It was hard not to be. I wasn’t really sure what June was proposing. After last night, it felt like anything was possible.
The three of us sat down around her small kitchen table. Now that I wasn’t pinning her against her bedspread, I was able to take in how she decorated her place. The gothic maximalist vibes were everywhere. She had a giant fluffy couch with jewel toned blankets thrown over it, countless skull and bone trinkets arranged on shelves, butterflies and bugs pinned behind glass hanging on the walls. Plants grew everywhere, keeping it lively. Seeing her home after seeing her flower shop gave me a lens into who she really was. All her poisonous plant tattoos continued to make sense.
June was sweeter than a rose and tougher than nails. That’s what I was learning about her the more I got to know her.
Dallas looked like he’d seen three ghosts. He eyed June suspiciously as she set out a fresh salad, baked chicken, mashed potatoes, and green beans. A pitcher of iced tea and lemons sat in the center. The glass was already sweating.
I was thoroughly impressed. I couldn’t remember the last time someone had cooked for me like this. “You made all of this? This is so much, June.”
“I cook when I’m anxious,” she said. “Plus, I figured you could take some leftovers.”
My heart fluttered as I tried to act like I didn’t want to get back on my knees and eat her out as a thank you for cooking for me.
“Well, thank you,” Dallas said. “This looks amazing.”
We worked together to pass around the dishes and pile our plates. June and Dallas made small talk, but it was about the most mundane things. The weather, the upcoming football games, an older group of women that apparently terrorized Whynot. Admittedly, I wanted to know more about them.
But the longer they forced chatter, the more heavy the room felt. The tension bled into the atmosphere, etching away at every word said.
I wanted to melt.
This was sort of my fault, wasn’t it? I hadn’t meant to meet two people and have sex with both of them almost immediately. I also hadn’t planned for those two to have as complicated of a relationship as Dallas and June did.
They were so familiar with each other, and yet so strangely avoidant.
Dallas caught me staring at him and paused mid sentence, raising a brow at me.
“What?” I stammered. “I didn’t catch what you said.”
“I said you’ve been so quiet,Madison.”
I strangled a laugh. “Oh no. Not the full name.”
Dallas’s gaze softened. I beamed at him, looked over at June, then back to him.
I couldn’t take this anymore. We had to talk.
“Okay.” I took my napkin from my lap and sat it down on the table. “What is the proposal? You two are killing me.”
June downed half her glass of tea before the cup clinked against the table and she sat back.
“I have an idea,” June said slowly.
Dallas and I both focused on her intently. My skin prickled with heat.
What was she going to say? What was she going to propose?
Had I ruined everything?
June cleared her throat again, her cheeks already flushed. “Dallas wants to have kinky sex. Madi wants to have kinky sex. I want to have kinky sex. The three of us are adults and have needs we’d like to have met. We also are all too busy or not ready for a relationship. Madi leaves in about four weeks.” She breathed out slowly as Dallas shifted in his chair, his arms crossing over his chest. My face was bright red. “We could make an arrangement. Friends with benefits. No feelings. We don’t need to hide it from anyone because there’d be nothing to hide. It would just be sex.”
A choking sound grunted in Dallas’s throat and he raked his fingers through his hair. I leaned back in my seat, digesting her proposal.
Hot kinky sex for the next four weeks.
The silence was charged like a distant thunderstorm. June waited quietly, her muscles tense.
Oh god, was I going to be the one to break the silence? I stole another glance at Dallas, but he looked like he was about to collapse. The same man who’d fucked me into my mattress this morning looked like he was about to have a heart attack.
