Chapter 7
CHAPTER SEVEN
juniper
Conversational chatter and the thump of bass music got louder as Natalie and I approached the address Nico sent. If we weren’t sure this was the place from the noise, the flames billowing behind the dark silhouettes of people definitely gave it away.
“Is it weird that we’re coming here since we’re out of school?” A bit of hesitancy came out in my voice, but she shook her head.
“No, not weird. It’s not just a college bonfire. People who are a few years older than us come to these things, too.”
Her comment didn’t do much to reassure me. This kind of felt like the equivalent of going out to the college bars every single night even though you were five years graduated and well past your prime.
Now I just sounded pretentious. Especially since I worked at a bar.
I had just finished my degree, though, and it was perfectly normal for a twenty-two-year-old to go to the bars and still party.
A small part of me was still slightly uncomfortable with the idea of drinking around a fire with freshmen.
Then again, it wasn’t like it was any different at the house parties Ava and I went to in Goldfinch.
The deeper rooted issue was that I was supposed to have my life together by now. Or at least be on my way to having it together.
I let out a small sigh, but it was enough to catch Natalie’s attention.
“Are you okay? Do you still want to go? I can turn around.” Concern flashed in her eyes.
I shook my head, shaking away all my thoughts about college and post-grad. “Yeah, I’m fine. Just having an existential crisis, apparently.”
“Nothing a little alcohol can’t fix,” she joked as she pulled into a makeshift parking lot in the middle of the field.
The moment my feet hit the ground, Liv was yanking me toward the bonfire.
“There’s someone you need to meet!” she practically screamed in my ear.
“Hello to you, too.” I chuckled. I tilted my head away from her face, if only to prevent further eardrum damage. I caught a glimpse of Natalie following us out of the corner of my eye, so I let Liv continue to drag me along.
“You’re gonna love—”
“You came!” Nico threw his arm around my shoulder when we got to him. He staggered a bit on his feet, and his grip on my arm tightened.
I rested my hand on his back to hold him up while flashing him an amused grin. “How much have you had to drink tonight, NiCool?” I teased.
The heat from the fire warmed my face, and he looked at me with a sly smile.
“Are you flirting with me, Junie?” His words slurred together, and he wiggled his finger in my face. “Don’t go doing that. I can’t have my heart broken twice in the same week.”
I raised my brows at Liv, hoping for some kind of answer, but she just shrugged. Looking back to Nico, I replied, “Nope, not flirting with you. You didn’t answer my question.”
“I don’t even remember your question. But if it was about the person who streaked down Main Street last weekend, then no, I definitely do not know who did that.”
Liv looked him up and down. “He’s had a few beers?”
“I’ve had more than a few beers, Livvybug,” Nico cut in. It was pretty evident he’d had a bit to drink tonight by the way he was still swaying.
I grabbed his arm. “Let’s get you away from the fire. The last thing we need is you taking a tumble into it.”
“I’m going to grab a drink. Do you want something?” Natalie asked when she caught up to us.
“No, I’m okay, I need to drive,” Liv replied.
I shook my head. “I’ll go grab something in a minute. You might want to get Nico—”
“BEER!” Nico hollered.
Water, I mouthed to Natalie as I subtly pointed to him.
She nodded, an amused grin on her face. “Be right back.”
We moved a couple paces back from the fire, and the night air instantly provided cool relief.
“What would I do without you two?” Nico’s arm was still around my shoulders, but he wrapped his other one around Liv, pulling her close.
Liv giggled. “Well, for one, you’d probably be passed out somewhere.”
“You’d come save me, though, wouldn’t you, Livvybug?” He didn’t wait for an answer before he took his arm off me, using his finger to boop her nose. “You would. I know you would. You’re always saving me.”
I didn’t know what that meant, but I also didn’t know how reliable Nico’s storytelling was at the moment.
Liv rolled her eyes, but her cheeks flared pink as she whispered, “Probably.”
Natalie came back shortly after with two drinks.
