Juliet scoffed. That wasit? After a full minute of typing, that was what Laura had to say about this? About Juliet going to Darcy’s hometown, where she lived, and spending the day with hernothaving sex?
Good for her?
The screen door behind Juliet opened and closed, and she locked her phone, slipping it into her back pocket as she turned.
Expecting – hoping – to see Darcy, she was met, instead, with Blythe.
Her arms were folded over her chest, her long, blonde hair down in a braid over her shoulder. Though she and Darcy looked alike, there was something so very different about them. Even when it came to their posture, their body language, Darcy was so… brash.
Her curves and her clothing complemented one another making it hard to look away. She was always fidgeting with her rings or tapping her fingers on her thighs, the little sounds or movements drawing attention, too.
Blythe stood stone-still, and was – in every way, in Juliet’s opinion – less appealing.
“Look, I’m going to keep this simple,” Blythe started, angling her chin up at her. “Darcy’s a big girl, and I know she can handle herself. So, I kept my gloves on when it came to the shit goingon with you last summer, because I didn’t think it would make anything better if I jumped in. But if this thing goes south and you screw her over, I’m letting you know that my gloves will be off.”
Juliet reached for her sugar-sweet smile and came up empty. Which – fine. Because it seemed that Blythe, much like Darcy, wasn’t here to put on an air. She arched an eyebrow at her, folding her arms over her chest. “What, exactly, do you think thisthingis?”
“I know you two refer to it asjust sex,” Blythe shot back with a scoff. She rolled her eyes. “But my sister has been doingjust sexfor years. And I’ve never met any of those women.”
Juliet scowled at the idea ofthose women, even while feeling ridiculously superior to them. Not a feeling she wanted to delve into. “Well, Darcy’s life looks a lot different, now. Picking someone up is different now.”
Thank god for that. Juliet was a lesbian; she was a verifiable source to confirm that Darcy would be lesbian catnip.
“Frankly, it doesn’t matter whatever this is. As long as Darcy’s along for the ride, I don’t care.”
“That’s so sweet of you.”
Blythe’s glare sharpened. “Look, when you started throwing your stones, Igotit. You think I don’t know what it feels like to be envious of Darcy? I remember the first time I heard her sing, likereallysing. She was six, and I can still see it clearly.” Blythe tapped at her temple. “Sometimes when we were young, I looked at her and thought… damn, I wish I had what she has. That raw talent. The drive to push it as far as it can go. Because Darcy has worked her fucking ass off to get to where she is. To getuswhereweare.”
“Yes, I know,” she coolly returned, tilting her jaw up at Blythe, holding her gaze. “She works so hard she can barely sleep from it. And how were you looking out for her, then?”
She didn’t even know where that came from. Somewhere, unbidden, deep inside of her. But… she supposed she had been holding onto it for weeks, now.
Because now that she reallyknewDarcy, she could see the things she’d missed before. When she really looked at Darcy, she could see the exhaustion. She could see that while some of her fidgeting was inherently a part of her mannerisms, some of it was also from her being so overtired she was twitchy.
Darcy slept so soundly, trulypassed out, whenever they were together. Without a peep, face adorably buried in Juliet’s pillows. Usually with an arm slung around her hips.
Obviously, she wasn’t going to have the same kind of release with her sister. But that wasn’t the point. Thepointwas – what the fuck had Blythe done formonthswhile Darcy worked herself into that anxious insomnia? Because she was obsessing over theirgroup?
“She told you about her sleep and anxiety,” Blythe mused, reeling back slightly. “And… you two arejust fucking.” She breathed out a laugh. “Right. Look, if you know my sisterat all, you should know that I can’t force Darcy to do anything. I can’t make her take a break. All I can do is be here if something happens. Because that’s the thing, Juliet. We – Darcy and I – are awe. Always have been. Even if we’re seemingly on different paths, we’re a team. What I’m saying here is simple: don’t fuck my sister over again. Okay?”
“Whatever happens between me and Darcy – from the start of our… arrangement – will never be like what happened last summer.” Juliet could live and die by that promise. “Anything from the momentwe– as inDarcy and I– started sleeping together is private. Betweenus.”
Blythe’s eyes, an icy blue and so jarringly different from Darcy’s warmth, narrowed. “While that’s great, it’s not exactly what I’m talking about.”
Juliet folded her arms over her chest, and she really,reallydidn’t like that she respected Blythe a little bit more, even if she was a little irritated by her.
She thought a lot about what Darcy had told her about Bill Hooke in the last month. She thought often, probably – definitely – too much about Darcy in those kinds of situations. Because she and Darcy weren’t able to spend that much time together; most of the time, she was out there, doing her thing. And Darcy just didn’t have people with big names, money, and reputations behind her the way Juliet did. There were so many people in this industry that would want a piece of Darcy.
It didn’t matter how tough someone was – and she knew it, now. She knew the kind of grit Darcy had – it could wear anyone down.
But… obviously Darcy wasn’t as alone in it as Juliet was concerned about.
And that made her feel comforted. Which was very disconcerting to feel in this moment, as Blythe was giving her some sort of ludicrous warning. A first for Juliet, really. She’d had very serious conversations about public ramifications, but not something likethis.
“You and Darcy are a team,” she acknowledged, evenly. Okay, with a little bite; she couldn’t help it. “But… Darcy and I are also a team. A different kind of team,clearly.”
That was something Blythe couldn’t understand. JulietgotDarcy in a way she never could. Blythe, with her male fiancé and seemingly thrilled to settle down here in this farmhouse, didnotknow what it was like hiding any part of her identity. Worrying that it would steal her dreams right out from under her.
