26. Violet
VIOLET
I’m in the kitchen the next night, grabbing another Diet Dr. Pepper when Gavin calls.
“Don’t you know it’s rude to call without texting first with a heads-up?” I answer with a smile. A smile that’s been on my face pretty much nonstop for the past two days.
I can hear the smile reciprocated in his voice. “My hands are full. Come answer your door.”
“My door?” I turn, so I can look through the kitchen and living room to the front door of the house, and even though I can’t see through the solid wood door, my heart does a funny little skip in my chest anyway.
Taking the can of soda with me, I cross through the living room to the front door. Jordan and Daisy are on one end of the couch, Dahlia on the other, and Jane is stretched out in the armchair. They’re all focused on the TV since we’re on our sixth hour of binge-watching Euphoria.
No one looks up as I go to the door and pull it open.
Gavin stands on the other side. He has a case of hard seltzer under one arm, a bottle of wine in his hand, and in the other, a box wrapped in colorful, striped paper, where his phone is resting.
“Did we make plans?” I run a hand over my messy ponytail.
It’s been a chill evening, sitting around with the roommates and watching TV since we all got home from classes.
Gavin texted earlier and said the team had mandatory study hour after practice, so I hadn’t expected to hear from him again, or see him standing at my front door.
“No, but I come bearing gifts.”
I step back and let him in. Someone must have paused the TV because all eyes are on us as I close the door.
“Leonard!” Jordan calls from his spot.
“Hey.” Gavin looks around the room. “Sorry to interrupt.”
“Is that for us?” Jane asks, pointing to the seltzer.
“Yeah.” He angles his body. “We had a bunch of booze left over from the last party and we’re sober for the foreseeable future. Thought you might put it to better use than us.”
She gets up and takes the alcohol from him. “Thank god. I need a drink. This show is tense. Is this what high school was like for you guys?”
“Definitely not,” Dahlia says.
“It’s not even my birthday.” Jordan juts his chin toward the rectangle package in Gavin’s hands.
“Not for you.” Gavin shifts the package from one hand to the other and then extends it to me.
“What is this for?”
“Insurance, so you’d open the door.”
“Oh, uh, thank you.” I run my fingers slowly over the paper.
“What is it?” Jane yells from the kitchen.
Everyone is looking at me, waiting.
I tuck it under my arm. “Who else wants a drink?”
It’s quiet for a beat, but then Daisy takes pity and rescues me. “I’ll take one.”
“Me too.” Jordan nods his head.
I smile. “Dahlia?”
“Sure. I think I need alcohol to get through this show too.”
I disappear into the kitchen, set the present on the counter, and swap my soda for a seltzer.
Jane smirks as I take a drink.
“Don’t say anything,” I say.
I stare at the present. Am I dying to know what’s inside? Yes. Do I want to open it in front of everyone? Definitely not.
“He knows how to make an entrance. I’ll give him that.” She hands me two more seltzers and grabs two for herself, before taking them into the living room.
Gavin is sitting on the couch between Daisy and Dahlia. The latter stands. “Let’s put on some music or something and finish the show tomorrow.”
With wide eyes, she looks to me, indicating I can take her seat. I hand her a can on my way to sit next to Gavin.
“Are you sure you don’t want one?” I ask him.
“No thanks.”
Jordan pulls Daisy closer to him and peers around her to talk to Gavin. “When do you guys leave for the next game?”
Gavin shifts his big frame and puts one arm around the back of the couch behind me. It’s all so easy and casual, but my heart hammers in my chest anyway. We’ve blown past taking it slow, at least emotionally. I like him. I like him so much.
“Thursday night. Game on Friday.” Gavin bobs his head with excited anticipation as he speaks.
“I’m jealous,” Jordan says. “I already miss it.”
Jane grabs her phone and puts on a playlist that instantly changes the atmosphere to a more casual and fun vibe.
While Gavin chats with Jordan, Jane pulls me into conversation.
I couldn’t even tell you what we talk about.
Hanging out with Gavin, just the two of us, or even at a party, is one thing, but here in my house, in my living room with my friends is…
well, not strange exactly, but it’s definitely different.
