Chapter 16 June
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
June
Madi looked like a sexy summer Morticia Addams dressed in a black jumpsuit and strappy sandals as she crossed the street with my best friend.
I had about three seconds to smooth my hair, pull off my gloves, and swipe rose stems into the trash before the door bell jingled and they stepped inside.
Cute. Madi was so cute, I couldn’t handle it. Especially when her cheeks were rosy and she looked a little flustered. “Good afternoon. What are you two up to?”
Avery smirked and it took every ounce of willpower not to interrogate my best friend in front of my crush. She was up to something. I’d known her my entire life and knew the face of an Avery plan when I saw it.
“Oh, you know. We’re going to get an early dinner.” Avery leaned against the counter. “Want to join?”
“If you have time,” Madi added quickly. She tucked her hair behind her ears, her cheeks and chest blushing. “I’m sure it’s been busy, so if you don’t have time, that’s totally fine.”
“Oh, come on,” Avery coaxed. “June could use a break. Right?”
I narrowed my eyes on her. Our group chat would be hearing about this later. “I’ll make the time. Let me go grab my purse and lock the back door.”
“Perfect,” Avery said victoriously.
What the hell was she up to? I knew that look.
“I’ll be back,” I said.
Madi’s attention was on a bucket of flowers. I got caught in a trance, watching as she leaned in and smelled one of the purple lilies. She hummed to herself then picked up a tiny, potted succulent. Mentally I made a note of which one as she put it back down so I could give it to her later.
Avery wiggled her brows at me. “Mm-hmm.”
“Avery,” I hissed under my breath.
My cheeks burned as I rushed down the hall and grabbed my bag from a hook, then locked the back door. When I returned, Avery had her hand on the door knob, one foot already out the door.
“I’m so sorry,” she announced. “Just got a text. I have to go help my mom out with something. Is it okay if I raincheck? You two go to dinner without me.”
Using her mom as an excuse nearly made me cackle. Because what the fuck? Between the three Whynot siblings, Avery was never the chosen one to help out, even though she and her mom were doing much better than they used to.
“Sure, Avery,” I said, keeping my tone flat. “Tell your mother I said hi.”
Avery was so damn pleased with herself. “I will. Madi, stop by the studio any time.”
I narrowed my eyes as Avery shot us a wide grin and bounced out of my shop. She was damn near skipping across the street back to her gallery.
Madi crossed her arms. “She definitely just set me up.”
“She sure did,” I laughed. “Glad you spotted that.”
Madi's smile broadened. “I really like her. And the studio. I didn’t expect everything to feel so welcoming in Whynot, but it really has.”
My phone buzzed with four rapid texts.
Avery
You’re welcome ;)
Evie
Oh god. What did you do to our friend?
Avery
I’m helping her get laid
ALSO Madi is interested in Dallas too??? Were you aware of that, June?
Oop. I closed the chat immediately, even as my phone started to buzz with more texts. I wasn’t sure how to answer their questions about that.
Since Dallas stopped by on Monday, their pending date had haunted me. Hell, the kiss with Madi had haunted me too. She’d only been in our little town for a few days, but I felt like our lives were being tipped upside down.
Frankly, whether she knew it or not, that kiss had gotten me through my week. I could still taste the sparks on my lips and needed more. It was a deep, cavernous need uncovered and the only thing that could fill it was another kiss.
Or more.
My phone vibrated a few more times, but I decided to put it on do not disturb, then tucked it away.
Madi slid her hands behind her back, her posture tightening with nerves. “We don’t have to—”
“I’d love to go to dinner with you. This week has sucked, honestly. It would be nice to get out and about. How do you feel about a little drive?”
Madi’s shoulders relaxed. “I’d love that.”
“Perfect. It’s about an hour there? Is that too much?”
“Not at all.”
There was another small town that had the best damn tapas restaurant in Far West Texas.
There was also a bakery next door I occasionally cheated on Evie with because they made a key lime pie that had a graham cracker crust I’d commit sins for.
Whynot Treat Yourself had the best pecan pie in the state, yes, but I was not a pecan girly at the end of the day.
Madi stepped outside and waited for me to lock the door. I glanced at my flowers through the glass window. I was running low on baby’s breath, peonies, roses, and irises. But a truck would be coming tomorrow with my order—just in time for the weekend.
Just in time to keep me busy so I didn’t think about Madi and Dallas banging on their date.
