Warning: Language
Julia sped through the corners at 130 mph, her mother would have said recklessly, but Julia knew every curve on this road, she had been down it many times, so, for her, it was controlled speed.
Her mother feared that Julia had a death wish, but she didn't, Julia just loved the thrum of the engine beneath her, the wind in her hair, and the adrenaline surge from watching life pass by in mere seconds.
It reminded her that she was still alive.
The only thing better than riding her Ninja, was diving. Under the water was incredibly peaceful, not to mention beautiful, and Julia was always finding knick knacks of some kind to sell to Bentley, the local consignment shop owner. Why people bought the stuff was beyond her, but it gave her something to do besides sit at home and twiddle her thumbs.
She hated sitting still, it gave her too much time to think, and that was not a good thing. She pulled up in front of a statue of Death, and shut her motorcycle off. She jumped off of it, and started walking towards the back of the cemetery. When she was younger, she would come out this way for some peace, and to smoke without getting any grief from her family.
Now, she came out here every few months just to talk to him. She knew Rian wasn't there, there hadn't even been a body to recover, but it made her feel better to have a place to come to, so she'd had a headstone placed with his name on it.
Sometimes she would sit and say nothing at all, but most times she came to tell him about their daughter Bella, and how she was growing up so quickly. She knew that he would have appreciated the irony that their daughter loved to shop, have tea parties, and read books.
Books. Of-all-the-things. Julia was sure that must have come from Rian's side of the family.
His space was well tended, she paid someone to keep it that way, keep the moss off it, branches, or anything else. Rian was a neat and orderly person, it just seemed wrong whenever things were messy or overgrown.
"Hey Ri." She sighed, and placed her head in her hands. Her grumpa had been right, the pain did fade---in a way, but it had also changed her. Whether for the better or for the worse, she didn't know yet.
She ran her fingers over the roughened gravestone. The sad thing was, she came here less and less often. At first, shortly after Bella's birth, she had come nearly daily, and then weekly, and then monthly, and now? It had been over four months since she had last come.
Not that he would know the difference, he was gone. She knew though.
He had been gone almost three years now. Three years, such a short time, and such a long time. Three years was enough time for Julia to start to feel lonely, and that made her angry. She didn't want to feel lonely; she didn't want to feel anything.
"I wish you were here." She sighed again. "You should see Bella now, I think my mother has created a shopping monster. In fact, I'm supposed to meet them at the boutique, can you even believe that word? I'd just about rather shove ice picks under my fingernails, you know how much I love shopping, but Bella looks at me with those blue eyes of hers...and...I see you in her and I cave." Julia chuckled sadly. "Probably makes me a terrible mother right? The fact that I can't tell my daughter no."
There was no reply, other than the rustling of the leaves, of course there wasn't a reply, she didn't even know why part of her still listened for one. He was gone. Her phone buzzed, and she saw that her mother had texted her again. It was time to go.
Julia was glad to see the rain, it would melt the small amount of frost and snow that the Island had unexpectedly received the night before. Snow wasn't so much of a bother, but the frost could make stopping dicey.
It only took her fifteen minutes to get to the Children's Boutique. She stared at it. Maybe she should have ridden slower. With a sigh, she shut of her motorcycle again, and jumped off. It was time to put on her big girl panties and deal. Surely she could survive one little shopping trip?
"Mama!" Bella came running to her as soon as she stepped in.
Julia stooped down and picked her up. "Hey monkey, don't you look pretty. Did Grandma help you change your clothes?" She gave a pointed look at her mother. Left to her own devices, Bella would change her clothes twenty times in a day, Julia was trying to discourage that, but her mother was only too happy to play dress up with her granddaughter.
Only granddaughter as her mother would say. Not as if that had been Julia's choice.
Her mother shrugged. "She wanted to wear a dress."
"I thought we were going to the beach today? After this little shopping...expedition." That was the only part that Julia was looking forward to, she wanted her daughter to have the same love for the beach and the Ocean that Julia had. That Bella's father had had.
"A little sand won't hurt anything."
Julia turned to her grandmother, who had been silently watching. Her grandmother never seemed to settle very well indoors, she was always cagey, looking around, almost as if she expected the bogeyman to jump out and grab her. Bella started squirming, trying to get down. "Okay, I give up!" She set her daughter down on the floor. "Let's get this over with."
