Chapter 6 #2
JUNIPER: Just be here in ten minutes!
My face is hot and flushed, and I know all thoughts of me having control on this situation are out of the equation. I’m losing it—absolutely losing it—and I don’t know how I’m ever going to get over this.
What was going on in Rafe’s head? Was he flirting with me? Testing my limits? Just having fun at my expense? I’m not sure which of those things are true, but I do know it’s going to kill me, waiting to find out.
I feel like I’m in a movie, but not a fun rom-com starring Jennifer Lopez or Kate Hudson. I’m in the sort of rom-com that Mindy Kaling would be a part of. All sorts of drama and misaligned stars are trying to make my life a misery. As my English ancestors would say.
I still can’t believe I was stupid enough to enter a wet T-shirt competition. I still can’t believe I nearly went through with it. I still can’t believe Rafe picked me up over his shoulder and carried me out of the bar to his car, then drove me home while I was wearing his shirt.
And now, the next morning, he was teasing me. Teasing me like we actually had something. Teasing me like I wasn’t just his little sister’s best friend, who he would never get involved with.
I take a deep breath and massage my temples.
I will not let this man stress me out, nor will I let his comments go to my head.
He probably thought he was joking. He was probably trying to get a rise out of me, like he always does, but I’m not going to let him get the upper hand.
I’m not going to let him go on about being hard and having blue balls and think I’m just going to laugh along with his immature little jokes.
“Hey, everything okay?” Rosie steps out of the bathroom, wrapped in a towel, her wet hair dripping down her back. Her wide brown eyes stare at me with concern. “You look like you just saw a ghost, Juniper.”
“No ghosts,” I say. “Thankfully.”
“Then what’s wrong?”
I take a deep breath and stare at her. “Rafe texted me.”
“Oh, okay. How’s he? He got home okay, right?”
“He’s fine. And he’s going to come by and pick us up so he can take us to get my car.”
“Oh yeah, I forgot you left your car there last night.” She giggles. “That’s really nice of him.”
“I suppose so,” I say, biting down on my lower lip.
“Oh shit,” she says, pausing. “Sage!” she calls out, and my eyes widen.
“What are you doing?” I stare at her in confusion.
“Sage, come here. Juniper just heard from Rafe.”
I stare at her, and she giggles slightly.
“You forget we’ve known you almost all your life. We know you’ve had a crush on Rafe forever.”
“I no longer have a crush on him.” I glare at her.
“Maybe so, but last night …” She shrugs as Sage comes hurrying along.
“What’s going on? I was just about to jump in the shower. I was just getting my clothes ready.”
“Guess who Juniper just heard from.”
“John?” Sage says.
Rosie rolls her eyes. “Really? You really think she heard from John?”
“I don’t know. Who?”
“Rafe.”
“Oh wow.”
They both look at me with expectant expressions.
“So what?” I say defensively. “He just texted me because he’s going to take us to pick up my car. Remember I left it there last night?”
“You guys didn’t bow-chicka-wow-wow, did you?” Rosie says a in hushed tone. “We won’t judge you if you did, but …”
“Of course not. You know I would never do that with Rafe, and he certainly would never do it with me.”
“Oh, he most certainly would.” Rosie giggles.
Sage nods in agreement. “We saw the way he was looking at you last night, Juniper. He wanted you, and when you got on that stage and started doing your little dance and then walked over to that guy, he looked like he wanted to throw a fit.” Sage laughs.
“I don’t know about that. He was just being protective because he looks at me like a little sister. A little sister he was going to give his shirt to.”
Rosie raises an eyebrow. “You swear nothing happened last night?”
“Nothing happened.” I blush again, and they just look at each other.
“Fine. Maybe a little something happened, but nothing like you think. We didn’t make out.
We didn’t have sex. It was just, like, a five-second thing, and I don’t even really know what it meant or if it meant anything.
I just know it happened, and now he’s being all goofy on the phone, and he’s teasing me, and it’s irritating.
I don’t want him to think he can just say and do whatever he wants, and I’m just going to be like, Ooh, Rafe. ”
They start laughing.
“What’s so funny?”
“You need a plan, Juniper,” Rosie says in a soft tone.
She looks thoughtfully at Sage, whose eyes are wide and bright.
“I have an idea,” Sage says quickly.
“What’s your idea?” I say quickly. “If your idea has anything to do with me trying to sleep with Rafe, then I’m not going to listen to it.”
“No. You don’t want Rafe, right?”
“No, of course not.”
“Then let’s go to a speed dating event tonight.”
“What?”
That was not something I’d expected her to say. Not because I was surprised that she would want to go speed dating, but what on earth did speed dating have to do with Rafe and how much of a jackass he was being?
“Look, you want to get your mind off of Rafe. You want him to know you’re not interested in him.
What better way to do that than going speed dating, meeting a hot guy, and going on a real date with someone else and letting him know, Hey, dude, I don’t want you.
I don’t need you. I couldn’t care less about you? ”
I stare at her for a couple of seconds and nod slowly.
“I suppose I could do that.” I lick my lips nervously. “But what if I don’t meet anyone at the speed dating event?”
“Girl, you’ll meet someone. There were loads of hot guys. And remember, you’re not looking for your husband. You’re just looking for a man good-looking and intelligent enough to make Rafe feel jealous. Don’t you want him to think that you don’t care about him at all?”
“I don’t care about him. I …”
“You’re protesting a little bit too much,” Rosie says with a shrug.
“I’m not protesting. I’m just being very clear because I feel like you don’t believe me.”
“And I feel like, Juniper,” Sage says, her eyes sorrowful as she reaches out and grabs my shoulder, “I know you are into Rafe.”
“Excuse me?”
“Maybe you’re not in love with him. Maybe your crush is over. But no one has that much electricity with a man she’s not into. And certainly no one cares about a man they’re not into. I couldn’t care less what Tom Branscom was doing.”
“Who?”
“Exactly.”
“No, really, who? I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Tom, that dude who wanted to be with me so badly that he proposed to me with a five-thousand-dollar ring he’d stolen from the jewelry store in the mall, and then he ended up going to jail. And then he asked me to come to his parole hearing.”
I just stare at her.
“Oh, maybe I didn’t tell you about that.”
“You most certainly did not.”
“Because I didn’t care about him,” she says, laughing.
“I think you both are bonkers.”
“Maybe we are, but we’re your cousins, and we love you. And if you want Rafe to think you’re not interested, this is the best way to do it. So, speed dating tonight?”
I nod slowly.
My heart sinks because I don’t really want to go speed dating, but it would be something to tell Rafe when he picks us up. And more than anything, I want him to believe I am not interested in him.
More than anything, I want to believe it myself.