CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Violet
I feel like I’ve gone through every piece of clothing I own, but nothing feels good. Frustrated, I reach over to my phone and quickly FaceTime Leighton. If anyone can help me, it’s going to be her.
“What’s going on?” her smiling face asks as the connection is made.
“I have nothing to wear for a date with Anthony,” I complain, as I show her the mess behind me. “I’ve tried on every piece of clothing I own and nothing looks or feels right.” I plop down on the bed with a sigh. “Take pity on me and help me out.”
“You’re going out with him!” she screams.
“Yes,” I laugh.
“Tonight?” She questions, more excited about this than I am, I think.
“Yes tonight.” I roll my eyes. “Focus, Leigh.”
“Right,” She shakes her head. “Okay, you have plenty to wear, Vi. You have dresses, jeans, everything. Where are you two going?” I can see her situate herself on the couch, her stomach more visible as she enters her sixth month. My eyes watch with a soft smile as she caresses the bump in the tight shirt she wears.
“Out to eat and maybe dancing is where he said we were going.”
Leighton’s eyes light up, and I can almost feel her excitement through the video screen. “Then oh my God, Vi, wear a dress. Can you just imagine it? He pulls you close on the dance floor, pushes his hands up your thighs and grabs a handful of flesh? Sexiest thing ever.”
Leighton and her dirty mind are starting to affect me. I’m completely and vividly imagining just what she’s described. “You don’t think that’s too presumptuous?”
“You shared a bed with him at Whitney and Ryan’s wedding. I mean either you want to be close to him, or you don’t. And I kinda think you want to be close to him.”
God, if she only knew. If she only knew how far we’ve come and how close we’ve gotten.
“I do have that black dress. Do you think that’s too dressy?” I think back to the dress in the back of my closet, it could work.
“Oh hell no, it’s sexy. Pair it with some fuck-me heels or some boots and you’ve got it. Curl your hair the way you do, or fishtail braid it, and he won’t be able to keep his hands off you. Do that dramatic makeup look you’re so good at.”
I can’t believe I’m talking to her about this and planning what I’m going to wear on a date with Anthony. For so long it’s never seemed like it would be an option. My reality was darker, depressing, and didn’t include this amazing guy in it.
Crazy how things change.
“Okay, I need to be shaving my legs then.”
She winks at me through the screen, holding her lip between her teeth. “Shave it all girlfriend. Never know what you might be showing him tonight.”
“You’re a really bad influence. Talk to you later.”
As I disconnect the call, she’s giggling, and I’m shaking my head.
Sometimes I sit back and wonder why I was led to Laurel Springs, why I chose to stay here after the situation with Brent, even though it might have been easier for me to go somewhere else.
Every time, I come back to this being the place I’m meant to be. No other place I’ve ever lived has felt like home, and just maybe I’m finally ready to lay down some roots. The thought doesn’t scare me as much as it once did, and that in itself is a powerful feeling. Glancing up at the clock, I realize I don’t have much time before Anthony gets here. Letting out a little squeal, I run to the bathroom to shave my legs and hurry through my routine of getting ready. No way I want to be late.
* * *
My hair is still damp when I glance back at the clock again. I don’t have time to dry and curl my hair like I’d wanted to. Curls would allow him to move his fingers freely – if we got around to it – but they don’t look like they’re gonna happen for me tonight.
Instead, I think back to my conversation with Leighton and remember what she said about a fishtail braid. Because I wear it on a regular basis, it doesn’t take me long to do it. The look, however, gives the impression that it took hours to create. I have layers, and not all of them will go in neatly. A few well-placed bobby pins and I’m good to go.
Grabbing hold of my makeup bag, I go to work on my face. Typically Anthony see’s the bare-bones version of my look. Tonight I want to be the girl he would take home from the bar if he saw me there. I do my eyeshadow with a much heavier hand than I normally do.
Just as I’m swiping on the last coat of the first metallic lip stain I’ve ever used in my life, there’s a knock at the door. Inhaling deeply, I slowly let the breath out, not recognizing the person I see in the mirror. Having finally gotten around to getting all the new makeup products I wanted to try, my look is darker, more mature, and…alluring, if I had to give a description. I’m still messing with the braids, but this one is much more intricate, and I’m quite proud of myself for mastering it. Twirling in the mirror, the skirt flairs, showing off my thighs. Maybe Leighton was right.
“Coming.” I slip into low-heeled ankle boots, ones that I’d bought on a whim a couple of months ago, but never wore. They’re rose gold glitter and the flashiest things I’ve owned. I love them. One of the first things I bought when I realized my money was my money and no one could tell me how to spend it.
