Page 25 of The B Side

With that in mind, she tugged Juliet a little closer to her.

Juliet easily allowed herself to be guided, laying her head on Darcy’s shoulder as they moved through the bowling alley, toward the back door.

“You know, I’ve missed you. And not just because I’ve missed, hmmmm, what’d you call it?” Juliet sighed, the heat of her breath washing over Darcy’s neck, making her shiver. “Burying myself in your body!”

Darcy inwardly groaned, shooting a glare at Bobby Givens, who they were passing by, as he whipped his head up to stare at them. Not necessarily his fault; Juliet certainly wasn’t quiet.

She patted Juliet’s hip, where her hand had landed while wrapped around her waist. “I’ve missed you, too.”

“And – Darcy. And the sex wasn’t all because I wanted to forget the chaos storm that was outside of our house. I mean. It was. But it also wasn’t. It was also just ’cuz you – you’re my safe space. And you make me forget how horrible things can be.”

Okay, she couldn’t even be agitated at all about how loudly Juliet had brought up their sex life, could she? Not when she was melting at Juliet’s intoxicated words. No one should have the right to be that adorable when drunk. Darcy would know; she’d dealt with a lot of drunk people.

“All right, here we go.” She turned and maneuvered them to guide Juliet into the passenger seat of Blythe’s SUV.

Juliet let out a sigh, sinking elegantly into the seat as she tilted her chin up at Darcy. “I can do this on my own, Thief. I’m not that drunk.”

“Sure,” Darcy mildly agreed, unable to contain her laughter, gently shutting the door.

Juliet stared at her through the window, as if maintaining that intense eye contact would make her seem less inebriated.

Darcy jogged around to the other side of the car, the concern biting back at her as she climbed into the driver’s seat.

“Are you… okay, Juliet?” She asked before even buckling her seatbelt.

“Okay?” Juliet echoed, like she’d never heard the word before.

Darcy slowly furrowed her eyebrows, staring intently at her. “Yes, okay, as in – are you all right?”

“No, I know what okay means.” She dropped her head back against the seat with a hefty sigh. “And – you know, Darcy? I am okay.”

… strangely enough, for the first time in a month, Juliet actually did sound okay. Which made no sense at all.

“Did something happen at the event with Robbie?”

“Yes. It did.”

Her stomach clenched even tighter, her heart skipping a beat as the worry notched higher inside of her. “What was it?”

Juliet leaned in over the center console. Leaning closer. Closer. Holding Darcy’s gaze with her own, those deep brown eyes looking so unbelievably gorgeous, however glassy they were, until her breath was washing over Darcy’s own lips. “I saw Chloe Larsson.”

… “Huh?”

What the hell did Chloe Larsson have anything to do with this?

“She and I had sex, once.” Juliet wrinkled her nose, falling back against her seat. “Not a great time.”

Darcy definitely wasn’t the kind of jealous person Juliet was, but – well, this? This made that possessive feeling streak through her. She didn’t ever push to know the people Juliet had been with in the past. But she hated knowing that she’d met Chloe.

“God, baby, you are so good. You’ve always been the best sex I’ve ever had. You know that, right? From day one,” Juliet intoned, as if she could read Darcy’s mind.

Which – was nice to know. And Darcy felt the same, always had. Unfortunately, she still felt very lost in the conversation.

“Anyway,” Juliet continued, waving her hand around. “Chloe’s awful. And I decided – pfft. I’m glad I’m not going to be a closet-case like her. And I’m not going to hide away while she and other people gossip about me. And I’m definitely not going to run and hide and let them gossip about you.”

That ferocity in Juliet’s tone returned with a vengeance, her eyes glittering as she stared at Darcy. That protective, possessive stare very much alive.

“They’re going to talk and say whatever the hell they want, but I’m… I’m going to be free. I’m free to come here. To go to my sister-in-law’s wedding. To go to your old stomping grounds and get drunk and hear all the stories about everyone hitting on you and how everyone wanted you, and no one knew what you were looking for in a partner. I can do that now. Because everyone knows. And it really is fr-” Juliet broke off on a hiccup before continuing, “Freeing.”