JUNE
"So," June drawled as she rested her elbow on the counter, her fingers drumming lightly. "I have a question from a friend."
"You don't have any friends," Lola said as a matter of factly. "Except for me, of course." She gave June a cheeky smile.
"Who...told you do?" June stammered, eyes wide.
Lola sighed, turning to face her and crossing her arms. She stared at her as if waiting for June to call her bluff.
A gasp of disbelief escaped June's mouth. She knew she didn't have any friends except for Lola but wasn't going to admit it.
"I have friends outside of you." June insisted.
"Yeah, whatever." Lola's voice dripped with playful sarcasm. "Let's say you do have a friend outside me."
June's eyes narrowed slightly. "So this friend of mine went out with someone."
Lola interjected. "Is the 'someone' a man?"
"Why does that matter?" June sputtered as her heart rose to her cheeks.
"Well," Lola started, her eyes glinting with mischief. "You know to give proper answers."
"Let's say so." June continued. "So this friend went out with a man and then she excused herself briefly—."
"To use the bathroom?" Lola cut her off.
"Yes." June hesitated. She went to see her idol but Lola didn't need to know it was her. "So when the friend—."
"Is the friend a man or a woman—."
"Oh my god, Lola, just listen to the damn question."
"Alright. Alright." Lola made a zipping motion over her lips. " No more questions asked."
"Thank you." June huffed out in annoyance. "So, when she—the friend got back, the man's mood had changed and when she asked what was wrong he said nothing but she could feel something was off. If the friend calls the man to check up on him, is it weird? Or nosy? Does it come off as overbearing?"
June stared at Lola as she traced her jaw with her thumb in thought. June had no idea what happened but when she came back from her fan meeting with Valentina, Ollie wasn't as she'd left him. His mood had changed and it wasn't for the better. Though it was barely noticeable, June was someone who picked on someone's mood, emotion, and even body language very quickly.
One of the quirks of being an overthinker. She noticed everything on a micro level. Now, she couldn't stop replaying the event in her mind and wondering where things went wrong.
"I guess you can check up on him." Lola lifted her shoulder.
"Not me, the friend."
"That is what I meant," Lola said with a hint of playfulness. "I mean you—they are close enough to go out so I won't say calling the man is nosy."
"Right!" She cleared her throat. "I mean that's what I told her too."
"So, are they in the talking stage or are they dating?" Lola asked.
"No," she sighed. "Things are complicated between them."
They just had a sex contract between them and he'd been very nice to her. But now, he'd gone radio silence for a week and June didn't know what to make of it.
June knew it was unreasonable but she couldn't stop thinking that perhaps she'd done something wrong to cause this.
When Lola was nowhere near her, June brought out her phone and called Ollie twice. Both calls went straight to voicemail.
Her stomach dropped.
The next day, June called him again and didn't get a response. Now, she was calling him while in the locker room as she waited for the event manager to hand over her server's uniform.
June was restless and her mind was going haywire with thoughts and scenarios.
He had gone radio silence, he wasn't answering her call. This could only mean one thing and it made her stomach recoil inward.
"Have this." The event manager extended the uniform toward her.
Her mouth fell open at the sight of the uniform. "This is too small." She eyed the small length and size of the outfit.
"That is the biggest size." The woman scrunched her nose up as if June's objection was a grave sin.
"I don't think it will fit." She dragged her teeth up her lower lips.
"You can leave if you can't wear it," the woman snapped.
Begrudgingly, June took the uniform from the woman with an obvious eye roll. The pay wasn't even that good for this much inconvenience.
"I saw that," the woman said, walking past her.
Well, she wanted her to see it. The rest of the girls muttered complaints about the uniform but none of them had any choice.
Putting the uniform on was a challenge and walking in it was a greater one. The dress barely reached her mid-thigh, and it kept riding up as she made her way to the hall used for the event. She tugged at the hems, her frustration mounting.
Months of stripping hadn't prepared June for the stares she got from men when she stepped into the hall. Their eyes hovered on her and she felt exposed in a way that made her skin crawl.
June ducked her head, grabbing a tray from the entrance before maneuvering her way through the crowd. She only halted her feet when she realized there was a low concentration of men around her.
So help her god, this evening because it would be a long one.
"Excuse me," a male voice called from behind her.
Oh god, she hadn't even composed herself yet.
She blew out a breath of hot air before turning around on her heels.
With a forced smile, she said. "Yes?"
The lewd glint in the man's eyes made her skin prickle with disgust. "Give me a Vodka." He didn't even care to look at her face. He just gawked at her body.
She extended a glass of vodka towards him, and he deliberately brushed his hand against hers as he collected it from her.
Such a jerk.
As he took a sip, he asked, his eyes not leaving her body. "So what's your name?"
One would think she would have gotten used to men gawking after these years, but it still made her stomach twist.
"June," she said calmly with a smile that didn't reflect what she was feeling inside her.
He licked his lips like a dog eyeing a piece of meat. "Such a name for a sexy body like you."
Of course, she was only a sexy body. Piece of shit.
Two of his friends joined him, and they were no better than him. They made subtle disrespectful comments about her, and her body, and when she tried to leave their midst, they would un–coincidentally demand a drink.
"Would June like a foursome?" the one with a weird goatee asked, leering.
"Excuse me?" June said, not indulging him. She didn't crack a smile, her voice held no hint of playfulness, and she held his gaze with thinned lips until he shifted uncomfortably.
Silence stretched for a short moment before he let out an awkward chuckle. "Just a joke."
The more she stayed here, the more her anger kept rising. She was disgusted by them.
The first one who'd approached her dropped a pair of glasses un—intentionally.
When his eyes glinted with mischief, June could already guess what he was going to request from her.
