With her kitchen table covered in paperwork and notes Julie sat sipping her coffee. Being co-owner of the arcade made her busy lately. She was buried in paperwork; totals for the month mostly, but today it was the numbers to see which games were played the most. They'd hoped to maybe purchase another machine for the most popular.
When the phone rang and interrupted her she assumed it was Mrs. Lister about the arcade.
"Hello?"
"This is Claudia – Dusty's mom," came the sweet voice. "Listen, sweetie. My Dusty just loves you. Him and his little friends adore that arcade. I hate to ask this, but would you be able to watch my Dusty for the week? My sister's been really sick and I have to leave town but can't have him miss that much school and I don't really have anyone else to call."
"I'm so sorry to hear about your sister," a flash of Claudia's sister in a hospital bed rushed to Julie's mind. "I would love to have Dustin over for the week."
"Oh, thank you so much! I can drop him off on my way out of town to save you the trouble."
•••
"I was thinking of picking up stuff to make homemade mac and cheese. You interested?" Julie leaned in the doorway to the spare bedroom, watching Dustin play his Atari he brought.
His eyes lit up, mouth agape. "Am I ever!"
She made him break away from the game to grocery shop with her which was a bit of a struggle, but when she said she'd pick up some 3 Musketeers he bolted to her car.
"You mentioned a supreme frozen pizza?" she asked, letting him push the cart. He nodded furiously. "Go for it," she pointed to the aisle.
"Yes!" he cheered. "Best week ever!"
With a laugh Julie shook her head and followed Dustin as he rode on the cart.
"Hey, Jules," came a familiar voice. The bright lights and crowded space made her reflexes slower than usual, but she knew Jim was behind her.
"Hey, Jim! How are you?"
"Fine, m'fine," he hummed, feeling a little awkward after last time and how emotional it had been for him. "Hey, El, two boxes. We still have one – oh God…" he held his head. "Grocery shopping with kids is probably preparation for Hell."
"You look like you could use a drink," she joked.
"I-"
"Julie, can I get ice cream?" Dustin called.
"Only a half-gallon," she replied. Jim gave her a confused expression.
"Oh, hi, El!" Dustin waved as he pushed the cart back over to them. "Chief," he greeted. "Julie, can I play my Atari again when we get back?"
She nodded at him. "I'll call you later, Jim."
"Uh…yeah. Kay."
•••
"So you're watching him? And hosting their little game night thing?" Jim was laughing between puffs of his cigarette. "Sounds terrible."
She laughed, sipping a glass of wine, and cradling the phone between her shoulder and ear. "He's a great kid. They'll be fine." She paused. "Since I actually have a full house for once, I planned on making lasagna. If you and Jane aren't busy tomorrow night, stop by."
Jim paused, inhaling again and narrowing his eyes. Pretty girl and a home cooked meal were two of his weaknesses. But a houseful of those kids?
"Yeah, sounds good."
•••
The boys had been over for an hour before Jim pulled up. Julie had the radio on and their screaming downstairs could be heard even with the door closed yet she still managed to sense more company.
Jim knew he didn't have to knock but he did out of habit and Julie was at the door before his knuckles could hit a second time. The dress she wore fit her nice and Jim had a flashback to years ago when he got a good look at that body of hers. She'd been so thin after just escaping the facility but now she looked a lot healthier.
She shot him a look and blushed and he wondered just how much of his thoughts she read. It irritated him to no end. Nothing was private with her.
"Jane, I have some new clothes I got for you last time I was out. They're on my bed if you'd like to check them out," she winked at her and let them step in the house.
It smelled amazing, nothing like the stuffy cabin Jane was used to and she somehow understood the word 'home' every time she stepped foot in Julie's place. Jim didn't really do the candle and well-made home cooked meals. He didn't have the time.
"Jesus," Hopper remarked at how loud the kids were downstairs.
"Shit," Dustin came running up the stairs, biting into one of the 3 Musketeers bars Julie bought him.
Julie raised her eyebrow at him. "Now you know I don't mind, but your mother would," she scolded.
"Sorry," Dustin shrugged. "Mike's just kicking my ass right now."
Julie sighed, laughing for a moment. "There's no hope for you, my crude little man."
"Crude is my middle name," he made a growling noise and Hopper just gave him a deadpan look. "Hey, Chief. Fancy seeing you here."
"Likewise," Hopper retorted.
"Jim, whiskey?" Julie called from the kitchen, holding up a bottle when he glanced over at her.
Shit, they were drinking tonight…
•••
"So you seriously seduced that 20 year-old nerd and convinced him to let you run the arcade?" Jim sipped his whiskey, opening the window so he could smoke a cigarette – he knew her house rules. "That's rich," he chuckled, lighting the smoke and pressing it to his lips.
