Chapter 13 Violet
VIOLET
SIX YEARS AGO
I’m so relieved when the exit for Sweetwater Lake pops up on the horizon. My butt is sore from sitting for so long, and I desperately need to stretch my legs. I debated pulling over like fifty miles ago, but the need to be home won out, making me push myself to keep going.
The trip after graduating college was fun, and it was nice to just be near the beach with my friends, laughing and blowing off some steam after finals and everything. We all worked so hard to make it to that stage, to get our diplomas, and we deserved every bit of fun that we had.
Most of my friends flew back to their homes, but it was easier, and cheaper for me to drive.
Although I started wondering if that was true about an hour ago when my car’s AC started sputtering, leaving me to roll down the windows and hope for a breeze.
I can smell that it’s getting hotter as I keep driving, and I rub my hand over the dashboard. “Come on, baby,” I whisper to it, putting on my blinker to merge into the right lane so I can take the next exit. “Just a little bit longer. Hang in there for me.”
It groans, like it can hear me and it’s tired, and I can’t even be surprised when a few minutes later, the overheating light comes on. I ease the car to the side of the road, and kill the engine, letting it rest for a little bit before I crank it back up.
It tries to turn over, but just ends up grinding a bit, refusing to start.
“No! Don’t do this to me, we’re so close. Come on. Come on, you can do it.”
I try again.
Still nothing.
I lean forward, resting my forehead on the steering wheel, trying to breathe through my frustration.
At least I made it to the side of the road.
When it refuses to start a third time, I give up and get out of the car, lifting up the hood.
Other than being really hot, I have no idea what I’m looking for. It could need coolant or something else entirely, and of course, I don’t have anything that could help with me.
“Hey, what happened?” a deep voice asks from behind me, and I jump, bonking my head on the underside of the hood as I lean back and turn around to see Lennox standing behind me.
“What are you doing here?” I ask, putting a hand over my galloping heart.
“I saw you when I was taking the exit,” he explains. “So I pulled over to see if I could help.”
I knew Lennox was back in town from his deployment, but I haven’t seen him, since I was gone on my trip by the time he was settled in.
Despite being gone so much, he looks mostly the same. Still tall and muscular, clean cut and handsome.
He moves in to lean under the hood with me, and my stomach clenches at him being so close.
“So what’s the issue?” he asks.
I shrug. “I have no idea. It was overheating a bit, so I pulled over to give it a break, but now it won’t start at all. And of course I don’t have any coolant or anything with me.”
“Of course,” he says. “That’s always how it goes. Where are you coming back from?”
I tell him about the graduation trip, and he smiles. “Congrats on that. Graduating.”
“Thanks. Finals kicked my butt, but I was determined to get out of there if I had to stay up all night for the last term to do it.”
“Did it come to that?”
I shake my head. “Not quite. But there were a lot of late nights and a lot of coffee.”
“And you kicked its ass. I’m proud of you.”
My cheeks heat even more from his praise and I offer him a small smile. “Thanks. That means a lot.”
“I would have liked to be there to see you walk across the stage and all, but you know.” He shrugs, and I nod.
“I know. The Army waits for no man. How long are you back for anyway?”
“Not much longer. I’ll be shipping out again soon.”
That is how it goes with him. He comes back into town for a little bit, a week or two at most, and then it’s right back out. “I’m sorry I missed you, then. It would have been nice to hang out before you have to go back.”
He gives me a crooked smile and nudges me with his elbow. “You didn’t miss me. I’m here right now.”
Something about the way he says that makes my heart beat a little faster.
He’s close enough that I can smell his shampoo and the sweat on his skin over the hot metal scent of my car, and every part of my body seems to be aware of it.
It’s masculine and enticing, and I want to lean in for more, but I don’t let myself do that.
“So um,” I say, trying to get back on track. “Any idea what I should do about this?”
“If you don’t have any coolant, I’m out of ideas,” he replies. He pokes at a few things, frowning as he does, and I watch the way his hands move, strong and sure even if he doesn’t really know what he’s looking for. “I have a lot of skills, but fixing this isn’t one of them.”
“Of course,” I sigh, pushing my bangs back from my face. “I’ll just have to figure something else out.”
“I can give you a ride into town. Then you can have them come tow your car to the mechanic. That’s the best I got.” He holds out a hand to me, to shake on the deal.
I laugh a little, fitting my palm against his and shaking on it. “I’ll take that. Much better than melting out here in the heat.”
Lennox slams the hood of my car down, and I grab my purse and suitcase from the car, locking it up so that no one gets any bright ideas while it’s sitting on the side of the road.
I slide into Lennox’s car, sighing with pleasure as the AC blasts over me.
“You’re my hero,” I tell him with a smile, and he smiles back.
I tell him more about my trip as we head into town, and he tells me what he’s been up to in Sweetwater Lake while he’s been home. Same old, same old really is the way things work in small towns, and it’s cozy and familiar in a way that I like.
Lennox takes me to my apartment, pulling up into one of the front parking spaces. “Here you are,” he says, giving me a little bow from the seat. “Safe and sound.”
“Thank you,” I say. “Really, you saved my ass today.”
“All in a day’s work.”
