You only pretend to play with fire. But, despite mimicking your friend, you’ll never risk getting burned. I knew her type, too.
The shop’s door opened twice, and two people came in, one after the other.
“There’s June,” Fuchsia whispered to her friend when both June and Adam arrived to assist the newcomers.
“Wearing knockoffs as usual?” Dark Purple replied.
They knew June, though they obviously weren’t fans or regulars at this shop.
I veered my head and saw June talking with a woman at the counter. My heart skipped a beat when I recognized her sister from the pictures.
I quickly turned to face the Lycra ladies. “This is great for stress relief; you won’t regret it,” I said, putting a candle and a random ornamented jar containing some liquid in Purple’s hands. “You know the owner, June?”
“She went to school with us.”
“And still has a gigantic stick up her ass,” Fuchsia muttered. “Medical school, my ass.”
From the corner of my eyes, I saw January walking out, June alone at the counter, and Adam waving goodbye to another man at the door.
“I’m no expert like Adam over there, but that neck cream is great.” I grabbed another tube from the shelf and put it in Fuchsia’s hand. “Use it on your ass, too. In fact, buy everything June has here and maybe, just maybe, you’ll be lucky to get a classically beautiful ass like hers.”
I managed to see their jaws drop before I left them there and went to the counter.
“My sister was here,” June hissed.
There’s my June!I was beginning to miss the spikes.
“I know. I recognized her. I get it. I’m leaving.”
“She noticed you showing products to customers. I told her you were a temp,” she whispered edgily.
“Those two? I think I made a sale.” I smirked.
“Be serious, Angelo.”
“I’m trying to.”
She didn’t reply.
Those women’s slurs, her cleaning her classmates’ houses, the Valentine’s Day card—I could see why June Raine, who wanted a rose tattoo, had developed thorns. I saw the beauty underneath them and wanted to find my way there, shield her from them, if she let me. Instead, we stood on both sides of the counter, echoing the silence that was left after the hurtful words we had thrown at each other this morning.
“I’ll see you at home,” I said.
She looked at me like I was the last thing on earth she’d want or need here or anywhere.
On the wall behind her was one of those wooden signs she offered for sale. This one read, “Live healthy, Breathe fully, Laugh wholeheartedly, Love unabashedly.”
She followed my gaze, turning slightly to find what I was peering at.
Our gazes met again.
You’re doing just the first, June.
As I turned to leave, something made me freeze halfway. I looked at June again. She was glancing at me, and the familiar flame slithered its way up her ivory neck.
21
June
