Finding June

by Caitlin Kerry

  Reece quickly moved past me to close the door and stood behind a chair by the table. Like it was no big deal, he said, “Hannah thinks you are coming to my parent’s thirtieth anniversary party next weekend.”

  “How does Hannah know about me exactly?” I had just met the girl, but she had treated me like we were the best of friends. Like I wasn’t some stranger who had only really kissed her brother once. Or twice. Okay a lot. Details.

  “Hannah stopped by to tell me about this shindig next weekend and begged me to come.”

  “Why did she beg?”

  “Well … I haven’t seen my parents since I have been home,” Reece answered sheepishly.

  My eyes grew wide. “Reece, that’s like four months! Why haven’t you seen them?” Really, though, four months and he hadn’t seen his parents? Mine would have flipped shit by now and called the police or something.

  “I don’t know … I talk to Hannah once in a while, but being home is harder than I thought. So I haven’t gone to see my parents yet. I haven’t really seen anyone I used to hang with, actually. I didn’t really know what my plan was when I moved back. I thought I would take what I wanted from the house and sell the rest.” Reece never really met my eyes when he had said this. I knew about Rachel, but I felt like I was missing something. It had to be hard to come back home to a place where such a tragic thing had happen.

  “Why would Hannah assume I would go with you? You haven’t seen your parents in God knows how long, plus you have been home for four months, so the first time you see them you want to take me?” How nerve-racking! I had to meet his parents and I didn’t even know if we were dating. Add on what could be an uncomfortable reunion between son and parents … yeah, sounds like a great time! No way would you catch me there.

  I could tell how uncomfortable Reece was about all of this. It was one of the rare times I saw a crack in his shiny demeanor. “Hannah was scrolling through my phone when I wasn’t paying attention and asked who the girl was.”

  “You have a picture of me?” I didn’t remember him taking any pictures of me.

  The more questions I asked, the more in pain Reece looked. “I took it on the way back from the winery when you were sleeping.” By this point, he had yet to make eye contact with me, but he flicked his eyes up to me and then back down. His grip on the back of the chair tightened, and I could swear he was about to break the chair. He continued, and said a little more quietly this time, “You looked so cute basking in the sunlight I couldn’t help myself.”

  When Reece was nervous it was the cutest thing. This man oozed confidence and I had a feeling he rarely let his guard down. In these moments you could tell he wasn’t as sure of himself as normal, but it wasn’t a flaw, rather it was endearing to witness. I was starting to wonder if this man could have any flaws because so far I hadn’t seen any.

  I slowly smiled; he was so damn cute when he was nervous. “Creeper.”

  “Probably,” he said as he shrugged his shoulders, finally letting his gaze meet mine. As soon as he saw my smile, I could see the tension disappear. A smile on his face to match my own appeared. “Anyways, Hannah asked who you were and I told her.”

  “What exactly did you tell her?” I was curious to hear this answer.

  Reece moved away from the table, toward me. Back was the confident, carefree Reece. “That you were a girl. A girl with pretty warm, brown eyes and unruly golden hair that I can’t tell if it is blonde or brunette. A girl with feisty spirit and a big heart I can’t stop thinking of,” Reece said as he grabbed me at my waist and pulled me closer to him.

  Oh. Well then.

  “Hannah pleaded with me to bring you next weekend. It’s next Saturday night and I know you have it off. Also, Bethany owes me so I will make her work for me. What do you say, Just June?” He had moved swiftly from embarrassment to confidence. I really envied those traits about him; he never let anything really bother him for too long.

  What was I supposed to say after that? I really had no choice. Looked like I was going to meet his parents.

  “Okay,” I said as I gazed up into his eyes. It seemed every day I was getting closer to losing whatever hold I had on my emotions when it came to Reece Day.

  “Now turn around again so I can see this tat.” I did, and I knew what he was examining. In delicate loopy script, the lyrics were written across my right shoulder. At the end was a single bird flying away and it was perfect. I loved it.

