I'm not gonna write much 'cause I'm kind of in a rush today. Things to do, places to go, so little time!
Tell me about it! Ross thought to himself as he flew around his apartment, trying to gather everything he needed for their whirlwind trip to Montreal.
"Where in God's name did I put those shoes?" he wondered out loud, rummaging through his disorganized closet.
He glanced at his watch. 12:53 p.m. Darn, less than an hour before he had to pick
up Julie, and she would not be amused if he were late. The last thing he
needed was an irate partner driving with him on a long trip, especially when... He glanced
back at the letter and smiled. Especially now.
Speaking of time... why is it that time always seems to stretch so long when you
want it to fly? It's so frustrating. You want to wait, you want to be patient, but
sometimes you just want to say "To hell with patience!" and do something totally off
schedule. Either that or find a way to speed up time.
"OUCH!" he exclaimed as something fell from the overloaded top shelf of the
closet and hit him on the head. "What the hell... Oh."
He sheepishly picked up the shoebox that had fallen and placed it with his
half-packed bag. "So that's where those shoes were."
What else do I need? he mentally questioned, trying to run through the list
in his head. I really should've done this last night...
He looked hopelessly at the selection of ties hanging in front of him and wondered
which one to take.
"Where's Julie and her fashion advice when you need 'em?" he asked the closet
door. "I hate these dress-up things."
Okay, this is going to sound really stupid, but do you know what I was wondering
about last night? Whether you think I'm pretty. Shallow, I know, but every girl wonders
about it once in awhile. Then I remembered... you called me beautiful once. Back then, it
was just a compliment... now, I know what it really means. Or what I want it to
mean.
"Don't worry," he whispered, carefully folding the letter and placing it back in its
envelope. "I did mean it, sweetheart. I still do."
Not so fast, the omnipresent voice in his head cautioned. You still
aren't sure it's actually her. Jump too fast and you'll crash...
Oh, shut up, a competing voice retorted. Give yourself a break. You
want it to be her, don't you? And besides, who else could it possibly be?
Feeling like a total schmuck but unable to resist, he quickly brought the envelope
to his lips and gave it a quick kiss. Hell, it was the closest he was gonna get to
really kissing her... for now.
He grinned goofily to himself.
For now...
HONK!
"I'm coming!" Julie yelled at the sound of her partner's car horn outside her door. She knew he couldn't hear her, but she kept calling anyhow. "Just a minute, I'm coming!"
She ran breathlessly around her apartment, grabbing last-minute items from every room.
"Lipstick... eyeshadow... blush," she murmured under her breath, tossing them in her cosmetic bag. "I've got my eyeliner and mascara... perfume... dang, where are my shoes?"
DING-DONG!
"I'm coming!" she called, racing to the door.
When she finally opened it, her partner took one look at her and laughed. She had her cosmetic bag between her teeth, a shoebox in one hand, clothes draped over the other arm, and jewellry in that hand.
"Need some help?" he asked, taking the shoebox from her.
"Just give me five minutes," she promised.
"I swear, I'll be ready in five."
As she turned around to stuff the remaining items in her travel bag, she heard him snicker and swivelled around.
"And quit laughing at me!"
"Okay, okay." Trying to wipe the teasing grin off his face, he sat down on her couch to wait for her.
Disappearing into her bedroom, Julie removed the most important item from her closet. Unzipping the garment bag that hung there, she snuck one last look at the dress she was to wear that night. She wasn't altogether sure how appropriate it was for a sponsor event and had contemplated sticking to basic black, but heck, it was brand new and she loved it. Plus, she knew if any dress would get his attention, this one would...
"Four minutes and forty-five seconds," her partner teased from the living room. "Four minutes and forty-six..."
"Shut up!" she called back, smiling. Zipping the dress back into its bag, she slung it over her arm, then quickly peered into the mirror and ran a brush through her hair.
"Okay, now I'm ready," she announced, bag in one hand, dress in the other. "Shall we hit the road?"
Taking her bag without a word, he followed her out, switching off the hallway light. "Apres vous, ma partenaire."
Turning to lock her door, Julie suddenly had a premonition that something was going to happen that day...
Only problem was, she had no idea what.
"Oh, no. I am not going to listen to that techno-reggae crap!"
Out on the road, the partners were having a little music disagreement.
"It is not techno, and it is not crap," Ross countered, protectively holding Triggin' Algebra's "Logarhythms" CD out of his partner's violent reach while still keeping on eye on the road.
"I am going to kill Chris for getting you hooked on that Triggin' Algebra stuff!" she exclaimed. "And I'm definitely not going to listen to it!"
