The End of Beginning

Julia woke to the sensation of warmth surrounding her—Joe's arm draped loosely around her waist, his slow, steady breathing against her shoulder. She blinked sleepily, adjusting to the soft morning light filtering through the curtains.

When she shifted slightly, she felt Joe's hold tighten, his fingers lazily tracing patterns along her hip. She turned her head, and sure enough, he was already awake, watching her with a soft smile.

"How long have you been staring at me?" she mumbled, her voice groggy but amused.

Joe smirked. "Long enough to know you make the cutest sleeping faces."

Julia rolled her eyes and shifted onto her side. In the daylight, she noticed how his new haircut flopped slightly to the side without all the gel slicking it down. It was cute—boyish, even, a contrast to the sharp, intense look it gave him on set. She reached up and ran her fingers through it, amused at how different it looked now.

"So, your hair does this when it's not forced into submission?" she teased.

Joe chuckled. "Shocking, right?"

"It's cute," she admitted.

He gave her a lazy grin. "You're cute."

Julia's stomach flipped, but before she could say anything, he leaned in and pressed a lingering kiss to her forehead before stretching and rolling out of bed.

"Come on," he said. "I'm making you breakfast."

Joe moved around the kitchen in his sweatpants and T-shirt, making eggs and toast while Julia sat at the counter, sipping coffee and watching him with an amused smile.

"Look at you," she teased. "All domestic."

He shot her a playful glare. "There's still many things you don't know about me yet. I can cook, you know."

"I'll be the judge of that."

As they ate, a question pressed at the back of Julia's mind. She didn't want to pressure him, but she needed to know.

"So," she started casually, twirling her fork, "I really enjoy spending time with you. I just... I'm not sure I'm the type to keep things casual long-term." She hesitated before adding, "We don't have to define anything right now, but I just wanted to put that out there."

Joe set his fork down and leaned his elbows on the counter, watching her with unreadable eyes.

"I'm glad you brought it up. I wanted to wait until we were together in person to do this right," he admitted. He exhaled, running a hand through his hair before meeting her gaze. "You mean so much to me, Julia..."

Julia froze. It was starting to feel like the beginning of a breakup, and she immediately regretted saying anything about it. But she let him continue before speaking.

"I don't want this to be a casual fling. I want to be yours. And more importantly, I want you to be mine." His fingers found hers, brushing over her knuckles. "So... do you want to be my girlfriend?"

Julia felt a rush of warmth, her heart pounding in her chest. "Yes," she said immediately, smiling so big it almost hurt.

Joe exhaled, grinning. "What a relief!"

Julia teased, "As if I'd ever say no."

Joe chuckled. "Well, I'm glad you said yes. I've been refraining from PDA until I knew for sure this was what you wanted. But damn, has it been hard keeping my hands off you." He smirked, shifting his hand to her wrist and pulling her slightly closer. "But now? No more holding back."