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)
I want to explore what we could be, and I want June to have no doubt.
“Holy shit, dude. Bankses’ Halloween means business this year,” Henry comments from my passenger seat, pulling his Zorro mask down over his eyes before climbing out his side.
His observation is spot-on. The driveway is filled with cars, and we even passed a valet station at the gate. Music pounds from inside the house, and the outside looks like one of those pop-up Halloween stores threw up on it.
I retuck my white shirt into my high-waisted gray pants and pull my blue overcoat out of the back seat, swinging it on while he keeps chattering. It’s an unbearably hot outfit for a party on the beach in Miami, but I don’t care. When it comes to June, I need to make a statement tonight. And deep down, I know if I don’t say something now, I don’t think I’ll get the chance to say something at all.
And then what? We just pretend it never happened? That doesn’t sit right with me. Frankly, the mere idea of pretending everything that’s transpired with June while she was my Mystery Woman doesn’t exist feels unbearable.
It feels…impossible.
“You think Mav and Ronnie are already in there?” Henry asks, and I survey the cars around us for Mav’s Jeep or Ronnie’s Corvette, but when another five cars fill in, the task becomes too overwhelming to care.
I’m not myself right now, and I have a feeling I won’t be until I finally get the chance to talk to Juniper.
“I don’t know.” I shrug one shoulder while my eyes are already looking toward the front door of my parents’ house. “I guess we’ll find out when we get inside.”
Henry pulls his fake sword out from his side and swipes it through the air in a giant Z swath like a big kid. You can always count on a Halloween costume to bring out the inner child in everyone—though, it’s less of a surprise for a guy like Henry, who’s in the business of creating some of the most technologically advanced equipment for high-octane, dangerous sports. His company, Adrenaline Junkie, is a one-stop shop for people who like to jump out of planes and bungee-jump off bridges for fun.
He practically swings swords for a living.
Slamming the door and bleeping the locks, I follow Henry toward the house and stride through the wide-open front door. Bodies are everywhere, all in various forms of ridiculous dress, and I scan the faces that are unmasked, looking for Juniper.
Henry doesn’t miss his usual beat and occupies himself with a group of women in various skimpy attire. A sexy kitten, an almost-naked witch, and I think—if I’m reading the costume correctly—a dominatrix Spider-Man?
I don’t know. And I don’t care. I use the opportunity for what it’s worth and separate myself from my friend.
My mom and dad are in the kitchen when I make my way through there, dressed as a plug and a socket—dear God—and I pointedly avoid making eye contact as I scoot by.
For now, the more anonymity I keep at this party, the better. My bold choice to come as Mr. Darcy will fly right over most everyone’s heads, but I’m not so sure about my mom’s. She knows June as well as anyone can know someone and loves her like she’s her own daughter. And a lot of times, love is in the details.
I spot Avery in the corner of the living room with Hulk, making out like eating face is the only way to save the world, and head out the back door to the pool deck. There’s a crowd of people, of course, but none are the one and only person I’m looking for.
Nightfall is making it harder and harder to distinguish faces in costumes, and I start to get discouraged, but when a thought takes shape and I look out toward the beach, I find her sitting in a place I’ve found her many times before.
When her parents missed her dance recital in third grade. When she failed her algebra test in seventh grade because her parents told her about their divorce the night before. When her dad didn’t show up to back-to-school night for her freshman year of high school but sent a Cartier bracelet instead. And when Avery had her first kiss at their first real party, this is where I found her.
We’ve had what feels like a million and one conversations on this beach throughout the years, and still, the one we’re about to have feels entirely different.
My heart rate kicks up to the kind of speed I only get when Henry and I are hauling ass on our runs, and I swallow against the uncertainty that sits heavy in my gut.
I don’t know how this is going to go, but I know we aren’t kids anymore and, to me, she’s not anything at all like a sister. She’s not the awkward girl with the unfortunate name always tagging along. She’s the woman I can’t get out of my mind even if I try.