Page 86 of Thorn Kiss
“Oh? How do you know about that?” Evie asked.
“Madi mentioned it. She was vague, of course, she didn’t go into detail about what they talked about. But, they set up a date for tonight. But then last night, we . . . God, we did a lot. And I think we have a crush on each other.”
Evie’s eyes flickered up to me and she paused for a moment. “Please be so fucking real with me right now. What is this? Highschool?Crushes? Yeah, June, I think you havecrusheson each other after scissoring all night.”
I scoffed. “Okay, damn. We’ve only known each other for like a week. Acrushis a perfectly normal word for what this is.”
Evie shook her head with a soft snort. “I thinkcrushis the only word you’re letting yourself think of.”
I crossed my arms and glowered at her, but that didn’t phase Evie.
“So Madi likes both of you. And you . . . like Dallas and Madi?
“I mean . . .” I trailed off. I was clammy. I didn’t like being under the microscope like this. “I don’t know. Maybe.”
Evie paused in making dough balls. She raised a brow, studying me closely. “What are you not telling me?”
I swallowed hard, suddenly wishing I had a shotglass of whiskey in hand. “Dallas and I kissed on New Year’s Eve. And since then, I’ve been trying to avoid him.”
“You . . .what?”
All I could do was nod as Evie processed the revelation. She planted her hands on the table and leaned forward.
“My god,” she finally said. “This makes so much more sense. The two of you have been acting so fucking weird, I swear. I thought I was imagining it, but I should know better by now. I’m always right about these sort of things.”
“Just keeping distance there. It shouldn’t have happened.”
“Why shouldn’t it have happened? Did he kiss you without your permission?”
I scoffed. “Of course not. This is Dallas Whynot we’re talking about.”
She picked up her rolling pin and pointed it at me. “I would still bust his balls with this.”
Despite feeling like I was in a frying pan, I laughed. “I know you would.” I finished the last bite of my croissant then swept all the crumbs off my lap.
“So was the kiss that bad?”
“What? No.” My cheeks burned as the memory filled my mind. The way he’d held me, his mouth hot against mine, awakening all of these desires I never knew I had for him. “No, it was really good.”
“And you . . . just don’t want to try anything more with him?”
“I mean, I do. Physically.”
“Ah.” Evie sighed and nodded as if it were all clicking into place for her. “I forget how relationship-adverse you are. Since you’re scared of letting someone love you.”
“I’m not scared,” I mumbled.
“Yeah, you are. Why else would you not immediately jump that man if it was a good kiss?”
“I don’t know, Evie, maybe because I’ve never felt like that about him. I haven’t been pining for him for years like you have for Austin.”
Evie’s expression tightened.Oof.I wrinkled my nose. That’d come out a little sharper than I’d meant.
“Sorry,” I added. “I just . . . The kiss surprised us both. Since then, I’ve tried to put distance between us. But then Madi shows up here and everything is going sideways, so I texted them this morning about a proposal.”
Evie pressed her red lips together. “And what’s the proposal?”
I exhaled slowly, steeling myself. “I am going to propose that the three of us have a friends-with-benefits arrangement until Madi leaves.”