"I had some money left over from my dad's safe so I just used it to buy out his half and, yeah, now I'm the proud co-owner of a freaking arcade," Julie didn't take her eyes away from the lasagna she was preparing. "And I didn't seduce him, Jim!"
He shot her a humored glance.
As she checked on the prepared dish then returned it to the oven, she gazed over her shoulder to the hallway. Jim still wasn't used to her enhanced senses but followed her eyes.
"Pretty?" Jane came in wearing what Hopper assumed was one of the outfits Julie bought.
"It fits so nice," she closed the oven and came up to the girl, pressing a hand to her shoulder. Instantly, Jane enveloped her in a hug.
"Thank you," the girl whispered against Julie's dress.
"Always," Julie replied, pressing Jane in tighter. "Now you don't have to hang out with us old folks, go down and see Mike." Jim gave Julie a look as Jane ran down the steps. "Oh, I know, Mr. Overprotective Father of the Year," Julie ran a hand down Jim's bicep. "You have nothing to worry about."
Jim exhaled the smoke, handing the cigarette over, reminded of her stealing his pack while they crossed state lines. "Right. You tell me that when you've got kids." Julie's eyes looked hollow for a split second and she turned away as she took a drag of the cigarette. "Shit, I'm sorry, Jules, I…" he sighed.
"It's fine, Jim," but her voice sounded discouraged and she wouldn't look at him.
And then Jim got to thinking again. Thinking about how great she was with the kids – with Jane. About how she was around Diane's age when she'd gotten pregnant with Sara…
"Hey, Ms. Preston – do you have any soda?" Will Byers peeked out from the basement door, breaking Jim from his thoughts.
She had told them to call her Julie, but Will always had the habit. She nodded at him, handing Hop back his cigarette.
"You guys having fun down there?" she asked the timid boy, blinking away the memories she was getting from Will; a dark place called the Upside Down, a fire that he felt inside his body, burning and pain. She held onto the counter, knuckles whitening, head throbbing.
Hopper was staring, aware that she was feeling something as she always did when she was around Will. Julie pushed her body forward, shaking away the black spots in her vision, and grabbing him a drink.
"I'm having a great time," Will said, unaware of Julie's pain. "Thank you."
And he was gone just as quickly as he came.
"What was that?" Jim's monotone voice droned.
She sat herself at the table and Jim put out the cigarette, closed the window, sat down beside her. Her headache was clearing and she breathed evenly once again.
"That kid went through Hell…" she spoke softly. "Jane too, but it's harder for me to shove out the memories with Will."
Jim couldn't help but think about Julie's story – being snatched from that university, fighting her way out twice, getting dragged back only to find out after her final escape that her whole family had been killed. She went through Hell too, couldn't she see that? At least Will's family was alive. They all carried baggage; every last poor soul currently in her house.
Julie was staring at him, surely reading what he'd been thinking about, seeing memories of him drinking to forget his guilt for getting her taken again that night. He tried fighting off the damn memories, clearing his mind, stopping her from reading him so easily. Once again, he found himself trying to lose her – the way he did the night they hooked up. He'd surprised them both; kissed her.
Pulling her to him, he planted one on her – nice and rough. She let out a little gasp at first but leaned into him momentarily. Her guard was down and she seemed to be slow to the draw whenever he was pressing his mouth to hers.
The floor creaked beside them and Julie jumped slightly, pulling away from Hopper to see Jane standing there wide-eyed. She smiled at them shyly, looking away as Jim dragged his thumb over his lower lip. He hung his head.
"Pleasant?" Jane asked Jim to which he felt his cheeks reddening. Pleasant had been her word this morning – a word he'd used that she hadn't known. She'd looked it up in the dictionary and everything, even after he'd explained. Hopper thought her question could go unanswered, but Jane still stood in the kitchen with them expectantly.
The timer went off and Julie gladly left the table to grab it.
"Pleasant," Jim agreed sheepishly. "Now go grab the boys, it's time to eat." With Jane gone and beaming, Julie was quietly laughing. Hopper narrowed his eyes at her as she removed the pan from the oven. "What's so funny?"
"Oh, nothing."
Hopper couldn't help but smirk, shaking his head then getting up to grab plates for the group
•••
Hopper shifted uncomfortably at the kitchen table. The kids had finished eating for the most part, a few stragglers left finishing up, and Julie stood at the sink, washing dishes.
God, what was he thinking, kissing her like that?
He felt safe to have these thoughts with others in the room. Not to mention Will was still eating and Julie no doubt was working on shoving everything out with that kid.
Inhaling sharply, he pressed his elbows to the table, hands clasped, knuckles pressing to his lips. He could almost still feel her there and damn it he realized how long it'd been since he leaned into anything sexual.
With Eleven living there it was next to impossible.
When Julie turned to dry her hands and glance at the kids, she made eye contact with him and he knew she read those thoughts.
She smirked at him, brushing his shoulder when she went to grab more dishes.
What had he started?