Chapter 6
JUNIPER
My head feels light as I open my eyes, and the memories of the previous night hit me. My stomach clenches as I remember every vivid detail, and I roll over and scream into my pillow. Am I remembering everything correctly, or was it just a dream?
I look down and see that I’m still wearing Rafe’s shirt, and my heart drops. So, it wasn’t a dream then? I feel faint and shiver slightly.
“Oh Lord, what did I do?” I cry out.
The door immediately bursts open, and Sage almost falls into the room. I jump back because I’m not ready to have to deal with anyone in the real world right now. I still feel like I’m in part of a dream. A very sexy dream that I don’t want to awaken from.
“She’s awake, Rosie,” she calls out. Then I hear Rosie come running down the hallway, excited for the morning gossip.
Sage bounces onto my bed. “Morning, Vixen.”
“Who?”
“Electra?”
“Sage, what are you talking about?”
“I’m giving you your stripper name. What about Cherry?”
“Sage.” I glare at her, and she bursts out laughing. Like she thinks I’m awake enough to find her funny.
“Do you prefer Mercedes?”
“I can’t even afford a Mercedes.” Another glare her way.
“Lola. Barbie. Bambi.” She pauses and offers me a wicked smile. “Slutty would be too rude.”
“Sage, I am not a stripper, and I don’t want a stripper name.”
I look up as Rosie bursts into the room, wearing an oversize shirt. She hurries over and joins us on the bed, and I groan as I roll over to make room before she crushes me.
“Before you say anything, Rosie, I do not want a stripper name. I am not giving up the bookshop to become a stripper …” My voice trails off as they give each other a look and then glance at me. “What is it?”
“Nothing.” Rosie giggles loudly.
I frown as they exchange another knowing look, like they have some sort of big secret they can’t wait to reveal. I’d be more excited to learn about it if I didn’t think it was about me.
“Tell me what’s going on.”
“Is that your shirt?” Sage asks, pointing at the shirt she knows very well doesn’t belong to me.
“No,” I say stiffly.
Why didn’t I change my clothes when I got home?
Now I have to answer a bunch of questions and relive the night.
Including the moment that Rafe kissed me.
There. I blush, just thinking about it. Why did it feel so good, and why was it so hot?
I am dying inside, thinking about that moment.
About how excited I felt when I thought that perhaps he was going to come inside and we were going to make a night of it.
How easily I would have succumbed. I am a sucker for a man with pretty blue eyes.
Especially when that man is Rafe Bishop.
“Then whose shirt is it?” Rosie’s eyes twinkle, and I know she already knows the answer.
“I plead the Fifth.”
“Oh shit, Juniper done did the dirty with Rafe.” Sage squeals as she and Rosie high-five. “You go, you dirty girl.”
“I did not do the dirty with Rafe.” I blush bright red.
“Then why do you not have a bra on under his shirt?” Rosie raises her eyebrows. “Did he undress you, or did he undress you fast?”
“Girls, he didn’t undress me at all. Nothing happened …”
“Did you just pause?” Sage’s jaw drops. “I mean, I was just joking, but now I feel like maybe we were right. Juniper Meadows, tell us right now what happened last night.”
“Nothing happened, trust me. Rafe took me home because I was wet and he—”
“Wanted to get in your pants?”
“No, he didn’t want me to catch a cold. He was a perfect gentleman. He’s always a perfect gentleman.”
My heart pounds in disappointment because my words are one hundred percent true.
Rafe doesn’t feel that way about me. He doesn’t find me irresistibly charming.
He’s not infatuated with me. He sees me as his little sister.
Though, in my heart of hearts, I know that’s not true.
He wouldn’t have held me against him like that if that was the way he felt, and he wouldn’t have just left.
Ours was not a love story in the making.
Or even a night of passionate lovemaking.
Our story ended before it even began. And I was absolutely okay with that. Absolutely.
“I think you’re not telling us—”
“What do you girls want to do today?” I interrupt Sage.
As much as I love my cousins, I don’t want to spend the next hour dissecting exactly what went on with Rafe the previous night. I know my cousins would make a mountain out of a molehill, and I don’t need or want that.
“To do?” Sage looks over at Rosie, and they both yawn and shrug. “Grab coffees and breakfast, head to the beach, flirt with cute boys, and just enjoy life.”
“That can be arranged.” I smile. “You want to help me at Salty Pages today, or would you rather do no work?”
“We will help. I want to buy a book for the beach anyway.”
“Me too,” Rosie says. “I want a cute fall billionaire romance.”
“Please don’t tell me you want the heroine to be named Rosie,” I say, and she looks at me in confusion. “No worries.” I giggle and watch as she twists her silky, dark hair on top of her head. “Okay, so coffee and food first?”
