Total pages in book: 114
Estimated words: 108636 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 543(@200wpm)___ 435(@250wpm)___ 362(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 108636 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 543(@200wpm)___ 435(@250wpm)___ 362(@300wpm)
“Productive?” She frowns. “That doesn’t sound fun at all.”
“Avery, go to bed.”
“Man, June, can you believe this loser? He sounds just like Dad.” She lowers her voice to what she thinks sounds like a serious man and mocks, “Business, business, business. Deals, deals, deals. Blippity, bloppity, bloop.”
June sucks her lips into her mouth, a blush stealing across her high cheeks, and I feel the unexpected visual of her doing that while she’s on her knees looking up at me. It’s surprising and unexpected and, honestly, a little bit unsettling.
This is June. Juniper. My little sister’s best friend.
And yet, not anymore. Because, as of tonight, she’s also my Mystery Woman.
Fuck.
Night after night, she’s turned me on in ways I’ve never experienced before. We’ve explored each other both mentally and physically, and for my part, I’ve had nothing but a hazy picture of a sexy woman.
I rake my eyes across her beautiful jaw, along her collarbone, and to the soft swell of her chest. Her skin is supple and smooth, covered in the same freckles I’ve seen for years, and the Cupid’s bow at the top of her lips is dotted with the shine of her lip gloss.
She is sexy. Almost unbearably so, if I really let myself look at her.
But this isn’t the June I know.
This isn’t the relationship with June I know. Not at all. And that’s befuddling as fuck.
“Beau is a kind, successful guy,” June comments, her voice soft and quiet. “If he sounds like your dad—which I’m not sure he does—that’s hardly a bad thing.”
“Pfft,” Avery hums on a laugh. “Yeah. Okay.”
“I’m serious,” June says, but this time, she’s not looking at Avery at all. She’s looking directly at me, her eyes deconstructing me piece by piece until they pierce a tiny hole in my soul. “You’re a good guy, Beau. The best. I’ve always thought so.”
The words punch well above their fighting weight, and I have to hold myself steady from stumbling again even with no shove involved.
Avery shakes her head, annoyed with the stupid conversation, but I know with pointed clarity that it’s not stupid at all. It’s a declaration. It’s a decision. It’s an admission.
June knew what she was doing pursuing me, and she did it on purpose.
But to what end?
Is this idea of us, this different view of what we could be, one she’s had for a while? And if that’s the case, why didn’t she say something sooner? Why did she choose to message me like this? And why does it have to feel so messy?
Avery loops her arm through June’s and pulls her out of the gym, chattering about her night out while June tries to listen. She looks back, just once, but there’s no changing the outcome of what’ll never be the same.
Juniper Perry isn’t who she used to be, and I don’t feel the way I used to about her. She’s not a kid, and the chatter on the other end of my Midnight messages isn’t a mystery.
As of tonight, my Mystery Woman is gone, and in her place is a version of Juniper Perry I don’t know at all.
Then again, I guess things turning out differently than I expected isn’t that new at all.
The Past
Five years ago
Black caps with orange tassels rain down around me, and the sheer volume of my classmates’ cheering mimics the football games that normally take place in the space around us.
But this isn’t about a touchdown or scoring points on the field. This is about a transition to adulthood—a new phase of life—and I relish the exciting challenge ahead.
The professors and deans on stage clap for us—this year’s official graduating class of the University of Miami—and families disperse from their spots in the stands as they take on our victory as one of their own.
It makes sense, of course. The support of my family is largely what got me here and what keeps me vigilant in the pursuit of success.
My dad Neil is my role model. Successful. Loving. Driven and compassionate. He’s everything I want myself to be as I build my own life and family.
My girlfriend Bethany jumps and waves from the second to last row, and my best friend Seth plays the air guitar from somewhere in the middle, all of us having been separated by the alphabetical seating arrangement, and my mom, dad, sister, and her best friend Juniper all cheer from their seats on the side of the football stadium. Mav, Henry, and Ronnie all chose majors that require a fifth year—at least, they do when you party more than study—so they won’t graduate until next year.
People around me hunt for their caps on the ground, but having had the forethought to throw mine in a way I’d be able to catch it, I skirt through the tight row of folding chairs and out to the edge, bracing myself as Bethany runs directly into my arms and rains kisses on my cheeks. She’s way more affectionate than she has been in a while, so I eat it up, hugging her back before ending our embrace with one final kiss to her lips.