Chapter 10
Chicot stood in the unforgiving, early evening sun with a tote bag containing her swimsuit and extra sunscreen just in case with Elijah next to her suffering equally.
They already smelled of artificial coconut, and it was only going to get worse.
She shuffled her feet in the grass, wondering why she’d bothered to shower after their last show when the sun just continued to be in the sky and make her sweat well into the evening.
There were still cars in the lot, but it was clearing out for the day, the faire closing about an hour after their last show.
Of course, to get all of the people out of the faire and then out of the parking took a lot much longer than that.
Luckily, that was not the responsibility of the performers.
“July should be illegal,” Chicot said. Elijah nodded, groaning softly as he started to wax poetic about how he loved the warmth of the sun, but it came at a cost he wasn’t sure he could pay.
“Maybe I should incorporate that into the show.” He tilted his head, chewing on the inside of his cheeks, which made the dimples on either side of his mouth more pronounced. Chicot just rolled her eyes, tempted to ask if he meant skin damage.
“I’m not sure when the sun is blazing down on you that you want to be reminded about it,” Chicot mused.
Elijah snorted. “Good point.”.
Ken pulled up in a chic electric sedan with the AC blasting not long after. Chicot threw herself into the back seat, lying out as if it would allow her body to cool off faster. Both Elijah and Ken chuckled in response.
“Sorry I’m late,” Ken said. “Traffic getting to the liquor store was worse than I thought.”
“It’s no problem.” Elijah waved his hand dismissively.
Chicot, though, wanted to grumble that this only happened because Elijah had insisted on sprucing up in their RV between their last show and the party, rather than going with Ken to the store and changing at the house.
He had offered, so she didn’t see why they hadn’t.
She kept her mouth shut. Chicot didn’t need to embarrass Elijah. Not yet at least.
“Still, I probably should have just told you to ride with Monty,” Ken said. “They’re already at the house and in the pool.”
Chicot perked up, her eyes finding Ken’s in the rearview mirror. She immediately looked literally anywhere else, folding her arms over her chest. He didn’t need to tell her like that. It felt like he was implying something.
“Eh, no biggie.” Elijah seemed unaware of what was happening with Chicot and Ken. “We’ll ride with them next time.”
Ken looked straight ahead again. “Well, my parents are going to the cabin again for the entire month of August, so I’ll have the house to myself. I can have another party.”
Chicot wrinkled her brow. She hadn’t realized Ken lived with his parents.
It wasn’t all that uncommon among the local workers.
It just always surprised her when anyone over twenty wasn’t out on their own.
But not everyone’s mom had kicked them out at eighteen and had to have their dad convince her to let them back into the house. Chicot tried to remember that.
“Where’s their cabin again?” Elijah asked.
“Up in the U.P.,” Ken said. He glanced at Elijah as he pulled onto the highway. “They’re up there kayaking.”
“Huh.” Chicot’s lips curled into a smile. “So you’ve got the house to yourself?”
“Yeah, it’s nice to feel independent since I still live at home at twenty-four.
Even if it’s just for a little while.” Ken made eye contact with Chicot in the rearview mirror, his long lashes fluttering as he flashed a grin at her.
“Oh! I meant to tell you both that I bought an ice cream cake for tonight.”
“I also heard there was a keg of Spotted Cow,” Elijah said. Ken shrugged.
“Yeah, that was Martina’s doing. You know, the sausage stand girl.” Ken smiled fondly. “She said it is not a proper party without more alcohol than we could ever consume.”
“How many people will even be there?” Chicot asked.
“Not nearly enough to warrant a keg,” he scoffed. Chicot and Elijah both laughed.
When they pulled into the small, log-cabin style house, Chicot had to wonder what Ken’s parents’ cabin looked like because frankly this looked like a cabin to her.
The blacktop drive had heat rolling off it as she stepped out of the car, a small yard next to them displaying well-manicured grass with a tall evergreen tree in the center of it.
Chicot rubbed the back of her neck, trying to keep the first wave of evening mosquitos off it as she followed Ken and Elijah to the front door.
There were already a few cars parked around the area, but Chicot mostly took note of Monty’s.
The house itself was a 70s build A-frame with an addition on it.
