Jules sighed as she drove into the Thompson's house that Saturday. That morning she was had been about to call Selene but Ceaser had called her and informed her his parents were excited to have them over and she needn't ask. So, she cancelled park time with Ivy and drove over to the Thompson's.

She picked Ivy up from her car seat from inside the car and adjusted her on her hip then closed the door and made her way to the front door. Selene was waiting for her there with a smile on her face.

"Oh, my goodness." She placed her palms on either side of her face "Eric! They're here." Selene cried out and Jules just smiled at her excitement and Ivy bounced in her arms when she saw Selene.

"Hello," Jules said smiling at the older woman.

"Welcome Jules, we were expecting you sooner," Selene said as she launched for a smiling Ivy who immediately stretched out her tiny hands towards Selene to be picked up.

And just like that, Jules was forgotten. She might as well leave.

Selene was saying different things to Ivy even Jules couldn't understand.

Was she speaking baby?
Jules thought.
Sofi's got competition.

"Come on in Jules." Selene said, "How have you been?"

"I've been doing alright."

"That's good. I've been missing this cutie over here." Selene smiled down at Ivy.

Wait! Why was she jealous of her own daughter?
She was the worst mother ever.

"Welcome, Jules. We've been expecting you." Eric walked into the living room

"That's what Selene tells me. Sorry, we're late, there was a bit of traffic." She gave Eric a hug.

"Traffic and this weather are two things that shouldn't mix."

"Yea, tell me about it, and I couldn't turn the AC on because of Ivy. She doesn't like it." Jules said as she remembered the many times she had turned the car AC on and Ivy had had a fit about it. She had cried the entire ride while Jules had tried to figure out what the problem was then she caught on after a while and had never turned the AC on when Ivy was in the car.

"Ugh! I understand. Ceaser was the same when he was a child." Eric said, "Hated the darned thing."

Jules smiled imagining Ceaser as a child.

"Some kids are like that."

Jules nodded
"I don't think I can take more of this heat."

"You never know what might become of it. The weather becomes unpredictable this time of the year."

He was right!
She just wished it was no longer this hot.

"I'd ask where Ivy is but I know my wife." He said with a smile "She's probably giving her a cookie or something."

Jules laughed at Eric's certainty and she knew he was right.

"I apologize on behalf of my wife. She gets a little bit carried away when she sees a child. Especially one young enough to be her granddaughter." Eric said.

"A little bit?" Jules asked him.

Eric laughed.
"Well, that little one of yours is too much of a cutie to make room for any more of Selene's attention. Your daughter has got it all. I don't even get a single glimpse from her when Ivy's near her."

Jules smiled.

"She's always wanted a grandchild. Well, both of us have." he said "When Ceaser got married, we always pushed them to make us grandkids. But we lost hope when Bea died."

"Bea?" She asked.

"Beatrice - Ceaser's wife." He said "Their marriage was arranged. Ceaser never got the chance to love anyone - he's stubborn like that."

Jules smiled.
She knew that.

"We noticed that even though he didn't love Bea, he cared about her. He always tried to control her wild side and keep her safe but Bea got tired of trying to please him. She disappeared eight months after their marriage." Eric sighed.

Jules waited to learn more about this woman that Ceaser married.

"Ceaser wasn't worried when he didn't see her for a few days because she used to go wild sometimes and not return for weeks. But when a few months passed and she still wasn't back, Ceaser hired a private investigator to look for her but they never found her. Just a few months ago since she disappeared, they fou..."

"Dad, I think you've said enough."

Jules and Eric turned to find Ceaser leaning against the arc between the living room and the entrance.

Jules knew who it was the second she heard his voice. She swallowed when he turned his gaze away from his dad to her.

How could she not feel his gaze drilling holes into her head?
She wondered.

"I'll go see what Selene is up to this time." Eric got up and turned to Ceaser "Son..." Ceaser left before Eric could say anything.

"I'll go check on him." Jules stood and to catch up with Ceaser.

