Page 99 of Alive At Night

Juniperand I listened to one of her audiobooks on the way back to Boston. She picked a new story so we could start from the beginning and promised it was advertised as a slow burn. In other words, the explicit sex scenes would be minimal, if not nonexistent.

I’d never admit it aloud, but the story did a damn good job of sucking me in by the time we arrived in front of Juni’s apartment. I parked the car, feeling a bit reluctant to turn the book off. To say goodbye, if only for a night.

A frown settled on my face when Juniper waived my offer to help bring her bags upstairs, and I didn’t bother insisting. It couldn’t be more clear how eager she was to escape my presence.

I supposed now I knew how she felt last night when I suggested she stay with Nessa.

I didn’t like it.

Admittedly, though, I let out a sigh of relief as soon as she was out of my sight. Maybe I’d be able to fucking breathe now. Maybe I could go more than thirty seconds without thinking about that kiss. Maybe I’d be able to forget about how this weekend made me feel.

Or maybe not.

I tossed and turned all night, and then, before I knew it, I was walking into the office on Monday morning. Early. I hadn’t been able to sleep anyway, so I figured I might as well get some stuff done before Juniper arrived and consumed all my goddamn brainpower.

This was precisely why I’d always kept her at arm’s length. Otherwise, it was a slippery slope, and now I was falling down it.

The sun shone brightly this morning, and without any clouds to trap the heat, it was a cold one outside. Luckily, warm air blew in full force through the vents in our office, and that, combined with the sun beating through the window, caused sweat to trickle down my back.

It had absolutely nothing to do with the fact that I was preparing to sit next to Juniper for an entire eight hours and pretend everything was normal after she moaned into my mouth this weekend. Nothing to do with that.

Shit.

It was odd being at work before her. I glanced over at her empty desk, noting the line of polka-dotted coffee mugs and her arrangement of plants. Half of them seemed to be wilting. With a sigh, I moved the plants to my desk, situating them in the sun, hoping the light might resurrect them.

A minute later, Juniper strode through the door.

“Oh!” She jumped back with such surprise that the cup of coffee in her hands sloshed in her cup, nearly spilling all over her frilly, white blouse. “What are you doing here?” she gasped.

“I…work here?”

Did she think I’d resign over one little kiss?

Fuck, who was I kidding? I’d definitely considered it.

Juniper rolled her eyes as she shuffled into the office and kicked the door shut behind her. It was impressive, considering how much she was carrying, the height of her heels, and the length of her skirt. “I mean, what are you doing here before me? You’re never here before me.”

“Oh.” I shrugged. “I don’t know. Just got up earlier today, I guess.”

More like never slept at all.

After cocking her head to the side and examining me for a moment, Juniper crossed our small office and placed the coffee cup on my desk.

“I got this for you at the place across from—” Her words vanished as she caught sight of her plants lining my desk. “I swear I didn’t put those there,” she rushed to say. “I’m sorry. I’ll move them back.”

The worried look on her face stomped all over my heart.

“I know you didn’t put them there. I did.” I shifted in my seat, swinging my attention back to my laptop so I wouldn’t have to keep watching Juniper’s expression. “They looked like they needed some sun. Although I don’t think that one’s going to bloom no matter how much sun or water it gets,” I added, pointing to the one in the middle.

Juniper was silent, and I risked a glance over my shoulder at her. “It’s a moonflower,” she said. Round and filmy eyes stared absently at the plants while that voice of hers sparked in exasperation.

“You keep saying that like I’m supposed to know what it means,” I muttered before picking up the cup. “Thank you for the coffee, Daisy.”

She blinked twice before looking away from the plants. “You’re welcome. It’s plain and boring. Like you.”

I smirked but hid it by lifting my coffee cup to my lips slowly. “You don’t think I’m boring, Juniper.”

She flushed, and it was beautiful. It brought heat to my skin, too. Heat that had nothing to do with the warm air coming from the vents or the sun streaming through the window.

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