AllFreeNovel
Share Us
‘That’s what I thought. And Cameron said my presentation was really engaging. And I know James is going to be in the audience today, so it’ll be like a little self-promo.’
‘Cameron’s heard your presentation?’ Cat asks.
‘Yeah. He was here at breakfast. He helped me work out a cleaner ending, which was nice.’
‘Oh my god,’ Tori exclaims. ‘Am I looking at a Jules who has had morning sex?’
Jules rolls her eyes, trading mascara for highlighter and a brush. ‘You are not. Well. Unless you count, like, one am as morning and not late at night?’
Tori wolf-whistles. ‘You are going all in on the fling.’
‘You told me to!’
‘Yeah, because I thought if I said that you’d at least go half-way. You’re kind of shit at letting go of your comfort zone. But now you’re getting your rocks off at all hours of the day and talking about quitting your job.’
‘So you will make me a bombe alaska?’
Tori laughs. ‘In your dreams, lady.’
Cat taps her fingers on her collarbone. ‘So no sex this morning, but he helped you out with your presentation. Is it just me, or is that very couple-y?’
‘I thought that too!’ Jules abandons the make-up for a moment to focus on her friends. ‘But I didn’t want to point that out to him and freak him out. I’m enjoying the fling side of things, but I’m still trying to have some deeper conversations where I can.’
She’s discovered so much about him already. He’s dorky and charming and loves his family. Apparently has terrible luck with technology and is a massive sweet tooth, like her. He laughs easily, even during sex, and he looks at her like she’s important. The ache in her chest is getting soft at the edges but Jules knows there’s more to discover. Like what happened at Cable and the full story about his ex. But even without all that …
She takes a deep breath and her voice is soft when she tells her friends, ‘I really like Cameron, more every day. I wanted to see if we clicked enough that dating was a potential and … I think we do. The way I feel around him is like … like I can do anything. Say and ask and be what I want.’
Tori sighs. ‘That’s special, Jules. I’m not even going to turn what you said into a sexual thing, except to say, maybe you’re the one with the magical vagina.’
Jules laughs. ‘You know what? I’m going to take that as a compliment. Thank you. My years of abstinence was obviously just my vagina transforming from standard model to magical.’
‘Maybe I should take a sexual vacation, then,’ Tori muses. ‘I want a magical vagina.’
‘But if Jules is our case-study,’ Cat points out, ‘you might accidentally end up in a relationship when you start having sex again.’
‘Fingers crossed I end up there,’ Jules says while Tori shudders.
‘Urgh. Good point.’ Tori addresses Cat. ‘I’m glad it’s working for you Jules, but continued promiscuity for me it is.’
Jules shakes her head. ‘I miss you guys.’
Tori clutches a hand over her chest. ‘It took you three days to start missing us?’
Jules pokes her tongue out at them. ‘I’ll buy you both souvenirs to apologise. Now, what do you think works better? Hair up or down?’
Chapter 18
Jules listens to her pump-up mix while waiting for the MC to introduce her talk. Filled with 80s pop anthems, it has her bouncing on her feet on the side of the room, excitement running through her veins. Nerves too, but they’re to be expected, especially since she only finished writing her presentation yesterday. She knows the content, and her run through this morning went smoothly, and with Cameron sitting in the audience like a good luck charm, Jules knows she’s going to do well.
The MC introduces her and she walks over to the lectern to a smattering of applause. One clap rings louder than the others, and she easily picks out Cameron in the small crowd. She’s surprised to see Matteo sitting beside him, since Cameron mentioned he also worked in marketing. Cameron shoots her a dimpled grin and Matteo sends her a double thumbs-up.
Rolling her shoulders back and down, she stands in front of the podium with a smile. ‘Good afternoon everyone. Thanks for coming to this talk on e-commerce technology and the way readers navigate and use e-commerce systems.’
The Auslan interpreter over on the left side of the stage starts signing as she speaks. Her gaze travels over the crowd as she continues with an introduction, finally catching on the wire-rimmed glasses and checked shirt of James McCarthy. Her heart beats a quick jive in her chest, recognising the weight of this moment.
She takes a deep breath and reminds herself this is an opportunity she doesn’t want to let pass her by. That she’s intelligent and studious and put in the effort and knows what she’s talking about backwards, forwards and upside-down. Then she finds Cameron in the crowd. She takes a moment to absorb the belief radiating from his smile, and she’s off again.
***
