Be My Companion

Julian

Estelle and Shane sat across from myself and Alexis - my new fucking fiance - at a pub that Shane himself recommended. It was unusually refreshing to see various different Australian sports being displayed on the TVs in the venue without a single reference to American football. On top of that, not being recognised by the people around me was surprisingly a welcome change.

Alexis grabbed a menu from the middle of the table and held it out between us. Before I could even scan all of the items on the cardboard menu, Alexis tapped his index finger on the side of the page.

"You want the parma," he said matter-of-factly.

"The what?" I raised my eyebrows.

Alexis laughed, his dazzling smile lighting up the dimly lit room. "The chicken parma, or parmigiana. You can't eat out at an Aussie pub without trying a parma."

I shook my head, smiling to myself. "You Australians and shortening words will never cease to amaze me."

"We're saving you two syllables by shortening it to parma," Shane said.

Estelle laughed. "You speak a completely different language here. It's so funny."

Under the table, I rested my hand on Alexis's knee and squeezed. Even though I knew I was less recognisable in Australia, I still didn't want to risk outing myself before I was able to do it myself on my own terms.

Alexis looked over at me and smiled warmly. "Hi fiance," he said softly.

"Hello fiance," I replied.

"You guys are too cute!" Estelle exclaimed.

Shane nodded his head in agreement.

"Are we talking wedding plans yet or is it way too soon?" my sister asked.

I glanced over at Alexis nervously, hoping that talks of a wedding wouldn’t scare him off. We had only been officially engaged for a couple of hours, and the entire proposal was a total accident in the first place.

"We can get around to that when the time comes," Alexis answered calmly. "We just need to take things one step at a time for now. Once Julian has shared his story with the world, then we can go from there."

The way Alexis spoke about me and my current situation with a reverent understanding really highlighted why I loved this man. After everything I put him through, and knowing that our battles to be together would always be ongoing as long as I remained in the public eye, I would've understood if he left me.

But this man chose to remain by my side, loved me for who I was and not for whom the world expected me to be, and chose to remain my beautiful little secret until I was ready to tell the world about our love despite how much it hurt him to do so. And I saw how much it hurt him.

Christ. I really was the luckiest fucking man on this planet.

"Baby," I said, turning towards Alexis.

"Yes?"

"I fucking love you so much," I whispered.

Alexis smiled. "I love you too, Julian."

"I can't wait to kiss you when we get back."

Alexis's hand squeezed my thigh underneath the table. "Me too."

Shane cleared his throat across from us. We both looked over to him at the same time and saw the smiles on our siblings faces.

"If your aim is to keep it discreet, you're doing an abysmal job at it," Shane said.

"Seriously," added Estelle.

Alexis laughed and gave me one last squeeze before returning both of his hands onto the table.

"So what's the plan here?" Shane asked casually. "Are you going to go back to California?"

I inwardly gasped and looked back at Alexis. We had been so caught up with getting to the truth and sharing our love with each other that we hadn't discussed the logistics. If he had started spreading his roots back in Australia, I would hate to be the reason why he left his family and life behind again.

"Yes," Alexis said confidently. "I want to be by Julian's side while he takes this next step forward in his life."

"Are you sure, Lex?" I asked him. "I mean, your home is here."

Alexis turned to me and smiled. "Of course I am. Home is wherever you are, my love."

My heart almost leaped out of my chest at Alexis's words, and my urge to reach out to him, hold him, and kiss him in the public setting increased tenfold.

"I can't wait to marry you," I said to him.

"I can't wait 'til you're married either. Both of you are sickening to watch," Estelle laughed. 

---

Alexis

After introducing Julian to his first Aussie pub food experience, Shane drove the four of us back to our parents’ home with Estelle in the front passenger seat. I remembered how anxious I felt going to meet Julian's family, so I could easily imagine what must be going through Julian's mind.

"You're going to tell them you're engaged, right?" Shane said from the driver's seat.

"Should I? I mean, it'll be a bit of a shock for them to find out I'm dating my client in the first place, but it might be too much for them to find out I got engaged by accident," I said.

"Hey!" Julian squeezed my hand and playfully frowned at me. "It wasn't an accident! It was just... mistimed."

"And it was the best mistimed accident ever," I said, squeezing his hand back.

"You told Dad about Julian though, right?" Shane asked.

I bit my bottom lip. "Yes I did, so I don't know how that's going to pan out either."

"He'll understand. He loves you, Lexi," Shane replied.

Julian's hand slid up my arm and he began rubbing it comfortingly.

"Tell me about your family, Lex," he said.

"Mum's name is Aline and she works as a registered nurse. She's very bubbly and full of life, kinda like your mother," I began.

"Yeah, sounds like our mother," Estelle said from the seat.

