That thing (Jules, Axel)

[Lovely]

Name: Juliette Berkley Aliases: Jules played by: Lovely likeness used: Minka Kelly

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Name: Axelrod Banks Aliases: Axel played by: Tripp likeness used: Charlie Hunnam

[Lovely]

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[Lovely]

Jan 23, 2011
2pm


Jules sat in the small booth by the window in the diner that was across from the auto shop which was repairing her car. She'd been stuck here an hour already and would likely be there for a couple more while the work was done. She had to shell out quite a bit of money for it too - they might as well bend her over this table and.. Jules sighed and gave the waitress a faint smile as she came back with the refill on her soda. "Thanks." There was a nod along with the murmur and she picked up her book again.

Motorcycles came and went through the day, but few sounded exactly like his. The distinctive sound quieted as he parked outside the diner and he stood to stretch and look around the old stomping ground. Axel and his brothers were back in town for the rest of the winter months, but none of them had exactly called ahead to let the girls know. His thoughts were on coffee first. The morning ride had been long, cold and wet, but they weren't done yet. The bikes would need some TLC, too. He wasn't expecting a welcoming committee but Axel still seemed bothered. He walked in to the diner, holding up his fingers for the waitress carrying the coffee. He gestured with two fingers then pointed to the back booth he headed toward. His brother would join him in a few minutes once the bikes were taken care of like they were watering horses at the corral. He sat and leaned on the table, looking around the diner. Things hadn't changed too much. His gaze landed a few tables away and he stood up again to come to her table. She was reading and maybe hadn't seen him, or maybe she was ignoring him on purpose. He slid into the seat across from her and leaned on her table now. "Don't suppose you thought about that thing we talked about, did ya?"

Jules looked up as he came to the table and slid into the seat across from her, she set the book aside a moment later as he asked his question. Half chuckling, she shook her head. "Hello to you too." There was a little sarcastic edge in her voice as she leveled her gaze on him, flicking her hair out of her face with one hand. "Ohh I'm good, thanks for asking."

"Not what I asked, Jules. Good, you're good. Good book?" He glanced at the book but didn't really seem to care if she liked it. Books weren't his thing. His fingers drummed a little on the table. "Didn't see anyone sittin' here. What're you waiting for?"

"I'm ignoring what you asked me, since you didn't even say hello to me first." She folded her hands on the table, licking her lips as her eyes drew over what she could see of him above the table. "I'm waiting for my car.. it broke down.. again. It's in the shop."

"Shoulda let me take a look at it for you. Who didn't fix it right?" He looked out the window but couldn't see the shop from her table. "Fine. Hi. Now what do you think? I'm gonna be back for a while, now."

"Hard to look at it when you weren't here." She pointed out with a tilt of her head, though she wasn't saying it to be mean. "A friend's brother didn't fix it right and now the shop is ra.. charging me alot to fix it." She shrugged and meandered her way to his last question, making him wait but not nearly as long as he'd wanted her to. "Hi.." She said more softly, lifting one leg to rest her foot on the bench next to his thigh. "I think I missed you.. and I want to know how long awhile is.. and maybe what you want to do with me now that you're back for awhile?"

He shrugged a little. "Where'd you need to go to, anyway?" He was hoping not to find out but the rest of what she said set him more at ease. He slipped a hand down to put over her foot, rubbing her ankle a little. "Think I missed you too. Gonna be home until Summer, but probably longer. Gotta do some major work on her," he nodded to the door he'd come in and his bike outside. "Leaves me a lot of time to think of what we can do."

"The usual places.. get my nails done.. shopping for pretty and skimpy things to fill a certain drawer in my dresser.." She shrugged again, casually mentioning errands she might have needed to run. Her teeth tugged at her lower lip, her gaze going toward the door as she thought over the rest of what he said. "You wanted me to wait for you.. and you come back but need more time to think about what you want to do? Do you have any idea how many dates I turned down because I -was- thinking about what I wanted to do with you? I might as well have joined a convent for all the action I've seen!"