Chicot had grown up around these houses, their reddish-brown paint standing out among the tall green trees that seemed to consume Northern Wisconsin.
There weren’t as many around Ken’s family home as there had been in Chicot and Elijah’s hometown, but the effect was mostly the same.
Stepping through the front door led them directly into a small living room, a fireplace at one end and the entrance to the kitchen on the other, just as every house like this that Chicot had ever been in.
The only difference was to the right, where there was normally only a set of stairs, a closed door stood with a sign taped to it which read in bold letters: “Master Suite, Do Not Enter.” She looked at the photos of Ken and his parents on the walls as she followed him through the living room toward the back of the house.
The kitchen opened to a large den that led out to a covered porch and pool deck, people already milling about or helping to set out food and drinks.
Chicot smiled as they stepped onto the porch, quickly losing track of Elijah and Ken as they were called over to a group of other food stand workers who were trying to tap the keg in the corner.
Lyza immediately called through the screens to Chicot, sitting on the worn wooden deck built around the aboveground swimming pool.
“Go change! The water’s nice.” She grinned, and next to her, Elvis lounged on a lawn chair, his dark skin shining like smooth stones in the sun.
“Okay, I’ll be out!” Chicot called. She asked the nearest person where the bathroom was, turning quickly once she’d been directed.
As she spun, she nearly ran into someone.
They caught Chicot’s shoulders, a familiar strawberry hair clip catching Chicot’s attention, then her sandy blonde bob confirming who it was.
Monty’s hands were firm, stopping Chicot from tripping as she stumbled back.
Chicot almost wished Monty had let her fall because then she wouldn’t have been slack-mouthed staring at Monty’s chest for any period of time.
Instead, Monty kept her on her feet, and Chicot was left shamelessly looking down at her boobs and getting an eyeful of Monty’s bare thighs.
Chicot picked her eyes up, trying not to think about how soft Monty’s skin was.
Monty was damp, holding a canned margarita, and had on a bikini with frilly straps, a deep V at the front pressing her breasts into an immaculate chasm that Chicot sort of wanted to dive into.
Underneath, there was a thick band that held them up, a cute pink-and-white checkered pattern that looked like a picnic blanket over the whole thing, including the bottoms, which were high waisted, her tummy creating a soft hill in the center of them before smoothing back down.
“Sorry!” Chicot held up her palms, trying to pretend like she hadn’t just been ogling Monty. Then, she realized that it maybe best to just lean into it. Even if her face felt like it was hotter than the surface of the sun, she added, “Your suit is really cute.”
Monty, to Chicot’s surprise, lost the dimple that formed in her cheek whenever she was annoyed and frowned in a cute, slanted way as she blushed.
People moved around them, slipping past as Chicot stared up at Monty.
They were currently in the middle of the main walkway between the door to the backyard and the kitchen, but no one paid them any mind, getting their drinks and chatting as they enjoyed the party.
Monty curled a hand around the top of the can she was holding, moving closer to Chicot to let someone behind her have more space to pass as she glanced down at herself.
“Oh, thank you.” Monty’s shoulders pulled in slightly. She glanced over her shoulder, taking a small step back once she knew she had room. “I was a little worried it was too frilly for me.”
Chicot’s mouth fell open as she took in this more nervous side of Monty. She had never seen her like this. Chicot took a step back, looking Monty up and down briefly, not really caring that they might be in the way of other people.
“Nope, not too frilly at all.” Chicot only just realized there were also some frills on the edges of the bottoms, sliding over Monty’s thighs.
For a moment, she couldn’t stop herself from imagining getting to slip her fingers under there.
She had to remind herself they were at a party with people around, so she shouldn’t let her mind wander too far. “And it really suits you.”
Monty’s cheeks shined as she smiled, her hips twisting from side to side to make the ruffles flutter, and then she giggled.
It startled Chicot. When they were at the faire, Monty always presented herself as the strong, silent type, standing behind Lyza with a stone face while Lyza and Elvis grinned.
Now, Chicot wanted to make Monty giggle as much as she could.
It was maybe not the smartest thing to do when they were supposed to be working together and neither of them knew exactly where they were going after their season at Albion was finished, but Chicot wanted it anyway.