CHAPTER 35
“I think we would’ve had more fun at the club,” Arlowe said when she pushed open the door to the house.
“You mean you would’ve had more luck getting laid if we’d gone to the club,” Sarai noted, walking in behind her.
“You still could’ve gotten laid tonight. That bartender was interested,” Enya added, following both of them.
“It’s not too late for us to go to your place instead, if you want,” Violet suggested as she turned to Stella, wrapping her arms around her neck. “You don’t have any roommates. I can just grab some clothes and stuff, and we can go. I only had one drink two hours ago, so I’ll drive.”
Stella laughed and patted Violet on the ass.
“Babe, your roommates are great. I like your friends.”
“I do, too, but you don’t have any roommates, and that means we can do whatever we want.”
“But the meeting is here tomorrow. You really want to pack stuff, drive to my place, sleep, and have to come back here early tomorrow morning? You know they’ll expect us to bring coffee and donuts, too.”
“We’re more of a bagel crowd,” Arlowe noted, leaning back outside. “And are you coming in or what? You’re letting the bugs in.”
“Come on. It’s fine.” Stella took Violet’s hand, and they walked inside. “I already have my stuff here.”
“Yeah, you left your bag on the floor by the couch. Enya stepped on it,” Sarai said. “You didn’t have anything fragile in there, did you?”
“Um… Yeah, my laptop.”
“She’s kidding. I didn’t step on it,” Enya said while she looked down at her phone. “Also, are we doing anything, or can I go to bed?”
“You’re an adult, Enya. You can go to bed whenever you want to,” Violet reminded her and closed the door behind them.
They’d ended up saving their celebration drinks for Friday night since Enya hadn’t felt well the night they’d originally planned to go out, and Violet had stayed at Stella’s every night since their first date.
She had to admit that she’d loved it, and it had only partly been about having the whole house to themselves and not having to hear doors open and close at all hours of the night.
Arlowe was the primary culprit, of course.
Sarai and Enya were guilty of that, too, at times, but because she was the one with the biggest room in the house, with a private bathroom inside it, which meant that she didn’t have to share the shower with the others and didn’t have to go into the hallway just to pee in the middle of the night, Violet had never complained to them about that.
Mostly, though, it had been about being with Stella to her.
They’d shared all their nights in after their attempted dinner in the restaurant where they had run into Jen and Haley, they’d cooked together, done the dishes together, watched episodes of their shared favorite TV show together, and Violet had been feeling less tense, less worried, and a lot calmer in general.
It had helped that Stella’s house had been quiet compared to the one she shared with her friends, which was often anything but quiet, but it had also been because of Stella.
She made Violet want to relax, grab some popcorn, cuddle up on the sofa, and just be in the moment instead of worrying about what was coming next.
She’d wanted that for tonight, too, but they’d gone to the bar on karaoke night, which had been a mistake.
Violet was not a fan of karaoke. People drank too much, got a little too confident, and ruined good songs.
On top of that, she could usually sit there with her friends and have a drink of her own to drown it all out, but tonight, Arlowe and Sarai had decided to perform several duets, and they had even convinced Enya to get up there for their awful rendition of Single Ladies that would’ve made Beyoncé unplug the sound system had she walked into the bar.
The best part of the night was that Stella had been there with her.
If her arm hadn’t been around Violet’s shoulders, it had been on her thigh or holding Violet’s hand, and they’d shared a few kisses; one a little longer than the others since they’d been in line for the bathroom at the time, where her friends couldn’t make fun of them.
It had been the first time that Violet had brought a date out with her friends in a very long time, and it had been the only time she’d wanted to do it.
“Are you two going to bed?” Sarai asked, flopping down on one of the sofas.
“I don’t know. Are we?” Stella asked.
“We’re up to season two,” Violet said, leaning into her.
“You two are big nerds,” Sarai noted with a laugh.
“Hey!” Stella said.
“How did you two not realize that you should’ve been dating all along?
I mean, just telling each other your favorite TV show got you both all weak in the knees.
You could have done that, like, ten years ago.
Stella, I know she’s annoying, but you really couldn’t have just asked her out or fucked her brains out back then? ”
“She wasn’t single, Sarai,” Stella replied.
“Yeah, she was. She just didn’t know it,” Sarai argued.
“I’m just saying… You two could’ve been married by now, living in that house and not having to put up with us here.
