Violet Hathaway, naked in my bed was just a fantasy up until the morning after we kick-started our relationship once again with a bang, literally. Too bad the boys downstairs had to take a hit for the team to do it. I’m still walking with a slight limp, and it’s well over forty-eight hours after the incident. But, man, was it worth it. Vi and I went round after round like seasoned pros, and we picked up right where we left off a year ago. Only this time there was an intensity, an electrified heat that you couldn’t run from. What happened in that bed was nothing at all like anything I’ve experienced before—not with Vi, not after Vi. I flinch at the thought as I head into the Underground.

It’s Friday night, and Vi says Sophie and Ember begged her to see a movie with them, some chick flick that has an all-female cast and is supposed to be as raunchy as hell. I hope it is, if that’s what they’re looking for, and I hope they’re having a great time.

A familiar face lifts an arm in the air and nods me over. It’s Rowen hanging out with a buddy, each with a burger planted in front of them.

“Join us.” Rowen pulls out the chair next to him while whistling for the waitress.

“Sure.” I take a seat and order a cheeseburger at the same time. “No girls, huh? Are you Ember’s plus one?” I look to the dude with dark hair and can’t help but think I’ve seen his face somewhere before.

“This is Braden, Sophie’s brother. No one is Ember’s plus one. The girl doesn’t do relationships according to Sophie.”

“Nice. She’ll be fun to watch next season.” I flash a quick grin. “What’s up? I interrupt anything?”

“Actually”—Sophie’s brother straightens a moment—“we were just talking about you. So, you’re back with your ex, huh?” He winces. “Sounds pretty brutal. But Rowen says you’re working things out. I haven’t seen the show. After Sophie starred in it with this numbskull, I swore it off for good.”

“Wise move.” I can imagine how much it would kill to see your sister sucking face with anyone, let alone knowing it’s broadcast for all to see. Wen pops in my brain, and I pop him right back out. I’m not dealing with him tonight. “And yeah, it was brutal in the beginning.” Heck, it was brutal two nights ago in my apartment or at least it started out that way. “But all the knots seem to be working themselves out seamlessly. It’s almost as if we’ve rewound time—only we’ve landed in a much better place than we’ve ever been.”

“Sweet.” Braden inches back as if it were the last thing he expected to hear. “That’s not happening for my ex and me. So you must have had something special to begin with.”

Rowen grunts as he swallows down a bite of his burger. “She’s over the cheating? Over those three chicks you slept with?”

My stomach grinds as reality slaps me in the face. “I don’t know. We’ve never brought it up.”

Braden shakes his head with a woeful look on his face. “You will, dude. Chicks never let you forget shit like that. It will all come out in the wash eventually.” He shoves his burger in his face, and I’m glad about it. My fist was starting to twitch.

Rowen shrugs over at me as if he were apologizing. “He’s right. But don’t worry. Vi’s got a good head on her shoulders. She’s able to see you’ve changed. And those three girls? You weren’t even together anymore. She can’t hold them against you.”

“She can.” Braden nods over at me, and my fist starts pumping.

Rowen changes the topic, and they talk football while my burger lands in front of me, and I can’t seem to take a single bite.

Something tells me Braden is right. It will all come out in the wash. All of our dirty laundry has yet to properly air itself out. But the TSE is far more interested in improving their couples’ ratio. I doubt they ever bring it up. Nope. It’s going to simmer on the backburner until it starts to boil over, and then Vi and I will truly be right where we left off, hurting and angry and wondering how the hell we got there again.