Checking the peephole, I make sure it’s Anthony, and when I see his chiseled jawline, I realize tonight is a game changer. But this is a curveball in my life I’m willing to accept, swing at, and hopefully hit over the fence.
Ace
It’s taking her a while to come to the door, and for a split second I wonder if she’s changed her mind. Are we moving too fast? Have I pressured her into something she didn’t really feel ready to do? I’m five seconds from reaching into the dark jeans I’m wearing and pulling out my cell phone to give her a call and tell her this is a bad idea, when her door opens. And my jaw hits the damn ground like a cartoon character from when I was a kid.
“Do I look okay?” she questions, looking shy. God, I hate that she even questions what she looks like. The woman standing in front of me is a wet dream and is so different from the woman I first met.
Somehow, I find my voice. “You’re fucking gorgeous.”
The black dress she’s wearing skims her thighs, showing off surprisingly long legs for someone on the short side, encased in the sexiest pair of shoes I’ve seen her wear. Her eyes are dark and sultry. The lines around her lips are perfect in a way that’s teasing me to smear the color. I hope whatever she’s wearing on them is long-lasting. I definitely want that option later on tonight.
Her cheeks pinken, and I love the fact I was able to bring color to them. I’d like to bring color to many other parts of her body if she’d allow me to. We’ve been figuratively dancing around one another for a long time.
“Thank you.” She smiles, her brown eyes moving up and down my body. “You’re pretty hot yourself.”
Those four little words please me in a way no others have. Hearing her admission does crazy things for my self-esteem. “These are for you,” I remember the flowers I’m holding in my hands. They’d almost caused me to be late, but there’s one thing I learned when I was first dating, and that’s to make a good impression, even if you were friends to begin with.
“They’re beautiful, you didn’t have to.” She steps aside, walking back into her portion of the duplex.
My feet follow of their own free will, watching as she walks in those shoes with a heel. Her ass sways as she balances and then takes another step. If Violet ever truly worked on strutting her stuff, she’d be a force to be reckoned with. And I’d be a fucking goner.
“Ready?” she asks after putting them in the water. “I’ve not been out on a date in a really long time. I’m kind of excited. I told myself not to get too excited, because I didn’t want to be overbearing, but I can’t help myself.”
The smile she gives me is wide, full of promise, and unabashedly happy. I can’t help but lean in and capture her lips with mine. She curls her hand around my wrist, where I hold her neck, but we keep it chaste. I want to coax her lips apart, push my tongue into her mouth, and get drunk on her taste. But I also want to take her out on the town and show her off too. Pulling back is one of the hardest things I’ve ever made myself do. Her lips chase me, but I stop her by pressing my thumb into her cheek with a little bit of force.
“We can do that later, right now, let’s hit the town and show you off.” And show her off is what I want to do. I’m not immune to the whispers and stares if someone sees us out together. While many people are happy for her, and for me, this is still the small-town south. There are upstanding members of our community who would rather see her stay with a man that abused her, than divorce and be happy. There are other women who would turn their back on her, tell her she deserved everything she got, and that in the eyes of the Lord she’s still married to Brent. I’m here to give those people a great big fuck you when they see us out together.
Her eyes are clouded with what I hope is passion, but then a smile spreads across her face.
“Show me off?” Violet shakes her head. “Nah, we’re gonna show you off. I don’t remember when was the last time someone saw you around here in something other than faded jeans, a t-shirt, or your uniform. Remember, not many people came to the wedding. I’m excited to be on your arm tonight.”
I wish I could tell her how lucky I am to have her. In fact, I would tell her, but I don’t think she’s ready to hear it. Instead, I give her a grin and offer her my arm. “Feeling’s mutual.”
We quickly lock up her side of the duplex and when we make our way to the truck, I open the door for her and lift her up. Deciding to throw caution to the wind, and see how far she’ll let me go, I step up on the running board, spread her legs, and sneak my fingers beneath whatever pair of underwear she has on to give her a bit of a thrill. These are the types of liberties I’ve wanted to take with her, and I want Violet to be completely okay with them. Her eyes dilate, her legs spread a little further, and judging by the moan that resonates deep in her throat, she’s totally down for this.
Later, I tell my libido. And as I step down, close the door, and make my way around to the driver’s side, I hope like hell I can make it through this night.
No one has ever affected me the way she is right now, and if given the chance, she’s the last one who will. Standing outside the driver’s door, I take a deep breath, before I open it, and climb in.
“You good?” I ask as I buckle up and turn the truck on, putting it in gear.
“I’m great,” she answers, reaching over to grab my hand.
And with her hand tucked in mine, we take off on this new adventure. I know where the end will be, have known since she moved in. The journey getting there? Worth all the time we’ve waited.