“How far did you guys get in Euphoria?” Gavin asks when he and Jordan are done talking sports. “Did you see the part where?—”
“Don’t spoil it,” Dahlia blurts out, and then her cheeks turn pink. “We’re only on episode six.”
Gavin chuckles. “Sorry. That show had me in a chokehold for two days. I don’t mind re-watching it if you guys stopped it on my account.”
“I’m maxed out on drama,” Jane says.
Dahlia and Daisy nod their agreement.
Jane pops up from her seat. “We should play some cards or something.”
We settle on Monopoly and the six of us sit around the coffee table.
After all the properties are purchased, our collective interest in the game wanes and we make a drinking game out of it.
Every time someone rolls a double or goes to jail or lands on free parking, or even passes go, they drink.
And if you land on someone’s property, they get to decide on how much you drink.
Everyone except Gavin, since he’s sober.
His thigh is pressed against mine and he keeps one arm behind me, his fingers absently playing with the ends of my hair. I think I could die a happy death while Gavin plays with my hair. It’s just about the sexiest thing ever.
“I give up,” Daisy says when she lands on Park Place and Jane makes her take five drinks.
“Same.” Dahlia pushes away from the table. “I have an early practice tomorrow and I do not want to throw up on the course.”
One by one, my friends quit the game.
“Leonard’s crushing us all anyway,” Jordan says.
Gavin sinks back into the couch with a proud smile. “It pays to be sober sometimes.”
“Do you want me to put Euphoria back on?” I suggest.
“No. Let’s try on dresses!” Jane is already standing and going to the coat closet, where we’ve started keeping our favorites.
Before I can protest, she and Dahlia are pulling out the gowns.
I don’t remember how it started, but since the four of us moved in together at the beginning of the school year, we often end the night by playing dress up.
We put them on while we sit around and talk about boys or rewatch Pride and Prejudice for the hundredth time, or more frequently, talk about boys while rewatching Pride and Prejudice.
The first time we did it, it was one or two dresses that we took turns wearing, but since then it’s turned into a whole thing. I love making dresses for my friends, seeing them light up in their favorite color or style. Now we need an entire closet to store my creations.
Each of us has our favorite, the dress that gives us that magical feeling, but occasionally we mix it up.
“Do you want the black or white one tonight?” Jane asks, holding up both.
“I’m not sure,” I say. “I’ll grab it when I’m ready.”
“Okay.” She drapes both over the arm of a chair.
Jane pulls on an emerald sleeveless dress over her clothes.
Dahlia and Daisy disappear into the bathroom and come back in theirs—a light pink princess dress that is so not Dahlia’s usual style, but that is stunning with her bright blue eyes.
Dresses aren’t usually her thing, but she humors us by joining in on the fun.
Daisy is in a sexy, red dress that is bold and racy in all the ways she is on the inside, despite her shy exterior.
“You made all these?” Gavin asks as the girls stand in our living room. Jane turned the music back on and they’re dancing, twirling and moving in their gowns.
“You sound so surprised.”
One side of his mouth pulls up. “Nah, I mean I know this is what you do, but this is pretty awesome. Which one is your favorite?”
“I can’t answer that. It’s like choosing between my favorite copy of Persuasion.”
“The one with the pink cover.”
I look at him, unblinking. That is my favorite one, but how does he know that?
“It’s always on top of the stack, and it’s the one you’ve tried to read over and over.”
I glance at the dresses on the arm of the chair. “The white one.”
“Because?”
“I can’t explain it. It’s the feeling I get when I wear it.”
“Can I see?”
“You want me to put it on?”
“Mhmm.”
“What are you going to do for me?”
He full-on grins. “A favor for a favor, huh?”
I nod, pulse racing.
He thinks for a second. “I’ll read to you later.”
A thrill shoots through me. I try to play it cool, like I’m not dying for that to happen, but Gavin’s voice is just...sigh.
“Hmm. I’m not sure.”
He leans in and frames my face with gentle fingers. His lips ghost over mine, and he recites a few lines from the book. For the love of Captain Wentworth.
“Deal,” I whisper quickly.
