Page 57 of Rebound

“What is wrong with Elizabeth?”

“She could have been nicer,” June Bug counters.

“Right because women need to be nice to men who are assholes to them,” Layla says with a dismissive wave of her hand.

“I’ll give you my full analysis when I’m done, but so far, Elizabeth is on my shit list. I’ll see you two later.” He turns on his iPad and ignores us.

Chapter 33

Layla

June Bug points his index and middle finger at his eyes, then he points them at Seth. Seth just huffs and looks down at his phone.

With Jasmine still in June Bug’s arms, he sits on the floor in the corner amid a sea of dolls, stuffed animals, and an assortment of toys. Despite the seven-year age difference between us, he would play with me for hours. He didn’t care if we played with dolls or built a village made of Lego’s.

“Am I supposed to be scared of him?” Seth asks. “While he’s wearing that pink tiara on his head?” He rolls his eyes. “Yeah, he’s scary. Wait until Jasmine tries to get him to wear one of her tutus.”

As the words leave his mouth, one of her toys starts to sing. She bounces and June Bug, while still seated on the floor, dances along with her.

“Yeah. He’s so tough,” Seth whispers, and I giggle. When the doorbell rings, he goes to open it. A few seconds later, Colt Chastain comes inside with his son in his arms.

“He had a meltdown when Jasmine left,” is all he says. When he puts Johnny down, he runs to Jasmine but stops short when he sees June Bug.

“‘Sup, little dude?” June Bug offers him a fist bump, and he takes it. “I’m Uncle June Bug.” Johnny jumps into the sea of toys and picks up a stuffed animal. He throws it at June Bug’s head and starts to laugh. Jasmine copies him. June Bug falls to the floor and lets out a loud, exaggerated groan. The kids continue to pummel him with the stuffed toys before he gets up and grabs a pillow as a shield. He pretends to be unsteady on his feet as he steps away from their onslaught. They laugh and continue their attack until he tosses the pillow and runs away. They follow and each grabs one of his legs. He yells and dramatically falls to the floor. They climb on top of him and continue to beat him with the stuffed toys.

“Who the heck is that?” Colt asks.

“My cousin,” I say. He grins at me and looks from me to Seth. He pulls out his phone and types something. Then he slides the phone back into his pocket. I expect him to tell us he’ll be back later to get Johnny, but he leans on the counter and sticks around.

I assume it’s because there’s someone here who is a stranger to him and his son, and he might not feel comfortable leaving his child here. I offer him a drink, and he asks for water. The entire time, he’s smiling, but not saying anything. When there’s another knock on the door, Colt goes to open it himself. His wife comes storming in and walks directly to me. She looks me over and hugs me, which is surprising. We’re friendly. We’ve met before through Jeannie. She helped plan Jeannie’s bridal shower and bachelorette party, but Jeannie is the glue to our relationship.

“You,” she says to Seth. He finally puts his phone down and stands up straight. Seth looks at her and Colt, probably confused by Vickie’s authoritative tone.

“Me?” He points to himself.

“What have you done to Layla?”

Seth grins and says, “That’s spousal privilege.” He wiggles his brows and does a modified version of the Sethhead dance.

“And who is that making my son laugh so hard?” she asks, but her face softens when she looks at Johnny, who is now sitting on June Bug’s stomach while he touches the tattoos on his neck. Jasmine is on his head, but instead of hitting him with the stuffed animals, they are hitting each other and laughing like it’s the funniest thing.

“That’s my cousin,” I say. “June Bug, come here,” I yell in his direction. He manages to crawl from under the toddlers and joins us.

His steps falter when he sees our guests. He’s a big sports guy. Whether it’s football, basketball, or wrestling, he’s always watching something.

“Oh, shit,” he says. Colt offers him his hand. He takes it, but his eyes remain on Vickie. “She’s finer in person. Goddamn, you’re a lucky man,” he says to Colt.

“He is,” Vickie agrees. “I’m Vickie.” She offers him her hand, but he only stares at it.

“I can’t touch another man’s wife. Especially when she’s as fine as you. Not without his permission,” he says, and Seth laughs hysterically. Vickie’s smile slips, but Colt’s widens. “May I?” June Bug asks Colt.

“No,” Colt says. “Don’t ever touch my wife.”

June Bug takes a step away from Vickie and says to Colt, “Respect.”

“The only person’s permission you need to shake my hand is mine,” Vickie says to him. “And permission is denied.” She cuts her eyes at him and looks away.

“God, I love mean women,” June Bug says.

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