Jules went out of the house and walked in the direction she caught him going until she found a beautiful garden at the extreme left of the house. She walked further into the garden and found Ceaser seated on a concrete bench staring far into what seemed to be a lake.

Jules let out a sigh and walked towards him and sat next to him. She said nothing, just looked at the breathtaking view in front of her.

Every inch of the house was beautiful.

"I used to come here a lot when I was a kid. It was my happy place." Ceaser said, "Now I come here when I need to run away from the reality of life." Jules looked at him. He looked lost.

"Reality of life?" Jules asked.

"My work. My problems. My fears." he sighed "Everything."

"What are you running away from now?"

Ceaser turned to look at Jules and he held his breath.

"My emotions." He said with his eyes on her face.

Silence enveloped them in a bubble of their own.

Deafening silence.

"I'm sorry." was all Jules could get out of her mouth

"For what?" He asked

"Your wife." She said looking back at the lake. Now it was her turn to run.

She felt this emotion running through her veins and she couldn't place it.
Was it Jealousy?

Was it sympathy?

Was it pain?

And more importantly, who was it directed at?

"There's nothing for you to be sorry about," Ceaser said to her. "You didn't know her. Life happened. She's gone. End of story."

He didn't want to talk about Bea. Yes, she was his wife, yes, she was gone and he cared about her but what she did to him, to their marriage was selfish of her and he hated her for that. Because of all she did, he wasn't with his daughter.

"How can you say that?" Jules looked at him "She was your wife." Ceaser turned away

"As my father said, I didn't love her." He said harshly.

"But you cared." Jules said softly "You cared enough to search for her when she went missing." Jules paused. "Your father was right."

Ceaser looked at her then, curious as to what his father was right about.

"You are stubborn. Stubborn to admit that you're still grieving her death." Jules said "Why is it so hard to admit your feelings and just get through it? Why?"

She wanted to know so badly.

"They're either hard. Irrelevant. Silly. Disturbing..." he looked into my eyes "...Difficult. Strange."

Silence.

Jules couldn't seem to pull away from his imprisoning gaze. Her lips went dry.

"What about your feelings towards me?" Jules asked before she could stop herself.

First, she had no idea where her sudden bravery came from.
And second, what the heck was she doing asking him that and jumping into the lion's cage?

Back to earth Jules!

Ceaser smiled at Jules.

Question of the year.
He thought.
He still hadn't figured it out.

He freaking smiled. Smiled!
Jules took a deep breath in.

Ceaser looked away as he tried to answer her question as honestly as he could.
"What I feel for you is...Strange. And disturbing and is really annoying sometimes. But never irrelevant."

Jules couldn't do anything other than turn to stare at him just as the same time Ceaser turned to look at her.
"What do you mean?"

Ceaser reached out and touched the side of her face, his thumb brushing softly against her cheek. Jules' eyes closed having lost control.
"I don't know what I feel for you. I can't put a name on it...yet. But when I see you..." He let out a breath and Jules open her eyes "...I get this strange feeling. It's hard to describe and is unlike anything I've felt before."

Jules had no idea when a smile crawled its way to her lips but she felt her heart light up.

"Unique." Ceaser said "That's the word. The feeling is unique. But I'm going to make sure I know what exactly it is about."

"You should try that with your other emotions," Jules said pulling away from his hand and looking far into the lake.

"What about you?" He asked.

"Me?" Jules asked, confused as to what he meant.

"Yea. Why do you run away from your emotions?"

"I do not run away from my emotions. I'm not you." She smiled at him.

"Then why do you avoid this?"

Finally, the question he'd been wanting to ask.
Ceaser thought as he waited for her answer.

"This?" Jules swallowed, her smile fading.

She knew exactly what he was talking about.

"Yea. This thing between you and me?"

Jules looked at him
"It's the only way."

Ceaser's brows creased.
"For what?"

"To avoid everything that comes with it." Jules looked away.