Page 12 of The B Side

“I have to leave for my flight soon,” Darcy quietly informed her, her hand landing on Juliet’s hip. Squeezing gently.

“I know.” Juliet sighed before she turned to lie on her back. “That’s why I waited until after you’d finished packing before I initiated having sex.”

“Very thoughtful.”

“I try my best. For you, anyway.”

Darcy’s lips twitched upward, knowing that even though Juliet was using that facetious tone, she was actually being serious. For Darcy, Juliet did try. She did a lot of things.

Reluctantly, she had to tear herself away and get out of bed. She’d showered earlier, but she definitely needed another quick rinse before heading to the airport now.

She’d pushed out returning to Pineford for Blythe’s wedding for as long as she possibly could. As long as she could and wouldn’t feel guilty about it. But the wedding was now in four days, and there were rehearsals to be done, bonding to be had. She was the maid of honor, after all.

Darcy had planned to be there for this whole week, initially. Before the Coming Out™ and the drama that had followed.

Juliet had committed to going to a charity lunch with Robbie at a charity fundraiser lunch in New York that booked out two years in advance. It would mark her first return to an official event since they’d come out, so it was a big deal. Juliet was, well, Juliet, so she wasn’t letting on that she thought it was as big a deal as Darcy did.

But it was going to come with a hell of a lot of scrutiny, and it was happening the day before Blythe’s wedding, so Darcy couldn’t be there for her. With her. Not that she would have even had a seat at the function, but still.

Since her incident with the paparazzi at the beginning of the month, things had only just started to slow down in terms of the chaos it had caused. So she could only imagine what it was going to be like when Juliet was officially in the spotlight.

And she couldn’t help but feel concerned, even though Juliet rolled her eyes and dismissed the comment when she’d mentioned it a few days ago.

As she scrubbed herself down under the warm spray, she couldn’t help but give in to that little nugget of anxiety that existed in the pit of her stomach. The one centered around Juliet. Around her emotional state and well-being.

She wasn’t exactly surprised that Juliet had taken to going into survival mode, which meant shutting down to basic functions and conversations. When she was in that place, she wasn’t going to deep-dive through her feelings. Darcy had been with Juliet long enough to know that about her.

Darcy stepped out of the shower and dried herself off, taking in a breath when she felt how… not necessarily sore, but certainly very sensitive her clit was.

She and Juliet always had a very active sex life. But in the last few weeks it had been – more.

Like today; Darcy had showered this morning after they’d had sex. Like… great sex. Very satisfying sex. Juliet initiating another round barely two hours later didn’t upset her in the least, but it wasn’t necessarily the norm.

When she emerged from the bathroom, tugging on Juliet’s robe – she had her own, but she preferred Juliet’s – she found Juliet right where she’d left her.

Well, not exactly. Juliet was now dressed in sweatpants and a tank top, and she was reading a thriller that Darcy had bought recently. Her phone, Darcy knew, was now tucked away in a drawer, where Juliet had taken to keeping it at Laura’s encouragement. Somewhere out of sight. Less temptation to look at it. To obsess over anything.

Laura, who was now assisting Juliet virtually, had officially returned to Europe after her brother had died last month. And Laura was very likely not going to be in Juliet’s employ at all much longer, given that Juliet needed an assistant here, in person, and Laura needed to situate herself back home.

All of which had made the goings-on even more difficult for Juliet, Darcy knew.

And given that she was going to have to leave now, too – even if it was going to be brief – Darcy knew this was the moment to bring up the thoughts she’d been treading lightly over.

Drawing closer to the bed, she picked her words carefully. “Before I go, I think that we should, uh, talk.” She cleared her throat. “Like, in a serious way.”

Juliet snapped the book closed and turned a fiery look her way. “Darcy Austen Kincaid, if you are breaking up with me…” She trailed off, her jaw visibly clenching. “I forbid it.”

Her mouth fell open, bafflement sliding through her. “What?”

“I said I forbid it,” Juliet echoed, arching her eyebrows up. “At the very least, I forbid it right now. Right now, while everything else is in shambles.”

“I’m not sure forbidding someone from breaking up is how relationships work,” she pointed out, trying her best to inject a little bit of lightness, even if her stomach was twisting at the very insinuation. “Admittedly, I’ve never been in one, but…”

“Darcy. I swear.” There was no lightness in Juliet’s expression. No, she was gravely serious.

Darcy sat on the bed next to her, staring at her incredulously. “Well, regardless of whether or not I think that’s allowed, I’m not about to break up with you. Why would you possibly think that?”

Some of the tension in Juliet’s shoulders slid away as she jutted her chin out. “I suppose I don’t. Not really. But when you sound very serious and say we need to talk, what else am I supposed to think?”