“Your shop is perfect,” Madi sighed, peering through the glass. “I think everything here is so pretty. It’s quaint, but nice. How have your mum sales been?”
“They’ve been great and a little too much. I’m a behind on orders, but my niece had an injury earlier this week, so we’ve been doing what we can.” I’d already emailed twenty people about the delay, but so far, all of them had been kind about it.
“Oh god. Is she okay?”
I nodded as I led her toward my tiny red Corolla. “She is. She cut her hand while helping me with mums, though.”
I unlocked the car and stole another look at her. What was it about Madi that was so easy to be with? I couldn’t remember the last time I’d left work in the middle of the day for something fun unless Evie or Avery dragged me out for it.
We got in the car and I stole another glance at her. Her jumpsuit had a split up her left leg, her smooth thigh drawing my attention. My brain short-circuited as I turned my key, spurring the engine to life.
“What’s your taste in music?” she asked.
I smiled as I steered us off Main Street. “Guess. What do you think it is?”
My body heated as her gaze raked over me, a soft hum echoing in her throat. “I feel like you’re going to surprise me. I’m torn between something niche like 80s techno or classical music. Or top 40 charts.”
I laughed as I pulled onto the highway and floored it. The sun beat down on the cacti around us, unrelenting but not as brutal as it had been a month ago. I was tempted to roll down the windows and let the air in.
I reached over and turned the knob on my stereo, revealing the Top 40 station I always had ready to go. Madi grinned victoriously as a pop song with a heavy bass thumped around us.
“Dallas always gives me shit about it,” I said. “But his taste in music is like dad rock or weird anime soundtracks.”
Madi laughed. “I think I land somewhere between the two of you. I listen to all sorts of music while I work. Want to roll down the windows?”
“Will that be too much with your hair?”
She leaned forward and unzipped her bag, pulling out a black scrunchie. Why was it so fucking hot watching her pull her hair back? And why did I immediately think that’s how she’d look if she were about to go down on me?
It was a thought I’d had about Dallas countless times, too. What his beard would feel like against my inner thighs, how his gaze would sear me with heat as his tongue teased me.
He was a book nerd. A quiet man.
It was always the quiet ones who made you scream in the bedroom.
The difference between Dallas and Madi was that she was leaving in a few weeks. She’d be in and out of Whynot in a blink. Therefore, she was the perfect person to have a fling with. She’d go on her way, and I’d be left here with the memories of her. And that was enough for me.
Dallas was too close to home. He knew me too well. Even with the distance I’d tried to put between us the last few months, he always saw through me like I was made of glass.
Why won’t you let me love you?
That question made me want to run.
The answer hurt.
His expression hurt too. The pain in his eyes, begging me to tell him something different. Begging me not to push him away again.
But even after years of being in my life, Dallas didn’t know everything about me. He didn’t know just how deep the scars from my mother were.
It was for the best. Easier.
Madi rolled down the windows and the breeze filled the car. I tucked my hair behind my ears, but mine was short enough to not block my vision even as it whipped around.
“How’s the animation going?” I asked loudly. “I don’t know what’s even involved in animation.”
“It’s a lot of sketching, drawing, and then working on frames.
But first, I need the concept. And since it’s for a residency here, I want it to be about Whynot.
I’ve been taking photos of different places around Main Street and brainstorming, but I’m not quite sure what it’ll be yet.
” She let out a long groan. “I’ll get there.
Inspiration has been dry, but being here has helped. ”
“We should go on a morning hike,” I said. “And watch the sunrise in the park. I’m always an early riser.”
Madi made a face at me. “Knew you had to have a flaw somewhere.”
I grinned. “Oh no. Are you a night owl?”
“I’m more of a night owl than an early riser. Sometimes I go to bed at 3:00 a.m.”
My expression warped with horror. “What? How do you exist like that?”
“Wonderfully, most of the time. It’s so peaceful at night.
In LA, the city is still alive though. I lived in a neighborhood where I could still venture out for a late night meal or groceries if I needed it.
But most of the time, I end up locked into a project I love and just can’t stop.
I’ll stay up until my eyes are bleeding and my brain is goop. ”
“Goop,” I snickered, popping my lips on the p.
Madi beamed. “Yep.”
“So did you do freelance work?” I asked. “While in LA?”
She let out a soft groan. “No. I worked for a studio called Dream Ink for a few years, but they fired me last month. The same day Avery called about the residency.”
