Discovered by Kim Black

admit. Never in a million years would I have thought a man like Julien freaking Belmont would grace my Ikea queen sized bed, but here he was at my house, asleep in my bed.
    “Admiring me again I see…”
    I was smiling from ear to ear at the thought of the morning after our first encounter, pleased that he remembered my staring at him like a cat in heat. “You wish buddy,” I said giggling, shimmying closer to him.
    “Ah, there’s my feisty Emily,” he teased, pulling me deeper into his strong arms.
    My leg brushed against his thigh and I was greeted with a soldier, high and standing at attention. Ignore it Em, you’ve got bigger fish to fry , I told myself.
    I titled my head up in an attempt to see his face, but the look I found on it took me by surprise. He looked… sad…
    “Hey, you ok?” I asked as I b rought my hand to his face, stroking it gently with my thumb. Given that his friend looked ready for attention, it completely caught me off guard to see him look so pained. What could have him so upset?
    “What are we doing Emily? Do you want this?” he asked, as he slid himself away from me, sitting up on the edge of the bed, his back facing me with his hand now cradling his face.
    I wasn’t sure what I wanted. On one hand I did want to try and see where this thing with Julien would lead us and on the other hand, this was freaking Julien Belmont! It was the same Julien who was technically married and had creepy reporters following him around; the same Julien that seemed too good to be true. This was confusing!
    “I don’t know Julien… Between Charlette telling me about your arrangement…”
    “Charlette did what?” he interjected as he stood to his feet, obviously confused.
    Was I not supposed to say anything? I played back the conversation in my head and realized she hadn’t mentioned him sending her to clear things up. The fact that she took it upon herself to do so, indicated that not only was she stunning, she was caring as well, and that made me roll my eyes.
    “She tracked down my address which by the way, is kind of super creepy and told me everything. I guess she was trying to help,” I elaborated, annoyed at the woman’s generosity.
    He let out a long sigh and sat back down o n the bed, this time facing me with sorrow in his eyes. He cupped my face, gently caressing my cheek with his thumb. “It wasn’t her place to do that. I should have told you from the beginning but honestly I forgot. My marriage to her has just been such an afterthought that it didn’t occur to me to say anything. I’m so sorry I hurt you,” he confessed.
    I knew he meant it. His sincerity was evident in his eyes.
    After a long paused, he continued, “Who was that man yesterday?”
    I knew it was coming. It was only fair tha t I tell him about Adam after Julien caught me crying over the man. “He’s my ex,” I confessed.
    “He wanted me to take him back… we broke up a year ago,” I c ontinued. I looked away from him, knowing the question that must have been burning in his brain. Do I want to be with him?
    I didn’t have an answer. A few days ago the answer would have been crystal clear; a resounding hell no! But, now I wasn’t so sure. He seemed so sincere and broken, which made me wonder if I was wrong in breaking up with him without fully allowing him to explain. Crap, there seem to be a pattern here Em, work on that!
    What was there to explain? Adam had cheated on me, with my co-workers. Diana told me everything that I’d needed to know, didn’t she? What else could he have to tell me? And what was with him saying that there was more to the story? I had to admit that a part of me wanted to know but there was also a small voice in my head that wanted to leave well enough alone. I had suffered enough with Adam and now I was with Julien. But was I really with Julien?
    A loud knock came to the door just as he opened his mouth to say something and I couldn’t have been more grateful for the