  “June, that really is stunning on you. But you know what, it doesn’t even compare to your beauty. Do you know that, how beautiful you are?”

  I picked up Morrison, snuggling him in my arms. My eyes went from the puppy in my arms up to Reece. He had expressed his interest in me, he kissed me like I was his last breath, but he had never blatantly told me that I was beautiful until this moment. His voice speaking those words did funny things to me, made my heart beat a little faster and made me feel a delightful weight settling inside me.

  He moved toward me and kissed me on the cheek. “And the fact that you stormed in here, stripped for me, and then shoved an adorable puppy in my arms … well, all of that makes you even more beautiful. You’re beautiful inside and out, truly.”

  I had this urge inside to speak three dangerous words, like there was only three words that could be a response for his. Luckily, I held myself back, let the insane moment pass, and set Morrison on the floor. I threw my arms around his neck, kissing him firmly on the mouth. We got lost in our kisses when suddenly I heard a tiny bark. I turned to see Morrison looking up at us with his cute puppy eyes.

  “Time for me to go.” I reluctantly said. I picked up Morrison, kissed Reece again, and left his house, pleased with my day.

  As the Indian Summer faded away and the cool air that came with October become more familiar, I couldn’t help but see my own change. I felt like I was slowly figuring out what it meant to be June Rosewood. And I was doing it all without worrying too much or overthinking. Not worrying about my future or what the next step in the plan was made it easier to live in the now. I had made a mental goal of finding one good thing about each day. I took time to do something that I wanted to do, whether it might be taking thirty minutes to read a book or to make myself a nice dinner. It was solely to please myself and no one else. I had told my mother I was still searching for jobs, but it wasn’t the truth. I was taking a break. And okay, it had only been a week, but I wasn’t giving up.

  Reece and I hadn’t had much time to spend together in the last week because we were both working a lot, but we talked at work. It was playful and always brought a smile to my face. He always sent me a good night text with just the right amount of mush. He had come over one night to check on my tattoo, smoothly placing lotion on my back, giving me chills. When he left he gave me a kiss that left me wanting more. I wasn’t sure if he was trying to be a gentleman and not push me, but I was wanting more. I was done trying to tell myself otherwise, besides that would be considered thinking and I was not allowed to do that. Nope, I was okay in not thinking and just feeling. Feeling the connection between Reece and I, the one that felt like I was forever falling, my stomach up in my throat, but it was a thrill rather than fear because I trusted Reece, I knew he would never let me fall too far.

  It was Friday night and I was managing. Reece was closing with Jo. It was eleven on the dot and the last table had barely left as I locked the doors. Reece walked into the office, and as he was cashing out he asked, “You ready for tomorrow?” He handed me his credit card receipts.

  Tomorrow was the big meet the parent’s day. Honestly, I was pretty freaked about it. While Reece and I would share a stolen kiss here or there, I still wasn’t one hundred percent sure what we were. A friend? A girlfriend? No, definitely not that, but I felt like more than a friend. Friends with benefits? Well, first, those are filed under things you don’t tell parents. Hi, I’m June, your son’s friend with benefits. Let’s see how well that goes over. And I haven’t really experience the benefits yet, so it
would also be a lie. Which led me back to square one.

  “Sure,” I said. “What should I wear? Is this like a black tie affair or a country hoedown?” I knew Reece’s parents had some land outside of Nampa, but wasn’t sure where.

  Reece laughed and said, “Somewhere in the middle.” He handed me the money he owed me and I put it into the till.

  As he counted his money he had made that night, his eyes glanced up from his thick eyelashes. “The party starts at six. I will pick you up around five thirty. Does that work?”

  “Sure, I’ll be ready.” I had the whole day and wasn’t sure what to do exactly. A part of me wanted to hang out with Reece, but the other part was trying to not act clingy or look too desperate. Again, the whole not knowing thing was really killing my vibe here. But then I remembered the whole not thinking thing and knew I was overthinking it. Again.

  Instead, I didn’t think and said, “What are you going to do with a whole day off?” Bam! I rocked. I didn’t seem clingy and instead asked a question that did not seem like a desperate June starving for companionship.