His deep chuckle vibrates against my lips, and then he presses a harder kiss to them. When we pull apart, everyone is watching us. It isn’t a secret that Gavin and I have been making out, but I guess it’s the first time they’ve witnessed it.
“Someone hand me the white dress,” I say, breaking the silence and standing.
Later, after everyone has abandoned us to go to bed, Gavin and I head up to my room.
“Can I take this off now?” I ask, running a hand along the waist of my dress.
“Oh, please do.” His brows lift.
I sit on my bed and toss a pillow at him.
He catches it and comes to sit in front of me. Setting the pillow down, he hands me the present. “You didn’t open it.”
I take it in my lap. “I didn’t want to have an audience, in case it was something weird.”
He barks a laugh. “Like what?”
“I don’t know.” Heat hits my cheeks.
“Open it.”
I tear away the paper and my breath catches. When I look up, his lips curve up in the biggest smile.
“Where did you find this?” I ask, running a hand over the cover. It’s an old version of Persuasion with a cover I’ve never seen before.
“I can’t give away all my secrets.”
I open it and flip through the pages. It smells old and musty and absolutely divine. “Thank you. I love it.”
“You’re welcome.” He takes it from me and sets it on top of the other copies. “I wanted to thank you for last night. I didn’t mean to get all weird about my dad.”
“You were fine. I told you, you can talk to me.”
“Right now, I can think of a lot better things to do than talk.” His mouth drops to my collarbone and he places a gentle kiss.
“I thought you were going to read to me?”
“I will, but first I need to kiss you.” He pulls me onto his lap. “You were right about the dress. It gives me a feeling too.”
I laugh as I wrap my arms around his neck. “I don’t think it’s the same feeling.”
He hooks his arms around my waist. “Go out with me tomorrow night.”
“I’ve spent the last three nights with you.”
“Yeah, but I still owe you a real date. Dinner, conversation, more kissing…” He brushes his lips along my neck and skims his hands over my back. I inch farther onto his lap until I can feel him hard below me.
He groans quietly. “Is that a yes?”
“It’s not a no.” I place my hands on his shoulders.
Lifting his head, he chuckles. “Has anyone ever told you that you’re very beautiful and sometimes very frustrating?”
“Only you.”
He takes my mouth. All the tenderness is gone. We struggle to get closer, to kiss deeper.
“How do I get you out of this thing?” He pulls the tiny straps down over my shoulders and leaves kisses across the top of my cleavage.
I reach around and unzip it for him. The white fabric falls around my waist. I ditched my bra when I changed earlier.
“Fuck, you’re beautiful.”
His words are sweet, but it’s the look in his eyes that makes me bolder. I lunge for him, kissing him and tugging his T-shirt up over his head. We scramble to get each other naked, only breaking the kiss when absolutely necessary.
I slide his boxers down and his dick springs free. His chest rises and falls quickly with his breathing. I wrap a tentative hand around him.
“Oh, fuck, Vi,” he says gruffly. His head falls back, and his Adam’s apple bobs with a swallow. He’s the hottest thing I’ve ever seen.
He lets me explore him a few seconds longer, and then he stands and puts distance between us. “Woah, woah. Wait.”
“What’s wrong?”
“You wanted to take it slow, and I just about ripped that dress off you, and now you’re looking at me like…” He waggles a finger. “Like that.”
A laugh bubbles up in my chest. “I’m okay. Promise.” I reach for him, and he takes another step back.
When my gaze drops to his dick, he covers it with both hands. “I’m keeping you from doing something you might regret later.”
“I promise you, I’m not going to regret this. Just no sex, remember?”
“Toss me my boxers.”
“Are you serious?”
He doesn’t move, so I relent and toss them at his face. Gavin steps into his underwear and then puts his hands on his hip. Only, his dick is still hard and tenting his boxers, so it’s comical.
“You’re a real killjoy, Leonard.”
“Plenty of time for that, baby.”
My heart flutters at the endearment.
His stare follows me as I walk naked from the bed to the closet.
I put on my pajamas and come back out. Gavin’s pulled on his jeans but left them unbuttoned. He has my favorite Persuasion in one hand and he’s leaning against the headboard of my bed. I retract all my earlier statements: Gavin like this is the hottest thing I’ve ever seen.