Now
GRAYSON
I wanted to wait to talk to Violet after she got home from work, but I was too impatient.
Oh, I missed how her lips felt on mine more than I originally thought. The feeling of my hands wrapped around her waist and our breaths intertwining are things I will never get over.
Also, I’m more drenched than I was when I got to Sweet & Salty because it’s pouring harder near campus. Ugh, and I’m a dumbass who didn’t bring an umbrella.
“I’m here!” Violet takes off her cardigan and hangs it over her shoulder.
The whole front of her graphic tee is soaking wet, along with her dirty blonde hair, her beautiful face, and her legs.
All I want to do is kiss every inch of her body and study every crevice until the sun rises.
She pulls out her keys, unlocking the front door and gesturing to me to come inside.
I shut the door behind me, dragging my duffel bag inside her place. “Is Sage home?”
She shakes her head. “Did you bring pajamas with you?
“Oh, I have a lot of things in this duffel bag.”
“We should get out of these wet clothes. How are you not shivering? Aren’t you cold? I’m freezing.”
“A little, but I’d rather do something else that requires me taking our clothes off, plus it’ll help us both warm up.”
“Hm, smooth.”
“Since Sage isn’t here, we can be as loud as we want.”
“Okay then, Captain. Make your move.”
“Fuck, please call me that again.” I lick my lips, hunger taking over my eyes. I get down on my knees in front of her. “Please.”
“You don’t have to beg.”
“But you’re so beautiful from this angle.” I trail a bunch of kisses up her thighs.
“Stop kissing my ass.”
“Don’t threaten me with a good time.”
A small fit of laughter escapes her mouth. “It’s not a threat, it’s a promise. Captain.”
I stand upright, crashing my lips onto hers. Picking her up by her ass with my hands, I push her up against the wall next to her bedroom. As I put her down onto the ground, I sear a path of kisses all the way down to her chest and back up to her mouth. She lets out a small, breathy moan.
I lead her into the bedroom, not breaking the kiss. I can feel how close her knees are to buckling. Picking her up again, I throw her gently onto the bed. My pupils dilate as I crawl over to her.
“Did you bring a condom with you?” she asks, biting down on her bottom lip.
I nod. “Yeah, I’ll go put one on right now.”
I go into the bathroom and come back out several minutes later. “We’re all set, Angel.”
“Do you remember the first time we had sex?” she asks, hiding part of face with her hands.
“Yeah, why?”
Violet and I lost our virginities to each other when we were seventeen years old before all hell broke loose. We both tried to do as much research as we could, but our first time was awkward and nowhere near perfect.
It was how it should’ve been.
I’m lying on top of Violet, who’s topless with a bra still on. I have no shirt, shorts, or underwear on. She’s staring at me like I’m the only person in her orbit that exists.
“I’m nervous,” she whispers.
“I’m nervous, too. I’m worried that I’ll hurt you or make your first time cataclysmically horrendous.”
“I know you won’t do either of those things. I trust you.”
“Are you ready?”
“I’m ready.”
It takes us a few tries to get it right, and it doesn’t last very long.
I ask her if she’s okay, if she needs anything, and if she wants me to stop pretty often.
Our first time ended up not being perfect, but it was ours, and that’s all that truly matters.
“Is this time going to be the same as before?” Violet snaps me back to reality.
“Not even close. Are you warmed up yet?”
“I’m getting there.”
“Let.” I kiss her cheek. “Me.” I kiss the nape of her neck. “See.” I kiss her clavicle. “If.” I feather kisses on both breasts. “I.” I kiss her stomach. “Can.” I leave kisses in between both of her thighs. “Help.” I kiss above the waistband of her underwear.
She whimpers, and her body trembles after each kiss.
“Please,” she whines.
“Use your words.”
“I want you to help me warm up.”
Taking off my wet T-shirt and shorts, I climb back on top of her. “What?”
