CHAPTER 29
“So, you wanted legs, right?” Violet asked.
“What? No, I–” Stella stopped. “Oh. The chicken.”
“What did you think I meant?” she asked, looking confused.
“Nothing,” Stella said, shaking her head.
Violet looked down at the bucket of fried chicken on the kitchen table and grabbed two legs for Stella, along with a biscuit, which made her smile.
“Do you want anything else? There are mashed potatoes, macaroni and cheese, and–”
“No, this is already too much. I did just eat. Should I maybe not have two dinners?”
“How much did you eat at this dinner with Jen?” she asked and handed Stella the plate.
“Honestly, not much. I ordered a salad. I wasn’t very hungry.”
“No?”
Violet handed Stella the beer that she’d opened for her.
“No. I haven’t been all that hungry the past few days.”
Violet looked at her then, trying to figure out if what she thought Stella meant by that was what she actually meant by it.
She hadn’t eaten much lately, either. Part of that was because she was working practically twenty-four-seven, but the other part was that she missed Stella, and she didn’t know what to do about it
“Me neither,” she admitted. “I–”
“Hey, Stella,” Arlowe said, walking into the kitchen. “Did I hear Violet right earlier when you two were on the phone? Something about dating profiles?”
“Arlowe!” Violet half-yelled. “God, I cannot wait to live alone.”
“Oh, stop. You love living with us.”
“Sometimes. I love living with you all sometimes,” Violet insisted.
“Should we get started?” Enya asked. “I think Sarai was picking the movie tonight.”
“Nope,” Sarai said, joining all of them in the kitchen. Then, she grabbed a beer out of the fridge and added, “Sorry, Stella. I’m stealing one of these.”
“That’s okay. I didn’t buy them,” Stella replied.
“Oh, Violet said they’re all for you.”
Stella glanced over at Violet, who promptly flushed.
“There were only six of them. I didn’t know how many you’d drink.”
“You thought I’d polish off a six-pack of beer by myself tonight?”
“I didn’t know. And… you could have finished them another time.”
Stella smiled, and that had Violet smiling back.
“Well, you can finish five out of the six now because I’m drinking this one. And it’s Violet’s pick tonight. I picked last time. Enya is up next.”
“You rotate who picks what you watch?” Stella asked as they all walked into the living room.
“We’re very annoying about it, too,” Enya added. “If someone passes, they get to pick who to give their turn to. If someone misses a night because they have plans or something, they lose their turn, and we just keep going in order.”
“So, there are rules?”
“Yes, Violet’s rules,” Sarai said as she sat down next to Enya on one of the sofas.
“Why am I not surprised…” Stella shook her head.
“Hey,” Violet replied with a little laugh before she sat down on the other sofa and watched Arlowe sit down next to her, leaving Stella the spot on the other end. “Um… Arlowe?”
“Yeah?” Arlowe asked and was about to bite into some mac and cheese.
“Scoot over,” Violet ordered quietly.
“Oh, shit. Sorry, Stella.”
Arlowe moved to the other side of the couch, and Stella looked down at Violet, who nodded for her to sit down next to her.
“So, Vi, what are we watching?” Sarai asked with the remote in hand. “And I swear, if you say–”
“BSG, baby,” Violet said loudly, talking over her.
A groan went out from all three of her friends.
“We said movie,” Arlowe reminded.
“But it’s my pick, and I want a show.”
“You watch Battlestar Galactica?” Stella asked, looking excited.
“It’s her favorite show. She’s watched it, like, ten times all the way through, but Enya and I hadn’t seen it, so every time it’s her turn, she makes us watch another episode.
We’re on season two,” Sarai said. “I tolerate it. Enya kind of likes it but has to be in a certain mood for it, and Arlowe isn’t much of a fan. ”
“Really?” Stella asked.
“Not my jam. Do we exercise a veto?” Arlowe asked.
“There are vetoes?” Stella asked, turning to Violet.
“When I was making up the rules, I thought it would be fair to give everyone a chance to veto.”
“And she hated Sarai’s pick that night and wanted us to veto it, so there’s that,” Arlowe shared.
“It has to be unanimous against the person making the pick, which, tonight, is me. There can be lobbying, too, but it must be done within two minutes, or the clock runs out and no further lobbying can be done.”
“Oh, my God.” Stella continued laughing as she set her plate and beer on the table in front of them and leaned forward, clasping her hands as if she was very interested in what was about to happen.