---

Thursday after practice—double the length of the usual practice—I hit the gym shower then make the long trek through the dark, icy campus. I’m half-tempted to head up to Canterbury and check in on Vi, hang out with her. But it’s eight thirty, dark as midnight, and the campus has already been abandoned for the night. And as starved as I am, the last thing I want is to wait on a burger at the Underground with all of its skull pounding music, the explosive bouts of laughter that would only feel like grenades going off in my ears. Nope. I want the solitude of my own living room, and considering the fact I have no food in the fridge, I opt to duck into Coffeeology for a quick sandwich and a decaf. I need sleep just as much as I need food. Not that the food at this place is anything to brag about, but I head in and let the thick scent of roasted beans fill my senses. No matter what time of day, I love heading in here. There’s something homey about the scent of fresh brewed coffee. Makes me yearn for simpler times. I pick up a turkey sandwich, a cup of hot coffee, along with a bottle of ice-cold water, and grab a seat near the back. This entire social experiment has given me a weird celebrity-like clout on campus, with girls asking to take pictures with me, and guys coming up and offering spontaneous high fives. I’ve gone from being comfortably invisible to being recognized by virtually everyone I see.

I’ve been recording the show. Still haven’t seen a single episode myself. And I strongly cautioned my parents about it. I’m their only child, and I’m not sure they’re prepared to see me laying it all out on the line like that. Hell, I’m not prepared to see it. I was going to ask Vi to join me in watching the carnage once this six-week long party is over—next week to be exact. We could get pizza and have our own mini marathon. Might be fun. With Vi there, I know it will be. As the TSE has jammed down my throat, the odds are in my favor.

A blonde strides by and does a quick double take my way.

“Oh my God! It is you!” She sits down across from me with her over glossed lips rounded out in an O and her eyes wide with disbelief. “I’m Becca Carmichael.” She thrusts her hand out, and I’m slow to shake it. “I love your show—correction—I’m obsessed with The Social Experiment. I’m there every Thursday night, just waiting to see what happens next. Of course, tonight I had a study group that ran late, but as soon as I get home, I’m catching up. I can’t believe you let her walk all over you like that.” Her nose wrinkles, and I can’t help but think she looks a little like a Pug.

“Excuse me?”

“You know, all the snark and sarcasm. I mean, I get it. My ex-boyfriend’s sister was on last season. Sophie Meyer? She and my other ex—are actually a couple now.” She shoves her finger down her throat and pretends to gag.

Oh shit. My own eyes widen. This must be Braden’s ex, right? Unless Sophie has another brother lurking on campus somewhere, but I doubt it.

“Anyway”—her fingers dance up my arm as her eyes continue to hold mine hostage—“exes usually aren’t together for a reason. If you and Violet don’t work out, I’ll be here waiting.” A greedy grin blooms over her face. “I’m not an expert on love, but I know a keeper when I see one, and I’m pretty sure that’s you.”

A quiet laugh bumps from me as I casually pull my arm back. “Thank you. But I’m pretty sure we’re good. Vi and I have been through a lot, but it looks like we’re going to make it. I don’t think I could live without her. She’s pretty important to me.”

“Aw!” She lunges across the table and pulls me into a power hug that goes on a few seconds too long, and my mind races with a thousand ways to escape her clutches. She pulls back and gives me a light slap to the cheek. “You really are special. I hope you don’t take this the wrong way. But I’m not rooting for the two of you. When Violet kicks you to the curb, I’ll gladly help you pick up the pieces.” She dots a kiss to my lips before bumping her nose to mine and taking off just as spastically as she arrived.

Shit. A nervous laugh escapes me as I give a quick glance around. The last thing I need is for Vi to think I’m meeting up with someone in private. Trust has always been our biggest issue. My mood sours just thinking about it. I shove my food into my backpack, grab my coffee, and head on home. It’s been a long, long night.

---

Saturday afternoon, my date, my choice. Much like Violet, I chose to reenact an afternoon from simpler times. One of our last memorable dates that had a good beginning, middle, and end—and also happened to involve copious amounts of cheese in all its fantastic forms, goat cheese being the most prominent. I went to the deli myself and purchased every last dairy product I remembered hauling with me that day at the lake, the day we shared a picnic spread fit for a king, washing it down with a bottle of Dom, and that’s exactly what I bought for the occasion.