“Yes, please.”
They both jump off of the bed and stand there, looking around my small room, and promptly decide to invade my closet.
“Someplace with yummy Dutch baby pancakes would be great,” Sage requests.
I just smile. Sage has loved pancakes since she was little. I suppose that some things never change.
“Well, the diner down on Beach Drive still does those apple pancakes you love, and I bet we can throw in some bacon and home fries as well.”
“That sounds divine,” Sage groans and rubs her belly. “You sure know how to get to my heart, Juniper.”
“I guess food isn’t just a way into a man’s heart anymore.”
“Food and/or a good blow job.” Rosie giggles.
I just give her my I know you didn’t just say that look, and she laughs some more.
I can’t help but laugh along with her, even though I feel like I should be educating her on not giving BJs to every Tom, Dick, and Harry.
Not that I think she does, but sometimes, as the older cousin, I feel like I need to provide some sort of moral guidance as well.
Which is a bit of a joke. No sane person would ever think I would be the morality police.
Not because I’m immoral, but because I’ve kissed randoms many times.
“I’m the queen of blow jobs.” Sage raises her hand in the air. “At least, that’s what Vincent said.”
“Who is Vincent?” I ask in confusion.
“The last man I dated.” Sage looks dreamy-eyed.
“He was French, traveling around the world, and an amazing lover. He fed me baguettes with fromage and red wine almost every night and loved to buy me expensive Swiss chocolates. One night, he said to me in his very sexy accent, ‘Sage, you give de best blow jobs known to man.’ ” Sage giggled.
“I think ’cause I learned this trick in Cosmo, where you suck on an ice cube for a few minutes before going down.
It really does something to the nerve endings. ”
“I’ll have to try it sometime.” Rosie winks at me, and I nod in agreement.
Though I have no clue when that will be. It’s not like men are lining up to be with me, and frankly, I only blow men I am dating.
“We’re getting sidetracked, girls. Let’s get ready and grab some breakfast. Do you girls want to shower first, or should I?”
“I can go in.” Rosie yawns and stretches.
“I may have a cold shower to help me wake up a bit. Mia said to tell you that she and Luke were having some fancy dinner tonight, but she wanted to know if we wanted to grab dinner tomorrow night. I said I would love to, but just needed to make sure you hadn’t made any plans for us before I fully committed.
We were thinking pizza, wine, and board games here and then maybe a midnight swim at the beach. ”
“That sounds like fun. I love girls’ night.”
“Me too.” Sage grabs me and Rosie into a little circle. “I know, sometimes, it may seem like I’m a bit crazy, but underneath it all, I’m still a girls’ girl.”
I decide to do a quick YouTube workout video while I wait for Sage and Rosie to shower so that I can occupy my mind while I wait for us to head out.
I grab my laptop and set it up on the coffee table in the living room and get ready to scroll to find a good video.
I need a workout that is going to make my muscles ache so that I feel like I’ve earned the big breakfast that I’m going to eat later.
Beep. Beep.
I hurry to the bedroom to grab my beeping phone and try not to groan when I see Rafe’s name on the screen.
“Why are you messaging me?” I mumble as I stare at the screen, and then it hits me that I still need to pick up my car from Cocktails & Chaos.
“Fuck my life,” I groan loudly as I swipe on my phone to see his message.
I only hope the conversation is kept PG. I hope he doesn’t recall the events of the previous evening. I do not want to relive anything from the night before.
RAFE: Morning, sleepyhead. Let me know what time you want to pick up your car.
JUNIPER: Oh, I can see if Mia can help me.
RAFE: I already told you last night I would help. How did you sleep?
JUNIPER: Perfectly. Thanks.
RAFE: I had a bit of a hard night.
JUNIPER: That’s a shame.
RAFE: I had a dream you were about to enter a wet T-shirt contest.
JUNIPER: Weird dream.
RAFE: And that you were about to give some random man a lap dance.
JUNIPER: Maybe take some melatonin before you go to bed.
RAFE: Also dreamed you had on my shirt and that we might have …
JUNIPER: I’ll be ready in twenty minutes. Sage and Rosie will come with us, as we have breakfast plans.
RAFE: Feeling like you need protection?
JUNIPER: Why would I be feeling that?
RAFE: Maybe it’s me who needs the protection.
JUNIPER: More like a doctor to check your head.
RAFE: It’s not the head that was blue …
JUNIPER: …
RAFE: Sorry, that was inappropriate.
JUNIPER: You’re not funny.
RAFE: I concur … I can only blame my poor choice of words on my lack of sleep.
JUNIPER: I thought you were going to say on your balls.
RAFE: Have I awoken the dragon?