Page 1 of Band of Brothers - MFMM Menage Romance (Sweet Treats 8)

1

June

“Dad, I’m not sure about this,” I say slowly. “Do I seem like the typical debutante to you?”

Owen shakes his head and grins.

“No, you don’t,” he acknowledges. “But June, I think you could get something from the group. You’ve been rolling with a crowd that runs fast and loose. What are your friends’ names again? Cloak and Dagger?”

I stare at him.

“Their names are Coke and Danger,” I say.

Owen merely shakes his head.

“See?” he says. “What did I tell you? Even their names are ridiculous. Who has a name like “Coke”? Is that in reference to the drink or to the narcotic? And what’s up with the name “Danger”? Is it like Triumph the Insult Comic Dog? Am I missing something?”

I roll my eyes and cross my arms over my chest. The kitchen light seems to be particularly bright tonight, and I glare over the table at my dad. Seriously, Owen is being way too judgmental. He’s an old person, so I get it. Sometimes, elderly people get stuck in their habits and they can’t get themselves out no matter how they try. But Owen’s not that old. He’s probably only forty-five, which is hardly over the hill.

“For your information, Coke’s real name is Corinna, but people were calling her Cokie and she didn’t like it. So she asked people to shorten it to Coke. And Danger is just Danger. She was named by her parents, who are hippies who came of age at Berkeley. She can’t legally change her name until she’s eighteen, so what is there to do in the meantime? Ask people to call her Danielle just for kicks?”

My dad shrugs his wide shoulders, and his blue eyes glint.

“No, but June, this is exactly why I’m worried for you. Your friends are weird. Why don’t you ever hang out with the normal girls, like Jane Easton from down the street and Rebecca Milnard, who’s in all the Sunnydale school plays? They’re normal girls from normal families. What’s wrong with them?”

I roll my eyes again.

“Are you really asking that?”

My dad snorts and his expression grows even more severe.

“June, I’m just concerned about you, okay?”

I cut him off.

“But why? And for your information, Jane and Rebecca are strange people, even if they don’t seem like it on the outside. Jane is still a Girl Scout even though we’re seniors in high school. Who does that? I understand that Girl Scouts is a great organization, but Jane is literally still going door to door selling cookies even though she’s way too old. And Rebecca? She is definitely not normal. She’s super into drama, and that crowd of kids is weird. If you think me and my friends are strange, you should get a look at the drama kids. They burst into song at random moments, including when they’re using the toilet at school. Now those people are off-the-wall.”

My dad merely shakes his head again.

“I just wish you were more mainstream, June. I’m not trying to criticize, even if it’s coming out the wrong way.”

“But what do you want me to do?” I ask plaintively. “Get a new personality?”

Owen looks uncomfortable. My dad is a strong alpha male, and it’s hard for him to have a conversation like this. But he takes a deep breath and looks at me.

“Well, for example, what’s with your hair?” he asks. “How can your current style be attractive?”

I shake my head a bit, the brown curls jouncing merrily.

“You mean, the highlights I got last week?” I ask.

My dad nods.

“Yeah, sweetheart. I mean, I’m not an expert when it comes to fashion, but is it supposed to look like that? You know, with one piece blonde and the next one brown? They almost look like zebra stripes. You could be so pretty if you tried, June. Why don’t you do yourself up like a regular girl?”

I roll my eyes again.

“For your information, chunky highlights are back, Dad. I know you were alive in the 90’s, so you know the look: it’s Friends mixed with some Smashing Pumpkins. I know it doesn’t look “natural” per se, but it still looks good!”

Owen merely shakes his head, looking more and more confused.

“But your clothes, Junie! What’s going on with those fishnet stockings and the big combat boots? You’re not going off to war or working at a construction site. And why do you have so much black eyeliner on?”

I roll my eyes again.

“Daddy, it’s a “look,” okay? All my friends are doing it, and for your information, these combat boots are very utilitarian. They’re not expensive either because I got them half off at Dilley’s downtown.”

Owen merely shakes his head again. I don’t know what is wrong with him, but he’s got a bee in his bonnet tonight. His handsome face is drawn and his fingers relentlessly tap at the table.