

Something in me melts, something I refuse to look at too closely, but before I can overthink anything, Nate moves, tugging me by my hand over to the couch. Eventually, he lets go, and I awkwardly sit and start my movie. I’m confused when he walks away without a word, but I understand when he walks back five minutes later wearing a T-shirt and sweats, clearly having gotten out of his work clothes.

He moves, sitting close to me.

“We can watch something else, you know,” I say, leaning forward to grab the remote and pause the show.

“Just hit play, Jules.”

“You said it was stupid,” I remind him.

“It is. It’s about a grown-ass man who somehow didn’t realize he was, like, three times bigger than every other person around him until he was thirty-something.”

I glare at him. “Then why do you want to watch it?”

He looks at me, a small shake of my head before he shifts, putting an arm around my waist and tugging me until my legs are draped over his lap. My shoulder is tucked under his arm, and his chin is resting on the top of my head before he hits play on the remote I didn’t realize he had grabbed from me.

“Because you like it, and I’ve found I can learn a lot about you just through these movies.“ I sigh, snuggling deeper into his strong chest, more comfortable than I should be. “Now, hush and watch your movie.”

An hour later, we’ve barely moved, and a new movie is starting on the streaming service, something I’m grateful for because I do not want to move.

Like at all.

If I move, I might break this moment with Nate—this blissful sweet moment where I don’t have to second guess or overthink every single interaction. Where I don’t have to worry about if I should or if I shouldn’t or worry about my past or some future we just can’t have together.

His thumb has been brushing the bare skin between where my sweatshirt stops and my leggings start, and that’s all I’ve been able to focus on since it started. The constant contact of his thumb on my sensitive skin sends my mind reeling, my body slowly shifting with each gentle movement.

But when it slides again, his calloused finger scraping and, this time, just barely dipping beneath the waistband of my leggings, my breath catches, hitching and stopping altogether.

I shift then, my body just barely turning toward his, but it’s all Nate needs to put his hand to my jaw, tip my chin up, and press his lips to mine. His hand slides up so it’s resting on the skin of my ribs right beneath my thin sleep bra.

When I gasp, the kiss instantly moves deeper, and suddenly, we’re devouring each other. My body moves, trying to get closer to him as if some fragile thread of decency and common sense has snapped. My hand moves to his neck, pulling us even closer. He groans, and my leg shifts, trying to straddle him, but before I can, he’s moving both of us until my side is to the couch, and he’s lying right beside me.

With this new position, my leg can move to hook over his hip, and when I do, I feel his hard cock pressing against me, his thin sweatpants letting me feel the heat of him where I want him most of all.

He groans at the feel, his hand moving to my ass to pull me in close so I can grind on him. A low moan builds in my throat, silenced by his lips as they continue to move with mine, testing me, pleasure building in my belly.

“God,” I whisper, hips bucking into him, his cock pressing right into my throbbing clit where I want him to touch me. All I can do is think about how badly I want Nate Donovan to make me come, how it’s been nearly a year since I’ve had his hands on my skin, and how no one has touched me since.

“You’re so fucking hot,” he groans, his lips drifting to my neck and sucking there. His hand on my ass pulls me into him rhythmically.

“Nate,” I whisper, all common sense and reality falling away as the throbbing heightens, as his hardness grinds into me.

My leg curls around him, pulling me closer to him before he shifts again until I’m on my back, his strong thigh between my legs, one hand holding himself up on the couch. His hand moves, sliding up, and he groans loudly before dipping a hand under my bra, cupping my small breast.

I’ve always been a bit self-conscious of my boobs, of how small they are—barely a handful—but I remember how much Nate liked them when we were together. The deep groan he lets out tells me he still does.

His fingers move, rolling along my nipple, and I moan, hips bucking to grind against the hard of his thigh. If I had any kind of shame right now, I’d be nervous about leaving a mark, but all I can think about right now is the pleasure folding in on itself, building and building.

“I’ve missed you so much, Jules,” Nate pants into my ear. His body moves in time with mine, helping me grind on his leg, mimicking fucking me in a way that shouldn’t be attractive but is somehow one of the hottest experiences of my life. “The way you feel, the way you sound. Fuck, the way you taste. It’s consumed me for a year.”

I groan, unable to keep up this kiss, instead panting as his lips move along my jawline, and the pleasure builds and?—

Then, without my permission, I should note, his hips slow, his hand stopping pressing on my ass to drive me forward.

“We should probably stop,” he whispers against my lips, his forehead pressed to mine. I pout, and he laughs. “You have an early morning and should probably get to bed.”

He’s right: I have an early class, and he’s been working all day, but even so, I can’t convince myself to move. I have no desire to do anything other than lay on this couch and kiss Nate, feel him…and maybe some more. All common sense has left my head.

“Yeah,” I whisper, but don’t move. “Or we could…”

He chuckles, the feeling vibrating through me and making my body melt further into his, pulling a groan from him.

“Jules, as much as I would love to fuck you right here on this couch, we’re not doing that. Not now, and surely not here.”

I pout, shifting my body to see if I could maybe convince him to change his mind. I’m past common sense, past reality.

He presses a kiss to my lips, a hard, quick one, before shifting my leg from his hip and standing before me on the couch, giving me a hand. In his gray sweats, I can see his hard cock jutting out, causing my belly to flip again.

“Come on, gorgeous. Let’s get you tucked in.”

“Will you do the tucking?” I ask with a smile.

He shakes his head, then reaches down, grabbing me and lifting me until I’m standing. He presses his lips to mine briefly before grabbing my hand and walking me to slip on shoes.

“No, I’ll be leaving you at your door because I can’t trust myself near a bed with you. And Jules? The next time I fuck you, I’m doing it when you can moan my name loud because no one else is home.” I bite my lip at his words, and he leans down once again, giving me a gentle kiss. “But if you agree to keep it PG tonight after I jack off in the shower, I’ll call you. We can talk all night if you want. I feel I’ve already fucked up pushing you too far, too fast.”

A rush of warmth runs through me, and I smile.

“Deal.”

Then he walks me to the cottage on shaky knees, giving me another chaste kiss before pushing me inside and waiting for me to close and lock the door behind me.

And when I do, letting out a small squeal of excitement, I hear his deep laugh as he walks back to his house.

Thirty minutes later, he calls me, and although we don’t stay on the phone all night, it’s well past midnight when I do finally fall asleep with a smile on my lips.