I go to get out of the car, but something makes me pause. It’s the realization that I don’t want this to end just yet. I see Lennox so rarely now that we’re both so busy, and he’s going to be leaving again soon for who knows how long.
“Do you want to come in?” I blurt out, impulse taking over. “I could, uh, give you a drink or something? To say thank you for the ride.”
“You don’t have to thank me for the ride,” he says, looking over at me. I’m bracing myself for him to turn me down when he smiles. “But yeah, I do want to come up.”
I smile back, and we both get out of the car. He helps me with my suitcase, going up the two flights of stairs to my apartment because of course this place doesn’t have an elevator.
Thank goodness I cleaned my place up before I left for my trip, not wanting to come back to a mess after driving all day, so there’s nothing embarrassing to hide from him.
I cross to the kitchen and pull out a bottle of vodka that I’ve kept stashed in the freezer for “emergencies.”
“What kind of emergencies require vodka?” Lennox wants to know.
“Classes kicking my butt. My mom being annoying. The upstairs neighbors having sex parties,” I say, only half teasing.
I pour us drinks and slide Lennox’s glass to him. He lifts it, toasting me, and I smile around the burn of the booze.
It lights a fire down my body, settling warm and heavy in my belly. Lennox drains his in one smooth swallow, and I can’t help but watch the way his throat bobs. I can’t tell if he’s taller and broader the way he seems or if it’s just that my tiny apartment feels even smaller with him in it.
Either way, he takes up a lot of the space, and my eyes keep gravitating to him.
He asks me questions about school, and I answer them easily. It’s been a while since we’ve seen each other, but the conversation flows so well that it feels like no time at all. He laughs when I tell him a story about my RA setting the kitchen on fire by pouring water on a grease fire.
“I thought RAs were supposed to be the responsible ones,” he says.
“So did we. But he had no idea what he was doing.”
He tells me about some of the people in his squad and the prank war he engaged in once.
When both glasses are empty, I pour us another drink, and the heat of the day turns into a cooler evening as we keep talking and catching up.
I get up to turn the lights on in the living room now that it’s getting dark outside, and I can feel Lennox watching me as I go.
“So what made you want to take a trip after graduation?” he asks.
“Don’t most people do that kind of thing?”
“Sure,” he says, shrugging. “But you’re not most people. I want to know why you did it.”
I think that over for several beats, cradling my glass in my hand even though it’s mostly empty by now. “I wanted to see a bit of the world. Experience a bit of life. Pretty much all I know is Sweetwater Lake, and it’s not exactly a hopping metropolis of culture.”
Lennox laughs. “Yeah, I’ve noticed that. It always feels smaller when I come back from being deployed, but that’s not really a bad thing. It’s cozy.”
“It is,” I agree. “But I wanted to see what else was out there before I have to jump into being a real adult and all.”
“What did you see?”
I tell him about the landmarks I stopped at, showing him pictures of things that I thought were worth making memories of.
He listens intently through the whole thing, and I just feel… happy. Warm.
“Did you do everything you wanted then?”
I shake my head. Maybe it’s the alcohol or maybe it’s just me feeling so comfortable with him, but the truth comes spilling out of my mouth before I can hold it back.
“I wanted to lose my virginity, and that didn’t happen.”
As soon as the words are out of my mouth, my face flushes red and I wish I could take them back. I really didn’t mean to say that.
Something in Lennox’s expression shifts, and I can’t quite read it. “You’re a virgin?” he asks. There’s no judgement in it, no pity, but I still hide my face in my hands when I nod.
I feel flushed all over from the embarrassment of this conversation, and I only have myself to blame.
“I know that probably sounds…” I shake my head, not even sure what to say. “Naive? Sheltered? Something like that. I know how it has to sound to you. You’re older than me, and you’ve been all over, so you probably have tons of experience.”
To my surprise, a little smile curls the corner of his mouth.
“Heartbreaker, you could have men tripping over themselves for you if you wanted.” I snort with disbelief, and he reaches out to poke me in the arm.
“I’m serious. But you know… your first time shouldn’t have been with some random stranger in a place you might never go to again. You deserve better than that.”
My stomach flips at his words and the sincerity in them. He really does mean what he’s saying. “I didn’t exactly love the idea of it,” I admit. “I always thought my first time would be with someone I knew. Someone I trusted.”
Lennox looks at me, and our eyes catch and hold. There’s something in the moment between us, something charged and loaded that sparks as we look at each other.
I can’t read the look in Lennox’s eyes, but it’s intense as he watches me, and my heart is beating faster all of a sudden.
“You know,” he murmurs. “Your road trip technically isn’t over yet.”
I lick my lips, my mouth suddenly so dry. “What do you mean?”
“Your car hasn’t made it back yet.”
That startles a soft laugh out of me, and I nod while my stomach flutters. “I guess you’re right.”
In one smooth motion, Lennox gets to his feet. He comes closer to me, taking the glass from my hand and setting it aside on the coffee table. My heart thuds heavily in my chest as he reaches out and tips my chin up, making me meet his gaze again.
“Violet,” he murmurs, his voice deep and rough around the edges in a way that feels almost sinful. “Stop me if you don’t want this.”
I don’t stop him.