Page 37 of Buckle Up, Buttercup

“Hadrian,” I begin, but just as I say his name, his comm watch rings.

He groans and lifts his wrist. His coach’s name hovers above it. He shakes his head. “I’ll call him back later. Like I was saying⁠—”

The watch rings again, insistently.

“You should get that,” I offer. “For real, I’m good.”

“Fuck,” he hisses, running a hand through his black waves and looking between me and the watch. “I really should take this, I’m so sorry.”

I lift both hands as I back toward the door. “We’ll finish this conversation, I promise. I’m just going to head into town, but call me later, okay?” Part of me is desperate to run from the conversation because I don’t know if I’m ready for it.

His tail lashes faster, and he sucks at his fangs, staring at me like he’s not sure if he agrees with my suggestion. “Call you later, I promise.”

Nodding, I spin toward the door and do my best not to break into a run. I speed-walk until I get half a block away from the cottage, then I lift my wrist and comm Lemon. She picks up on the first ring.

“Bluebell, hey girl. You’ve been busy this w⁠—”

“I need you,” I hiss. “And Oz. Meet me at the boats right now!”

“Okayyyy,” she says. “Right this second?”

“Yes,” I bark. “I promise you have nothing better to do than what I need right now. I have never called and asked you for anything, but⁠—”

“I’m coming now,” she says. “Don’t worry, friend. I’ve got your back. You want to call Oz, or should I?”

“I’ll do it.”

She clicks off, and I call Oz next. “Meet me and Lemon at the boats right now, Oz. I need your help. It’s a friendmergency.”

He sputters, but I close out the call and break into a jog. Hooking a left into the alleyway between Whiskey Business and the Welcome Inn, I head into the hidden tunnels below Main Street. Then I find my way to the handful of boats and the hidden river that runs beneath all of Pine Gulch’s downtown.

Neither Lemon nor Oz are there yet, so I busy myself hopping into a boat and settling onto a seat. I can’t sit still, though, so I tap my foot incessantly until I hear footsteps. Oz arrives first, swanning into the room with a swish of his hips, wings held high behind him.

“Girl, this better be good.” Ginger trails behind him, her nose practically touching his tail as she slinks into the light.

“Oh, it is,” I mutter as he hops into the boat. He has to kiss the dog to get her to join us, and she tucks herself between his thighs with her head on his knee.

He rolls his eyes but scratches her neck anyhow. “This girl is obsessed.”

I eye the pretty thing. “But she hasn’t bonded to you yet?”

He runs big purple fingers down her neck. “Nah, not yet. This is a normal amount of hovering, I’m told. Once she starts giving you the stink eye for hugging me or something, that’ll mean she’s bonded.”

Lemon smiles and reaches down to pet Ginger’s head. “That’s right. She’d follow you around like she does but potentially attack anyone she thought posed a threat to you.”

Lemon flounces into the boat and sits between Oz’s knees next to the dog, who shoves her butt in Lemon’s lap but doesn't move her chin from Oz’s knee. Oz’s thighs are spread wide around both of them but he doesn’t seem to mind in the slightest, if the grin on his face says anything.

“Okay,” Lemon says with a cutesy little purr, waggling elegant brows at me. “Tell us everything, girl. I’ve never heard you sound like you sounded when you called.”

Grabbing the boat’s oars, I slip them into the supports and start rowing up the jewel-toned river away from the pier. The tunnel is lit by elegantly flickering sconces, but it's the last thing I notice as I suck in a breath and consider what to do.

They’re quiet until I’ve rowed a few minutes in silence, considering how to break this news and what I even want.

“Hadrian’s flirting with me,” I finally bark out. “Like…I wasn’t sure, but now I’m super sure, and he’s definitely flirting with me.”

Lemon beams and looks up over her shoulder at Oz. “You owe me.”

Oz scoffs and tugs on her long blonde hair. “I just said it would take longer.”