“Happy birthday, you look beautiful,” JC said softly, grabbing her hand and kissing the back of it gently. Julia blushed, “Thanks,” she whispered. “Come on, dinner’s almost ready,” JC said, leading her to the candlelit dining room table and pulling out a chair for her to sit down. He went to the kitchen to get something and returned a minute later with a bottle of champagne.
Julia looked at him questioningly, “Are you trying to get me drunk and seduce me, Joshua Chasez?” she asked with a giggle. JC sighed at her, “No I’m not trying to get you drunk to seduce you, I just thought I’d get some champagne since it’s such a special occasion and all,” he replied, leaning down to kiss the top of her head before going back to the kitchen.
They talked all through dinner, and then for what seemed like forever after they were done eating. JC reached over and gently brushed some hair off Julia’s cheek. He left his hand resting on her cheek and she leaned her face into it without even realizing it. She closed her eyes slowly and sighed softly at his gentle touch. JC stared at her face lit up by the candlelight and just couldn’t get enough of her.
His eyes scanned from her soft hair down to her eyes closed peacefully and her long eyelashes, her small, straight nose, down to her slightly parted lips. He swallowed hard and couldn’t resist her anymore, he leaned forward and touched his lips to hers softly. Julia was surprised by the feeling of his lips on hers but she responded quickly.
After a minute JC pulled away from the kiss reluctantly and Julia looked at him questioningly. “Come on, I’ve got something for you,” he whispered, grabbing her hand and pulling her up to stand next to him. He led her over to the living room and the big entertainment system he had set up on one wall. He messed with the cd player for a second before turning back to her. Smiling at her, he led her over by the big bay window looking out into the city all lit up at night.
She looked at him curiously when he put his arms around her waist, like he wanted to dance with her. She shrugged and went along with it, letting her arms drape around his neck. They stood there in silence waiting for the music to start, and when it did, Julia gasped quietly and tears instantly formed in her eyes.
JC smiled at her reaction and pulled her closer to him. Julia looked up at him in awe, “How did you know?” she asked in a soft whisper. He smiled and kissed her forehead, “The other night in the car, I could tell,” he whispered back. She continued to stare up at him in amazement as they started to sway back and forth slowly.
After JC saw Julia’s reaction to him humming Richard Marx’s ‘Now and Forever’ on the radio a few nights ago, he knew he had to play it for her on her birthday. He remembered singing it on MMC so long ago, so he downloaded the version of him singing it and burned it to a cd for her.
He pulled Julia even closer to him and she sighed and rested her head against his chest. He leaned his head down to softly sing the words into her ear.
***********
Whenever I’m weary, from the battles that rage in my head,
You make sense of madness when my sanity hangs by a thread.
I lose my way but still you seem to understand.
Now and forever, I will be your man.
Sometimes I just hold you, too caught up in you to see,
I’m holding a fortune that heaven has given to me.
I’ll try to show you each and every way I can.
Now and forever, I will be your man.
Now I can rest my worries and always be sure that I won’t be alone anymore.
If I’d only known you were there all the time, all this time.
Until the day the ocean doesn’t touch the sand.
Now and forever, I will be your man.
Now and forever, I will be your man.
********Now and Forever*****Richard Marx**********
When the song was over Julia lifted her head slowly to reveal her tear-stained cheeks. JC smiled sadly at her and wiped away her tears with his thumbs. She closed her eyes slowly and swallowed hard as she tried to hold back more tears. Her heart was swelling with all her feelings for JC and she had to tell him. She didn’t care if he didn’t have the same feelings for her, she had to tell him how she felt.
“Josh,” she choked out. “Yes?” She took a deep breath to calm her nerves and bit her bottom lip nervously before opening her eyes to look straight into his. “I love you. I’ve loved you since the first second I laid eyes on you eleven years ago. I know you probably don’t feel the same way, and that’s okay, but I just had to tell you,” she finished just as quickly as she blurted it out.
