CHAPTER 20
She helped Violet get into the house and quickly locked the door behind them.
“I can’t believe they want to meet. When we were just starting out, I had to beg for meetings.
I did not want to ask anyone in my family for help because none of them supported my decision to go elsewhere and create my own company, my own path.
I know it’s just an email and maybe a meeting, but it’s a big deal to me and to the rest of them, too. ”
“You’re talking really fast,” Stella said. “And you haven’t stopped talking since we left the club. Are you okay? Did you take something with those martinis?” she asked as she guided Violet down the hall toward her bedroom while holding on to her hips.
“What? No, I don’t take drugs. I’m just excited. Well, excited and drunk. I had three martinis, and I don’t normally drink that much. I think it’s hitting me now.”
“You’re drunk?”
“A little. But I’ll be fine.”
They arrived at Stella’s room, and she watched Violet pull off her shirt and kick off her shoes.
“Violet, we shouldn’t do this.”
“Why not?”
“You’re drunk.”
“So?” Violet countered. “It’s not like it’s our first time. We’ve done this before.”
Violet removed her bra and began working the button and zipper of her tight jeans.
“Hey, hold on a second.”
Stella walked over to her and lightly shoved Violet down on the bed.
“Oh, I like that,” Violet said with a giggle.
“I’m just taking off your pants.”
“I like that, too.”
“Violet, chill.”
But Violet continued to wriggle as Stella pulled down on the jeans, bringing Violet’s underwear with them accidentally.
“I thought you liked me feisty.”
“I do, but not when I’m trying to take your pants off.”
She laughed a little and yanked, nearly falling back on her ass but managing to stand up.
“Did you clean that floor yet?”
“No,” she said.
“Good. I won’t feel bad about getting it dirty again.”
Violet stood up then, so Stella dropped Violet’s clothes to the floor and pressed her hands to Violet’s sides, extending her arms and keeping her at a distance.
“I would love nothing more than to make you come right now, and if you wanted to return the favor, that would be great too, but you’re drunk, Violet. I don’t think we should do this. Maybe later, when you sober up.”
“A shower,” Violet said.
“What?” she asked, looking confused.
“I can take a shower. I’ll sober up faster that way. Maybe even while we’re in there. Come on.”
Violet took her hand and pulled her toward the bathroom.
“Violet!” Stella laughed.
“What? You wanted me in the shower the first time I was here.”
“Different circumstances. Do you need me in the shower with you to help you stand up?”
“No, I’m perfectly capable of standing while drunk.”
“Then, you should take a shower on your own.”
“You’re really trying to be noble right now, aren’t you?” Violet asked with squinted eyes.
“Yes, I am.” She chuckled. “And it’s really hard because you’re naked in my bathroom right now.”
“You can be naked with me, and we could just take a shower together. No funny business.”
“No sex?”
“No sex… until I’m sober.” Violet turned around and walked into the shower, where she turned on the faucet and promptly screamed. “Cold! It’s cold!”
Stella laughed and turned the faucet to hot while Violet stood out of the way of the water’s spray.
Then, she removed her clothes quickly and smiled while doing so.
This was definitely not how she expected to end the night, but it was fun all the same.
She walked into the shower, and once the water was hot, she put Violet under it, too.
“There,” she said. “Just stand here.”
“I have to wash my face, Stella.”
“Uh… Okay.” Stella found her face wash and handed it to Violet. “Here.”
“Thank you.”
She watched Violet wash her face, holding on to her to keep her steady just in case, and after Violet was done, Stella helped her out of the shower.
Violet more or less wobbled to the bed, wrapped in a towel, letting her wet hair drip over the floor, which only made Stella like her a little more, but Stella knew that the shower hadn’t worked.
A sober Violet Russell wouldn’t have let her hair drip all over the place.
A drunk one had no idea it had even happened.
“Can you get into bed? I’m going to grab you a water and some ibuprofen for the morning, just in case you need it. I’ll put it on the table. Where’s your purse and your phone?”
“On the floor.”
Violet pointed by the bedroom door.
“Got it.” Stella walked over, pulled the phone from the purse, returned to Violet’s side, and gave it to her. “Can you text your friends that you’re okay and staying here tonight?”
