Rowan smirked and attempted to disarm Juniper a bit more. “I’m highly trainable.”
“Rowan,” Juniper groaned and laughed.
“Play hooky from work with me tomorrow then. It’s supposed to clear 85 degrees. Then stay with me tomorrow night.”
“Be serious,” Juniper laughed, “have you ever skipped class a day in your life? I remember every year you got that stupid perfect attendance ribbon at the school assembly.”
Rowan shifted in front of her. “Well, no. But I could always start now.”
“Are you finally letting me corrupt you, Birdsong?”
“I’m also highly corruptible. I might already be corrupted, in fact.”
Juniper glared at her. “I want to be the one to corrupt you. Not anyone else.”
The territorial vibe made Rowan’s chest want to puff out. “There’s a lot of things you don’t know about me.”
“Besides making me want to scream, what else?”
Rowan pulled her bottom lip between her teeth in thought before she released it, letting a slow smile form. “I guess you’ll see.”
Juniper pretended to grumble. “Fine. But we need to stop at the dollar store to get me a toothbrush to keep at your place.”
Rowan cleared her throat. “Yep, we can do that. And bring extra clothes with you.”
“You were planning on me wearing clothes?”
Juniper pulled back and grabbed her bag from the chair and walked into the hallway, Rowan following suit.
“At least for part of it. I really do want to take you somewhere.”
They descended the stairs, and Juniper balanced againstRowan again to put her heels back on at the last moment before exiting the lobby and into the balmy night air. They waved good night to Gloria and the staff locking up. Needing to be near her, Rowan took Juniper’s hand and pulled her closer when they hit the parking lot.
“Hey,” Gloria called out. She beamed from the top of the steps. “Good job, Junie. Andformerheartbreaker.” She winked.
Juniper laughed and called out her thanks back. She moved closer into Rowan’s body, and they wrapped their arms around each other.
“We did doprettyfucking good in there tonight, Birdsong.”
“Killed it,” Rowan added emphatically, “but she’s gotta stop calling me that.”
Juniper giggled. “I’ll work on it. She’s a tough one to crack, though.”
“Yeah, I gathered that. I can see why you two are like kindred spirits. I do think I’m pretty good at ingratiating myself to strong women.”
Juniper slapped her arm and laughed. Then she tucked herself even further into Rowan’s side, and Rowan relished the extra inches of Juniper’s body she was able to wrap herself around.
Rowan quickly looked around to see if they were near anyone else now that they’d moved deeper into the parking lot to their cars. “And you will never guess the conversation I had with Councilwoman Lightfoot after the meeting, who by the way,” she glanced over at Juniper with wide eyes, “insisted I call her Beckett.”
“Really? Fill me in.”
Places of convergence are both evolutionary and transformative — in nature, within ourselves, amongst each other.
Chapter 16
“Where is this super secret place you’re taking me again?” Juniper asked after Rowan finished unhitching her jon boat from the back of the truck.
The sun was just rising above the horizon, and they were shrouded in the foggy newness of dawn.
