Chapter 23 #3
Which might be for the best, anyway, right now. She was positive Laura would have something to say about Juliet coming out to Pineford the day before her final show, rather than staying in Nashville and resting.
Laura – 3:37P.M.
Just calling to check in and make sure everything is good to go for your final show. I’ve prepared everyone with lists down to the MINUTE of what they should be doing
Juliet – 3:38P.M.
Everything is good. I’ve checked in with everyone I need to check in with. Don’t worry about it. Enjoy your family, it’s not like you see them often
Laura – 3:38P.M.
Well. I’m going to worry a little when I hear from Lyle that you left the hotel this morning and no one’s heard or seen a peep since
Of course. Lyle, her tour manager, loved to gossip, and she’d checked in with him before she’d left.
Laura – 3:38P.M.
Of course, then, I started to think: wait, I know someone who lives less than two hours from Nashville
She breathed out a groaning laugh.
Juliet – 3:39P.M.
Yes, you’re utterly brilliant. I’m glad to see you’re staying sharp even on your off time
Laura – 3:39P.M.
Look, I’m thrilled. I want you to have an all-day fuck fest before you have to go to Texas right after your show, it’s an early holiday celebration for you
She was halfway through typing back that she wasn’t, in fact, experiencing an all-day fuck fest with Darcy. She was standing on Blythe’s porch, looking out over sprawling acres of farmland, hearing snippets of Christmas music and chatter from inside.
Then she paused, her thumbs freezing right above her screen, as her heart skipped a beat rereading what she’d written.
What was she doing here?
Was she ready for whatever Laura would say about it? Maybe… maybe she needed whatever Laura would say about it?
Huffing out a breath, she quickly finished typing and sent it. Anticipation curled through her as she bounced back on her heels, waiting for what Laura would say back.
Juliet – 3:40P.M.
It’s not a fuck fest. We’re at her sister’s house preparing decorations for a holiday party. They’re singing and drinking cider
She hastily added:
I’m sure there will be fucking later, though
She hoped there would be, anyway. Sometimes, it was a little painful, needing to wait for at least a week or two until their schedules could align.
Did that make her trip to Pineford seem more normal or less? She frowned down at her phone, unable to tell. She certainly didn’t enjoy how long it was taking Laura to send her response.
Laura – 3:41P.M.
Good for you
Juliet scoffed. That was it? After a full minute of typing, that was what Laura had to say about this? About Juliet going to Darcy’s hometown, where she lived, and spending the day with her not having sex?
Good for her?
The screen door behind Juliet opened and closed, and she locked her phone, slipping it into her back pocket as she turned.
Expecting – hoping – to see Darcy, she was met, instead, with Blythe.
Her arms were folded over her chest, her long, blonde hair down in a braid over her shoulder. Though she and Darcy looked alike, there was something so very different about them. Even when it came to their posture, their body language, Darcy was so… brash.
Her curves and her clothing complemented one another making it hard to look away. She was always fidgeting with her rings or tapping her fingers on her thighs, the little sounds or movements drawing attention, too.
Blythe stood stone-still, and was – in every way, in Juliet’s opinion – less appealing.
“Look, I’m going to keep this simple,” Blythe started, angling her chin up at her.
“Darcy’s a big girl, and I know she can handle herself.
So, I kept my gloves on when it came to the shit going on with you last summer, because I didn’t think it would make anything better if I jumped in.
But if this thing goes south and you screw her over, I’m letting you know that my gloves will be off. ”
Juliet reached for her sugar-sweet smile and came up empty. Which – fine. Because it seemed that Blythe, much like Darcy, wasn’t here to put on an air. She arched an eyebrow at her, folding her arms over her chest. “What, exactly, do you think this thing is?”
“I know you two refer to it as just sex,” Blythe shot back with a scoff. She rolled her eyes. “But my sister has been doing just sex for years. And I’ve never met any of those women.”
Juliet scowled at the idea of those women, even while feeling ridiculously superior to them. Not a feeling she wanted to delve into. “Well, Darcy’s life looks a lot different, now. Picking someone up is different now.”
Thank god for that. Juliet was a lesbian; she was a verifiable source to confirm that Darcy would be lesbian catnip.
“Frankly, it doesn’t matter whatever this is. As long as Darcy’s along for the ride, I don’t care.”
“That’s so sweet of you.”
Blythe’s glare sharpened. “Look, when you started throwing your stones, I got it. You think I don’t know what it feels like to be envious of Darcy?
I remember the first time I heard her sing, like really sing.
She was six, and I can still see it clearly.
” Blythe tapped at her temple. “Sometimes when we were young, I looked at her and thought… damn, I wish I had what she has. That raw talent. The drive to push it as far as it can go. Because Darcy has worked her fucking ass off to get to where she is. To get us where we are.”