“Oh god. I’m sorry.”
Madi was quiet for a moment. “Well, I was sorry. I think I am less sorry now. My entire life has been turned upside down, and I’ve had to work through it. But . . . I don’t know. I think I’ll be okay. I’m starting to like myself again.”
My chest twisted. I could relate to that more than she possibly knew. There were times I still wasn’t sure I liked myself, especially the parts of me my family had created. I’d done so much work to heal and pull away from that, but the jagged edges still drew blood from time to time.
“I have a lot of regret,” Madi finally said. “I think that’s the hardest part. Even just a few weeks away from everything, I can see more clearly what I should have done differently.”
“We all have that,” I murmured. I reached forward, turning down the music enough that it didn’t interrupt us talking.
“Pink Pony Club” could wait. “I think it’s so easy to focus on what you could have done differently.
But the trick is focusing on what you’ll do next.
We all change and evolve as we get older, and some of that comes with growing pains. But you get there eventually.”
“Have you?”
No. I kept my eyes on the road, her question roasting me over the open fire of honesty.
“I don’t think so. I don’t know. I do everything I can to be perfect and succeed.
I run my own business and I make a living doing what I love.
I have my own house. I have friends that would take a bullet for me and a community that supports me. ”
“But?”
I shot her a side glance. “But I still deal with a mother who thinks I am the reason her life is terrible. A brother who is a good human at his core, but a bad father, a bad brother, a bad everything else. I never wanted to be a mother, but I’m doing my best to fill those shoes for Laura.
I’m always picking up the pieces and it never feels like enough.
” My eyes stung. “I just focus on taking one step at a time and hope for the best. I think that’s the trick to it all. ”
Madi leaned her head back against the seat as she looked over at me. “I think you’re doing a really good job.”
My eyes kept burning. I’d be damned if I was going to cry right now. What kind of person would I be if I cried on the first date? “I try. I’m sorry that your job let you go. Their loss.”
“It was.” She chuckled. “I feel like I sound so casual about this but on the inside I’m dying. It was one of the worst days of my life.”
With that, we laughed together. The pressure in my chest eased and I drew in a deeper breath, shifting forward in my seat as we raced past a whole lot of nothing. I stole another side glance at her as she looked out the window, clearly absorbed by the landscape.
“It’s just really pretty.”
You’re really pretty. I smiled. “Yeah, it is. I think I’m a little immune to it. A good sunset or sunrise always reminds me of how beautiful it is, though.”
“Let’s go Sunday morning,” Madi said. “If you have time. I’ll help you pack orders in exchange for you showing me around.”
“I’d like that,” I decided. “It’s a deal.”
I could see the outline of her cheeks as she looked out the window, and she was still smiling. I started to hum to the song playing, when she cleared her throat.
“Can I ask a nosy question?”
“Of course.”
“Why aren’t you and Dallas together?”
My hands tightened on the steering wheel. “What? Me and Dallas?” I snorted, my skin suddenly feeling clammy. My clothes felt tight. “I mean. Well. You know.”
She raised a brow. “I don’t. Why not?”
Why not?
“Both of you are ridiculously hot and you know each other and the way he talks about you is magical.”
“I doubt that,” I said dryly. “I’m sure he doesn’t think of me that way.”
Madi’s laugh echoed around me. “Oh god. He definitely does.”
God, was it hot in here? Had my air conditioner gone out?
“I’m not trying to set you up. But I’m not not trying, you know?”
“We’re just friends,” I squeezed out. “You could date him, if you want. I mean, he’s a mechanic. He’s got muscles. He can read. He’s got a lot of good things going for him.”
She let out a long groan. “You know, I definitely talked shit about the mechanic to his face when he rescued me on my first day. I didn’t realize it was him.”
The corner of my mouth tugged. “I’m sure he enjoyed that, honestly.”
“He did. He’s really hot, unfortunately.” She smoothed her hands down her legs and shook her head. “It’s ridiculous. I’ve felt more of a connection just talking to him than I ever have with anyone else. Well, aside from you.”
I traced her lips out of the corner of my eye.
The first two kisses hadn’t been enough.
I wanted to lean over and get a taste of her again.
How sweet would she taste? What would her soft lips feel like against my pussy?
Chill out, June. “I’m sure the sex will be great.
” I tried my best to sound casual, and failed miserably.
“I’m sure it will be.”