“They all know. I told them I was coming here when I texted you. And Enya and Sarai saw me leave with you.” Violet placed the phone on the table by the bed and added, “I think I’m still pretty drunk.”
“You are,” Stella said. “You don’t drink three martinis often, huh?”
Violet shook her head, and her hair sprayed the bed with water a bit, but Stella didn’t care.
“How about you towel-dry your hair a little so it’s not soaking wet and you get sick? Then, get under the covers. I’ll bring you that water, and we’ll get some sleep. It’s late anyway.”
“I didn’t bring my bag. And I need a toothbrush.”
“I have the ones I get from the dentist in the bathroom. Grab one of those.”
“Okay,” Violet replied softly.
Stella guessed it wasn’t just the martinis getting to her.
It was probably the exhaustion from having not slept all that much this past week, and Stella was the cause of that.
It also might have been due to the excitement of getting that email from Stella’s contact today.
That made Stella happy, too, because it made Violet happy, and a happy Violet Russell was, well, beautiful.
Stella grabbed a bottle of water and headed back to the bedroom, where she found Violet lying in bed already.
Her eyes were closed. Her head was to the side.
She was already asleep. Stella set the water down, found the pills to leave for the morning, and did her nighttime routine.
Then, she turned off the lights and slipped under the covers with Violet.
◆◆◆
Stella woke with a start, but not an unpleasant one. A hand was in her sleep shorts, and fingers were grazing her over her underwear.
“Morning,” Violet said. “And for the record, I am completely sober right now, and I do not have a hangover.”
“No?”
“No. I feel great, actually.” Violet ran her index finger over Stella’s clit. “I was going to go in your underwear, but I wanted you to tell me that was okay first.”
“More than okay,” she replied.
Violet chuckled against the back of Stella’s neck, and she pushed her hand into Stella’s underwear, finding her wet because Stella often woke up horny.
Sometimes, she’d grab her vibrator and have a quick orgasm before work.
Other times, she’d let it go and enjoy a longer one later that night or not at all.
This morning, though, she didn’t need her vibrator because Violet Russell was kissing her neck and stroking her to a much-needed orgasm.
“Fuck,” she said when she came down. “God, I needed that.”
“Yeah?”
“Definitely.”
“Sorry about not delivering last night. I wanted to.”
“I know. I’m the one who stopped it.” She rolled when Violet did, pulled off her tank top, got on top of Violet, and looked down at her. “Do you have time?” she asked.
“What do you have in mind?”
“I want to go down on you,” Stella said and kissed her.
“Well, that’s not fair. I didn’t get to do that to you.”
“You still can. I’m not stopping you. Do you have to run, or do we have a minute?”
“I have a few,” Violet said. “I figured we should actually have sex since I stayed over last night, you know?”
“What do you mean?” she asked.
Violet reached down and pushed at Stella’s shorts and underwear. Stella helped remove them the rest of the way, but she had no idea where they ended up.
“Well, I slept over, and we’re two people who have sex. I shouldn’t just sleep over. Sorry about that. I didn’t realize how drunk I was when I texted you.”
“Wait. Did you touch me just now because you wanted to, or because you felt like you had to?”
“What?” Violet asked, wrapping her arms around Stella’s neck. “I wanted to. Trust me, I wanted to. I waited, like, five minutes for you to wake up, and when you didn’t, I wanted to touch you.”
“You’re sure?” she asked.
“Stella, yes,” Violet replied with a little laugh. “Now, are you going to find out how wet I am, or do I need to do that for you?”
Stella’s eyes widened, and she said, “Is that an option?”
She then watched Violet lower her hand down between her own legs, and when Violet rubbed herself, Stella felt the knuckle of one of those long fingers against her own clit and growled.
“You like that?” Violet asked as she teased her with that knuckle again.
“Yes,” she said.
“Then, make me come, and I’ll let you sit on my face and take care of that for you.”
Violet’s hand reappeared, and she held it out in front of Stella’s face.
Glistening fingers awaited her mouth, and Stella sucked on them and closed her eyes, savoring the taste of her.
Then, she had to let them go and moved down Violet’s body because now wasn’t the time for foreplay.
They both had to get to work, so she pushed Violet’s thighs apart eagerly, earning a cute little laugh that she silenced with her tongue.