  “I am spending a thrilling day covered in paint,” he said while he put his money into his wallet.

  “Really?” I asked in amazement, like the idea of Reece covered in paint was a foreign idea. Reece covered with paint … I bet I could help him clean off. Oh dear Lord, I had issues. I pushed the thought to the back of my head. “What are you painting?”

  “The living room. I don’t know when it was done last, figured it was time.”

  Painting? Not exactly what I had in mind, my mind had dirtier thoughts I didn’t know how to act on, but I could deal with painting.

  “Do you need help?” Reece shot me a look and I quickly added, “I mean, I know you have to spend the night with me.” Fuck. Why do I always butcher what I say to him? “I mean … at your parent’s party. Like in public. Hanging out with me.” Rambling June strikes again. “But I can help if you want” I finished after my mash up of words. Somehow I had gotten that out even with images of a paint covered Reece not staying in the back of my head.

  I saw a smirk and a raised eyebrow. “June, are you willingly saying you want to spend time with me?” Reece leaned on the door frame, his eyes lit up.

  Okay, maybe that was what I was saying. But I wasn’t going to let him know that. “Nope. Just saying I can lend a hand if you want. Only if you want to hang out with me. I am a hot commodity, what can I say.”

  Reece shook his head and smiled at me. He was going to let me win this one. With a sweetness in his voice and a touch of sarcasm only a master could detect, he said, “I would love for you to hang out with me. Please, would you care to help me paint my living room? I will even make you lunch.”

  It wasn’t a hot and sweaty make out session I wanted, but the boy could cook and I agreed. This round I had win. The score was becoming a little more even.

  I knocked on Reece’s door the next morning. Morrison was sniffing around Reece’s porch, being adorable. Getting a dog was one of my better ideas. I didn’t want to leave him alone, and Reece had offered his backyard for him to play. It was nine in the morning and Reece was really pushing it if he thought I would be here any earlier. It had been almost midnight by the time I had left The Shack, and I had finally crawled into bed around one. Now with the morning sun I rarely saw blinding me, I stood on Reece’s porch wearing cut off grey sweat pants and a Blue BSU shirt, dog in tow. I had thrown my hair up in a messy bun and didn’t even bother with makeup. I was painting, not going out. That was tonight and I would be putting effort into my appearance. It was one thing to get dressed up for Reece, but I was meeting his parents at a gathering of Reece’s family and friends. It was a different a matter altogether. I thought how this was probably harder for him than he was letting on. If he hadn’t seen his parents in who knows how long, then it was probably longer for his parent’s friends.

  I wasn’t going to let my issues be the main focus tonight, as they seem to always be. Reece had been nothing but sweet to me as I continued to be a wreck over my life. He had helped in more ways than he knew. Tonight, I would do the same for him. I would be there for him in what could be a difficult night.

  Reece opened the door with a chipper smile, cutting off my thoughts; he must be a morning person. He knew I wasn’t one as he held me a cup of coffee from Starbucks. I took the coffee without words, only a smile, and followed him into the house to the backyard, Morrison’s puppy heaven.

  He had already moved the furniture, covered in white sheets, and the painting materials were laid out. He was painting the main wall a beautiful brown that had hints of honey in it. The rest would be an off white to compliment the brown. A classy bachelor pad that screamed Reece. He said he was updating what his aunt did, but I knew he was putting his own mark on it, and even possibly settling down. I was filing painting under the deal we had made. This was his subtle way of making progress and putting down roots. Honestly, I was happy to be a part of it. If I couldn’t figure my shit out at least I could help Reece figure out his.

  After Reece had put on some music, we started to paint. I loved that about him. Music was a uniter, it brought people together. Reece’s love for music spoke to my music-filled soul. The playlist he had playing was upbeat tunes that was easy to paint and dance to. We painted for a few hours, easy conversation between us filling the time. Around lunch, “Free” by Graffiti6 was playing and I was grooving along and singing at the top of my lungs, badly I was sure.

