On their way back from the water, they’d majorly needed to refuel their bodies so they stopped at the dollar store to grab a few groceries to hold them over until they could do a proper trip into the neighboring town.
“Maybe I’m angling for your mom to keep sending an extra lunch with you to work.”
“Oh, I’m definitely telling my mom on you.”
Rowan leaned back against the counter, and Juniper slid between her legs and played with the buttons on Rowan’s flannel shirt she’d thrown on when the sun went down.
She shifted to running her hands up Rowan’s arms and over her shoulders. “You’re the most athletic nerd I’ve ever met.”
“Thanks, I think?”
“Is it the protein shakes?” Juniper giggled.
Rowan shook her head and moved her hands to rest just above Juniper’s ass. “Probably just the fisherman genetics.”
“Where does the nerdiness come from? Your mom?”
“She was an English teacher and an avid reader. My dad still has some of her old books lying around.”
Juniper smiled. “I didn’t know that about her.”
“Apparently her favorite genre was murder mysteries. My dad loves to tell the story of how he realized she was in love with her when she told him the reason why.”
“What was the reason why?”
“On their second date, she was reading on her porch while she waited for him to pick her up. When he asked her about the book, she told him in vivid detail all of the gory parts. He laughs to this day that even though he was used to fish guts, he wasn’t fully prepared for this sweet, intellectual woman to be so obsessed with books like that.”
“Poor Victor,” Juniper laughed. “He’s the chillest guy ever.”
Rowan nodded and laughed. “I know right. So she closes the book and sighs and says‘It’s almost like you can see the blood running down the pages.’She looks over at him and winks, and he said he was totally lost for her.”
“Wow. I think you get your sense of humor from her too.”
“Yeah, definitely. He still has that book.”
“Have you read it?” Juniper smiled at her and tucked her arms around Rowan’s waist.
“When I was eleven,” Rowan smiled down at her. “It was way too fucked up for an eleven year old to read.”
“I bet.”
Juniper looked around at Rowan’s house that was slowly but surely coming together. “It’s looking good in here. Do you have any pictures to hang up?”
“Like artwork?”
“No, like of your family.”
“Not really. I don’t think my dad has many left.”
“Hmm.”
Rowan grabbed two handfuls of Juniper’s ass and started walking Juniper backwards from the counter. “So about all of these othersurfaceswe have in this house. I was wondering if I could get your opinion of the shower first.”
Juniper giggled as she wrapped her arms around Rowan’s neck. “Do you need some decorating advice or something?”
“Oh, I’d love to see the way you look against my wall.”
They reached the bathroom door and Juniper twisted the handle so they could tumble inside.
