A/N: My first Cougar Town fic!:) It takes place after they slept together and well… just read.:)
~~Jules' POV~~
Just friends, nothing more. It had been just a one time thing, it had been amazing, but it wouldn't happen again. She wanted it to – oh, boy, how she wanted that to happen again -, but it wouldn't. It would be great if they would do it again, because it had been amazing sex – better than she'd ever had-, but it would ruin their friendship and nothing was worth that. At first she had found him annoying and way too cocky, but she had grown to love that man, he had become one of her best friends. And yes, she found him attractive – very attractive, and yes, she felt that familiar tingly feeling in her stomach when he smiled at her. But all of that didn't matter, because they were friends. She could tell him everything, she could even whine about the men she dated. And that, of course, wouldn't be possible anymore if she'd start dating him.
They were great friends, they had become great friends over time. Because first, he had just been the man next door, always trying to annoy her with his cocky and sarcastic remarks. But that had changed because it had all just been to protect himself, to keep himself from getting hurt again. Luckily for both of them, he had eventually stopped being a jerk and opened up to her. So, he had become a part of their 'family' and it had been good for all of them because when you got to know him – when you looked behind the immensely high walls he had put up – you realized he was truly sweet and caring. He was different from Ellie or Laurie, he gave different advice. Advice she needed to survive life and it's challenges. Grayson was good at it, at being a friend. He gave good advice, he was very good at comforting – as she'd found out the previous night - and whenever she had an idea stuck in her head he would help her, no matter how stupid the idea was.
She loved Grayson – as a friend, not as a lover. Or maybe also as a lover, but right now, she meant as a friend, because that was all he was and all he would be. That was their deal – that she had suggested by the way -, and she would stick to it, no matter how much she wanted not to.
"So, Jules," Ellie spoke, waking her from her thoughts, "what is it that you're not telling us?"
Her head shot up from the food she was preparing. She knew what Ellie meant, of course she did. She hadn't told them about Grayson and her yet, which she normally would've done within an hour after her sleep buddy had left. She didn't even know why she hadn't told them yet. She wanted to, but she also liked to keep it a secret… so it would only be from her and Grayson, so it would stay special. But, she couldn't not tell her best friends, right? She had to tell Ellie and Laurie, she always did.
"I…" she started, still not sure whether she should tell them or not. "I…" No, she shouldn't tell them, Ellie would freak out.
"What?" Ellie asked her as she looked away. "What did you do?"
"I slept with Grayson!" she exclaimed, not able to keep it a secret any longer.
Ellie gasped dramatically. "You didn't!"
"I did!" she told her friend, nodding furiously.
"Oh my god! And you weren't gonna tell us?" Ellie demanded.
"I'm sorry!" she replied as she grabbed a chunk of meat from the fridge. "I just… didn't know what to do."
"You slept with Grayson?" Laurie asked astonished.
"Well, yeah." she told them, raising her shoulders. "Is that so hard to believe?" she asked confused, taking a carving knife from one of the kitchen drawers and starting to cut the meat into little pieces.
Ellie and Laurie seemed to think of it for a moment. "No," they told her simultaneously.
"We were actually already wondering when it would happen," Ellie spoke.
Lauri nodded furiously. "Yeah, we all knew it would happen soon, I mean, the way you two look at each other…"
Ellie hit her arm. "Laurie!" she hissed.
Laurie's eyes grew big and she put her hand for her mouth. "I'm sorry." she said to Ellie. "I wasn't supposed to tell you that…" she hissed to Jules.
"What? But… we don't look at each other in a way," Jules exclaimed loudly. "That's… ridiculous."
"No it's not," Ellie told her matter-of-factly, "you guys are in love."
"What?" Jules started, but was stopped by Laurie's furious nodding. "You think so too?" She asked Laurie indignantly.
"Well, yeah," Laurie responded, looking at her as if it was all very logical. "I mean, it's just so obvious, you know. The glances, the talks, there are so many hints… the fact that you don't see them doesn't mean they don't exist," she informed them wisely.
"It is obvious?" Ellie asked, disdain obvious in her voice. "Honey, even a blind guy would see it."
"A blind guy would see what?" a familiar voice behind them asked and she froze momentarily. She quickly continued preparing dinner, trying to ignore the nervous feeling in her stomach. He was just a friend.
"Uhm, that Jules doesn't look slutty in this top, but just very hot," Laurie quickly saved them. "Don't you agree?" she asked him innocently.
"Well, yeah, of course," he answered confused, following her with his eyes as she grabbed another chunk of meat from the fridge. "Jules would never look slutty in anything."
"Problem solved," Laurie spoke triumphantly.
"Looks like it," Ellie continued. "Don't we need to go?" she asked Laurie. "You know, do that thing…"
Laurie looked confused for a moment before realization suddenly struck her. "Oh, right. That thing… Yeah, we gotta go. See you guys later," she said innocently, almost running out of the door with Ellie.
Jules smiled apologetically at him. "Subtle, huh?"
"Not really," he answered, smiling at her.
"What was that 'Jules would never look slutty in anything' about, by the way? Are you trying to make them see things that are not there?" she asked him.
He just raised his shoulders. "It's true…" he told her matter-of-factly. "And what would they see? Two good friends? Two people in love?" he asked. "Because I see both…" he finished, causing her to cut her finger when hearing the last two sentences.
She hissed and grasped her finger as drops of blood fell on the carving board. Within seconds Grayson was at her side, his hands around hers.
"Let me see that," he told her softly, slowly taking her unwounded hand away from her bloody finger.
"It's nothing…" she said, trying to hide the pain.
He shushed her, examining her finger. "That's quite a deep cut," he spoke, leading her towards the sink to hold her finger in the water.
She couldn't help but smile lovingly as she looked at him while he concentrated on her finger, before she realized what he had exactly said that had made her cut her finger. "Do you think I'm in love with you?" she asked him, her eyebrows raised.
"I don't know." he told her honestly. "But I know I'm in love with you."
She looked at him in surprise, her eyes glancing at his lips subconsciously, something he noticed, something he decided to act on by slowly moving closer to her until, finally, their lips met again. She moaned in surprise but quickly recovered by responding, wrapping her free arm around his neck while he wrapped his around her waist so they were standing as close to each other as possible. The kiss was soft, sweet, something they'd been yearning for since their last time together.
When they eventually parted – due to the lack of air -, they looked at each other, smiles on their faces.
She looked at her finger again and smiled up at him. "I'm feeling a whole lot better now," she spoke triumphantly, holding up her finger.
He chuckled. "I would be offended if not," he told her with a small smirk, love in his eyes.
Her smile turned into a grin and she pecked his lips. "You shouldn't be, I'm in love with you too, you know."
A/N: You know what I want you to do, so just leave a little review that'll only take 5 secs of your time and you'll make me very happy.:)
