13. Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Thirteen
SETH
I shifted the foil-covered pot in my right arm. Was this dumb? The idea of cut flowers had never sat well with me. You give someone something that dies in a couple of days. It was not only a waste of money, but kind of a dumb gesture. Well, to me, at least.
Ever since I was a teenager, I would give my mom potted plants for special occasions, and then I started doing that for my ex. Lucy never really appreciated it, so I stopped, but my mom loved having plants around the house and flowers in the gardens outside.
I wanted to do something for Violet that showed my appreciation for agreeing to my ludicrous plan in the first place. Now, standing outside her house, I cringed, wondering if I hadn’t thought this through very well. Or maybe overthought it. What if Violet liked a vase full of flowers?
Shit. I had no idea what Violet liked.
I rang the doorbell and stepped back. We hadn’t talked since Wednesday morning, and that was just her response to my text from the night before to give me the details for tonight.
She’d wanted to meet me at Mamacitas, but I’d convinced her to let me pick her up.
That way, if she wanted to have a few drinks with her friends, she didn’t have to worry about driving home.
The door swung open and her gaze immediately traveled down to the African Violet in my hands. It was a fairly low-maintenance plant, and since they shared a name, I thought it was the perfect choice.
She smiled brightly. “Is that for me?”
I nodded. At least she didn’t seem to hate it. “Yeah.”
She stepped back, opening the door wider. “Come on in. I have the perfect place to put it.”
She turned and I followed her through the house to the kitchen, failing to stop my gaze from drifting down to the swell of her ass. Suddenly she spun back to me and I almost collided right into her, making it obvious I was distracted.
A slight pink crept up her neck and into her face as she reached out, taking the pot from my hands. “African Violets need indirect light, so I think my hutch right here would work well. The light from the sliding glass door will be enough.”
My shoulders finally relaxed. Not only did she not think the gesture was stupid, but she was familiar with the plant.
While she got the plant situated, I took a minute to take in her kitchen. It was bright and airy. Neat. Pops of vibrant blues and purples. Again, the complete opposite of the way she looked. Tonight the long sleeves of her black dress matched the fishnets she wore on her legs.
“You know I was only kidding when I asked if you were finally going to bring me flowers.” She turned back to face me. “I think you’re the first guy to ever give me a potted plant.”
I shifted on my feet, not exactly sure what to say to that. It wasn’t like it surprised me. I knew most guys brought a bouquet of flowers. That just wasn’t me.
“I don’t do flowers.”
Her brows pulled together before she chuckled. “Okay then. No flowers, only plants. Good thing I have a green thumb.”
My gaze traveled over her shoulder, landing on three hanging plants suspended from the ceiling. I nodded and a grunt of approval left my lips. “Ready to go?” I asked a second later.
“Yep.” She moved toward me, pausing as she brushed past and looked up at me. “Thank you.”
I held her gaze and swallowed thickly. The dark makeup that lined her honey-colored eyes and the dark lipstick that made her plump lips stand out shouldn’t have been so appealing.
Neither should the see-through black material that covered her arms and most of her chest, showing off the swell of her breasts.
I pulled my gaze away and nodded. The last thing she needed was me making this awkward by staring at her again. She continued past me, and I caught the brief scent of honey and flowers, reminding me again of sunflowers.
I took a deep breath and followed behind her, trying to tamp down my frustration. This was never going to work if I kept noticing every little thing about her. Her amazing scent, the way her skin felt under my touch, or how her smile made her eyes light up. I needed to learn to ignore it all.
Once in the car, I reached out and stopped her from plugging her phone in. “I started you a playlist.”
She stared at me before looking down at my phone plugged into the center console. “You made me a playlist,” she whispered so softly I wasn’t sure I heard her correctly.
I shrugged. I didn’t want her to get the wrong impression, although now I worried it might come off weird.
I liked a variety of music, and typically wore earbuds and listened to music whenever I worked out or went for a run.
As songs I thought she might like came up on my playlist, I’d started adding them to a new playlist.
“It’s just some songs I thought you’d like. You can plug yours in if you want, though.”
She stared at me with parted lips for a beat and then shook her head, sitting back in her seat. “No. I want to listen to it.”
