Chapter 31
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
SPIKED COFFEE
CAMDEN
Present
I haven’t been able to stop smiling since I got back to Windy Harbor last night. I wanted to spend the night, but Juju said she needed her beauty sleep after this weekend. We’d barely slept at all, and I knew if we stayed together, we wouldn’t get any sleep for the third night in a row.
Plus, I felt like I needed to continuously remind myself that we weren’t out in the open.
It had been so nice in Minneapolis not to hold back or hide anything, but now that we were back in Windy Harbor, those boundaries had to be put in place again.
I didn’t like it, and I wasn’t sure how much longer we could keep going this way.
Sometimes I wonder if Juju might be pumping the brakes a little. It’s time we tell Jackson. I can’t keep hiding how I feel about Juju.
I’m getting ready to go see her at the cafe when I get a text from Jackson. I freeze and find it hard to even swallow. It’s a picture of Juju and me kissing on the Jumbotron.
Jackson
WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS? We need to talk.
I don’t respond. I take off for the cafe, wanting to talk to Juju before I say anything to Jackson, but when I walk in, I see that it’s too late.
Jackson is there already, looking heated, with his new wife looking worried nearby.
Juju’s eyes flash to me in a panic. I give her an apologetic look and rush toward her brother.
“Jackson,” I say, “let’s talk…please.”
He whirls around, fury all over his face. He walks over to me, cocks his arm back, and punches me in the jaw. The punch’s impact is the only sound for a moment, and then gasps ripple throughout the room. My hand goes to my face, and I see red.
“Jackson!” Juju yells, rushing around the counter.
Jackson’s body is shaking with anger, and I’m highly tempted to hit him back. I straighten slowly, rubbing my jaw. My eyes flick from Jackson to Juju, and suddenly, I feel exhausted.
“Jackson,” I say, my voice low, “I’m giving you that one hit, but you will never touch me like that again, are we clear? Take a step back before we both say things we regret. And…I’m sorry.”
“Sorry?” Jackson’s laugh is bitter. “How long have you been messing around with my sister?”
Juju shoves herself between us, sounding like she might do some punching of her own. “That’s enough!”
Jackson is furious, and when he’s like this, we both know he’s almost impossible to reason with.
“He’s supposed to be my best friend, Juju,” Jackson yells. “He’s supposed to know better. We promised each other.”
“Know better than what? Liking me? Wanting me? It was a stupid promise you made when you were kids, Jackson. We’re adults now. We don’t need your permission!”
The cafe is so quiet you could hear a pin drop.
Hector and Hal come in, singing “New York, New York.” When they assess the seriousness of the room, Hector rushes toward Juju.
“Juliana, is everything okay?”
“Ask Jackson,” she says, her voice cracking. “He just punched Camden in the face.”
Hector’s head rears back. “Jackson!”
Jackson shakes his head, jaw clenched, and points at me. “He kissed Juju, Papa. In front of everyone.”
Hector’s mouth drops, and he clasps his hands together in excitement, then freezes when he catches the look on Jackson’s face.
“Oh,” he says softly.
Jackson slides his hand over his face and looks at Juju. “You knew how I felt about this.”
“And you know I’ve always thought it was ridiculous,” she snaps. “You don’t get to throw a fit because you’ve decided he’s off-limits.” She turns to me, and the fury is buzzing through her. I stare at her, my shoulders feeling stiff. “And you…you’re sorry?”
My brows draw together, and I know the hurt must show in my eyes. “Only that he had to find out this way. I didn’t want this to explode like––”
“You didn’t want to rock the boat.” Her voice is raw and sharp.
“You didn’t want to upset Jackson. You wanted to keep me a secret and not upset anyone, not be too obvious…
not claim me in front of the people who matter.
I haven’t been able to fully settle into us even being real because I’ve been kept a secret this whole time.
” She pauses like she’s trying to keep it in, but she shakes her head and keeps going.
“Well, guess what?” Her hand flings out.
“Secret’s out now. And half the town is here watching us like we’re a soap opera. ”
Hector goes around the cafe and starts conversations like he’s trying to distract everyone from our shit show.
I feel sick, and Jackson’s fists are still balled at his sides.
“I’m mad at both of you,” Juju says, voice breaking, “for making me feel like I’m something to be ashamed of.
” She points at Jackson. “Whoever I decide to see, or kiss, or do whatever I want with, has nothing to do with you. If you have a problem with it, that’s on you.
” And then she turns to me, and I want to rush to her and kiss the pain out of her.
“And if you’re not willing to stand up for us, that’s also on you, but I really do have a problem with that.
I deserve to be someone’s priority and to be with someone who’s proud to have me by their side. I am not your dirty little secret.”
Her hands are shaking, and her lip is trembling. The tears in her eyes are killing me.
“You’ve been choosing him since day one, and now you’re choosing him again.” Her voice cracks on the last word.
That hits me hard. I don’t know how, but my voice is steady when I speak. I move closer and lift my hand to touch Juju’s cheek, then pause when she glares at me.
“Juju. I do want to stand up for us, Juju,” I say. “I choose you. I’ve always wanted you by my side. I’m so sorry for the way I’ve gone about all of it.”
I glance at Jackson. “I just wanted to do it differently. One on one. No yelling, no fists. Just me telling you how much I love your sister.”
Juju’s mouth drops open. I hear several gasps in the room, one of which is hers.
“You love me?” she asks, incredulous.
I huff out a laugh, my gaze like a caress when I look at her again.
“I’m surprised you even have to ask. I’ve been in love with you for so long, I thought everyone must know it.
” I feel fierce and vulnerable all at once.
“I love everything about you. I always have. I want to spend the rest of my life loving you. I just needed time to convince Jackson that I deserved you…after I was sure I’d convinced you, that is…
not that anyone deserves you. You’re way too good for me.
But I wanted to convince you that we belong together anyway. ”
I hear a couple of squeals around us that someone tries and fails to smother. Jackson is completely still, like someone’s just yanked the floor out from under him.
“Camden––” Juju says, breathing out my name.
“Have I convinced you?” I ask her quietly.
She takes a step closer to me, and relief radiates off me when I see the love on her face.
“You have,” she whispers. “I’ve been in love with you for a long time too.”
“Yeah?” I whisper, taking a step closer.
My heart is going nuts.
“God, this is so weird,” Jackson mutters.
Dove says something to him, and he mutters again under his breath.
I hear him say, “But he’s never liked anyone for any length of time!”
And she says, “Because he was into your sister, you dimwit!”
All of a sudden, Juju starts laughing. It begins with a startled burst of laughter, and then she’s clutching her stomach from laughing so hard.
I put my arms around her and laugh with her, and it’s contagious.
I think everyone’s probably so relieved that no more punches will be thrown today that they start laughing too, but whatever the reasons, we laugh and hold each other, and it feels like maybe everything will be okay.