"She'll love you. She'll love both of you." I reached forward and patted Estelle on the shoulder. "Dad is Randy, and he's technically my step dad but Shane's biological dad because my biological father ran out on us when I was a baby, but he's the only father I've ever known and I wouldn't want it any other way."

Julian smiled warmly and nodded at me. "He's not your step dad; he's the dad that stepped up."

"That's exactly it," I replied.

"Blood aside, Lexi's dad's favourite by far," Shane said.

I lightly shoved Shane's left shoulder. "That's because you're mum's favourite. It's only fair."

"They sound wonderful," Julian said with a smile.

Not long after, Shane turned up our driveway and the car came to a complete stop. I stepped out onto the concrete and looked over at Julian who looked as nervous as ever. I giggled to myself. Julian Ambrose was used to stepping onto the field in front of hundreds of thousands of fans and millions watching around the world with courage and conviction, yet it was meeting my parents that made him squirm.

Estelle followed Shane up the steps while Julian came to my side, letting out a deep breath.

"Don't be nervous, my love." I laced my fingers through his and squeezed his hand. "They'll love you."

Julian kissed me on my forehead and we followed our siblings up the step and towards the front door. Shane had already pushed it open and beckoned for us to come in, standing aside as he held the door for us.

I led Julian inside and we tiptoed through the foyer and into the dining room where my parents sat, finishing their meals as they watched the TV mounted on the far wall. They both looked over towards us at the same time, and when they saw Julian holding my hand, their eyes widened.

"Mum, Dad, this is Julian," I awkwardly introduced them.

Julian let go of my hand and approached them with a polite smile on his face.

"It's very nice to meet both of you," he said, extending his hand for a shake.

Mum shook his hand, albeit still with a confused expression on her face, while Randy eyed him curiously before glancing at me with a knowing expression on his face. I subtly nodded my head, acknowledging that this indeed was the man I cried to him about previously, and after exchanging that silent conversation with my father, he grabbed Julian's hand and shook it.

"Nice to meet you, Julian," Randy greeted him.

"This is Julian's sister, Estelle," I said, pointing out my future sister-in-law next to Shane.

"Hello," she said with a friendly wave. "It's very nice to meet you."

Both of my parents exchanged friendly greetings with Estelle but immediately turned their attention back to Julian. After blatantly studying him, Mum's eyes lit up.

"You're the football player that Lexi worked for, right?" Mum asked.

"Yes, that's correct," Julian said.

I stepped forward and slipped my hand into his effortlessly.

"I wanted to introduce him to you guys because we're together now," I said.

"I can see that," Mum said in an indecipherable tone.

Julian squeezed my hand while I shot my mother a look. "I know this might come as a bit of a shock, especially considering that Lex used to work for me, but I just want you to know that I love your son and I have never loved anyone else as much as I love him."

Mum's expression softened, apparently having let her protective mother guard down. Randy kept the same neutral expression on his face, although I could tell in his eyes that he was impressed.

Julian turned to me and kissed me on the top of my head. "My parents raised me in a progressive but old-fashioned way, so I want to do this right. Mr. and Mrs. Mendes, I am in love with your son, and I want to take care of him for the rest of his life. I would like your blessing in marrying Alexis."

---

Julian

I had played in the SuperBowl three times so far in my career, and yet standing here asking for Alexis's parents’ permission to marry their son was the most nervous I had ever felt in my entire life.

I felt Alexis's grip on my hand tighten, and he wrapped his other hand around my bicep, pulling himself closer to me. I'm glad he loved me enough to hold my hand when I knew my palms were sweating.

I never thought I would ever see the day where I'd be asking someone's parents for their blessing in marriage, but here I was standing proud, declaring my love for Alexis in front of the people that knew him the best.

So much had changed ever since I met Alexis; in the way I looked at the world, and how I looked at myself. And I don't think I could ever go back to the way things were, even if I wanted to. It's almost as if Alexis had met the reckless playboy Julian Ambrose, fine-tuned him, and turned him into the man that I am today; someone I could look back at in 40 years and be proud of.

Randy stood up from his seat and looked me directly in the eye. If Shane hadn't told me that Randy had a special bond with Alexis, this action alone would've told me.

"You really love him, don't you?" he asked me.

"With all of my heart, sir."

Randy turned to me with a look that only a proud father could muster. "And he makes you happy, Lexi?"

"Like you have no idea, Dad."

Randy rounded the table and approached Alexis and I; Aline stood up from her seat and watched from her spot. After a brief pause, Randy extended his hand to me, and I accepted his handshake gratefully.

"Love him and take care of him. That's all I can ask for," he said.

"I promise I will, sir."

Randy let go of my hand and quickly pulled his son in for a hug. I saw him whisper some things into Alexis's ear, and Alexis responded by nodding his head. They held onto each other for nearly half a minute before Randy let go of him, his eyes red with happy tears.

