“Uh oh,” Mateo teased. “I hear we’ve got trouble.”
“Hey,” I said. “We’ve got pizza.”
“Great. Ah, shit, we’re tracking in water,” Mateo said.
The back door shut and our group split apart, finding towels, making plates, and getting settled all over again.
“Madi is joining us,” Avery said to them.
Mateo’s brows shot up and he looked right at me. Levi flashed an almost apologetic look. “Oh really? Can’t wait to meet her.”
“God,” June sighed. “I hate all of you right now.”
“Everyone but Dallas and Madi,” Laura whispered.
My lips pressed into a thin line and I’d burst out coughing to cover my laugh. June planted her hands on her hips, unamused.
I cleared my throat and decided to pick a different fight. “Oh, I have a request, since both of you are standing here.” Levi and Mateo both gave wary glances. “It’s a few weeks late. But can we maybe never ever text me again while you’rebusy?”
Mateo cackled, his eyes crinkling as he waded through the ribbons to kiss Avery. “It’s not like we were busy then, we were justaboutto be busy.”
June, Evie, and I all made faces. Laura simply grinned at them like Avery was a princess.
Levi clapped me on the shoulder. “I did try, but you know how he is.”
“He’s ridiculous,” I sighed. But then I found myself smiling.
The way Mateo, Levi, and Avery looked at each other never failed to make me happy for the three of them. Sometimes it made me feel lonely too, but not this time. I crossed my arms asLevi joined Mateo and Avery and they started working together to organize and unpack boxes.
June bumped me with her shoulder, relaxing just a fraction. “Did you text her?”
“Yes, ma’am,” I said, ignoring the heat pumping through my veins. “Are you talking to me again or are we gonna make this weird?”
She opened her mouth, then closed it.
My heart skipped a beat. Everyone else in the room was chatting away. Evie and Laura had teamed up too, talking about some new movie that they both loved.
But then there was June.
And I became all too aware of how close she was standing to me. The way her head tipped back, the light catching the pink of her hair, her tattoos enchanting me like a magic spell.
“I’m trying,” she finally said. “Sorry. I’m overwhelmed. I know the energy right now is way different than how it was in texts earlier.”
“Yeah. I just . . . Nothing has changed, June. We’re still us.”
“Everything has changed.”
I was looking down at her, her lips way closer than they should have been. I was leaning in, I realized, like a sunflower reaching for the sun.
June poked me between the ribs and I grunted. “Are we gonna fight for who gets to stand next to her while we work?” she asked.
“Depends.”
“Because you’ll lose,” she added. “And then you’ll have to watch me work with your girl.”
You’re my girl too.“Or I’d win. And you’d have to see me work with your girl.”
“Mmm, I don’t lose.”
