Chapter 24 Madi
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
Madi
I was nervous.
It was hard not to be. I wasn’t really sure what June was proposing. After last night, it felt like anything was possible.
The three of us sat down around her small kitchen table.
Now that I wasn’t pinning her against her bedspread, I was able to take in how she decorated her place.
The gothic maximalist vibes were everywhere.
She had a giant fluffy couch with jewel toned blankets thrown over it, countless skull and bone trinkets arranged on shelves, butterflies and bugs pinned behind glass hanging on the walls.
Plants grew everywhere, keeping it lively.
Seeing her home after seeing her flower shop gave me a lens into who she really was.
All her poisonous plant tattoos continued to make sense.
June was sweeter than a rose and tougher than nails. That’s what I was learning about her the more I got to know her.
Dallas looked like he’d seen three ghosts. He eyed June suspiciously as she set out a fresh salad, baked chicken, mashed potatoes, and green beans. A pitcher of iced tea and lemons sat in the center. The glass was already sweating.
I was thoroughly impressed. I couldn’t remember the last time someone had cooked for me like this. “You made all of this? This is so much, June.”
“I cook when I’m anxious,” she said. “Plus, I figured you could take some leftovers.”
My heart fluttered as I tried to act like I didn’t want to get back on my knees and eat her out as a thank you for cooking for me.
“Well, thank you,” Dallas said. “This looks amazing.”
We worked together to pass around the dishes and pile our plates. June and Dallas made small talk, but it was about the most mundane things. The weather, the upcoming football games, an older group of women that apparently terrorized Whynot. Admittedly, I wanted to know more about them.
But the longer they forced chatter, the more heavy the room felt. The tension bled into the atmosphere, etching away at every word said.
I wanted to melt.
This was sort of my fault, wasn’t it? I hadn’t meant to meet two people and have sex with both of them almost immediately. I also hadn’t planned for those two to have as complicated of a relationship as Dallas and June did.
They were so familiar with each other, and yet so strangely avoidant.
Dallas caught me staring at him and paused mid sentence, raising a brow at me.
“What?” I stammered. “I didn’t catch what you said.”
“I said you’ve been so quiet, Madison.”
I strangled a laugh. “Oh no. Not the full name.”
Dallas’s gaze softened. I beamed at him, looked over at June, then back to him.
I couldn’t take this anymore. We had to talk.
“Okay.” I took my napkin from my lap and sat it down on the table. “What is the proposal? You two are killing me.”
June downed half her glass of tea before the cup clinked against the table and she sat back.
“I have an idea,” June said slowly.
Dallas and I both focused on her intently. My skin prickled with heat.
What was she going to say? What was she going to propose?
Had I ruined everything?
June cleared her throat again, her cheeks already flushed.
“Dallas wants to have kinky sex. Madi wants to have kinky sex. I want to have kinky sex. The three of us are adults and have needs we’d like to have met.
We also are all too busy or not ready for a relationship.
Madi leaves in about four weeks.” She breathed out slowly as Dallas shifted in his chair, his arms crossing over his chest. My face was bright red.
“We could make an arrangement. Friends with benefits. No feelings. We don’t need to hide it from anyone because there’d be nothing to hide. It would just be sex.”
A choking sound grunted in Dallas’s throat and he raked his fingers through his hair. I leaned back in my seat, digesting her proposal.
Hot kinky sex for the next four weeks.
The silence was charged like a distant thunderstorm. June waited quietly, her muscles tense.
Oh god, was I going to be the one to break the silence? I stole another glance at Dallas, but he looked like he was about to collapse. The same man who’d fucked me into my mattress this morning looked like he was about to have a heart attack.
Fuck it.
I liked June. I liked Dallas. I’d been trying to decide what the hell I wanted to do about it, and this was a solution.
Not only would being with them help me work through my hang ups from dating Justin, I’d be able to push myself to try something new. And once it was over . . .
I’d leave. They’d stay.
Slowly, I nodded. “I’d like that. I was in a relationship for eight years where I was never wanted the way I should have been.
There’s so many different kinks I’ve always wanted to try and explore.
And well, I’ve been suppressing my bisexuality for so long because of Justin, I .
. .” I knew this was right for me. “My answer is yes.”
June’s shoulders relaxed as she exhaled. I was tempted to lean over and give her hand a squeeze.
The two of us looked at Dallas, whose expression was soft and thoughtful. He ran his fingers through his beard, the same beard that had rubbed against my thighs earlier.
“I don’t know, June,” he whispered. “We’ve known each other for a long time.”
“We don’t have to do anything,” she rushed out.
I felt the pang of rejection in her words, even though they weren’t aimed at me.
“We could just be with Madi separately. With no jealousy or sticky feelings, you know?”
His eyes darkened as he held her gaze. “I didn’t mean that—”
“We don’t need to be together.” Her tone was defensive and sharp. “I mean I guess we could do things with her together, but you don’t have to touch me if you’re—”
“June, I want to touch you too.” His nostrils flared. “My answer is yes. I want to do this.”
“Okay, but I’m just saying that we don’t have to—”
“Maybe the two of you should talk,” I interrupted. “Maybe without me? And if this doesn’t work for either of you, that’s okay. As long as you’re both okay with me enjoying my time with both of you.”
“I’d like to talk,” Dallas murmured. His gaze flicked up to June. “We need to talk through other parts of this too. We can’t keep avoiding the elephant in the room.”
June reminded me of a fawn on a highway, her eyes wide and muscles frozen.
I was torn between getting up and leaving the room and taking a bite of my chicken. But, I wanted them to work this out.
“How about this,” I said, slowly standing up. “The two of you are going to have a date night.”
“What?” June sputtered. “No, I wasn’t trying to—”
“Listen, you both need to work this out,” I said. “I know you’re not trying to steal my date. And I think it would be beneficial for the proposal if you had some time together. Right?”
Dallas rubbed the back of his neck. “I’m also sorry. I didn’t mean for things to feel so tense.”
“We can forget about the proposal—”
“No,” Dallas and I said together.
“I don’t want to forget about it,” I said.
“I want this. I want both of you. But there’s something here between the two of you that you should work out, and I don’t want to stand in the way.
If you pack me up some leftovers for the hotel and promise to text me an update, I will feel completely content. ”
June and Dallas stared at each other until she finally looked up at me.
“Are you sure?” she asked.
I moved around the table until I was standing behind her chair and leaned over, wrapping my arms around her shoulders. I could almost feel how fast her heart was beating. I held her until she let out a soft breath and leaned back, relaxing into me.
“Okay,” she said. “We’ll do that. And I’ll text you. I’m sure Dallas will too.”
“I will,” he promised.
I held his gaze as I slid my hand over her neck and tipped her head back. The softest moan left her as I brushed my lips over hers, taking my time to taste her. To claim her.
Just enough to leave her breathless.
And to give Dallas an idea of what could be.
Now kiss, I wanted to say to both of them as I knocked their heads together.
“I’ll pack food up for you,” June said quickly.
“Perfect.”
Fingers crossed this little plan worked.