“So? Any vetoes?” Violet asked, and her hand, without her permission, moved to Stella’s back.
She rubbed over Stella’s sweater, and when Stella turned her face to her, Violet didn’t meet her eyes. She kept slowly moving her hand over Stella’s back, relishing in how good it felt to be touching her like this.
“Veto raised,” Sarai said, raising her hand.
“We have one veto vote. Anyone else?”
“I’m cool with whatever,” Arlowe said.
“I’m good,” Enya added.
“Sarai, care to lobby for votes?” Violet asked.
“Do I get a vote?” Stella asked, looking back at her.
“You’d veto my choice?” she asked, stopping her hand on Stella’s back.
“No, I’m just curious. BSG is my favorite show.”
“It is?” Violet asked, surprised.
“I like season one the best.”
“What’s your favorite episode?”
“33,” Stella said.
“That’s my favorite, too. Want to just watch that one in season one and come back to season two?”
“You want to go back to a first-season episode?” Enya asked.
“It’s the first episode after they made the movie that brought the show back,” Stella said.
“I’m sorry. What?” Enya asked. “I don’t want to start all the way over when we haven’t even finished it once, Violet.”
“No, just tonight. We’d watch 33, and then, next time, we can pick up where we left off.”
“Enya, are you joining my veto now?” Sarai asked.
“Enya, please…” Violet said.
“Arlowe?” Sarai asked. “Come on. Join the dark side.”
“Why does everyone always assume I know Star Wars? Enya bought me this collector’s edition box set thing years ago, and I still don’t understand why.”
“You’re a computer nerd. Doesn’t it come with the territory?” Stella asked.
That had all of them laughing but Arlowe, who shoved macaroni and cheese into her mouth and, still chewing, said, “I’m stealing one of those beers Violet made me get for you.”
“I will not veto tonight,” Enya said. “I can hang for one episode. Then, I’m going to bed anyway.”
“You’re just going to be on your phone the whole time, aren’t you?” Sarai asked her.
“Yup.”
“And I don’t care enough, so…” Arlowe said and got up, probably to go to the kitchen and grab that beer, but despite there being a little more space now, Stella didn’t move.
In fact, when they started up the episode, Stella picked up her plate, ate a few bites, and leaned right back against Violet’s arm after she set the plate back down.
Stella had her beer in one hand, but once Violet was finished with her own food, Stella’s other hand moved to her thigh, and she kept it there.
Violet looked down at it for a minute before she looked over at her friends to see if they’d noticed.
Arlowe had. She was smiling at them, but there was something else behind her eyes, too.
Violet knew what it was. Enya was still staring at her phone.
Sarai was half-asleep but watching the show.
When that episode ended, Violet placed her hand on Stella’s and gave it a squeeze.
“I’m going to the kitchen. Need anything?”
“No, but we can pick up with season two now if your friends want.”
“We don’t,” Sarai replied. “I’m going to my own room, where I can watch what I want.”
“I’m tired,” Enya said. “So, I’ll just see you all tomorrow.”
“I get dibs on the shower,” Sarai stated when she stood.
“I’m going out to the garage to get some work done,” Arlowe said.
“And I guess we’re done hanging out,” Violet replied.
“Good night, everyone,” Sarai said.
“Yeah, night,” Enya added and walked down the hall, still staring at her phone.
“See ya,” Arlowe said as she practically jumped up and went toward the kitchen, which would take her out to the garage.
“When they say they’re going to leave, they mean, like, really fast, huh?” Stella said with a little laugh.
“Are you staying?” Violet asked.
“I can stay. Want to watch another episode? We can talk through it since we’ve both seen it a million times. Actually, if you want to just watch the one after 33, we can. I do not mind starting at the beginning. I–”
“I didn’t like that you had your friend send you women’s profiles from some dating app, Stella,” she stated before she could stop herself.
Stella turned to her and replied, “I didn’t.”
“That’s what she said.”
“No, she said that she was going to send them, not that I asked her to send them. And she hasn’t, by the way.”
“Hasn’t what?”
“Sent them.”
“Because she’s too busy having FaceTime sex with her girlfriend? Is that what you said earlier?”
“I don’t know what they’re doing, but the odds are that that’s part of it, yeah.
” Stella turned to face her, crossing her legs on the sofa, and took both of Violet’s hands in her own.
