to it, lady.”
Giving him one last evil look, Juliet turned to her sister and imperiously proclaimed, “Let’s go, Sara,” before marching towards the front door.
“Oh, sweetcakes?” Romeo called after her. Juliet turned back to him then and he pointed to his damaged flat screen TV. “You’re paying for this,” he declared.
“In your dreams, asshole,” Juliet answered, before stalking out of the house.
Sara sheepishly turned to Romeo and gave him a genuine smile. “Sorry about jumping on your back and beating you up and - everything.” She then nodded a quick good-bye to Rosie and followed her sister out.
~ ~ ~
Chapter 13
“I can’t take this anymore, Sara; I just can’t,” Juliet winced, as she brought both of her hands up to cover her ears. The loud music from next door could clearly be heard through their walls and she was at the end of her rope.
Both sisters were sitting on their living room couch. Juliet had just finished telling Sara everything that had happened since she’d knocked on Romeo’s door a half hour ago and she was now beginning to feel the panic of her predicament. She’d have to declare bankruptcy, for God’s sake, if she didn’t get to finish her book - bankruptcy - and her writing career would be over. What if she never got another book deal again?
“What if you went over there and apologized? Maybe he’d turn it down then,” Sara sheepishly asked.
“Me say sorry to that creep? Sorry for what? That he mistook me for a stripper? Or for him making my life impossible with his frat-boy, drunken lifestyle? The answer is a big, fat, hell no.”
Sara giggled, “It is pretty funny that he thought you were a stripper. Maybe you can switch careers if the book thing doesn’t work out.” A sly smile played on Juliet’s lips, as she thought back to all the craziness that had happened. “I don’t think I’d get any referrals from Mr. Romeo to help me grow my new business, do you?”
“No, he was pretty steamed with you,” Sara cracked. “He was kind of cute though, don’t you think?”
“Cute?” Juliet gawked at her little sister as if she’d just sprung a set of overgrown donkey ears. “Sure he’s cute, if you compare him to a gorilla.” Suddenly, those gorgeous, hypnotizing blue eyes of his flashed through her mind and she remembered how they had softly crinkled up at the corners when he’d called her beautiful; and how their intensity had seemed to pierce into her soul when he’d stared at her as she’d tried to help him up; and how they’d focused on her lips when they’d fall en together on the couch; and how her heart had raced at the feel of him on top of her. She gave herself a quick shake. What was wrong with her? He wasn’t cute. No - he was a complete idiot and a hard-partying mess.
Sara’s eyes twinkled mischievously at her sister. “Maybe you should try being nice to him. Nice girls always finish first, you know. Nana always said that, remember?”
“If Nana was in this situation, she would have marched on over there, conked him over the head with a frying pan - cast iron, of course - and that would have been the end of it.” Juliet laughed. “Maybe I should listen to Nana, after all.”
“Judging from the furious look Mr. Romeo gave you when you left his house, I doubt he’s going to let up on the music anytime soon.” Juliet nodded. “I know what he’s doing. He’s playing a game of chicken but it won’t be me who’s giving in first - bet on it.” She stood up then and as she walked past the large expanse of windows overlooking the ocean, she suddenly spied her noisy neighbor near his pool, leaning against the back of a lounge chair for support. He had a beer bottle in hand and she watched as he took a long swig of the alcohol as he stood there like a statue, his gaze focused on the glorious sunset before him.
“He’s out there now,” Juliet mumbled, before purposefully walking towards her back door and flinging it open.