"Okay, then, what do you want to listen to?" he questioned, sticking the CD behind his back so Julie couldn't get it.
"This." Julie rummaged in her bag and pulled out a CD.
Ross glanced at it out of the corner of his eye. "Jewel? You've got to be kidding me."
"What's wrong with Jewel?" she responded defensively."
"Girly music." He took a cookie from the bag between them and ate it in one bite. "Plus, yuhgiplayirinktoften."
She shook her head at him. "You might want to swallow and repeat that, 'cause I didn't understand a word you just said."
He took her advice.
"I was just saying that you girls play that CD at the rink way too often," he repeated.
"Well, then, what about Dance Mix '98?" she suggested, taking out another CD.
"No way," he said firmly. "Those remixes are just scary. C'mon, Triggin' Algebra! It's my car..."
"Which means I'm the guest and you should let me listen to what I want," she finished, smirking.
He couldn't help but laugh at the way she'd twisted his sentence to benefit her cause. "But hey, I'm driving."
"For now." She tried another CD. "Barenaked Ladies?"
"Now that I can live with," he agreed.
"See, we can compromise!"
Laughing, she slid the CD into the car stereo, and singing along to the rapid-fire strains of 'One Week', they drove on.
"Room 1431," Julie announced as they stood waiting for the elevator in the lobby of the downtown Montreal Sheraton. "So that would be the 14th floor, I think."
"One room?" Ross raised his eyebrows.
Fixing her eyes on the lit numbers above the elevator doors, Julie shrugged nonchalantly.
"Yeah, I figured we just needed some place to dress," she replied. "It's not like we're staying overnight."
"Makes sense," he agreed after a moment of panic. "Why waste money?"
Julie felt butterflies beginning to rise in her stomach and tried to squash them down. Don't be silly, she scolded herself fiercely. C'mon, you've been in rooms alone with him a zillion times, even dressing rooms, for God's sake! Nothing is going to happen. Stop thinking...
"Elevator's here!"
Julie was literally dragged out of her thoughts as her partner pulled her into the elevator, and together, they headed to the 14th floor.
"Julie!" Ross sat on the hotel room bed fully dressed, flipping the channels on the TV. "You've been locked in there for over an hour, aren't you ready yet?!"
"Not quite," Julie called from behind the bathroom door.
"Geez." He rolled his eyes good-naturedly. "How do you spend so much time just getting ready?"
"Don't rush me!" she retorted, carefully applying her eye makeup. Don't worry, she added inwardly. I'm doing my best to make sure it'll be well worth the wait.
Fastening her necklace around her neck and adjusting the straps of her dress, she gave herself one last look in the mirror. She smiled, satisfied. She looked good, definitely knockout potential. Now it was time to see if that potential would be realized...
Taking a deep breath, she flung open the door and stepped out into the room.
"Ta da!"
The partners caught sight of each other, and for a split second, they both shared the exact same thought.
Oh. My. God.
Ross stared at his partner in unabashed admiration. Julie in everyday clothes was pretty, but Julie in a clingy red slip dress covered from bodice to ankles with thousands of sequins in varying shades of red, with blonde waves held back on one side with a rhinestone hair clip, with sultry eyes and glossy red lips... This Julie was beyond gorgeous.
"Wow!" he finally sputtered, still unable to stop gaping. "Julie, you... you look... I mean, wow!"
Julie played with her beaded necklace, trying to hide her blush.
"You're pretty high in the Wow department yourself," she replied, sneaking another look at him.
Hoo boy, she thought to herself, giving him an appreciative once-over. When she'd first caught sight of him just a minute ago, her heart had skipped a beat. Even before she'd admitted to herself that she was in love with him, she'd never denied that there were definitely, um... possibilities. And now, that physical attraction was... well, his awestruck "Wow!" had pretty much summed it up. As Maddie would say, "Damn, is he ever hot!"
"What's funny?" Ross questioned, seeing her laughing to herself.
"Oh, nothing," she said quickly. "Just something I was remembering... something a friend likes to say."
"Anyway, we'd better get downstairs, eh?" He checked his watch. "It's 7:17, we're already late."
"Ah, fashionably late," she scoffed. "It's downstairs in something called the Wyatt Grange room."
"Okay," he said, handing her her chiffony wrap from where she'd left it on the bed. “And Julie, promise me something?"
"What?" she asked, taking her wrap.
"Don't let those young executive yuppies flirt with you."
At the sound of her partner's suddenly protective tone, Julie grinned wickedly.
It was gonna be an interesting evening.
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