"See," Shane said, appearing next to me suddenly. "I told you that Lexi was his favourite."

Randy shot his younger son a look as Aline came around and hugged Alexis. The mother and son opened their embrace and welcomed me into a three-person hug with them.

After everyone had finished congratulating us with kind words and hugs, Alexis found his way back to me and wrapped his arms around my waist. I put my arm around him and held him close to me.

"You okay, baby?" I whispered into his ear.

"I've never been better," he whispered back.

I kissed him on the top of his head. "And to think we're just starting our life together."

"I love you, Julian."

"I love you too, Lex."

---

Alexis

I had spent the next couple of days showing Julian and Estelle around Melbourne and gave them the tour of the life of Alexis Mendes. My future husband grasped onto every part of the trip down memory lane with a fervent care: he enjoyed seeing my primary and high schools; he appreciated the large park Shane and I used to play at when we were children; and he absolutely devoured the ice-cream I bought him from the local ice cream parlour.

Watching Julian bond with my family was a memory that I knew I would cherish for the rest of my life. He seemed to especially get along with Randy - after the latter let his protective father guard down - and he had quickly turned my dad into an American football fan. Mum had also taken a quick liking to Julian, and even excitedly referred to him as her third son.

Now, with my suitcase packed, I stood outside of my childhood home preparing to bid farewell to my family as I returned to California with Julian and Estelle.

"It was nice to have you home," Mum said as she squeezed me tightly.

"I'll come visit you in the States soon," Shane added.

"You better," I said, hugging my brother back. "You and my future sister-in-law work great together as a pair of Cupids. Estelle would be happy to see you, as I would."

After letting go of my brother, I turned to Randy who smiled at me even though his eyes wilted.

"We'll visit as often as we can," I said to him softly. "And you all have to come over to see us soon."

Randy nodded his head and wrapped his arms around me. "I know, I know. Like your mother said, it was just really nice having you home for a bit, Lexi."

I returned the gesture and hugged my father tightly. "I love you, dad."

"Love you too, son."

Symbolically, my father let me go and I spun around into Julian's arms, who kissed me on the top of my head.

"It was very nice meeting you all," Estelle said, waving to my family.

"We would love to have you all over soon," Julian said.

"Take good care of my son, Jules," Randy called out.

"I will, Mr. Mendes."

Julian opened the door for me and after one last wave goodbye, I sat in the back of the car. My fiance soon joined me on the other side and he immediately reached out to hold my hand.

"You okay, Lex?" he asked me softly.

"Yeah," I said, wiping a single tear away. "It was just really touching watching you connect with my family and really bond with Dad."

Julian smiled at me. "And we will have many more moments to bond in the future, baby. I promise."

 

After a long flight and drive, I followed Julian into his apartment - our apartment- and I looked around at the walls and the decor I was so familiar with but swore I would never see again. Instinctively, I turned right and began taking my luggage towards my room, but Julian quickly grabbed my wrist and pulled me in the other direction.

"Baby, you're my fiance now," he said, kissing me on my forehead. "You're coming with me."

"Oh?" I looked up at him in confusion before I realised what he was referring to. "Oh! Right! Sorry, love, it was a natural reaction."

Julian laughed and kissed me sweetly on my lips. "It's funny to think how things have changed since we first met, isn't it?"

"Definitely. For starters, I was sure you hated me when I first met you at that restaurant for dinner."

Julian's mouth fell open. "I didn't hate you! I didn't like the idea of being followed around by someone, sure, but I didn't hate you. In fact, I'm pretty sure you hated me when we first met."

I poked my index finger into his rock-hard stomach, which made him cower. "I didn't hate you either, thank you very much. I just scoped this PR stunt that Vanessa had concocted from a mile away, and I didn't think you'd be serious about your recovery."

"And did I prove you wrong?"

I stood on my toes and kissed Julian. "You did."

"And if I'm going to be completely honest, I thought you were absolutely stunning the first time I met you." Julian smiled at me.

"Really?"

He nodded. "Absolutely breathtaking. It just took a while for me to accept it."

I wrapped my around him in a hug before he could see the red flush in my cheeks.

"Speaking of Vanessa though," Julian said, caressing the small of my back, "I feel as if we need to have a hard conversation with her."

"Are you sure you want to do that right away?" I asked him.

"Yes. I won't feel good until I've gotten this off my chest, Lex." Julian quickly fished his phone out of his pocket and tapped the screen. "I'm going to tell her to come over so we can sort this out now."

---

AUTHOR'S NOTE: I've really appreciated everyone's comments on this story thus far, and am so grateful that so many of you have followed along with Julian and Alexis's journey from the beginning. While I don't know the exact amount of chapters I have left, Julian and Alexis's love story will be wrapping up fairly soon. Once I do get to the end point, I'll be sure to warn you all in an author's note.