“What’s this?” Nico tilted his head at the solo cup Natalie offered him.
“It’s something new. You’ll like it. Go on,” Natalie urged.
He took the cup from her and downed it in a couple gulps, letting out a loud burp at the end. Nodding vigorously, he smiled lazily. “You’re right, that was good!”
Liv yanked on the arm of a guy who looked to be a taller, male version of her. They had matching green eyes and the same blond hair. “Juniper, this is Tommy. He’s my older brother.”
“Hi.” I raised my hand in a polite wave, pursing my lips in a soft smile.
“June just moved here from Goldfinch! She graduated from SGU in the winter,” Liv explained, her hands moving in wild gestures. “Tommy graduated a couple years ago, so I thought you two would get along. You should go talk!” She pushed her brother toward me.
Tommy let out an awkward laugh at Liv’s attempt at matchmaking. “Sorry for my sister’s inability to be subtle. Do you want a drink?”
“Yeah, now that Nat’s back, I think she and Liv can handle Nico.” I laughed. “We’ll be back, guys.”
Liv and Natalie nodded and Nico sort of waved as we stepped away from the bonfire. We walked side by side toward a few coolers, and Tommy handed me a seltzer that I pointed out.
“So, do you live here?” I asked him.
“No, I’m just visiting for the weekend. I don’t know how much Liv has told you about herself”—he laughed—“but we grew up in a tiny town here in Montana. You’ve probably never heard of it. Reverie?”
I shook my head. “Nope, can’t say I’ve heard of that one.”
“You’ll have to come visit with Liv. In the fall they put on this big festival and the town population basically doubles. It’s like the Bucking Horse Sale level popularity, but with cozier vibes.”
“I’ve heard a lot about this Bucking Horse Sale thing.”
He laughed. “It’s a big deal around here. It’s one of those ‘the ones who get it, get it’ type of things.”
“I guess I’ll take your word for it then.”
We lost track of time and talked a while longer—or rather, Tommy talked—then walked back to the bonfire to find Liv and Nico.
He was interesting, but a nagging feeling in my chest kept me from getting too involved in the conversation.
I’d made a deal—didn’t matter that it was a deal with the devil himself—and I was going to stick to it for the sake of my own agenda.
“I’d love to get to know you better. Maybe in a setting that’s not so crowded with college kids.” Tommy chuckled.
Before I could turn him down, a hand dropped onto my shoulder.
“There you are. I was wondering where you’d gone off to.”
Speak of the devil.
I spun around, coming face to face with Mikey. He looked good, in a baseball cap and a Henley with the top button undone. His facial hair had grown to a five o’clock shadow since the night we met in the bar, and his mustache was neatly combed.
“Oh, I—” Tommy stuttered. “I didn’t know you had a boyfriend, Juniper. I’m sorry. Liv didn’t mention…” His voice trailed off as he realized who I was with.
“No worries.” Mikey brushed him off.
Tommy pointed over his shoulder awkwardly. “I’m gonna…go.” He walked away, and I could practically feel the embarrassment radiating off him.
I pulled Mikey aside, away from the other people. “What the fuck are you doing? Aren’t you a little old to be here?” He had to have been the oldest person at the bonfire.
“Damn, Peach. Good to see you, too.” He snickered.
I crossed my arms, huffing out a breath. “Are you keeping tabs on me?”
Mikey raised his eyebrows, a playful glint in his eyes. “No, but maybe I should, girlfriend. Have you forgotten rule number one?”
“Fake girlfriend, and no, I didn’t forget. Good to know you’re taking that seriously, though.” I patted his arm as I tried to walk past him.
He took hold of my arm as our shoulders brushed, pulling me back.
“Come on, Peach. At least act like you like me. It’s a little too early in our fake relationship to be fighting already, don’t you think?
” Although his tone was teasing, there was a silent plea in his expression.
For whatever reason, he needed me as much as I needed him.
“I’m sorry. I’ve never been in a fake relationship before, so this is all new to me.”
