Page 26 of Eternally Devoted

We’re all close. Best friends, the three of us. That’s the best and only way I’d describe it.

Somehow sayingour girlmakes my groin tight and my mind spin.

“You okay?” Dash asks, causing me to look his way as we trudge through the pasture, dirt hanging in clouds all around us as we move.

“Fine, why?” I question, feeling self-conscious now of even my thoughts. The way his eyes bore into me, the softness of his tone—I’m starting to wonder if he’s reading my damn mind.

“You look…” he trails off, but his focus remains on me for a second before he faces the horizon again. I take in his profile, something I’ve done plenty before. When you live with someone, you see all sides and forms of them. But with the sun nearly gone, only traces of daylight licking at his features, a funny feeling bounces through me. “Uncomfortable,” he finishes, wiping his forehead with the back of his wrist.

We stop as Dash checks the Find Friends app one more time. We’re nearing the edge of the ravine, and after we head down, it’s the creek, then more land. Juniper’s dot lingers in that extra land somewhere.

I tap his screen. “I think we cross the creek at the bridge, and move to the end of her property line. That seems to be where she’s at.”

Dash nods, the screen illuminating his end-of-day scruff and the concern lining his eyes. He faces me. “So why are you uncomfortable?”

I start down the edge of the ravine, moving slowly to keep my phone light aimed on the earth. “I’m traipsing through a field at night. How should I look?” I let out a grunt as I miss my footing, sliding down the last two feet of jagged soil until I’m at the bottom. Dash follows suit, slightly out of breath as he dusts his hands against his thighs.

“Fine.”

He walks on, toward the small bridge about twenty feet from where we are. I think Hudson built this for his son, but I can’t be certain.

My brain catches on his response, so I quicken my pace to catch back up with him. “What do you meanfine?”

Dash stops, his eyes set on mine, the cool puff of his air suspended between us. The scent of beer and toothpaste lingers, and my heart beats a little faster, for reasons unknown. “Ha,” he breathes, anger straddling his normally chill tone. “I said fine because I mean fine. Fine as in, you want to hide behind some excuse and not tell me what’s up, then fine. Fine is all you get.” He trudges onto the bridge, the rickety thing wobbling and shaking as I get on behind him.

“I’m not—” Fuck. My boot slips through an open spot, causing me to reach for the rope rail, losing grip on my phone. I use my free hand to keep my shirt from rising as I flounder, andin turn, my phone plummets to the wooden slat beneath my foot, and Dash turns, scooping it up before it falls into the dark water below.

He presses it against my chest. “Here. If you weren’t so worried about your shirt, you could’ve caught it yourself.”

“Thanks,” I mumble, taking it carefully, ignoring his comment about my habit. He’s been fit his whole life, he doesn’t have to worry about the rise of his shirt making him sweat. We continue on the bridge in silence, and once we’re off, I don’t know what gets into me. I grab him by the shoulder and stop him in his tracks.

“What?” he breathes, his nostrils flared, a lot of unearthed things clawing their way invisibly to the surface the longer we stand here.

My throat goes dry. My heart beats so quickly, I get dizzy for a moment. “Ch-check the app again,” I say finally, because that's all I can say. Saying more would be dangerous, and stupid.

He sighs, dragging the phone from his pocket. Whatever weird tangle we were just in all but evaporates when his eyes come to mine again. He points into the near distance, lowering his voice to a whisper. “Right over there. About fifteen feet if I had to guess.”

Silently, we move toward the blue glowing dot. My boots and Dash’s sneakers are filthy, but something tells me, as we approach something moving on the ground in almost complete darkness, dirty feet are the least of our worries.

A few more paces and we come to a stop, both of us standing over a very sweaty Juniper, crouched down, up to her elbows in the earth, wearing nothing but her bra and panties.

She looks surprised to see us, but doesn’t yelp from shock. Using the back of her wrist, she smears dirt along her forehead as she pushes a stray golden strand back. She blinks up at us, silent, her eyes wide.

“Juniper, what are you doing?” I ask calmly, my eyes veering to the hole in the ground she’s currently packing dirt on top of.

She smiles, white teeth still sparkling, even with the lack of light. “Gardening?”

Something in my chest flexes, possession mixed with the desire to protect. Reaching down, I wrap my hands around the tops of her arms and lift her to her feet. Sweat and dirt are smeared over her velvet skin, and her panties are nearly translucent.

Gardening. After the other night, plus canceling tonight, no fucking way am I buying that she’s out heregardening.

I swallow, readying myself for the truth. Because something tells me, it’s gonna be a doozy.

“I was just… gardening,” she tries again, this time, putting a little smile on her lips as she looks between me and Dash.

“Try again,” I say, now holding her by one arm as I take in her bare body, looking for injuries. Her bad hand is no longer fully wrapped, but now only bandaged. I don’t see any new scrapes. That’s good. Relief softens the hard set of my shoulders with that small discovery. I’m glad she isn't hurt. But I know she’s not gardening.

Juniper chews her bottom lip nervously, her eyes flitting between us. Finally, they come to settle on mine, and in the darkness, the truth comes tumbling out.

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