Chapter 22
Rob should have said something after June’s apology, but he was still reeling from her telling the store owner they were dating. Didn’t she have feelings for Jack? Or maybe it was because he was there it was more convenient.
He had played along for show, but after thinking about her in a new light and sidling up, he wanted more. The only problem was that she was interested in Jack. Would it be wrong of him to steal her from Jack or to warn her away from him?
It felt like a betrayal to his friend and fellow teammate, but he selfishly wanted June for himself. He wanted to always hear her laughter; he loved feeling the soft press of her body against his.
The homecooked meals were nice, but he loved their conversations. He just enjoyed being with her. There was a tightening in his stomach every time she looked at him. It was like a veil had been over his eyes, and it was finally pulled free, and he could see June for who she was.
The only thing that was preventing him from acting on it was Jack.
He couldn’t get in the way of happiness with his two friends.
He wouldn’t be that person to cause issues.
It would not only affect his relationship with both of them, but also his working relationship with Jack.
It wasn’t worth saying anything as long as June had feelings for him.
Rob parked on the street, grabbed the grocery bags, and headed up the drive. June was already inside and held the door open for him. He realized this was the first time he had ever been inside her house. All of their meetings had been at his house.
It was cute and charming. Everything was neat and orderly.
Just like her. The walls were covered in art.
Cream-colored couch with an oak coffee table.
She had a small wall-mounted TV. Her house had a similar layout to his own, only there were half walls between rooms instead of an open concept.
It was an earlier-dated home than his own.
Probably by a few decades. The front door opened to the living room.
“Let me give you a little tour.” June led him through the house. There was a hallway to the left of the living room. “The bedrooms and bathroom are that way.” She pointed as she kept walking. The dining room was through an archway and the kitchen was to the right of that.
The kitchen was larger than his and definitely dated, but June seemed to be right at home in it.
“I’ll get started on dinner if you want to get changed,” he offered. He knew what it was like after a long day, how much a hot shower helped ease sore muscles and revive the spirit.
June hesitated. “I’ll at least do the beef part. It’s Rosa’s recipe.” Her face pulled back into a grimace, and her eyes looked sad as if she were expressing that she was sorry to have to do it.
“Ah, secret recipe type of thing.” He wasn’t offended in the least.
“Yeah, the rest though you can do though.”
Rob wasn’t picky. He didn’t mind cooking. He and June had found a rhythm when they cooked. It didn’t matter whose turn it was, both ended up helping.
They worked harmoniously in the kitchen. Since hers was larger, they had more room to spread out and didn’t have to work elbow to elbow. For once, he didn’t like that.
June kept glancing at him as she mixed up the meat and tossed in spices as if she were afraid that he was going to steal the recipe. She had nothing to worry about there. He had no intention of taking it.
“Okay, it’s all set. I shouldn’t be too long,” June announced and stepped away as Rob started boiling water.
Rob layered everything up in the casserole dish June had left out and popped it in the oven. Since June wasn’t back yet, he decided to do some exploring. He had only taken a cursory glance at her home during the hasty tour, but now he had some time to look around.
All the wall spaces were covered in different art. On a console table was a picture of June in a graduation cap and gown, grinning ear to ear and holding up her certificate. He turned in a circle looking for other photos but didn’t see any.
Where was her brother? Surely, he was there at her graduation.
He started going through cabinets and drawers looking for photo albums, but there was nothing.
That was odd. Who didn’t have pictures in their house?
He had his awards on his wall, but he had photo albums in the hall closet collecting dust from his active-duty days.
“Ready?” June asked, coming back into the room a few minutes later. Her hair was up in a messy bun, and she’d changed her clothes to her typical workout clothes.
“Yeah.”
“Let’s move the couch toward the dining room and give ourselves more room.”
“Right.” He nodded and almost cursed himself for not thinking about that instead of looking around her house.
They each grabbed an end of the couch and lifted it, walking it next to the dining table. “We have about forty-five minutes until dinner is done and has to rest. Are you okay if we shorten tonight’s lesson?” she asked, looking hesitant.
He didn’t know why. She had worked hard the past few weeks, and he was pretty confident in her skills, despite what happened tonight. Fifteen minutes wasn’t going to change anything. “Yeah, that’s fine.”
For the next forty-five minutes, they went over the same drills. Rob added a few new moves, but he just kept going over the basics. The more it was repeated, the more it would sink in and eventually become second nature.
“Alright, I’m going to call it,” June panted, sweat coating her skin as the timer in the kitchen went off.
“Go ahead and get changed, I’ll take care of dinner.”
“Thanks,” she replied, looking relieved. “There’s a guest bath right there if you want to freshen up.” She pointed to the door down the hall and took off down it.
Rob turned off the timer and set the pan on the stovetop to rest. He decided to use the time until June was ready to use the bathroom and splash some cold water on his face.
He wasn’t sweating like June had been. Though he should have brought a change of clothes with him but hadn’t thought about it.
Oh well. He lifted his arm and smelled his armpit. Didn’t seem too bad.
He went back out into the living room and saw June still wasn’t back yet.
He wondered what was taking her so long.
He moved the couch back where it belonged and looked back along the decor in her house.
It was homey like his own, though he was sure she’d designed it herself and not had family help her.
Rob spun around at June’s approach. She wore a navy-colored top that hung off the tops of her shoulders and a long floral skirt that kissed the floor. Her hair was up in a twist. It was dark from her shower.
She looked beautiful. She had shown up for lessons with off-the-shoulder tops, but he had never noticed the soft contours of them before. They were graceful and delicate-looking.
“Hey,” she greeted him.
