Body Guard

Cody:

I almost gave a start when the phone rang. I hadn't expected it and had been so engrossed into my thoughts. I relaxed further when she started speaking, but frowned when her father wanted to talk to me. "Hello?" I asked into the phone after taking it.

Mr. Devlin:
"Cody...they just found Ryan's body," I said, cutting out any nonsense. "Your father has more information, but I think its best that Julie doesn't know about it yet.  I need you to stay with her. She told me it was your day off but you can understand how important this is," I paused for a response.

I tilted my head back and made a show of rolling my eyes. "Yes sir, I'm sorry sir. It won't happen again..." I slid my free hand into my pocket and clenched it into a fist. I didn't want to lie to Jules like this, but I knew that her father was right. I'd play this out like I was in trouble if nothing else.

Mr Devlin:
"Thank you Cody. And good instinct to leave the mall," I told him. I knew he and my daughter were close and it was asking a lot for him to lie to her, but it was for the best. 

Julie:
I frowned at Codys end of the conversation and held my hand out for the phone. "You're getting in trouble? Give me the phone, I'll explain that it was my idea," I said, wiggling my fingers impatiently.

"I'm sorry again sir." I continued the charade before passing the phone off towards Jules with a deep sigh. Inside I briefly gave myself a moment to mourn for Ryan's passing before preparing myself for what was to come.

Julie:
I took the phone back and held it to my ear. "Dad, it was my idea to go to the mall, don't blame Cody for it," I told him. We were still walking and I opened my door when I got to it. 

"I just had to make sure he's keeping my daughter safe, thats all. He's not in trouble," My dad said. "Now I do have to run into a meeting so I'll talk to you later," He told me. I barely got a chance to say goodbye before he hung up. I shook my head and put my phone on the counter. "You're off the hook," I told Cody.

“Until my dad gets a hold of me. Apparently no one bothered telling the higher ups you’d be gone. And day off or not my dad would say I should have checked in first and brought something along just in case...”. It was a real thing he’d say to me. The best lies were made with half truths and real events. Going over to the couch I dropped down with a grin while rubbing my face.

Julie:
I flopped down next to him on the couch and smiled. "I'll talk to your dad too. You went above and beyond today," I told him. "I'll even talk to whoever is above your dad if I have to," I said. The thought of him getting in trouble didn't sit right with me. My dad thought the very best of Cody and would never reprimand him unless something serious happened. Us leaving the mall early didn't qualify, whether we told anyone or not.

I frowned and raised a brow. "I think the only person above my dad is....your dad...and you already talked to him..." Looking over at her I changed it into a faint smile and nudged her side with my elbow. "Hey, less thinking though. More focusing on what to watch for a movie. My day off is still going right?"

Julie:
I smiled and got off the couch to look at my movie selection. "You're right, it is still your day off," I said. I grabbed a few movies and held them out like a magician holds out cards. "Pick one," I told him.

I stood up and looked over the offered selection. Carefully considering the bunch I plucked one from her grasp. It was an action flick, but it had it's romantic moments as well as a few racey scenes just off camera. I'd seen it before, and liked it. If nothing else I hoped to get a rise out of her with the corny jokes that happened along the way. "This one."

Julie:
I smiled at his selection and popped it into the dvd player. "I'm gonna go get comfy and then we can start," I told him. I put the rest of the dvds away and went to my room. I quickly changed into a pair of sweats and baggy sweatshirt. I even took my contacts out and put on my glasses. Then I went back and stretched out on the couch.

While she went and changed I made popcorn and grabbed some drinks. Leaving them on the coffeetable I prepped the movie the rest of the way and smiled at her as she came back. "I'm sure you could beg the chef on duty for some alcohol if you wanted it." Regardless of the drinking laws, I knew that if she really asked for it she'd get some. Money and privacy let one do lots of things that should be illegal.

Julie:
"Hmm, I like the way you think," I said, reaching for my phone. I dialed the kitchen and when someone answered, I asked if they had any wine down there. They didnt ask questions and gave me the selection. I hung up with a smile and grabbed my shoes. "I'll run down and get some. You can change clothes if you want. I know you have comfy stuff in there," I told him.

"Fine, fine." I waved a hand and started for the guest room that held my spare clothing. I changed into sweatpants and a thinning t-shirt, leaving my shoes behind. I returned to the living room to sit down on the couch and prop up my feet. Grabbing my phone I sent a quick message off to my dad explaining what I'd told Jules and to brief me tomorrow.

Julie:
Running into the kitchen in my PJs is no unheard of for me. But usually, it was for snacks. I grabbed the bottle of wine that was set out for me on the counter and yelled a quick thank you to whoever was in there. I took my time going back, knowing Cody would be changing anyway. 

I kicked my shoes off at the door and grabbed some glasses from my cabinet, assuming Cody also would want some. I filled two a little more than I should have and went back to the couch to hand him one.

I accepted the glass and took a peek at the bottle to see what we were drinking. In the few times I'd actually had alcohol, on the rare occasion I had a day off or was out of the mansion for training, I'd come to find I preferred liquor over wine or beer. But Wine wasn't a bad second choice. Taking a sip I settled back and picked up the remote. "Ready?"

Julie:
I sat on the couch with my legs crossed and took a sip from my glass. "I'm ready!" I said, settling in. I wasn't a big drinker, but I figured wine tasted better than beer. When the movie started, I barely ate any of the popcorn that Cody must have popped. However, I must have filled my glass twice after my first one. For someone that rarely drinks, I knew I should slow down. I was a lightweight.

I limited myself to the one glass, especially after I glanced over and saw that she was well through her second by the time I finished my one. I switched to soda after that, enjoying the popcorn all by myself though I placed the bowl between us. Glancing at her occasionally as the movie progressed, I kept an eye on how she was doing. I hadn't seen her drink often, not at least in places where I didn't have half a dozen other things I had to focus on while doing my job.

Julie:
The movie was good. There was a little bit of action, romance, comedy. I felt the wine more than anything and it was starting the make me a little silly. When I drank at events, it was a half of glass of champaign or something, not three glasses of wine.  I giggled at a particularly racy scene and looked over at Cody to see if he was also laughing.

The scene had me smiling more to myself than anything as the female lead's dress pooled to the ground right in front of the male lead who'd been sitting on a couch. After the scene changed and had the main characters scrambling to get dressed as someone pounded on their apartment door I shook with silent laughter, rubbing my jaw as I looked down at the popcorn bowl for a brief moment. Feeling eyes on me I paused in my quest for another handful of kernels and raised my gaze up to Jules, flashing her a grin.

Julie:
I laughed at his expression and picked up a piece of popcorn to throw at him. "I see why you picked this movie," I joked, rolling my eyes.

"Oh please, you can't say that my choice in this movie is any different than that collection of novels you keep hidden behind the books on your nightstand." I countered with an accusatory finger. "And before you get all mad, I only found out when you insisted I grab one of the books in front while we were supposed to be on our way to the ambassadors dinner and I discovered the books in back while grabbing it." Dropping the finger I went for the bowl of popcorn snagged a piece and tossed it right back, aiming for her collarbone.

Julie:
I dropped my jaw in shock and drunkenly swatted at the popcorn that was flying at my. "Those are romance novels!" I defended, laughing. "And since they're in the back of the nightstand, I fail to see how you would stumble upon it if you were grabbing something from the front," I said, grabbing a handful of popcorn and leaning over him to get it in his hair.

Laughing I ducked my head and tried to brush away the popcorn before it sat long. "It's not exactly hiding if you put books behind other books! Besides. Maybe I got a little curious!"