I lift my chin in greeting, but keep my ass planted on the cooler.“Hey.”
“What are you guys up to?”
“Roasting marshmallows,” June answers.
“Awesome.”He clears his throat.“Listen, uh…”
Here we go.
I stand, bracing myself for a sucker punch.I’ll let him get one or two good shots in before defending myself.After all, I probably deserve it for sucking on his date’s fingers.
Oops.
“Sorry if I was a dick earlier,” Bryan apologizes.His attention cuts to June, then returns to me.“Thanks for keeping our girl company.”
Our girl?
My brows raise.
He chokes out a chuckle.“Figured I can’t keep her all to myself until she lets me, and, uh, since we’re taking things slow and all… For now, we’ll have to share.”
Share?He wants to share?
Throwing my head back, I laugh.“Now that would be an experience.Wouldn’t it, June.”It’s not a question.Hell, it’s a promise.I’ve never been a huge fan of threesomes, but for a taste of her, I’d happily make an exception.
“Okay, Ford.”June rolls her eyes, though I don’t miss the way she relaxes ever so slightly.“I think that’s enough?—”
“Aw, come on.I don’t mind sharing?—”
“We should get going,” she tells Bryan before glancing at me.“Good to see you, Ford.”
“You, too,” I tell her.My attention shifts to Bryan.“See you around, man.”
“Yeah, you, too,” he returns.Looping his arm around June’s shoulders, he guides her back toward the parking lot.I assume it means Violet’s sleeping at our place.Not the first time.Won’t be the last.Even with this knowledge, I can’t help but feel…fuck.What is this feeling?It’s like I’m sitting on a damn cactus in the middle of a dry desert being burnt alive with no sunscreen.And yes, SPF is important.Skin cancer’s no joke.I scrub my hand over my face and let out a sigh.It does nothing to erase the image of June tucked against Fireman Bryan’s side.
Fuck me.
12
JUNE
“Istill can’t believe Cobie convinced me to sign up for this,” Violet groans.She flicks through a few of the dress options at the thrift store.Her nose scrunches more and more with every drag of the hanger.
I can’t believe I let my friends talk me into this, either.I’ve been sticking my head in the sand all week.Ignoring the majority of Cobie’s texts in the group chat unless she called me out by name.Blindly agreeing to Lexie’s outfit suggestions just to keep the decisions at bay.Showing up late to the dress rehearsal, if you can even call it that.The whole enchilada.To be fair, Violet’s been about as enthusiastic as I am.Okay, that’s not entirely true.Did she promise to let Lexie treat her like a Barbie tonight?Yes.Did she tell Jagger that if he doesn’t bid on her, she’ll neuter him while he sleeps?Also, yes.Does she have any reason to be worried?That would be a big, fat no.
“I can’t believe you persuaded June to sign up for this,” Lexie argues with a laugh.
It’s like the girl can read my mind.
“Don’t remind me,” I grumble beside her.
Yet again, my niceness is biting me in the butt, and here I am, taking it, albeit with a prickly attitude.The thought of standing on stage and receiving zero bids has haunted my dreams every night this week.Add in my strange encounter with Ford at the bonfire, and I’ve been a hot mess.
Did I really let him suck on my fingers?What was I thinking?
Lexie snags a dress from the rack.“Oooo, what about this one?”She lifts it toward me.“Yes.One hundred percent yes.”Shoving it into my arms, she orders, “Try it on.”
I raise the dress into the air, inspecting it.Dark.Silky.Tight.Deep plunging neckline.High slit.It’s literally everything I would say no to if it were up to me.Not that it isn’t pretty.It’s gorgeous.If it were on anyone else.
