"Have you seen Connie?" Julie asked Averman.
"Yeah I think she's outside" Averman replied taking another swig of his beer.
She avoided Fulton and Tammy at all costs. She wasn't ready to face them just yet.
"I'm gonna head off guys, I'll catch up with you tomorrow" Julie informed the rowdy drunk Ducks who replied with "Bye Julie" that sounded more like "baiiii dulie"
Shaking her head and smiling to herself Julie opened the door to the balcony.
And saw the last thing she ever expected to see.
"Connie I……" Julie stopped mid-sentence when she realised that what she was seeing was Charlie and Connie entwined together in a tangle of arms and legs enjoying a full-blown makeout session.
Thank God their clothes are still on Julie thought.
"Jules!" Connie exclaimed pushing Charlie away from her and looking mighty guilty.
"I'm leaving….um…now. Bye" Julie was speechless as she calmly turned around and left the pair out of the balcony.
She suppressed the grin that was threatening to spit her face in half as she grabbed her bag and her camisole top and left the apartment.
"Damn!" Connie cursed quickly adjusting her top.
"What? Julie's cool" Charlie was confused.
"You don't get it do you Charlie? Its not Dean she's in love with" Connie paced back and forth shaking her head.
I'm such a shitty friend she scolded herself.
"Huh?" Charlie was at a loss. Only last week he and Julie were joking around about her and Dean together.
"Charlie she's in love with you" Connie cried.
Crap! I've done it again. She asked me not to say anything!
Charlie's face turned deathly white.
"No way" he denied.
"Yes way, she told me she wanted you right after she told me Dean rejected her" Connie blurted out.
"Dean rejected her?" Charlie was getting more and more confused by the second. Dean had told Fulton he liked Julie hadn't he?
"Yes!" Connie threw her hands up in exasperation.
"Damn, I should talk to her" Charlie decided.
"And say what?" Connie asked.
"I dunno, explain how things are. She knows I've been in love with you since forever" Charlie was merely thinking aloud not realising he was telling Connie his secrets.
"You have?" Connie asked surprised. She had always thought that Charlie saw her as a friend.
"I have" Charlie admitted.
Connie smiled and walked over to him, giving him a hug and a tender kiss on the cheek.
"I think we should talk to her together" Connie decided.
"Yeah" Charlie agreed enjoying being so close with Connie.
"I feel so bad" Julie moaned as her and Dean rode the lift up to her hotel room at the Minneapolis Hyatt.
Yes she could afford such expensive hotels now she was on a lawyer's salary.
"But it gave you a good excuse to leave the party and be with me" Dean pointed out discreetly running a hand along Julie's back.
"I know" Julie replied softly moving aside so that an elderly couple could fit in the lift with them.
The woman obviously disapproved of Julie's attire by the clicking sound she made with her dentures as she looked at Julie's jeans.
Dean tried not to burst out laughing when he saw the woman's husband roll his eyes.
The couple got out on the eighth floor.
"She would have died if she found out we were on the top floor" Julie laughed as Dean doubled over letting out the laughter he'd been holding in.
The lift stopped on Julie's floor and Julie stepped out suddenly feeling self-conscious.
What was Dean expecting? She thought to herself as she tried not to fumble with the keycard.
As if to answer her silent question Dean gently laid a hand over hers and looked at her.
"We don't have to do anything you don't want to, I just want to spend time with you" he told her.
It was the truth. All he'd ever wanted to do since he first laid eyes on Julie 'the cat' Gaffney all those years ago was spend time with her.
Julie smiled and kissed him on the cheek.
"I knew there was a reason I liked you so much" she grinned.
She let him into the suite trying not to grin in amusement as he took in the surroundings.
"Wow this place is heaven" Portman gushed in very rare "girlie" moment.
"You sound like a girl babe" Julie used the nickname he gave her during the Goodwill Games.
"My name's Dean not babe" Dean got the joke and shot back in a high girl's voice.
"Don't tell me how to talk rich boy!" Julie put on a deep grunted voice mimicking Dean's youthful threat.
"Hey I don't sound like that" Dean protested with a smirk.
"Yes you do" Julie laughed.
"No I don't!" Dean lunged at he causing Julie to squeal as he capped off a full-blown tickle fight.
"She doesn't sound angry" Charlie was confused as he pressed an ear to the door.
He and Connie were standing outside Julie's hotel room door wondering why they were hearing laughter coming from inside the room.
"And it sounds like she has company, male company" Connie wondered aloud.
"Are you sure she said she was in love with me?" Charlie asked.
"Damn sure" Connie was starting to see what was going on here.
Julie had lied to her and now she was going to find out why.
A knock at the door interrupted Julie and Dean's tickle fight.
"Must be room service" Julie decided but made no move to answer it.
"Aren't you gonna answer it?" Portman asked slyly.
"No cos you are" Julie told him matter-of-factly.
"Do I have to?" Dean asked.
The knocking became louder and more urgent.
"Oh alright! Dean was defeated. He rolled off of Julie and stood up not bothering to straighten his shirt or his hair.
"This had better be damn important like the building is on fire or something" he muttered to himself as he crossed the room to the door.
He flung the door open and was extremely surprised to see Connie and Charlie standing there.
"What are you guys doing here?" he asked.
Charlie stared hard at Dean. Connie looked ready to kill.
"I could ask you the same question" Charlie replied dryly.