Skye shook her head. "Some things never change."
"I'm here, aren't I?"
Bella tugged on Julia. "Pwetty dress Mama. Pwetty dress!"
"Okay you little monkey, let's go look at the pretty dresses." Julia's phone started to ring, and she pulled it out of her pocket and looked at it.
"You're not going to answer that, are you?" Her grandmother asked.
Julia looked at her phone again. It was Bentley, the man who bought all the Ocean trinkets she could find. She had to answer it. "I'll just be a minute!" She promised, as she answered the phone and walked outside as quickly as she could.
Ivory watched as her granddaughter beat a hasty retreat out the door. "Do you think she'll back?"
"Doubt it." Skye answered. "Julia has never liked shopping, but I'm so glad that this little girl does." Skye smiled at her granddaughter who was happily going through the dresses on the rack.
"I can't say I'm all that terribly fond of it myself. The walls are too close, it makes me...itchy."
"I'm glad you're here Mom."
Ivory sighed. "I'm glad I'm here too."
Bella found a dress she liked and showed it to Skye. "This one Grama! This one!" Skye pulled the dress off the hanger and helped Bella change into it, and then led her to the three way mirror so she could see herself. "Pwetty!"
"Yes, you look very pretty Bella."
Bella grinned and spun around, and around, and around, watching her dress twirl. She giggled, "I balleena! I dance!"
"What a brilliant dancer." Ivory said with a smile.
Bella giggled again when she lost her balance and plopped down onto the floor. She looked up, and suddenly noticed that her Mama wasn't there. She frowned. "Where's my Mama?"
Skye said, "Talking on the phone Sweetie, she'll be right back."
Bella crossed her arms and pouted. She wanted her Mama to see her pwetty dress too.
"What? Is that a pouty face I see? You know what happens to little girls that get pouty faces?" Ivory asked Bella with a twinkle in her eye.
"No! No tickle monsers!" Bella screeched, and tried to run away, but Ivory grabbed her before she could get away. "No! No tickle monsers!"
"Ha ha! I've got you!" Ivory said playfully as Bella giggled some more.
"Well little girl, we'd better go buy your dress and find your Mama if we're going to make it to the Beach before your naptime."
"No nap. I no seepy."
Ivory chuckled. "We'll see."
~<>~
"I no seepy!" Bella wailed.
Julia ignored her daughter's protests, and continued getting Bella ready for bed. "Some little monkey didn't take a nap today." She said as she brushed her daughter's hair out. "Who do you think that was? Hmm, Bella?"
Bella rubbed her eyes. "No me."
"Not you, huh?" Julia chuckled. Bella stuck her thumb in her mouth and shook her head no. Julia picked her up, and snuggled with her, before putting her into her "big girl" bed.
She stroked Bella's hair, and then kissed her forehead. "Love ya to the moon and back."
"Moon and ack" was her daughter's sleepy response.
Julia smiled down at her daughter. She treasured these moments with her, and wished that she could be a more normal mom for Bella. She would try, but the more she stuck around, trying to be the type of mom her mother had been to her, the louder her thoughts became, until she couldn't stand their deafening shrill any longer. She had to do something, go somewhere, or she would explode.
At first she had tried to keep Bella with her, on all her travels, determined that her daughter would be raised solely by her. In practice though, it didn't work well. Bella cried for home, she got easily bored in the hotel rooms, and never liked any of the sitters that Julia had found for her. Soon, it just became easier to leave Bella at home. If only she didn't feel so guilty about it all...
~<>~
Julia tapped her toe, impatiently. Bentley had sent her here, to the Landgraab Museum of Art and Culture, he claimed that the Curator there had a job for her. Julia was willing to do just about anything, the restlessness in her body was becoming an itch she couldn't ignore. She needed the distraction that this job could give her.
Bentley had been rather mysterious on the whole of it. Julia had almost decided against going, but Bentley had assured her that he didn't have any upcoming jobs available for her. So it was this, or nothing. She couldn't stand the thought of nothing.
She glanced around, all was quiet, like a tomb. She sighed, tapped her toe some more, and resisted the urge to leave. Patience was not her virtue. This Curator was taking too long.
She spun around when she heard her name called.
"Julia! You look fantastic."
She resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Impulse control, she could manage for a few moments...she hoped. "Brennan. What a surprise."
He grinned at her. "It's nice to see you again Jules."
"I hate that nickname." She said automatically.
"It fits you so well though." He leisurely looked her up and down, and then whistled. "You aged well."
She quirked a brow at him. "Is this where I'm supposed to say the same?" Her tone was sarcastic, but she couldn't help but notice him in return. He exuded confidence, and power, a lion-like grace that she found attractive. Too attractive. D*mn the man anyway, she didn't want to feel anything, especially for him. She tried to tamp down her inner restlessness, without much success.
He chuckled. "You never change Jules, you never change."
She crossed her arms and turned away from him. "As fun as this reunion is, I'm waiting for someone, so perhaps..."
"Ah yes, the Curator of this fine museum. That would be me."
She slowly turned back towards him. "You? You're the Curator of this place?"
He smiled at her. "Yes, is that so hard to believe?"
"Art was never your thing, or history for that matter."
He laughed, and the sound sent shivers down her body. She wanted to scream, why him? Why now? She had no reason to believe that he had changed his main character flaw, once a cheater, always a cheater. Maybe it had just been too long since she had been with a man. "Maybe so, but I have always appreciated beauty."
She ignored the invitation in his eyes, or at least tried to. "If this is some joke..." She tried to interject some anger into her voice, but she wasn't sure how well it worked, her voice came out a bit too breathy. She wanted to slap herself. First thing she was going to do, was find a one nighter, her body was being ridiculous.
He raised his hands defensively. "No joke Jules, I swear, I'm on the up and up. You may have noticed that our little museum is more dead than alive, I have been charged with changing that." He shrugged his shoulders. "I have some great ideas," his eyes met hers, and the heat in them nearly singed her, "about how to liven...this museum up. And that is where you come in."
"Doing what exactly?"
A ghost of a smile graced his lips. "Why, doing what you do best Jules, finding rare treasure." He moved in closer to her, "My friend Bentley tells me you're the go to diver, willing to go anywhere in search of illusive valuables, that nothing scares you off, you are fearless. I have in my possession, some maps, you could say, but the dive is in perilous waters. So tell me Jules, are you interested?"
Her breath quickened. There was nothing she loved better than a bit of danger. "Maybe." She made herself reply coolly. "If the terms are right." No sense in letting him think he had her, Brennan the boy had always been self-assured. Brennan the man took it to a whole other level.
"Well, then, shall we discuss it further?"
Julia inclined her head, and Brennan flashed a smile at her. "Excellent! Follow me, and I'll give you a tour of the place, and tell you my plans for it." She followed him up the stairs, while Brennan kept up a steady stream of words. "The previous Curator was a rather dull fellow, he was more into writings and books." He paused to wrinkle his nose at her. "Terribly boring! I have in mind for something far more exciting..."
Julia tuned him out, and took her time studying him instead. She could see traces of the boy she had known in him, but the boy she had known was never interested in collecting art...or pieces of history. She wondered when that had changed, and why.
The more he talked, the more she found herself admiring his obvious passion for his job. When was the last time she had felt such passion? The restlessness grew even stronger in her, it was a writhing living thing within her. A torrent of unwanted feelings and emotions crashed over her. It had been so long since she had felt anything, let alone passion for her job. She loved the adrenaline rush of finding treasure, she loved the peace of the Ocean's water, but passion? Passion had died with...
"So what do you think Jules?" Brennan stared expectantly at her.
She licked her lips. What had he been talking about? Why hadn't she at least paid a little attention to his words? Instead of thinking about...things that were better left unthought of. He had perfect lips, the thought came unbidden. Did he kiss the same? Julia closed her eyes. What the h*ll was her problem?
She met his gaze squarely. "I'm not sure."
"Indeed?" He sounded surprised. "That hardly seems like the Jules I know."
"I've changed." She said abruptly. "I'm not the girl you used to know."
There was frank admiration in his eyes. "Oh, I know that. We've both grown up since we last saw each other, surely you won't hold the past against me?"
Julia started to walk away, Brennan trailed behind her. "I don't think this is a good idea Brennan."
"Which part?" He put his hand on her shoulder to stop her. "The partners part? It might be awkward at first," he conceded, "but I'm sure we can get past that."