"Oh I thought about all kinds of stuff but you weren't there to go do any of it. It just didn't pay to think about it and get all worked up in a room full of guys. Now I see you, I'm thinkin'... lots," he admitted.

The shock of realization was clear on her face and how she struggled to form words for a minute. "Oh." She finally said quietly and looked away, she was hurt but told herself she shouldn't be, she'd told him she wouldn't wait for him.. "I think we're talking about different things.. totally my fault.. sorry." She moved her leg and started to gather up her stuff, digging for a tip for the waitress. "I have to go check on my car." She lied, she knew it wasn't near being ready and was just making an excuse to flee her embarassment.

"Excuse me? I think you're thinking exactly what I'm talking about, Jules. What? Hit a nerve?" He got up to block her path from the table. "Car can wait a few minutes, I'm not done. What's so wrong about me sayin' I couldn't think of you without wanting to be here, huh?"

She stood to take a step and found a wall of Axel right in front of her, she blinked and tilted her head to look at his face in surprise as he sort of ordered her to stay and prevented her from going anywhere. She stammered a moment, looking away to take a breath and dab at her eyes. "Nothing.. there's nothing wrong with it.. I just.. I wasn't talking about a hard on.. okay? I thought we were talking about.. a relationship.. and now I'm embarrassed.. okay?"

"We were and we are. I said I'd be back and I'm here. Why are you embarrassed? That I think you're hott? Okay, I think it and I'm not blushing about it. C'mon. Sit on back down and let's talk, okay? Okay?" He wasn't mad, but anyone else might not have known that about him. He spoke quietly almost always, like he did now.

There were lots of reasons she was embarrassed and wanted to run out of the diner to hide it, but she looked back to him and knew she wasn't going to. "Okay." She agreed to his request, Jules sighed and took a step to kiss his cheek before slipping back into the booth, she set her purse next to her. "You're a guy.. and I doubt you ever blush, anyway."

"Yeah well maybe I'll surprise you," he said, almost grinning that she kissed his cheek despite being upset. He waited a moment to see if Croft was coming in or not but didn't see him yet. He shook his head and sat down where he was. "Don't know what happened to the service in this place. Guess we outta get it back in shape, huh? Anyone messes up your car... Anyway, so you were serious? About turning them all down cuz of me?"

She swallowed and folded her hands on the table, feeling nervous and blushing again as she bit her lower lip. "Yes." She decided just being honest and straight forward was best, even if she had to blush through it all. "I turned them all down because of you. I didn't intend to.. when you left and how we left things.. I didn't think I could wait.. or would want to.. I was wrong."

His lip twitched up beneath his whiskers. "Glad you were wrong. More glad you waited. So, got plans already tonight other than that book you're reading?"

"Waiting wasn't much fun.. especially when I was wondering what you might be doing and with who.. since I told you I couldn't wait.. I worried you might have found someone else who was all into jumping into it with you." She sighed, looking across the table at him, she was sure he wouldn't be interested by the time he got back. "I don't have plans tonight." She added softly to make sure she didn't ignore his question in her rambling.

He shrugged a little, drawing on the table with a fingertip. The waitress found him there and dropped off the coffee with him along with the one for his brother. Once she wandered off again, he looked up. "Wasn't easy, I guess, but nobody caught me, you know? They didn't look like you, or dance like you do so I didn't pay much attention. Guess one or two tried but..," he shook his head again and picked up his cup.

"What about gorgeous busty girls in bikinis wanting you to rub oil all over them? I couldn't get that one out of my head." Her gaze wandered over him, drinking him in from his fingertip that drew on the table, to his lips behind the course blond facial hair, and then up to his eyes. "I don't dance that well.. and I don't let you oil me up while wearing a skimpy bikini." She pouted and looked to her soda as a distraction, playing with her straw a little.

"Could let me try it ... once?" He suggested, watching her play with her straw. "There weren't any of those. None would look my way, anyway. Croft maybe, but not me. Not that you wouldn't be one of them if you wore one. I'd have to be jealous if anybody else tried to oil you up, though."

