Chapter 24
Steven
I’m cramping in muscles I didn’t know I had, but nothing can bring me down because I’m here with my girl.
For the first time since my sorry ass washed up on the beach in Indonesia, I’ve taken some time off from the dive shop to follow her to the United States.
I’m going to meet her family, and help her transition to the next chapter—one that includes shacking up with me on a little beach halfway around the world.
I couldn’t be happier.
As the taxi brings us closer to her hometown, the scenery becomes thick with trees just beginning to change into autumn colors. It’s like living in a postcard. I’m surprised she would want to give this up.
“Are you nervous about seeing your parents?” I ask, nudging her with my elbow. We both need time to recover from traveling but we have dinner with them planned for tomorrow.
“No,” she says, her breath coming out in a sigh. “I don’t think they really care what I do anymore. I thought they had all these expectations for me, and I thought that I was meeting them. That I was being a perfect daughter. But now that Lisa has had her baby, I’m less important.”
“I’m sure that’s not true,” I say, my heart breaking for her. The jet lag seems to be weighing on her, making her more vulnerable than usual.
“They may not like what I have to say, but at least they’ll hear me say it.”
“If it’s too much, I can hang back. Meet them another time,” I offer for probably the dozenth time. As much as I want to start a life with her, I don’t want to take any steps she isn’t ready for.
“No.” She pulls my hand into both of hers, stroking her thumbs across my knuckles. “Having you here makes it so much better. You’re real, you matter, and I want you there.”
“Good.” My grin slowly stretches across my face. She’s so cute when she’s tired. I want to commit her every microexpression to memory.
“We’re almost to the house,” Junie says, looking out the window.
She grows tense again. “Remember, it was Grannie’s, so it’s a little cluttered at the best of times and I have no idea what state David left it in.
I obviously haven’t seen it in over a month.
But I’m too tired to deal with it now, can we just crash in bed and start damage control in the morning? ”
“Of course.” I rub her neck, trying to melt the tension in her muscles. “I feel like I could sleep for a year.”
A yawn hijacks my body. She’s so soft and warm. It’s a struggle not to lay my heavy head down on her pillowy thighs.
We creep like zombies into the house. I want to examine the space, see what I can learn about Junie from the things she owns, but my eyelids are starting to droop.
“Bed’s this way,” Junie practically slurs, leading me by the hand toward a dark, cool room with a giant canopy bed. We fall back on the pillows.
“Hey, gorgeous?” My eyes are closed, so I reach blindly for her and tangle my fingers in the silky strands of her hair.
“Mmmm?” she mumbles sleepily.
“I want to fuck you on a new continent so bad, but I think I have to sleep first,” I mumble, finding her waist and yanking her closer. I bend my body around hers until we nestle together as one.
I couldn’t lift my eyelids if I tried. We drift off like that, on top of the covers, wrapped in each other’s arms.
We both wake to the sound of a door slamming shut. Junie sits up in bed with a gasp, looking at me with raised eyebrows. She rubs the sleep from her eyes and crawls out of bed. I’m right behind her.
“I don’t know who that could be,” she says softly, creeping toward the door.
“Does anyone have a key?” I ask, prepared to jump in front of her.
“A couple people. David, obviously.” A light flicks on in the living room and slips through the crack in the door, illuminating her face. I see the color drain out of it. Her eyes dance around the room. “Oh no.” She shakes her head and pushes through the door.
“David, what the fuck are you doing here?”
Now that I know it’s her ex and not a potential murderer or thief, I’m not sure what my role is. Should I run in there and flex my new boyfriend status, or should I let her fight her own battle?
She doesn’t seem like a damsel in distress when she stomps across the carpet. With each furious step, she takes up more space in the room. If I were him, I’d be pissing myself. I decide to hang back and watch her work.
“Honey, you’re home!” David grins, throwing up his hands as if to embrace her. He’s smarmy looking—dark hair slicked back and greasy. If he touches her, I might not be able to help myself.
“I gave you two weeks to pack your shit and get out of my house. It’s been over a month. What are you still doing here?” Her head swivels as she takes in the room for the first time since we arrived. “Have you packed anything?”
“Junie, baby, we had a fight. All couples do. I knew you’d calm down once you were home. Now you’ve got this travel thing out of your system, we can get back to what really matters—us.”
I can hear her deep breaths from where I stand in the shadows. I want to take her in my arms and help her calm down, but this is something she needs to handle on her own. If she wants my help, she knows where to find me.