  I had no cares in the world and I wasn’t thinking about my not so great singing voice or embarrassing myself, I wouldn’t allow myself to. At that moment, I was more than happy, I was blissful. As the song ended, I was on the ladder getting the top parts when I looked over at Reece. He had stopped painting long enough for at least six or seven drops of paint to fall on the sheets we were working over. He had a look on his face I couldn’t describe; it was a mix of longing and awe if I had to categorize it. Maybe I had paint on my butt.

  “What?” I tried to turn around to see my backside. While I was looking, I almost slipped off the ladder. I grabbed the ladder so quickly, with the paintbrush still in my hand, I flung paint right onto Reece.

  Reece gasped, broken from the weird look he was giving me, and glanced down at his shirt. He returned his gaze to me and laughed. I started to laugh, too, and realized that was probably a bad idea on a ladder so I quickly got down. As soon as I got down and turned around, I felt something wet on my ass. I looked and now I had paint on my ass. I turned to Reece with faux shock on my face. He had a huge smile on his face, knowing he had instigated an all-out paint war.

  I dipped my brush back into the paint, and with a straight face I glanced up to Reece.

  “What are you doing, June?” He narrowed his eyes and gave me a half-smile. Oh, he knew what I was going to do.

  I smiled the sweetest, innocent grin I could muster. “Nothing,” I politely said. I took two steps forward as he retreated to the other wall. “Are you running away from me, Reece?” I teased, waving the paintbrush in my hand as I took another step closer to him, closing the gap.

  “I would never run away from you, June. I don’t think I could even if I wanted to.” I slightly stumbled over his words, my heart fluttering, but I continued my quest as I cornered Reece.

  With his back against the wall, I walked up to him, toe to toe.

  He had a mischievous grin on his face. “What now, June?” he asked me … dared me.

  I took the paintbrush and tapped his nose, the pretty brown covering it.

  I slowly smiled. “You are such a brownnoser, Reece. Always trying to get in my good graces,” I said with sarcasm.

  Two heartbeats later he said, “There is nowhere else I would rather be.” He grabbed me by the arms and kissed me with fervor, making my heart race and my head feel light. I dropped the paintbrush and wrapped my arms around his neck, pulling him closer to me. The force in his kiss pushed me back a step and my feet got tangled in the sheet on the
floor, causing me to fall backwards. Reece broke my fall, and then I was once again underneath this man, and at this moment he was all man, I could tell. He never broke the heated kiss we were sharing and suddenly I felt something cold on my arm. I gasped as I pushed Reece back to find him laughing, holding the paintbrush I had dropped. I glanced at my arm to see brown paint all over it.

  With my mouth open, I looked over to Reece. He was laughing so hard he wrapped his hands around his stomach and flopped over. I took advantage, grabbing the paintbrush and making a long swipe over his arm and onto his shirt. He retaliated by grasping my wrist and leaning in to kiss my neck. He must have known it was my weak spot because the grip on the brush weakened. He took it out of my hand, making my other arm match my painted one. We wrestled on the floor for another few minutes, stealing kisses in between our paint war. By the end we were both covered with paint and out of breath. We laid on the floor for a few minutes before Reece got up, threw off his shirt, and went to the kitchen.

  “What are you doing?” I sat up and leaned back on my hands.

  “Making you the lunch I promised.”

  And he had to do this shirtless?

  And I was complaining why?

  Reece started to grab items out of the fridge and I moved myself to one of the bar stools as I settled in to see the dream in front of me; a very hot man with no shirt making me lunch. Give me a beer and I would swear I was in heaven.

  “Want a beer?” Reece reached in, grabbed two beers and handed me one. Oh Lord, my prayers had been answered. I took a big swig, realizing I was a bit thirsty from all the painting. While the beer was tasty, I could think of other things that could satisfy this urge I was having, and it was looking straight at me as it stood by the stove stirring something that smelled delicious in a pan.

  “June, you’re staring again. Do I need to put on a shirt?” Reece asked with a smirk.