He mumbled something under his breath that sounded a lot like, “I’ve never been in a real one before, so this is also new,” but I chose to ignore it.
“You didn’t answer my question, though. Why are you here?”
Mikey shrugged. “Heard through the grapevine that you’d be here and thought it’d be a good opportunity to pilot this relationship. Thought if it went well and we could make it believable enough, I’d introduce you to the rest of the guys.”
Oh. I hadn’t thought much about the rest of the cowboys in his friend group.
I sighed and gave him a reluctant nod.
“They don’t believe that you’re real. They thought I made you up to get them off my back, so, you know.”
“I see. So, we’ve gotta make it believable.”
“Believable but not flashy, right?” He winked. “It’ll be a piece of cake.”
Right…
“All right. Let’s put on a good show, then.” I gave in, taking Mikey’s hand in mine and dragging him back to the crowd of people congregating around the fire.
“June! Where did you…” Natalie called out to me, but her voice faltered as she took in the man next to me. “Uh, hi?”
“Hey, I’m Mikey.” My fake boyfriend extended a handshake to Natalie, and she took it hesitantly, the look on her face akin to one someone would have if they were picking up a dead animal.
“I know who you are.” She whipped her head toward me and raised her brows with the silent accusation of, This is the guy you went home with?
“This is my friend, Natalie. We both went to school at SGU, and I’m living with her here in Miles City.” I introduced her, shooting her a glare and mouthing, Be nice.
“I’m sure I’ve seen you around town, but it’s nice to formally meet you.” Mikey nodded at her, flashing her a wide smile.
“Mm-hmm,” Natalie hummed, dropping his handshake and not bothering to hide her look of disgust as she glanced down at her hand and rubbed her fingers together like they were covered in dirt.
“Don’t mind her,” I cut in, trying to save this conversation. She and I would be having an in-depth talk about this later, but for now, I was just trying to make us look believable. I looped my arm through his, resting my hand on his bicep. “Where did Liv go?”
“She and her brother just left. They took Nico with them.” She flicked her eyes toward Mikey.
“I’ll probably head out soon, too. Unless you want me to stay to give you a ride home?
” She asked the question like she was giving me an out.
As though this was a hostage situation and not something of my own volition.
“That’s all right. I can give her a ride home, right, Peach?” Mikey answered for me.
Annoyance prickled at my skin, but I nodded, not wanting to give the impression that I was in distress, because I wasn’t. If Natalie picked up on anything that seemed like hesitancy or trouble, she would have said something and the whole act would have been ruined.
“Yeah, Mikey can drive me. Thanks for the offer, though. I’ll see you at home.” I nodded enthusiastically, even though my brain was screaming at me that this was all fake and my acting sucked.
She nodded, although suspicion was still written all over her face. “Call me if you need anything, okay?”
“I will. Promise.”
“Goodnight, then. Bye, June. Mikey…” She side-eyed him as she brushed past us to head to the car.
My eyes tracked her until she got in the vehicle and drove away, tires kicking up dust and headlights disappearing into the night.
“Your friend doesn’t like me, does she.” Mikey’s words came out more as a statement than a question.
“It doesn’t matter.” I pursed my lips. “She just worries about me. It’s fine. I’m sure she’ll warm up once she gets to know you.”
Ironic, considering I hardly knew him. I knew his reputation, though, so it didn’t come as a shock that Natalie was wary of him. I expected nothing less.
“Seems like we’ve got our work cut out for us, then. Add her to the list of people to convince, I guess.” He took off his backward ballcap, running his fingers through his hair before placing it back on his head. “Are you ready to head home?”
We hadn’t been there for very long, but I didn’t know anyone else here since my friends had all left. Considering I agreed to come to the bonfire for Nico and Liv, I didn’t see any reason to stay longer. “Yeah, let’s go.”
“How do you feel about meeting the guys later this week?”
“I guess it’s now or never.” Why the fuck not? “Let’s do it.”