Julia closed her eyes. She could feel the warmth of his hand burning through her clothes. She opened her eyes only to see a painting of lips, entitled "First Kiss." She and Brennan had already had their first kiss.
Brennan dropped his hand. "Jules? Are you okay?" His voice was husky.
He gently turned her around to face him. "Jules?"
Julia knew she should walk away, that would be the smart thing to do. She didn't know why all of sudden her emotions had to turn all sophomore-ish on her. It was ridiculous, the whole thing was ridiculous, yet a large part of her yearned to feel that maleness beside her again. It didn't matter that it was Brennan of all people, her cheating douche of a boyfriend from before. Before Rian, but Rian was gone, had been gone, and Julia was feeling needy. "I should go." She whispered, refusing to look into his eyes. Brennan could think what he willed, but she should go. Yet she didn't move.
She didn't know who made the first move, only that her lips were pressed against his, and she could feel the hardness of him against her. One of them moaned, or was it both of them? She didn't know, but it was her hands clawing at his clothes, and his fingers tangled in her hair. He just felt so good...
"We have to stop." She muttered, as his lips found the sensitive part of her neck. She shuddered, and willed herself to move away from him.
"I missed you Jules, more than I can say." He whispered against her. He kissed her collarbone, and moved lower, eliciting another moan from her.
"Bren, no...we shouldn't..." Her voice protested, but her body had a mind of it's own, as she moved restlessly against him, seeking the promise of gratification. She was drowning in flames.
"Look at me Jules." She tried to resist, but he brought her face up. His eyes were blazing. "Tell me you want me to stop, and I will."
"Don't stop." Those words, were they hers? Surely she had meant to say the opposite. Her hands were busy unbuttoning his shirt, she wanted, no, needed, to feel his flesh. Now.
He picked her up and brought her over to a nearby loveseat. He helped her pull her dress off, and tossed her bra to the floor. "You are perfect." He breathed. She pulled his head down to hers, and kissed him. Her fingers fumbled with his belt.
"It's just sex." She muttered to him. "Just a quick f*ck, that's all it is." She said the words mainly to herself, she had to be realistic. Brennan was not the man for her, Rian was. Rian would always hold her heart, Brennan just her body.
He ripped her panties off. "Sure Jules, whatever you say."
"And only once." She helped him pull his briefs off.
"Mmm." He agreed. She screamed when her release came, but he wasn't finished making her scream. She cried out his name, over and over, and not once did she mistake him for Rian. When it was over, she lay motionless beneath him. She felt drowsy, peaceful almost, the edginess that was in her earlier long gone.
He nuzzled her breasts. "Time for round two."
She didn't protest.
~<>~
"What?" Her mother was giving her that look again. The look that said, "I know what you've been up to." Or maybe that was just Julia's conscience giving her grief.
Skye took a sip of her tea. "You haven't told us about your new job, or boss or anything. You've already gone on what, three trips now?"
"Four." Julia muttered. Each time she had intended to end things with Brennan, but she never quite got the words out. She was too busy stripping his clothes off of him, seeking a few hours of blissful forgetfulness. A small part of her felt bad, especially when she had learned that Brennan was married. To a Landgraab heiress of all things. He had told her theirs was not a love match, but a marriage of convenience, for business purposes.
She should have cared. But if he didn't, why should she? She didn't want his heart, his money, or a proposal. She just wanted his body, and the few hours of pleasure he gave her. He was great in bed, she'd give him that. Or against a wall, or on a table, or anywhere really. Even an art museum with visitors wandering around that could see them at any time, and could definitely hear them. It was another thing she should care about, but didn't.
Lately she found she really didn't care about a lot, only her family, her daughter. Maybe she had gone mad?
"So?" Her mother inquired further. "Tell me about this new job."
Julia shrugged. "Not much to say." I'm having an affair with my boss Mom, how's that for an answer? Her mother wouldn't approve, Julia knew. "We spend a few weeks out in the middle of the Ocean, diving for ancient artifacts. Brennan, uh, Mr. Landgraab, has a map that shows likely locations of where ships have wrecked."
She hadn't intended to have an affair with him, just a one off blow some steam, but her mother wouldn't understand that either.
"Mama? Can I have a cookie pease?"
Julia smiled at her daughter. "Go ahead monkey."
