Barely Legal (Julian Casablancas)

.::Chapter Thirty-One||Secrets::.

          Janae found that her sister had more in common with Julian than she did. They both liked weed and Bob Marley—they also shared the same warped sense of humor with clever comebacks. Janae would've giggled like a school girl at their jokes as they bonded, but all she could seem to think about was Tiffany.

She was indeed Albert's plus one for the night. Tiffany stuck by his side, avoiding Holly and Janae at all costs. When one of the girls got too close, Tiffany would either drag Albert to a different side of the bar, or mingle with one of the guys. Tonight, the entire band was there.

           "Did you guys hear about this thing called Napster? It's this file sharing thing- people put songs on their computers. You can get any song...free." Fabrizio spoke over the jukebox; Bartender Blues, by George Jones. Janae was certain Julian had put it on for a laugh. However, his mouth moved to every lyric verbatim.

Julian placed his arm behind Janae's neck, his hand dangling from her shoulder. He blew smoke rings toward the ceiling—present, but not really there. Janae was beginning to notice this about him. Julian seemed to be lost in his own mind.

          "Yeah, I heard something about that. Some guy came in the record store talking about us going out of business soon. Said buying music would eventually be a thing of the past." Albert contributed to the conversation, hovering over the table as he spoke. Tiffany was sitting next to him, head resting on his arm. She wasn't making eye contact with much, except for the cigarette between Albert's index and middle finger.

Janae sat overwhelmed by her surroundings. Julian was acting strange, Tiffany was pretending Janae didn't exist, and Holly was nowhere to be found. She hadn't meant for her sister to be excluded from their festivities, or for Tiffany to feel so uncomfortable. As for Julian, she didn't want to interrupt whatever was taking place inside his mind.

          "I'll be right back, I'm gonna look for my sister." Janae moved out from under Julian's arm. He didn't budge, nor seem to have heard her. She patted his leg, giving him a small kiss on the cheek. "Jules?"

He moaned softly as his hazy eyes moved to her. "What is it babe?"

"I'm gonna look for Holly."

"Okay." Julian nodded, stretching his body to give Janae room to move past him. She was confused as to why he didn't just step out of the booth to let her out, but decided not to ask.

She climbed over his lap, having to clutch his shoulders to keep her balance as she struggled past him.

          Julian's hands went to her hips, his fingertips pressing too firmly. His arms slumped on her thighs as he stared beneath her denim skirt, seemingly amused that she was straddling him in a pink thong.

Janae saw what Julian was staring at and placed her hand between her legs. She cleared her throat, continuing out of the booth. She was strangely humiliated by the situation—the way he handled her in front of his friends. Julian didn't seem to even notice they were in a room full of strangers.