I drive out to Sugar Valley Lake on my own, hoping that Vi will drive back with me. That’s the plan. She’s already let me know she’s driving in with Seth. The snow is still glistening on the ground, but the TSE has erected a platform over it, and an entire army of tower-like heaters creates a half circle around a plaid blanket, a giant white picnic basket laid out over it like a bow. I hit basecamp, otherwise known as TSE Central, and surrender my groceries to Petra while three people attack me, one brushing my hair, the other dusting my nose with powder, and the third threading a mic through my jacket.

They send me in a tent while Vi gets situated in place. For whatever reason, Dexter prefers the girls to wait for their man. Just the thought of the guy sends my blood boiling. I can’t wait until someone calls him out on his bullshit. Who does he think he is running a circus without believing in the very foundation in which it’s performing? He stood us in front of a semi barreling down the freeway—that he claims not to believe in—and gave us a push. The dude is a sham. But lucky for him, Vi and I aren’t. We’re the real deal.

Petra pokes her head in. “You’re on, big boy.” She pushes her glasses up the bridge of her nose. “That kiss you two shared set the screen on fire. Any chance of a reenactment? Dexter says—”

“Let me guess. He’s got money on us in Vegas.” I frown as I make my way past her. “But I’ll do my best to get you that kiss.” I flash a grin her way as I make my way to the most beautiful girl I have ever laid eyes on. Violet outshines the sun on this chilly afternoon, and I don’t need the heat from these fire-burning torches they’ve planted around us to keep us toasty. Vi lights a fire in me that heats me from the inside, a blaze so bright I wish I could take my clothes off. Take her clothes off, too. We’ll get there.

“Violet Hathaway.” I fall to my knees beside her and pick up that delicate hand of hers, so ghostly white it holds its own haunting beauty. “You look breathtaking today.”

Her mouth falls open as she takes in a breath. “Those are the exact words you said to me that day.” Her eyes spring red with tears. “You remembered.” She waves her hand over the picnic basket. “You remembered everything.”

“I remember everything about you, about us.” I instantly regret those last few words. There are some things neither of us wishes to remember. “And perhaps most importantly”—I open the picnic basket and pull out the champagne—“I remembered this.” I wag it at her before popping off the cork, and it pops in the air, taking a foamy trail with it, and I pull it away to keep it from baptizing us.

Vi lets out a howl of approval and holds the champagne flutes as I fill them.

I take my glass and raise it up to hers. “To the second time around. May it last forever.”

Her teeth graze over her bottom lip, turning it pink then white as the snow behind her. “I kind of like the thought of spending forever with you.” Her lips twitch as she struggles to hold back emotion.

“Then let’s.” I tap my glass to hers, and she smiles through the tears.

“Let’s.” She touches her glass to mine, and we imbibe together, downing our glasses as if we needed it.

Vi and I pull out the variety of cheeses, the briny Greek olives, the oily wrinkly olives I once chose to impress her with, and here, today, I’m right back to doing that very same thing. Vi scoots over and lands in my arms as we stare out at the sparkling blue water of the lake, a shade so rich it’s hard to believe it’s real. We watch the people passing by, the dogs trampling through the snow, and even spot a few trout jumping from the water. We eat until our stomachs threaten to burst, and since she’s not driving, she polishes off another few glasses of Dom. We keep our conversations low and light. And after a while we don’t even remember that the TSE is here with us, that an entire year of our lives has gone by without one another in it. We laugh, we cry, we get along, and not once does the TSE interrupt with that nebulous voice in the sky to throw us for a loop. And when the conversation runs dry, I pull her closer to me and land my mouth where it belongs, and we exchange a series of heated kisses, slow and lingering, nothing that screams let’s rip our clothes off—because we know that will come later. No, these kisses scream here we are, right at the beginning of something new, together forever, together at last. Vi and I are making it work this time. And we are not looking back.

But that unsettled feeling in the pit of my stomach makes me wonder if not looking back is a good plan of action. It makes me wonder if Braden was right, as his words come back to haunt me.

Chicks never let you forget shit like that.

And deep down inside, I’m waiting for the other orthopedic boot to drop. My balls cringe because I’m pretty sure this one will finish the job.