I know Vi couldn’t have made the first move; that wasn’t her thing and still pretty much isn’t, but it seems like it’s yours, Stella. ”
“Will you leave my girlfriend alone, please?” Violet said with a little laugh, running her hand over Stella’s back.
“Uh…” Arlowe walked back into the room, chip bag in one hand and the index finger on her other hand pointing at Stella. “Your face,” she said and laughed hard.
“What’s going on?” Enya asked as she walked in from the hallway.
“When did you leave?” Sarai asked her. “When did you change into your pajamas?”
“I told you I wanted to go to bed. But I heard you were all out here still, and I didn’t want to miss anything,” Enya replied as she sat down next to Sarai.
Violet had heard her friends talk, but her brain couldn’t process their words properly at the moment.
She’d just called Stella her girlfriend for the first time, and while she hadn’t seen Stella’s face, Arlowe, apparently, had, and she was laughing about it, which meant that Stella’s facial expression at hearing her definition of their relationship had been something to laugh at. That couldn’t bode well.
“Now, Violet’s face,” Arlowe noted as she continued to laugh on her way to the other couch, where she sat down. She then picked up a chip, ate it, and added. “Hilarious, you two.”
“What are you laughing at?” Enya asked Arlowe.
“I think Violet might have just called Stella her girlfriend for the first time,” Sarai said, nudging Enya’s shoulder with her own.
“She did, yes,” Stella confirmed. “And I think my eyebrows went up, which was why Arlowe started laughing, and now, Violet might be hyperventilating. Babe, are you hyperventilating?”
“What? No.”
“You are breathing really hard,” Arlowe noted.
“Eat your chips, Arlowe,” she told her through gritted teeth.
“I think we’re going to bed now,” Stella said with a little laugh. “She’s being really cute.”
“Just keep it down, please. I’m going to sleep,” Enya replied.
“And we all live here,” Arlowe added. “So, maybe no yells or screams.”
“Arlowe, just shove a handful of those chips into your mouth and chew for the next hour,” Violet replied.
Stella laughed and said, “Babe, come on.”
“But are you Violet’s girlfriend?” Sarai asked.
“I’m interested because tonight, the two women we sang Eye of the Tiger with asked about you two.
They weren’t into women, but they both knew someone who was, I guess, and they were curious.
I said that you two were just dating, and Arlowe told them that you were meant to be.
Arlowe was drunker than me. I think we just confused them, so they didn’t ask us anything else. ”
“I am Violet’s girlfriend, yes,” Stella replied, taking Violet’s hand.
“So, I’m going to take my possibly hyperventilating girlfriend to bed, where we will watch some nerdy show that we both like, even though there’s nothing nerdy about it and the concepts are universal, but if you want to see a slide presentation on the proof of that statement, I have it on my laptop and can show it during your meeting tomorrow morning. Then, we’re going to sleep.”
“So, no loud sex? That’s great. I’m exhausted,” Enya said without moving from the couch.
“Go to bed!” Arlowe, Sarai, and Violet all yelled at the same time.
“But you’re all having fun. I don’t want to miss anything. If I had gone to bed, I wouldn’t have known that Violet has a girlfriend.”
“We’re going to bed, too, so all you’ll be missing is Arlowe choking on that handful of chips she just ate,” Violet stated.
“Love you, too, Vi,” Arlowe replied and shoved more chips into her mouth as she squinted her eyes at Violet.
“Good night, everyone,” Stella said.
“Night,” Enya replied with her eyes closed.
“Oh, my God. Come on. I’m walking you to your room before Arlowe and I have to carry you like last time,” Sarai stated and stood, holding out her hands to Enya.
Violet just smiled at her friends, happy that she hadn’t missed these ridiculous moments with them, and she was also happy that these ridiculous moments had given her an opportunity to refer to Stella as her girlfriend.
Now that the initial panic was over because Stella seemed to be fine with that, Violet felt like she could try and stop that fast breathing that she hadn’t noticed starting up to begin with.
Stella picked her bag up off the floor and held her hand as they walked down the hall and into Violet’s bedroom. Violet closed it behind them, making sure to lock it, and leaned back against it, letting out a deep breath.
“So, you’re my girlfriend now,” Stella said with a smirk as she moved into her and placed her hands on Violet’s hips. “Are you standing there for any particular reason? I know we just told them that we were going to chill, but I’ll happily–”