My Butterfly

asked.
    “Yeah, Will hates this story,” Jeff nonchalantly said and then went back to flapping his jaw.
    Jessica knowingly glanced at me and smiled.
    I laughed once and took a drink from my cup. I was nervous, but I played it off by sneering at Jeff. He paused for a second but then continued.
    I took another drink from my cup. I didn’t know if it were the sound of Jeff’s unending story or the thought that Julia could come waltzing into the room at any moment that was making me claustrophobic. Someone had to go.
    I motioned for Jessica to trade me my cup for her glass. She obliged without much nudging.
    “Hey, Jeff, I think Jessica needs another drink,” I said. “Can we put your story on hold for a minute?”
    Jeff stopped talking just long enough to eye Jessica’s cup.
    “I got it,” he said, snatching the cup from Jessica’s hand and shooting up.”
    “No, it’s okay…,” she started and then stopped when she caught a glimpse of my shaking head. “Okay, thanks,” she said instead and smiled.
    “I’ll be right back,” he said. “Save my seat.”
    I watched as Jeff disappeared behind a group of people hovering around the doorway. Then, I looked back at Jessica to find her questioning stare.
    “He likes getting girls drinks, believe me,” I said, thinking of a way to move to a spot on the armrest of the couch without making it too awkward. “And he’s a little wound for sound—his own, that is.”
    I glanced at the armrest and then back at her. I felt the anxious smile still glued to my lips. I wondered if she could see it too.
    “Besides, I don’t know about you, but I needed to get out of the Colorado wilderness for a second,” I said.
    Jessica laughed and then rested her hand on mine. I flinched slightly, as my eyes darted to her hand.
    “You’re my hero,” she said, playfully tossing her long, brown hair behind her shoulder.
    Her hand was soft and kind, but it wasn’t Jules’s hand. What the hell was I doing?
    I awkwardly smiled. I wanted to pull my hand back, but I couldn’t. I had already brought her to this party as a decoy for the girl I really wanted to bring; I had subjected her to Jeff’s loathsome hiking story; and if I took my hand back now, I would surely be the jerk I was turning out to be after all. I just couldn’t bring myself to embarrass her.
    “Jeff said that you are getting your paramedic’s license and that you want to be a firefighter,” I heard her say, as if her voice were coming from some distant world.
    My eyes were temporarily locked on our hands.
    “Uh, yeah, I am,” I managed to get out, as I forced my gaze instead to her face. “I’m a, it’s a…”
    “My uncle is a firefighter,” she said, saving me again from my stumbling tongue. “It’s a tough job, but it’s really honorable.”
    She slid her fingers around mine as she spoke, and suddenly, the room’s temperature rose another ten degrees—as if it weren’t already as hot as hell in the small room. I habitually pulled at the collar of my shirt.
    “I mean, it’s super dangerous,” she continued. “My uncle has been trapped in a burning building and…”
    She kept talking as I searched the room for Jeff. What was taking him so long? Now, all of a sudden, his stupid mountain story didn’t sound all that bad. At least, it had distracted Jessica. And damn it, this dumb plan of his would surely be the end of me if Julia was to walk…
    My thoughts stopped then. And my eyes came to rest on a thin blonde in a short, black dress, standing in the doorway. I met the blonde’s fiery, green eyes as the words from the girl beside me quickly turned to mush before they reached my ears. Then, the blonde softly smiled and bit her bottom lip. She always did that when she was nervous.
    God, she’s beautiful.
    I watched Jules take a step and then stop. Then, all of a sudden, her face went blank, and her eyes fell fast to the hardwood floor. I held my gaze on her, until her own eyes returned to mine seconds later. But she wasn’t smiling anymore. In fact, now, her green eyes had turned sad. My heart sank as I remembered Jessica’s hand still wrapped up in mine. I tried to pull my hand back, but it was numb. I couldn’t move. I could hardly breathe.
    God, what have I done?
    I looked back up at Jules, and for a second, it looked as if she were going to run. No, don’t run. Yes. Run. Let’s both run. Let’s get out of here together.
    Instead, she took a step toward us, and then another,