"Maybe.. it's a little chilly for a bikini right now.. but if you're here during the summer. I wear a bikini alot then." She shrugged and looked over to him again, smiling a little. "I think plenty of women would look at you.. you're pretty damn sexy. I waited for you and you're not even officially my boyfriend."

"Not them I want looking at me," he admitted, his eyes shining a little and a hint of a blush darkening beneath his pale whiskers. "So about tonight. Looks like my bike's not gonna be ready since Croft's not here yet, but your car'll be done. Wanna take me for a ride?"

"Hmm.. I don't want them looking at you either, I feel oddly jealous. I'm soo not the jealous type." Her head shook and she slid her hand across the table to trace her fingers over his. "Where do you want me to take you?"

"Someplace soft and warm," he said. "Take your pick. You know what sounds great? A hot shower and some couch time. Lame I guess, but you and me and the couch? Just sounds great."

"My couch or yours?" She just had a small apartment but it was home for her, his family had a house and she didn't know if he'd want to go home to what was comfortable and familiar for him - his couch, his shower, and his bed. "It's not lame, it sounds like a nice way to spend your first night home."

"Yours. Pretty sure Croft's got bigger plans and I don't want to be there to hear him. Mace, either. Seen enough of the both of them for a while. Just want to be where I can see you," he said, grasping her fingers. He picked up the untouched coffee with the other hand and poured it into his cup.

"I like the sound of that.. you and me.. maybe some take out, I'm not sure I have anything that I can cook.. You'll live longer with take out." Her smile was sweet but also a little embarrassed, if she'd been expecting him she probably would have tried to make him some kind of special meal. "It's a wonderful surprise but I wish you would have called so i could have done something nice for you."

"I'll live longer knowing you waited. Maybe I shouldn't make you wait anymore. Get us some pizza and beer and then the rest of the night's ours, whaddya say? If I called ahead, you'da had time to run off to find some other plans," he said, not letting go of her hand to think about getting away now.

"It's a little crazy that I waited for you.. we'd only just started dating.." Her head shook again and her fingers tightened around his hand. "It also would have given me time to pick up and put on some fancy underwear.. you'll have to settle for the boring stuff." Jules teased him with that sweet smile shining for him. "I wouldn't have run off if you called.. I was worried you wouldn't call when you got back." She took a deep breath, gathering her courage for a few seconds. "Does this mean I'm officially your girlfriend?"

"Official as anything," he nodded. He glanced around and still hadn't seen his brother. "Croft's probably off making those plans I was telling you about. Not like him to pick up a phone, either. Let me pay for this and let me go talk to that guy about your car. Want to make sure he's done it right."

"Good.. I don't have to sound like some crazy girl with a made up boyfriend when I turn other guys down." Her laugh was soft as she thought about some of the looks she'd gotten when trying to explain the situation. "There's something I need to do before you can go talk to the guy about my car.." She explained as she got to her feet again, this time tugging his hand to bring him up with her instead of trying to rush off.

"What's that?" He stood up slowly, starting to feel the ache from being on the road too long. "Not gonna warn him I'm coming to talk to him, are you?"

"It has nothing to do with him or my car." She smiled warmly as she slid herself up against Axel, looking in his eyes until she moved her face closer to his. "It has everything to do with welcoming my guy home.." Her hand reached to the back of his neck to pull him toward the kiss she leaned up to bring him. It's what she wanted to do all along and would have if she hadn't been so stupid to tell him she wouldn't wait for him, leaving their relationship in such an uncertain state. that was cleared up and now she couldn't wait another minute to show him how glad she was, that he was back.

If his brother walked in, or a bear, or both, he didn't notice or care. He was back and the kiss made it like home. He knew what she'd told him before he left, but she did wait and he tasted the longing on her lips. He lifted Jules gently off the floor, not caring either that the waitress tried to get around them. He set her down and grinned a little. "Better get me home soon, huh?"