"Can you pick it for me?" His voice dripped with fake innocence.
She let out a frustrated and annoyed sigh as their snickers drifted into her ears.
June hesitated as she gauged the best way to pick up the glasses.
If she bent down, facing them, they would be getting a show of her cleavages, and if she turned her back against them, they would ogle her ass.
There was no winning this for her. With a defeated sigh, June prepared to get it over with.
She was about to crunch down when a shoe marched the glasses to pieces with a sharp crunch.
As her eyes snapped up, her heart lurched into her throat, and she lost her composure.
Ollie. She almost said his name, but bit back at the last minute.
JUNEJune woke with a satisfied smile. The same smile that had rested on her lips when she’d drifted off against Ollie’s chest after he’d fucked her senseless. The soreness between her thighs and the scent of sex still clinging to the sheets were undeniably proof.Burying her face into Ollie’s sheets, she inhaled deeply, a soft hum vibrating in her throat. God, it should be illegal for someone to smell this good.Still half-dazed in the golden afterglow of sleep, she reached out, and her fingers blindly searched for the familiar heat of his body. Instead, they met cool, empty sheets.Her eyes fluttered open. Empty.A knowing sigh left her lips. There was only one place Ollie could be. She’d bet her last dime he was in his study, hunched over his laptop, completely engrossed in work.Jeez, he was a chronic workaholic. Most people worked to survive. Ollie worked because he thrived on it.Shaking her head, June slid out of bed, stretching before padding toward his sanctuary. The moment sh
OLLIEHe opened his eyes to the soft glow of the moonlight filtering through the window, and there on the couch was June. She lay curled, chest rising and falling in every breath.The soft curve of her face was bathed in silver light, and for a moment, he forgot everything else.A smile tugged at his lips as he watched her.He stared at her for a long while, just savoring the sight of her, feeling a rare sense of peace. Finally with a reluctant sigh, he slid off the bed, and moved toward her quietly. When he reached her, he bent down slowly, carefully intending to lift her into his arms and move her to the bed. But just as his fingers brushed her shoulder, she stirred.Her eyelids fluttered, and she blinked in confusion as she met his gaze in the dim light. “Sorry,” he whispered. “I woke you up.”She groggily shifted, a frown pulling at her lips. “What?” Her voice was thick with sleep, and her eyes were still hazy. She quickly reached up, pressing her hands to his forehead. “How’s yo
JUNEJune knew Ollie to an extent, and she knew that when he was hurting, he would retreat into himself like a hermit. He would never reach out. He was stubborn like that. He would isolate himself until it passed over.Today was the anniversary of his mother’s passing, and that couldn’t actually be easy for him. Not that he would admit it aloud. So, June took it upon herself to invite herself into his house, hoping her presence might help him.It wasn’t exactly an intrusion. Ollie had given her the access card himself, but that didn’t stop her from feeling nervous. Her heart pounded and her hands were clammy. Ollie’s reaction couldn’t be predicted and this could go very wrong. Maybe it was just her overthinking talking, but still. She had been waiting for over an hour now, sitting alone in his living room. Calling him wasn’t an option, she was too anxious to face his reaction over the phone. So she waited as each passing minute amplified the tension in her chest.After what felt like
OLLIEThe longer Ollie stared at his late mother’s memorial picture, the more he realized that he shared zero resemblance with her—except for his eyes.Every defining feature he possessed came from his father, man he despised with every fiber of his being. It wasn’t just unfortunate. It was a curse. A colossal, cruel curse.To be the living reflection of the man who had haunted his life? It was enough to drive anyone insane.He should’ve felt something standing here—grief, sadness, anything. But instead, all he could do was compare. His mother’s face, captured forever in a frame, and his own. No sorrow. No anger. Just an aching numbness, lodged so deep in his bones it felt like it had always been there.There was a time when he would’ve been furious. When moments like this would’ve filled him with rage. But the older he got, the more that fire cooled, replaced by grim understanding. His father had hollowed his mother out. Shattered her at the height of her success, then dragged her dow
JUNEJune didn’t protest, didn’t question him. The only thing she knew was how badly she wanted to feel him between her legs.He moved between her legs, fitting his broad frame in the space she made for him. Slowly, he bent down, and slid her legs over his shoulders.She sucked in a breath in anticipation as he traced the soft curves of her thighs. When his fingers hooked around her thong and pulled it aside, she felt a flush spread over her skin, her body tingling with raw desire.A low, throaty groan that Ollie let out vibrated through her, his breath caressed her pussy. Ollie didn’t rush as he alternated between teasing her clit and sliding deep inside of her. He dragged out her pleasure until she was a mess of frustration and needs.“Ollie, please,” she whispered “I need…” She bit her lip, unable to finish her sentence as another nibble of his teeth on her clit cut off her thoughts completely.“What do you need?” he murmured against her.He knew exactly what he was doing, and it
JUNE“Are you even listening?”June heard Lola’s voice vaguely“Of course,” she said on autopilot as her lips curved into a small smile at the text Ollie had sent her. It had been a long day filled with back-to-back shifts, and she could finally reply to his message.“What was I saying?”Lola said, and June blinked, raising her gaze to meet Lola’s. Her arms were crossed over her chest, and a frown was etched on her face.“Uhm…” June’s voice trailed off as her eyes darted away as though the answer might magically appear in the air between them.“See? You weren’t listening.” Lola’s frown deepened as she gestured toward her with a pointed look. “Ever since you got yourself a boyfriend, you’ve become insufferable.”“I haven’t,” June gasped dramatically.Lola shook her head as her eyes narrowed. “Knew there was a reason I didn’t like him,” she muttered under her breath, but it was loud enough for June to hear. “He’s here to steal my girlfriend.”June rolled her eyes at her friend’s dramatic