A Hidden Truth

False Dreams, Honest Truth

[Juniper]

    We left the office. Trace and Carson went to wrap things up with the principal and Teddy signed me out of school. Jaxon was waiting in the student pick up area. He looked concerned. The story hadn’t made it out to him yet. He saw Clayton and his eyes widened. He walked over to us.

    “I saw a bunch of boys come out that looked about that beat up. What the hell happened, Juniper? I heard you were in the fight. Are you hurt? Who started it?” He pressed.

    “Umm… remember how you told me to be good today?” I asked.

    “Yes…” He replied slowly.

    “I was very good… at starting that fight. But I wasn’t as good at ending it…” I winced a little. “On the plus side, I was suspended for the day so we can spend the whole afternoon together.”

    Jaxon opened and closed his mouth a few times. Teddy was snickering and I was trying not to laugh again.

    “You’ll have to explain. Let’s go do Miss Letty’s errands. You can tell me on the way.” He went back to the car and opened the passenger’s side door. I hugged Teddy and went to get in.

    I told Jaxon the whole story as we drove to Miss Letty’s. By the time we pulled up, I was waiting for him to respond. He put the car in park and sat quietly for a few moments.

    “Clayton told her about Shelby, too?” He sighed. “You tried to stop the fight. That was good. Poor Clay. No one deserves that. Is he okay?”

    “Not great. He didn’t see it coming. And he fought Randy pretty hard. Both boys are strong because of farm and ranch work. Frankly, I have no idea what Becca was thinking. Clayton’s way hotter than Randy.” I snorted.

    “You think Clay’s hot?” Jaxon asked in a clipped tone.

    “Not as hot as my boyfriend. But way hotter than Randy.” I smiled.

    “Good.” He grinned. “Let’s get this done. Did you want to do some grocery shopping for the house while we’re out?”

    “That would be good. I don’t think we can live on leftovers forever.” I laughed.

    We went into Letty’s and got our list of errands. Letty asked if we were dating now and was happy we’d hit it off. I was pretty happy, too.

[Jaxon]

    When we got back to the guest house, I started carrying in the groceries while Juniper made an appointment with her doctor. She was gossiping with the receptionist as she put things away. I loved watching her. Maybe we could live together in Austin. I could imagine her in our own kitchen, where I wouldn’t have to worry about her brother interrupting us when I wanted to kiss her or hold her.

    After the last bag was in, I started to help put things away. She’d bought the stuff for Teddy’s favorite dinner. Shrimp alfredo with broccoli and mushrooms. Juniper told me she made her own alfredo sauce and garlic butter for the bread. Teddy didn’t like it any other way. She said she’d start cooking at five so it would be ready when he got home.

    Juniper brought out two glasses of lemonade and sat them at the coffee table. She sat on the couch and patted the seat next to her. I joined her and she leaned against me.

    “Now, tell me about Shelby.” She said softly.

    I stroked her hair. “She was my first girlfriend. We dated for a year and a half. What I didn’t know, was that she was also dating a man named Jorge. He was older than us and her parents wouldn’t have approved. Half the dates they thought I was taking her on, were actually with him. They took it to the next level and she got pregnant. I had to admit to my parents, her parents, and all of our friends that I was a virgin and we’d never gone past kissing and holding hands.” I sighed. “I dated a little, but didn’t have another girlfriend until senior year of college. Every time my relationships started to get serious, the girl would leave. I managed to sleep with one woman the year before. We met at a bar where I was drinking with some classmates. I was too drunk to remember it.”

    “How many women have you been with?” Juniper asked.

    “Two.” I admitted.

    It was embarrassing. I wasn’t terribly picky, I just didn’t always pick up on subtle hints and I was really focused on school. There were a few girls who got through my obtuse nature, but nothing serious. Even my relationship with Kenny wasn’t really serious.

    “I see.” She murmured.

    “What do you see, sweet?” I kissed her head.

    “You’re actually lame. I thought you were cool and experienced.” Juniper sighed. “But you’re just a shy geek boy.”

    I scoffed. “Wow. You are mean today.”

    “It’s okay if you’re a lame, shy, geek boy. As long as you’re my lame, shy, geek boy.” She moved to straddle my lap and kissed me softly. She pulled back and whispered, “I’ll go slow and be gentle with you, so you don’t get too scared.” Then she resumed the kiss, moving her hips back and forth on my lap.

    I groaned. If this weren’t such a fragile relationship, I would have spanked her for being a brat. Now, it seemed, she wanted something like this morning again. It had been really good. I’d never gone to completion while doing that.

    Normally, it was just a part of foreplay with Kenny, the lead-in for all of the other ways we touched and experienced each other. I’d made up for all the years of ineptitude with Kenny. She taught me a lot in the time we were together. Helped me discover myself as a dom. Most of all, she taught me patience. And it was going to be needed if I was going to make it to Saturday without giving in to Juniper.

    I pushed Juniper away. “Not right now, sweet girl. Don’t you have a book to read?”

    Now she was groaning, but in frustration. “I forgot. I have to go find it.”

    Juniper climbed off of me and stalked to her room. She was adorable when she was pouty. I couldn’t believe my luck at finding a girl like her. When the time came, I was going to make her feel just as lucky.

    The thought froze me. Did I just, seriously, think about marrying her? I didn’t realize it was where these feelings were leading. The more I thought of it, the more I liked it. 

    Waking up next to Juniper every day, reading with her, talking to her, eating with her. Knowing she wanted to protect me as much as I wanted to protect her. Maybe have kids once we were done with school. I smiled at the thought. Juniper Fordyce-Boone.

    She came back carrying her book and laid down on the couch, putting her head in my lap as she read. I watched her as she focused entirely on the page in front of her. This was something else I’d never experienced. None of my previous girlfriends had ever just relaxed on me. Every time, it turned into playing or fooling around. Juniper seemed to be able to switch to serious mode entirely. I found myself drifting off.