JC stopped swaying her and removed his arms from around her waist. Julia’s heart began to break as she realized he didn’t feel the same as her. She took her arms from around his neck slowly and stepped back from him. She looked at JC in confusion as he dug his hands into his pockets like he was looking for something.
A minute later he pulled something out of his right pocket and held it in his closed fist. He pulled Julia closer to him and looked her in the eye. He took a deep breath before beginning, “Jules, I made this bracelet awhile ago. I think it was when we were on a long bus ride once and I was bored. But when I made it, I vowed not to take it off until I found the girl I loved, and I’d only take it off to give it to her,” he said softly.
Julia’s eyes widened in surprise as she realized what bracelet he was talking about, she’d seen him wear it before but had noticed he hadn’t been wearing it lately. She looked up to him hopefully before he began speaking again. JC took another deep breath nervously, “When I was trying to think of something to get you for your birthday, I couldn’t think of a thing. You have pretty much everything you could want, and there isn’t anything you really need. So one day I noticed the bracelet sitting on my dresser and I knew right then it was the perfect birthday gift for you,” he whispered shakily, not taking his eyes away from hers.
JC opened his fist and revealed a small blue and white beaded bracelet. He lifted her arm and slipped the bracelet around her small wrist, “Happy birthday, Julia,” he whispered before smiling tenderly at her. She didn’t know what to say, she just stared at the bracelet in shock. She tore her eyes away from her wrist to look back to JC, “So does this mean?” she asked hopefully. He smiled brightly at her, “Yes, it means I’ve fallen in love with you, Julia Bass. I love you,” he whispered, leaning his forehead against hers. She closed her eyes slowly, a few tears escaping from them.
“I can’t even tell you how long I’ve waited to hear you say those words,” she whispered, breaking the silence besides the soft music playing on the radio. JC just simply smiled at her and leaned down to kiss the tip of her nose gently. She raised her head to look at him and gently ran her fingertips across his forehead, along his eyelids, down the bridge of his nose, then finally letting them rest on his lips. She brushed his lips lightly for a second and he pouted his lips out to kiss her fingertips.
He pulled her closer to his chest and finally kissed her gently on the lips. She pulled away after a minute and kissed down his chin, then the top of his neck. He grabbed her hand and led her back over to the table where he blew out the candles that were still burning there. He turned around to smile at her before leading her to the bedroom.
***********
JC led her to stand next to his bed and he pushed her jean jacket off of her carefully and dropped it on the floor before lifting her to lay down on the bed. He laid down on top of her carefully and began kissing down her neck. Julia closed her eyes slowly and dug her fingers into the back of his hair as he continued to kiss up and down her neck. She reached down to the bottom of his sweater and tugged on it lightly. He pulled away from her only long enough for her to pull his sweater off of him, then his lips went right back to her neck and shoulders.
Julia surprised him by rolling him over and laying on top of him. She kissed up and down his neck before letting her lips land on his chest. She pulled away for a second for JC to pull her tank top off of her. JC’s hands found her soft legs and he rubbed his hands up and down them softly and slowly. When his hands reached the top of her thigh, she pulled away from his chest to fumble with his belt buckle and the zipper of his pants. He reached around her back and unzipped her skirt and slid it off of her slowly.
He rolled around so he was back on top of her and he kissed down her stomach slowly as Julia struggled to push his pants off of him. When she succeeded, JC raised his head up to meet hers. He struggled to catch his breath for a second before looking into her eyes, “Have you ever done this before?” he asked. Julia nodded, “Yeah, with my boyfriend from high school,” she answered quietly. “Are you sure you want to do this?” he asked softly.
She bit her bottom lip and nodded slowly, and JC couldn’t help but think how beautiful she looked right then. “Yeah, I’m sure,” she whispered. He gave her a gentle smile to calm her nerves. “I love you, Josh,” she whispered. “I love you too, Julia,” he whispered back before kissing her.
*Chapter 24*
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