37. June
CHAPTER 37
JUNE
I t took a while for the boys to relax after my accident. If it had been just a case of bad luck, they might have gotten over it sooner. But the fact it was caused because someone was following me made them super worried, which I hated. I’m tired of being the catastrophe queen and causing problems wherever I go. But mercifully, I didn’t notice anyone following me after that. It was probably just a paparazzo wanting more photos of me.
My car, on the other hand, didn’t survive the accident. It would cost more to fix it than it was worth. Even if it had survived, the boys decided I needed a safer car. They gave me a brand-new luxury SUV that they had to guilt me into accepting. It would give them peace of mind, and since I was already feeling bad for giving them so much headache, I couldn’t say no. They know exactly how to convince me.
Katrina—bless her heart—helped me with the Halloween costumes. I planned to sew them all on my own, but I also started writing my screenplay. It was poor planning on my part, but I couldn’t ignore the muse. Katrina noticed how excited I was about my writing, so in exchange for letting her read my work in progress, she worked on Jake’s and Ryan’s costumes, and I worked on my own and Lachy’s.
The boys did offer to buy the costumes, but I shot their offer down fast. Katrina and I have a tradition of making costumes from scratch, and if there’s someone more stubborn than me, it’s Katrina. I also realized I couldn’t miss spending Halloween with my best friend. Wendy’s party isn’t until later at night, which made doing both possible.
I didn’t buy Jake a birthday gift like I promised I wouldn’t, but I made sure his cake was the best fucking cake in the world. He couldn’t escape the “Happy Birthday” song or blowing out the candles—not without disappointing Katrina’s kids anyway.
Going trick-or-treating with Jake, Lachy, Ryan, and Katrina’s family was a blast, and Katrina’s kids loved showing off their new famous friends. Now comes the part of the evening that I’m less excited about—Wendy’s party.
Standing next to Jake’s car, I run my hands over my dress, trying to smooth invisible lines. “How do I look?”
“As gorgeous as before, Peaches.” Ryan hugs me in his Cowardly Lion suit. It’s like being hugged by a giant teddy bear.
“Hey, hands off my girlfriend, kitty cat.” Jake playfully drags Ryan away from me.
I drove, because the boys got carried away and accepted too many adult treats during the trick-or-treat walk through Katrina’s neighborhood. Now they’re acting goofy and careless.
“I need to pee.” Jake walks toward the bushes hugging the front wall of Malcolm and Wendy’s house.
“I’m sure there are plenty of bathrooms inside,” I point out.
“Can’t wait, Junebug.”
I laugh, thinking about how Wendy would react if she knew Jake was watering her plants. “Oh my God. You’re so bad.”
“How aren’t you melting inside yer costume, Ryan?” Lachy stretches his collar. “I’m boiling in mine.”
“You probably shouldn’t have drunk so many Fireball shots.” Ryan smirks.
Lachy grimaces. “I definitely shouldn’t have. I can’t feel my tongue.”
“Come on. You’re exaggerating.” I shake my head, glancing at the two-story residence that looks like a veritable haunted house, with Hollywood-worthy props, lights, and even a fog machine to make everything super eerie.
I’m certain we’re among the last people to arrive. There’s no one outside, but plenty of cars parked in front, and the music from the house is so loud I can hear it. Either the neighbors don’t care, or Wendy invited them all so they wouldn’t complain. Maya has already texted me a few times, asking where we are. I just said we were on our way, but that was almost two hours ago.
“Let’s put that to the test, lass.” Lachy wraps an arm around my waist suddenly, pulling me to him.
The next thing I know, he’s kissing me with the fire of seven suns. My head spins, my body getting caught in a fever dream. Instead of pushing Lachy away, I melt into him, surrendering to his unexpected and dangerous love attack.
“Look, Jakey. The Scarecrow is getting it on with Dorothy,” Ryan says too loudly.
I push Lachy back and glare at Ryan. “Shhh. Someone could hear you.”
“What are you doing?” Jake walks over, but he doesn’t seem upset.
“Come on. No one saw us,” Lachy retorts.
“Let’s go in before someone does.” I take a step forward but then stop and look at them. “How is my makeup? Do I have lipstick all over my face?”
Ryan steps into my space, leaning close with his eyes narrowed.
“Please don’t follow Scarecrow’s bad example,” I say.
His lips curl into a crooked smile. “I’d never. You have a bit of a smear here. Let me get that for you.” He uses his furry sleeve to wipe the corner of my mouth, but I’m afraid he’s just making it worse.
I grab his wrist, stopping him. “I have tissues in my purse.”
“Do I have red lipstick all over my face too?” Lachy asks.
Jake and Ryan turn to him and answer in unison. “Yes.”
My phone rings as I’m pulling the tissue packet from my purse. I hand the tissues to Lachy, then answer my phone. “Hello?”
“June, where are you guys?” Maya asks.
“We just got here.”
“Oh, thank God. I have to warn you, Wendy is pissed that you’re late.”
“Come on. It’s a Halloween party, not a wedding.”
“I know, but she saw your earlier posts trick-or-treating with your friend, and she almost had a stroke. She thinks you’re stealing the spotlight from her.”
“How did I do that?”
“The press is here. They always cover her parties. But you posted to social media first with your Halloween shenanigans. I know it doesn’t make any sense, but that’s Wendy.”
I pinch the bridge of my nose. “Should we even bother going in?”
“You have to. If you don’t show up at all, it’ll be worse.”
“Is there a problem, Peaches?” Ryan steps closer.
I glower at him. He needs to stop calling me by my nickname.
“Who’s that?” Maya asks.
“That was Jake,” I lie.
“Really? It sounded like Ryan.”
“Nope. Okay, we’re coming in now. See you soon.”
I end the call but stop the boys from going farther. “Before we go in, please remember that I’m Jake’s girlfriend only. No nicknames, no touching, and definitely no kissing.” I make a point of looking at Lachy.
“We know,” Ryan replies.
“Yeah, lass. Don’t worry.”
Jake moves closer and rests his hands on my ass. “Don’t worry, babe. I’ll keep the lion and the scarecrow away from your picnic basket.”
He squeezes my butt, pulling me flush against his body. I can guess how he plans to do that. It wouldn’t be a terrible thing, hooking up with one of my boyfriends in Wendy’s house, if I didn’t want all my boyfriends to participate. Since we can’t do that, I’ll save the group activities for later.
Jake takes my hand in his and steers us into the party. The first thing I see is the photographer and camera person ready to document our entrance, and I remember that I never wiped off the lipstick smear. I stop in my tracks and turn to Jake. “Kiss me.”
He widens his eyes, but his surprise only lasts a couple of seconds before he cups my face and slants his mouth over mine. I part my lips, urging Jake to kiss me hard and fast.
“Get a room!” Ryan yells.
Jake and I part, but my lips still tingle from the obliterating kiss. I drop my gaze to his lips and grin, satisfied my plan worked. He has lipstick all over his mouth, which means I do too. Now I have a solid excuse for the makeup mishap and, hopefully, no one will notice if Lachy did a shoddy job cleaning his face.
“Ready now?” Jake smirks.
“Yeah, I’m ready.”
Here goes nothing.