“Violet, Jen has been trying to set me up for a while now. I actually went out with someone a couple of weeks ago, before you and I started whatever this thing between us is called. It didn’t go well, but Jen keeps trying. ”
“She knows about us, though.”
“She knows that we were sleeping together, yes.”
“Ah,” Violet said and pulled back her hands.
“She also knows that I wanted more than that, but you said you didn’t, so tonight, she decided to try to make you a little jealous on my behalf, I guess. I didn’t know she was going to do that; I promise.”
“She wanted to make me jealous?”
Stella nodded and asked, “Did it work?”
Violet smiled, looked at the TV that had started playing the next episode automatically, and replied, “I didn’t expect this.”
“Neither did I,” Stella revealed.
“None of it. I thought, when I found out that it was you at Cerebral, that I might be a customer and that’s it, or nothing at all, and now, you’re on my couch, and we’re… talking about maybe not just having sex.”
“I feel like you missed a few key points in that path you just took,” Stella teased.
“We know how we got here. That’s all that matters.”
“It makes it sound like we signed a Cerebral contract and then fucked on my desk, Violet.”
“Oh, my God,” she said, turning back to Stella. “Who cares what it sounds like? It’s just us here.”
“I like arguing with you,” Stella replied, smiling at her.
“You’re not getting laid tonight, so don’t even try making this foreplay.”
Stella laughed loudly at that, and when her laughter faded a bit, she asked, “Why am I not getting laid?”
“Because we shouldn’t start with sex.”
“I think we’ve already crossed that bridge, don’t you? You’ve gone down on me in the shower.”
“Too much information,” Arlowe said when she walked in to grab the beer she’d left on the table. “Violet has a bedroom, you know? It’s the biggest room in this place. You can go there and continue this very private conversation.”
“Go to the garage, Arlowe. You owe me code,” Violet replied.
“I always owe you code.”
Arlowe took a drink and walked out of the room.
“I love them, I do, but I’m starting to regret the whole living with them thing.”
“No, you’re not,” Stella argued.
Violet tilted her head at her and said, “No, I’m not.”
“So, we’re not starting with sex?”
“No.”
“What are we starting with, then?”
“A date,” she replied.
“You want to go on a date with me?” Stella asked.
“I think so.”
“Well, that’s a little less exciting, Violet. You just think you do?”
“I do,” she said, placing her hand on Stella’s thigh.
“I do. It’s just been a while. I’m not good at relationships, Stella.
My first one ended horribly, and I haven’t had much practice otherwise because I always put work first, and that’s caused problems. So, I thought sex was a good idea because I could not see you and me ever being compatible in anything other than the bedroom. ”
“Yeah, that makes it better,” Stella joked and laughed a little.
“You know what? I like you, okay? I liked it when you were here over the weekend, and you just held me, and I liked it when you helped us with the business, even though it was annoying how you disagreed with pretty much everything I said. I also liked it when you showed up at the club the other night. I was just pissed at Arlowe, and I took it out on you.”
“You like me a little bit, huh?”
“Do you ever want to get laid again?” she asked as she gave Stella a playful glare.
“Yes,” Stella replied softly and very seriously, and Violet laughed before she let it fade out.
“I… I missed you the past couple of days, which is why I called you tonight. It wasn’t just because we needed to talk. It was because I wanted to see you even if we didn’t.”
“Was that really hard to admit for you?” Stella asked and took Violet’s hand in her own again, entwining their fingers.
“Yes,” she admitted.
“Okay. Well, thank you for admitting it.”
“You’re welcome?” Violet asked more than said.
Stella laughed again and asked, “Am I staying tonight?”
“You want to?”
Stella nodded.
“And you’re okay with–”
“Not having sex again before our first date? Yeah, I’m good. I’d still like to kiss you, if that’s okay, but we can wait for that, too, if you–”
Violet cut her off with a simple, sweet kiss on the lips.
“That’s all you’re getting until our date, so if you want to go home instead of staying over with that new piece of information, I’ll leave that up to you.”
“I can keep my hands to myself,” Stella replied.
“Don’t do that. I still want you to hold me.”
Stella smiled then and asked, “Can we go out soon so that I don’t have to wait too long to kiss you again?”
“Yeah, I think we can manage that.”
“Want to watch the next episode and go to bed, then?”
Violet nodded.