Skye sighed. "Julia, I hardly think that is an appropriate nickname for Bella."
"But she's my little Sea Monkey, aren't you?"
Bella nodded her head. "Monkey! I monkey!"
"Monkey see, monkey do." Ivory said softly. "You should be careful, that little girl idolizes you, she'll want to do everything her Mama does."
Julia eyed her grandmother. "What is this? Pick on Julia day?" She didn't care what her grandmother or mother knew or didn't, her life was her own, and Bella was her daughter.
"Just trying to save you some heart ache Julia." Ivory responded. If she had taken offense at Julia's tone, she didn't show it.
"Hmmf. Too late for that."
"Julia!" Her mother reprimanded her. "What has gotten into you lately?"
"Nothing, I'm just fine Mom. I just hate being treated like I was twelve years old." Her phone rang, saving her from any more comments from her mother. "I gotta take this." She talked for a few minutes, then hung up. Three sets of eyes were staring at her. "Sorry, as delightful as this tea party has been, I have to go. Mr. Landgraab needs me."
"Julia, your daughter needs you." Skye said.
Julia felt her temper flare up. "My daughter is fine, and I'm fine. If you don't want to watch her, just tell me and I'll find..."
Skye interrupted her. "You know I don't mind spending time with my granddaughter Julia, I just think you're missing out on..."
"Enough. I'm running late, and I still need to change clothes. I'll see you later." Julia stood up, and brushed a kiss on her daughter's soft cheek. "I love you monkey, to the moon and back."
~<>~
Brennan was waiting for her. "I missed you."
She pulled him into a kiss. "Too much talking."
His hands tightened around her. "You drive me crazy Jules, you always have."
She nipped at his shoulder. "Are you going to just stand there and talk big? Or..." She trailed her hand down to his pants.
"Vixen. I'm addicted to you." He groaned as he pushed himself closer into her. "Marry me Jules, I'll be your sex slave forever."
Julia put her hand out and stopped him. "What the h*ll? That better be a joke, a poor taste of one, but a joke."
He looked at her. "I'm serious Jules, we'd make a great couple."
"Done that, been there, don't need a repeat. Plus, you're already married jacka*s."
Brennan snorted. "I don't give a f*ck about my wife. I could change, for you. I've never really gotten over you Jules, I...Julia, I lo..."
"Don't say it, Brennan. For f*ck's sake, don't say it. It's just sex, that's all there is between us."
"Maybe we should end this." Julia said panicky as she pushed his hands away.
"Jules, wait." He grabbed her before she could slip away from him. "It was just an idea, a bone headed one, okay? Just...relax."
She stared at him, indecisive. "I don't know Bren, this is just getting out of hand..."
He pulled his shirt off, and then tugged on hers. "Enough talking, let's just get back to f*cking okay?"
Julia allowed herself to be persuaded, because she really didn't want to end things. Not just yet.
_________________________________________________________________________
Notes: Wow! Well then---it's been way over a year since I last posted a chapter. Been a rough one for me, I've been embroiled in my own horrible soap opera. Still in the midst of it, but then lately I've been dreaming about Julia's story, lol So I'm kind of/sorta back but not really??
Thankfully I have tons of pics already taken, so it was just a matter of writing this one up. I still have some pics for maybe another chapter before I'll need to go in game again. That'll be the tricky part. Locating my Kahekili saved game, and then all the corresponding CC...but that's for another day, lol
So the last time I opened this particular save up--it was March of 2016. So I really don't remember where my sims all are in terms of the generational goals. I should probably track down the goals and update them...
Aaaaand...Julia. She's a mess, and not really dealing very well with anything, lol I had hopes of actually slowing the story down and showing Bella grow up---but I am an impatient writer, lol So we'll see if I actually can make the last generation a little slower, usually I think I average about 5 chapters or so before moving on to the next generation.
I've also played around a little bit with another Random Legacy Story--okay--fine--two of them, ha! Some days I'm just not in the mood for plot heavy writing--which is why I started The Titans. It's just a play style sort of story, if you can even call it a story. I did it deliberately that way to keep myself from complicating it with plots.
Because I actually started this one a while ago: A Rose By Any Other Name. And then promptly started complicating it to where poses were required. Bah--I am hopeless!!
Anyway--thanks y'all for reading!! =)
