Chapter 23 Dallas
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Dallas
I'd always liked June's house. Especially the front porch. Like her shop, it was covered in an abundance of plants. They grew everywhere, honeysuckle winding around the wooden posts, flowers blooming in their pots. I felt like I was in a greenhouse, not a home in the middle of the desert.
I’d been torn on what to wear. I landed on a button-up shirt and jeans, but they were at least my nice ones.
I wasn't sure if this was a date or not. I mean, it wasn’t. Right? Or was it? Since Madi and I had changed our date plans to include June and her proposal?
Steeling myself, I raised my hand and knocked on the door. Music floated from inside, 90s pop songs that I knew every single lyric to.
Footsteps followed, and the door flew open, June appearing right in front of me. She wore denim shorts, her thorn tattoo wrapping around her left thigh. I wanted to lick every sharp point. She wore a cropped tank top that showed off her belly button, silver glinting there.
Fuck.
I’d forgotten she had a piercing.
“Hey,” she said slowly.
“Hey.” I sucked in a breath. “Is Madi here yet?”
“Considering you’re thirty minutes early, no.”
Fuck. “Sorry.”
June studied me closely, but then shrugged. “You’re always early. Come in, take off your boots.”
The back of my neck felt hot like I was running a fever. I stepped inside, letting the door click shut as I kicked off my boots. June waited patiently, her hands behind her back. Even the air was tense between us. It felt like we were both holding our breaths.
“You’re making me nervous,” I muttered.
“Why? You know me,” she said.
The way she said that set all the bells ringing in my head. Had she completely forgotten about the last time we talked? About the lunch and her avoiding me and—
Fuck, maybe this was a bad idea.
“How’s Laura?” I asked.
“She’s doing good. I called her after she got out of school and her hand is healing up. She’s gonna be just fine.”
“Good.” I resisted the urge to ask about her brother. Mostly because that would be a mood-killer.
I took a step closer to her. June craned her head back, glitter shining around her eyes. Black winged liner made her eyes look even bigger. Gorgeous.
The air between us turned electric, my skin humming.
“June, what are we doing?” I whispered.
Her cheeks were pink. She sucked in a breath. “What? Don’t you trust me?”
“Of course I do,” I said. “But I didn’t expect to get a text from you about . . .”
“The proposal? Well, it isn’t just about her really. It was about the three of us.”
“Three of us,” I repeated. “But what does that mean—”
A knock at the door cut me off. June and I held each other’s gazes until she tilted her head. “Are you going to let me by to answer the door, Whynot?”
“I shouldn’t,” I said. “I should tie you down and interrogate you about whatever is going on.”
She narrowed her eyes as the knock came again. “I bet you’d like doing that.”
“I bet you’d like it too, junebug.”
Her glare was lethal. “Move.”
I held my spot for a moment, but then caved. Reluctantly, I gave her space to get to the door. I was still tempted to throw her over my shoulder and cart her off . . . where? The bedroom? Finally? After months of wondering if things would ever be the same between us?
June opened the door. Madi’s smiling face appeared on the other side, her warmth chasing away the storm clouds between June and I.
“Sorry, I’m here so early,” Madi breathed out. Her cheeks were flushed, her eyes pinned on June. “I decided to leave for my walk early, thinking it would take longer than it did. I think I may have been speed walking without realizing it. But here I am.”
“Here you are,” June chuckled. “Dallas just got here too, so don’t even worry about it.”
I nearly scoffed. But then Madi looked past June and smiled at me.
“She was much nicer to you about being early, for the record,” I said.
Madi laughed as she slid off her sandals. “It’s okay to be jealous, Dallas.”
Cheeky. I suddenly was completely unsure I could handle two smart, hot, and sarcastic women at the same time.
But I’d happily go down trying.
June winked at me as she walked by. My spine stiffened.
Had she really just fucking winked at me?
What the fuck was I walking into?