My Forever June by DeAnna Kinney Page B

pick you up at six.” And then he was gone.
                  That night at dinner, I soon realized that things hadn’t changed all that much. He was still the same ol’ Blake, consumed with his own life and plans. I allowed his useless chatter to fall to background noise as my mind wandered. I found myself fantasizing about Tucker. I glanced up and it was as if Tucker had replaced Blake. He was staring at me like I was the only woman in the world, just like he always did. My heart soared. It was the first blissful moment I had experienced since that moment Tucker proposed to me in the hospital bed so many weeks before.
                  “June? June?” Blake was saying and I was finally pulled out of my fantasy.
                  “Oh, sorry. What were you saying?” I was relieved that he didn’t start again since the food had arrived. I ate in silence as Blake continued to rattle on and on.
                  By the time he walked me to my front door, I was about to scream and hit something really hard.
                  “Thank you, Blake, for a lovely dinner,” I lied. Well, if there was one thing my momma taught me was to never be rude. I guess I could’ve kept my mouth shut though.
                  “I enjoyed getting to know you again,” he said, and I had to bite my lip to keep from responding.
                  Since when did you get to know me? You only talked about yourself! “Okay, well thanks again. And have a safe drive back to Charlotte.”
                  I turned to go inside when he took a gentle hold of my arm, stopping me. “Can I at least have a goodbye kiss?” It wasn’t a question as his lips came down on mine hard and fast. I pushed at his chest, but he wasn’t budging. I began to wrestle with him as his arms pulled me tighter against him.
                  “Oh, come on, June. For old time’s sake,” he was saying into my mouth.
                  Yuck! I was going to vomit . “No!” I yelled as best I could, but it didn’t deter him at all.
                  “June?” Chase said, stepping up onto the porch. “Is there a problem?”
                  Blake released me, and I rushed into the safety of Chase’s arms.
                  “I think you better leave now,” Chase said sternly, and it was clear that it was not up for negotiations.
                  Blake did the smart thing. He nodded and stepped past us and went swiftly to his car. “Oh, June,” he said, rolling down his car window. “Your mom was the one who told me to come.” Then he drove away.
                  I was suddenly fuming.
                  “June, are you all right?” Chase asked as he led me into the house and sat me down on the sofa.
                  I pushed my anger aside to deal with later. “I think so. Thank you so much for helping me. I know seeing me with Tucker hasn’t been easy for you. But thank you for being a good friend.”
                  He squeezed my hand. “It’s okay. It was hard at first, but any fool can see how great you guys are together. It’s sickening really. And I met someone this week.”
                  He instantly had my full attention. “That is wonderful? Who is she?”
    “Well, she hasn’ t really accepted my invitations to go on a date yet, but she will. I can be very persistent.”
                  Boy don’t I know that.
                  “Her name is Eden Blair, and she owns the art gallery in Willington, you know, the one where you have your paintings.”
                  My eyes grew wide in surprise. “Eden Blair?! She is one of my best friends!”
                  He got excited about this and continued to ask me all sorts of questions about her, but soon he realized I was exhausted and excused himself