About thirty minutes later, they were both showered and dressed. Violet wore what she’d had on the previous night, while Stella was ready for work.
“You get to wear this to work as an SVP?” Violet asked as walked over to her and tugged on the front of her T-shirt.
“It’s a tech start-up, so yeah. What do you wear to work from home? A business suit?”
“Sometimes,” Violet said and ran her hands up Stella’s stomach until she reached Stella’s breasts, which she cupped. “You are… my kryptonite, I think.”
“What does that mean?” she asked with a little laugh.
“It means that I want you again, but I have to go. Can you drive me home, or should I get a car? I know you’re not a big fan of driving.”
Violet dropped her hands from Stella’s body.
“I can drive you. I usually drive to work. It’s other places that I like to avoid it if I can. I hate finding parking. It’s like the worst.”
“I agree,” Violet replied.
“Want to stop at this place I go to sometimes for breakfast to-go? They’ve got great sandwiches and coffee. I’ll buy some for all of your friends, too, so that they won’t get mad at you for showing up empty-handed.”
“You’d do that for me?” Violet joked.
“Well, I want them to like me, don’t I?” she asked and kissed Violet on the lips. “Come on. Let’s go.”
Stella wasn’t sure where that quick kiss had come from.
They tended to only kiss before and during sex, but it wasn’t like they were dating and kissed hello and goodbye or for any other reason.
Violet hadn’t said anything, though, so Stella decided that it was probably fine.
She grabbed her bag in the living room, and Violet followed her out to her garage.
“God, it must be nice to actually get to park your car in your garage, huh? We can barely fit the four of us and all of our work stuff in ours. There’s not even room for a bike.”
“How long do you think you’ll be in the garage?”
“However long we can until we can afford to get some office space. Hopefully, the meeting with the VC firm goes well, but we wouldn’t just go right out and get an office space.
We’ve got more to do before we get there.
It could help us get out of the house eventually, though.
” Violet climbed into the car, with Stella getting behind the wheel, before she continued.
“I won’t lie, I’m going to miss it when it all changes. ”
“Miss what?” Stella asked before she started the car.
“Working all crammed how we are. Living together.”
“You wouldn’t all just live at the house but work somewhere else?” she asked as she backed out of the driveway.
“Maybe. But it’s only a matter of time, right?
One of us will meet someone, fall in love, want to move in with them, maybe get married, have kids, and everything else.
We’re all about the same age. I know Enya and Sarai want to meet someone and settle down.
I think Arlowe does, too, but she lies to herself a lot since she got her heart broken big time back in school.
It was her fault because she ended things, but she had her reasons. She hasn’t been the same since.”
“What about you?”
“What about me?” Violet asked.
“Do you want to meet someone, fall in love, and all the other stuff you mentioned? You talked about your friends, but not yourself,” she said and pulled them onto the road.
“Oh. Yeah. I mean, who doesn’t? Well, I guess some people might not, and others might not want to get married or have kids, but I want to meet a woman, fall in love, and go from there.
I like the house we all live in because it’s our home and has been for a long time.
It’s where we really cemented our bond as best friends and built our business.
One day, though, even if the business is still there, Enya or Sarai or Arlowe will want to move out and make a go of it either on their own or with someone they love.
I’m doing everything I can to keep us all together, but as much as I can do for the business, I can’t and wouldn’t stop them from falling in love and moving out if that’s what they want.
When that happens, I’m going to be sad, and I’m going to miss what we have now, even though it’s hard most of the time. ”
“You did it again,” Stella noted.
“What?”
“You said one day one of the three of them would move out after meeting someone, but you didn’t say you would.”
“I suppose that’s because I anticipate being the last one there. I’ll be the one sitting on the couch, watching TV, and eating ramen like a twenty-one-year-old, while they’re all at home with their significant others.”
“That sounds pretty bleak, Vi. Maybe you should recalculate that a bit.”
“Recalculate?” Violet laughed.
“Yeah, your future. Have a little more hope than that, at least,” Stella suggested and reached for Violet’s thigh to give it a squeeze.
When they got to Violet’s house several silent minutes later, Violet grabbed her bag from the floor and said, “Call you later?”
“Yeah, sure,” she replied and then watched Violet walk to the front door of the house, unlock it, go inside, and close the door behind her before she drove off to get to work.