Silence settled between us, the music filling the space perfectly as I drove the short drive to the Mexican restaurant.
“Not bad,” she said as I parked the car.
I raised a brow at her.
“The playlist,” she clarified. “I recognized a few of the songs, but there were a couple I liked but couldn’t place.”
Turning off the engine, I nodded and climbed out of the car, meeting her at the passenger door just as she closed it behind her. I held the door to the restaurant open and waved for her to go in front of me. We weaved through the crowded place to a long table set up against the back wall.
I tipped my head toward Dylan. Other than Violet, he was the only other person I was actually familiar with. I didn’t even see the birthday girl anywhere. I slightly recognized the brunette Dylan had his arm around and Violet was currently chatting with.
Violet looked up at me. “You know Dylan, but have you met Hattie?”
When I shook my head, she introduced us and then Hattie took over introducing both of us to other people at the table. I gathered that Violet didn’t know a lot of these people either. We sat down and I placed my arm along the back of her chair.
Savannah appeared at the end of the table. Who knew where she’d been for the last ten minutes. “Who wants a shot?” She grabbed one from the tray as the waitress started to make her way around the table, passing them out.
Violet took one, but I shook my head when the waitress asked. I would probably have a beer, maybe two. I’d promised Violet I would be the designated driver so she didn’t have to worry about it, and I wasn’t a big fan of shots anyway.
Multiple conversations were happening around the table as the waitress did another round, taking drink and food orders for those who were ready. I sat quietly as Violet talked nonstop with Hattie, trying my best to tune into her talking and filter out all the other noise.
After the waitress delivered everyone’s drinks, Violet shifted close to me, leaning on my chair, her hand brushing the outside of my thigh. “Sorry, is this too much for you?”
My instinct was to say yes. For so many reasons. Her in my space, with her sweet honey scent. Her hand touching my thigh. The constant chatter all around us. My senses were now on overdrive. But instead of saying anything, I shook my head.
She raised a brow like she didn’t believe me. Time to deflect.
“That’s awesome that you’ve been invited to speak at that scholarship dinner.”
She smiled up at me. “You heard that?”
I fought the urge to narrow my eyes at her. Of course I heard her. She was sitting right next to me, and it wasn’t like she and Hattie were super quiet.
I nodded. “It’s for women in science?”
“Yeah. It’s a fundraising dinner. They’ve asked a few successful alumni to come back and speak.”
“That’s exciting.”
She studied me almost like she wanted to say something. Why was she so surprised I listened to her? Said more about her ex than it did about me. Given the way I witnessed him speak to her, it wasn't shocking she expected her date to ignore her.
“So, Seth…” Savannah’s voice reluctantly pulled my attention from Violet to where Savannah sat a few spots down. “Did you consider my T-shirt idea? I can totally design that. I bet it would raise a ton of money for the station.” Her smirk had shit-stirrer written all over it.
This time there was no controlling my expression. I narrowed my eyes at her until she shrugged.
“You know what they say,” she continued, “when life gives you lemons, grab some tequila and salt.”
Violet chuckled as the blonde straight across from me said, “No one says that.”
“I saw it on a sign.” Savannah rolled her eyes. “So, someone has said it.”
Violet chuckled again and I glanced that way, catching Hattie’s look of bewilderment.
“Sometimes I wonder why she’s friends with me and not her,” Hattie said with a shake of her head.
“Aww, I find you funny too.” Violet leaned toward her, bumping her shoulder. “Most of the time anyway.”
I was a little confused. Why were we here celebrating Savannah’s birthday if they weren’t friends?
Multiple conversations started up again, and I was working to tune it all out, but a strange sound had me glancing back at Violet.
Did she just giggle?
She caught my gaze and angled over again even closer than last time. “I probably should’ve eaten something before that shot and margarita.” She leaned further into me, resting her head on my shoulder.
I stiffened, but then immediately forced myself to relax.
No one was going to believe we were dating if I tensed up every time she touched me.
I shifted and placed my arm around her back, gripping her chair and pulling it closer.
I wasn’t quite sure what to do with my hand now though.
The most convenient place would be on her hip, but that felt too intimate.
So, I let it rest on the edge of her seat.