“David. We are over. This house is in my name. You need to find somewhere else to go. Now.”
When his hand circles her wrist, I can’t hold back any longer.
“The lady asked you to leave, mate.” I step into the living room, straightening my spine to let my true height intimidate the small man.
He sneers up at me. “Oh this is fucking rich. Who the fuck is this, June?”
She rips her hand out of his grasp and clings to my side. I hate the way she’s shaking.
“It’s none of your business, David. We’re broken up. I told you in no uncertain terms to get out of my grandma’s house. Don’t make me call the police.”
He blinks and seems to remember himself. His face is red and splotchy but between my presence and her threat, he seems to see the situation clearly now.
“I underestimated you, Junie.” His eyes narrow before he steps back, puffing out his chest. “I’ll get a hotel tonight, seeing as you have company. But this isn’t over. I’m still willing to forgive you.”
She splutters, clearly lost for words. Fuck’s sake, this prick is full of himself. How long has Junie been stuck with him? No wonder she needed a holiday.
I keep her pinned to my side, holding her steady, while he marches into the bedroom and throws some clothes together. The living room is silent as we wait, thick with tension.
He reappears with a huff, a gym bag thrown over his shoulder. “We’ll talk when you’ve had a chance to calm down.”
Junie follows him to the door and slams it behind him. “Like hell we will.” She forces the words through gritted teeth.
I stand in the middle of the room, feeling helpless.
I wonder if I’m just getting in the way.
The guy is a prick, but clearly there’s still a lot of baggage there.
Is it fair to get so serious with someone who is clearly still on the rebound from her last relationship?
I mean the guy still lives here, for fuck’s sake.
Uneasiness creeps through my gut and I shift on my feet.
“I’m sorry. I had no idea he’d be here. I thought he moved out a month ago. God, it’s like nobody listens to me!” The pain and frustration are written all over her face. “We literally haven’t spoken since I boarded the plane for Bali. He can’t honestly think we’re still together.”
“Don’t be sorry that some asshole is taking advantage of you.”
She sighs and moves back toward the bedroom. “I can’t believe he’s been staying here. And we slept on those sheets. Gross.” She shivers.
I have to admit, that is pretty weird. I wonder briefly if he’s had any overnight visitors then quickly push the thought away before Junie can read it on my face.
“Are you hungry?” she asks, turning back to meet my eyes.
“Not really.” I shrug. There are too many emotions competing for attention for me to be hungry. “But I could eat.”
“I wanted to treat you to barbecue, but I’m just drained after that.”
“Why don’t we order some takeaway and you can hop in the shower while I change the bedding?”
The tension melts from her shoulders in an instant. “Are you sure?”
“Of course. Get that bum in the shower and I’ll get started on this.” I mean it to sound playful, but it falls a little flat with a David-shaped wall in between us.
“You’re the best. Get whatever you want on Uber Eats. You can order it on my phone!” She grins, as if oblivious to the weirdness, and scampers off to jump in the shower. I can’t blame her. I’m looking forward to washing off the travel grime too.
I pick up her phone to order some authentic NY style pizza, when in Rome after all, but I can’t help noticing two of the notifications on her Home Screen.
Lisa: You’re bringing him to Mom’s house TOMORROW?
Lisa: Do you really think that’s the best idea?
I would never intentionally go through her phone, but it’s not like I need a lot of context to understand those messages.
Is that what we have to look forward to at dinner? Does her family think she’s making a mistake? Are they right? Will she regret throwing away her life here to run away with me?
I stuff the feelings down and order the pizza, making the bed on autopilot with some sheets I find in the closet.
The walk-in is a huge slap of color, filled mostly with her professional clothes and a few shirts and blazers that must belong to David.
Half of the things in there would be impractical on Gili Telu and the majority of them wouldn’t fit in a suitcase anyway.
I hadn’t realized how much she’d be leaving behind by coming to stay with me.
The house is cluttered, but homey. I know a lot of the bits and bobs belonged to her Gran, but the vibes are all Junie. Walking through the house feels like biting into a warm chocolate bikkie, but I reject the comfort. I just got here, and everything I’ve learned only proves what a fool I’ve been.
When she gets out of the shower in an adorable pink robe, I want to throw her on the bed and roll around the sheets until they smell like nothing but us. But instead, I step into the washroom behind her and let all of my self-pity swirl down the drain.
Junie is too good for me. This whole thing might’ve been a mistake.