“Hi, dinner is on the stove, but I didn’t know where your plates and silverware were, so I didn’t set the table yet.”
“Thanks for doing that.”
“Not a problem. I like your house.” He waved around at him, taking his focus off of her. “I can see why though that lessons didn’t work out here.”
“Not a lot of room in here. The kitchen is one of the biggest rooms in the house. There isn’t much of a backyard, but I’m hardly in it to notice.”
“Have you thought about remodeling it?” He had with his to make it a more open concept, but not everyone preferred that.
“No, I like it this way. I grew up in houses like this with separate rooms. It’s a weird thought seeing one’s entire house from the front door.
I know that’s the thing now, but I like the separation.
” Her eyes widened in shock. “Not that I find anything wrong with an open floor plan. I know yours is.”
“June, it’s fine.” He chuckled at her trying to back pedal and appease him for his floor plan. “Open floor plans aren’t for everyone. Personally, I feel the half walls box in the house, and I feel closed in, but that’s just me.”
June looked around her house as if seeing it with new eyes. “I never thought about that.”
“It’s what fits the person. Your house though, even with half walls, doesn’t feel boxed in.”
“Well, that’s good. I’d hate for you to feel caged in my house.”
“Never.” He liked being in her house. It felt more like a home than his.
“Good.”
“I’ve noticed you don’t really have any photos, just art.” At least from what he’d seen in the living room and dining room. He didn’t know about the rest of the house. He couldn’t exactly ask to explore her bedroom without her raising an eyebrow.
“I never really liked my picture being taken. I prefer art on my walls than seeing my face looking back at me. Can I get you anything to drink? I have water, wine, and juice.”
“Water would be great.” He still had to drive home, so he didn’t want to drink tonight.
“Alright, I’ll be right back.” June came back a moment later and handed him a glass of water. “I just need to set the table, and we can eat,” she informed him as she started setting up the table. Rob set down his glass and began helping her. Another habit they had formed together.
“Does Rosa ever come over for meals?” he asked as June served up their plates.
“Sometimes, not very often anymore. She checks in on me every now and then. She’s more calls like my brother. Everyone has busy schedules, so it’s hard to make time to plan get-togethers.”
“You’ve mentioned your brother plenty of times, but you don’t really talk about him,” he commented as they started eating.
“There’s not much to tell.” She shrugged, loading her fork with food. “He works in California and has a fiancée whom I hope he marries sooner rather than later. It’s not like you talk about your sister.”
That was a fair assessment. Rob finished his bite before answering. “What do you want to know?” He didn’t have anything to hide about his sister.
She blinked as if not expecting his ready comeback. “I don’t know. I was just saying. We don’t talk about our siblings.”
“Sorry if I’m prying, I’m just really curious to know more about you.”
“Me or my family?” she questioned with a pointed look. She’d always shot down any discussion about her brother in the past. He should know by now, but knowing there were no photos of him and only one photo period was odd.
“Your family is part of you. So naturally I want to know about them.” June didn’t seem to share the same sentiment, however.
“Or we can talk about what happened in the store. The whole boyfriend thing.” He knew she wouldn’t, but it got her to stop glaring at him.
Her expression turned to pained and embarrassed.
“Do we have to? Can’t we pretend it never happened?”
Rob froze with his fork halfway up to his lips. He hadn’t expected her to say that. “If that is what you would like.” Was she regretting using him as her fake boyfriend? Had she wished it was Jack instead?
Please say no. He hadn’t responded properly before after her apology, but he felt they should at least talk about it. Feel her out if it was something she was open to.
“Yes, yes, it is,” she said in a monotone voice and continued eating, shutting down any future discussion about it.
“Alright.” What else could he say? It was another topic not open to discussion. He hadn’t been opposed to dating her, but obviously, her feelings lay elsewhere, so there was no reason to push the subject. “When does your co-worker come back from vacation?” he asked, changing the subject again.
“Not for two weeks. So, I have a while before my schedule lessens back to normal.”
“Good, I hate you working so much.”
“Not you too,” she groaned, setting down her fork in exasperation.
“Me too?” he asked, confused and not following.
“Mr. Harrow said the same thing.”
Because people were concerned about her and her health. “Burn-out is real.” He remembered going on a few back-to-back missions. His team had been trained to function on sleep deprivation, but once he was stateside again, he slept for two days straight to recoup.
“I know.” She held her hands up in surrender. “It’s only two weeks. I’ll be fine.”
She said that a lot. Fine. He hated that answer. He was guilty of using it a lot too. June didn’t look fine though. She had dark circles under her eyes, and she didn’t think he probably realized it, but her walking was off like she was in pain.
Too many hours in the socket could do that. It rubbed and could cause blisters which could lead to an infection if done on a regular basis.
“I’ll get the dishes,” he offered when they were done. He was willing to do anything to help alleviate some of her burden, even if just tonight.
“I’ll help.” June stood up immediately.
Rob was going to ask if she was okay to help but knew her response would be she was fine, so he just dutifully carried the dishes into the kitchen.
“Do you want to take any leftovers home?”
Hell yeah, he did. “Yes, please.” June cut off half of the lasagna and put it in a Tupperware for him. “The guys are going to be jealous.”
June chuckled as she sealed the Tupperware, making sure to give him a large portion of the leftovers. “Especially Jack. I think he ate one of the pans I brought to the cookout on his own.”
Rob remembered seeing Jack’s plate loaded with lasagna while everyone else had a small slice. Even the small amount everyone got, they all raved about it.
“You might have to bring something different to the next cookout,” he suggested. That way people didn’t always expect to get it and make her feel the need to make more.