“Yes, I know,” she coolly returned, tilting her jaw up at Blythe, holding her gaze. “She works so hard she can barely sleep from it. And how were you looking out for her, then?”
She didn’t even know where that came from. Somewhere, unbidden, deep inside of her. But… she supposed she had been holding onto it for weeks, now.
Because now that she really knew Darcy, she could see the things she’d missed before.
When she really looked at Darcy, she could see the exhaustion.
She could see that while some of her fidgeting was inherently a part of her mannerisms, some of it was also from her being so overtired she was twitchy.
Darcy slept so soundly, truly passed out, whenever they were together. Without a peep, face adorably buried in Juliet’s pillows. Usually with an arm slung around her hips.
Obviously, she wasn’t going to have the same kind of release with her sister. But that wasn’t the point. The point was – what the fuck had Blythe done for months while Darcy worked herself into that anxious insomnia? Because she was obsessing over their group?
“She told you about her sleep and anxiety,” Blythe mused, reeling back slightly.
“And… you two are just fucking.” She breathed out a laugh.
“Right. Look, if you know my sister at all, you should know that I can’t force Darcy to do anything.
I can’t make her take a break. All I can do is be here if something happens.
Because that’s the thing, Juliet. We – Darcy and I – are a we.
Always have been. Even if we’re seemingly on different paths, we’re a team.
What I’m saying here is simple: don’t fuck my sister over again. Okay?”
“Whatever happens between me and Darcy – from the start of our… arrangement – will never be like what happened last summer.” Juliet could live and die by that promise. “Anything from the moment we – as in Darcy and I – started sleeping together is private. Between us.”
Blythe’s eyes, an icy blue and so jarringly different from Darcy’s warmth, narrowed. “While that’s great, it’s not exactly what I’m talking about.”
Juliet folded her arms over her chest, and she really, really didn’t like that she respected Blythe a little bit more, even if she was a little irritated by her.
She thought a lot about what Darcy had told her about Bill Hooke in the last month.
She thought often, probably – definitely – too much about Darcy in those kinds of situations.
Because she and Darcy weren’t able to spend that much time together; most of the time, she was out there, doing her thing.
And Darcy just didn’t have people with big names, money, and reputations behind her the way Juliet did.
There were so many people in this industry that would want a piece of Darcy.
It didn’t matter how tough someone was – and she knew it, now. She knew the kind of grit Darcy had – it could wear anyone down.
But… obviously Darcy wasn’t as alone in it as Juliet was concerned about.
And that made her feel comforted. Which was very disconcerting to feel in this moment, as Blythe was giving her some sort of ludicrous warning. A first for Juliet, really. She’d had very serious conversations about public ramifications, but not something like this.
“You and Darcy are a team,” she acknowledged, evenly. Okay, with a little bite; she couldn’t help it. “But… Darcy and I are also a team. A different kind of team, clearly.”
That was something Blythe couldn’t understand.
Juliet got Darcy in a way she never could.
Blythe, with her male fiancé and seemingly thrilled to settle down here in this farmhouse, did not know what it was like hiding any part of her identity.
Worrying that it would steal her dreams right out from under her.
She didn’t get nearly the same exhilaration she got when she went head-to-head with Darcy, while she was talking to Blythe. In fact, all this conversation made her do was crave Darcy out here.
As if summoned by her mind, the screen door crashed open, making them both jump.
Darcy came stumbling out, tripping over the step, her gaze darting between them. “So – what’s going on out here? Blythe, you said you were going to the bathroom,” she accused, folding her arms over her chest.
“I made a pitstop.”
Darcy jerked her thumb over her shoulder. “Well, your fiancé wants to challenge us to a dance battle. You better get back in there. He wants to go against you and me.”
Blythe dropped her head back. “Not this again. He can’t beat us, no matter who he teams up with. I love the man, but when will he learn?”
Colton’s voice boomed out of the doorway before he lumbered out.
“Emerson won’t be on my side. She said she’d lose going against both Blythe and Darcy one-on-one so what’s the point of doing it on my team, when I’m worse than she is.
” He was frowning, shaking his head. “I’ve been practicing while y’all have been away this year. Juliet, can you line dance?”
“I’m a country singer born and raised in Texas.” She sniffed, shaking her head back. “I will not dignify that with a response.”
He grinned broadly. “Great! Come on! Emerson has the music ready.”
“You think you’re up for it?” Darcy asked, lightly bumping her hip into Juliet’s, tauntingly.
“I think you and your sister are going to lose in a humiliating defeat.” She reached her hand out toward Colton. “Sir.”
As he led her back inside, she shot both Darcy and Blythe a challenging stare. Holding Blythe’s for several beats longer than she intended to, feeling disconcertingly like there was far more on the line than a dance.