“How do you have muscles on top of muscles?” She runs her hand down to my abs.
“Maybe I’m going to the gym too much. I don’t know.” I help her take her wet graphic tee off and slide her ripped jean shorts down to her ankles, pulling them off. “Where should I put our clothes?”
Fuck me.
She’s the most gorgeous woman in the entire goddamn universe. I think the wet hair is making her look even more stunning, but I can’t express how much I want her.
Right here.
Right now.
“You can put them in the white basket in the corner over there.”
When I turn back around to face her, her eyes are wide and her mouth is hanging open.
“What’s wrong?”
“What is that tattoo on your spine?”
“I fucked up and got drunk one of the nights after I got dispatched from the hospital. I thought it would be funny to get a tattoo of a violet.”
“Why didn’t you get it removed?”
I sit upright on the bed. “If I tell you why, you’ll laugh at me.”
“I would never laugh at you. Please tell me.” She sits upright, our knees touching.
“Even though you weren’t physically in my life anymore, I wanted to have some part of you with me wherever I went. You have a permanent space on my back and in my heart.”
Her hypnotizing blue eyes fill up with tears, and she kisses me on my forehead. “I love you.”
“I love you more.”
She climbs on top of me, wrapping her legs around my waist and running her fingers through my hair. She stares at me intensely, making me smile like an idiot.
“Are you sure you want to do this?” I tuck a stray tendril of her hair behind her ear.
“I haven’t been more sure about anything in a long time.”
“If you feel uncomfortable, or in pain, or you simply want to stop, tell me. Okay, Vi?”
“Okay, Gray.”
Rolling off Violet, I end up lying next to her. Our breathing is heavy, and she meets my gaze. “That was nothing like the first time.”
“I told you it wouldn’t be.”
And boy, was it the total opposite of our first time.
We both knew what we were doing and made sure we clearly communicated with each other the whole time.
Our bodies intermingling with one another felt like we were right where we belong.
The faint moans that would escape her mouth and became louder the closer we got to the finish line made it challenging for me to stay sane.
The fact that it’s been six years since we first had sex tells me I’ve been craving her for much longer than I thought. My Violet.
“What are you thinking about?” She turns her face and body in my direction.
“How I will never take this moment with you for granted.” I kiss her forehead and cheeks. “Hey, are you hungry at all?”
“Are you?” she counters.
“I’m always hungry, but I asked about you.”
“Sweet or savory?”
“Since I had something sweet, I’m thinking savory.” I kiss her swollen, pink lips.
“I could go for something savory. Stingray’s is going to be our only option because everywhere else is closed now.”
“Yeah, it’s 9:30 p.m. Do you know what you want, or do you need to look at their menu?”
“Seven count boneless wings, garlic parmesan sauce on the side, and tater tots. Oh, and a side of garlic aioli.”
I grin. “Are you done?”
“Mm-hm.”
Whipping out my phone, I go to Stingray’s website and order our meals through their online portal because last time I did this, I forgot they have their own delivery system. It takes me around ten minutes to complete our order.
“I didn’t see what you got.”
“I got the ten count traditional boneless wings with barbecue sauce and a side of fries. Oh, I asked for ketchup for the fries.” I press my lips together. “It should be here in twenty to thirty minutes.”
She gets up from her pillow and hops on top of me. “I know how we can pass the time.”
My eyes grow wide. “Wait, you want to go for round two?”
“I wish, but no. I was thinking we could make out a little bit.” She giggles into her hand.
“You’re so silly.”
“So are you,” she says.
Grabbing her face with my hand, I pull her lips onto mine. She’s the oxygen I need to breathe in and the carbon dioxide I need to breathe out in order to survive as a human being on this planet. She takes my breath away when her lips come into contact with mine.
I love this woman with my entire soul, and that’s never going to change.
Releasing her lips from mine, I pause a moment to take in her natural beauty.
“Why are you staring at me like that?” she asks, a small smile spreading across her lips.
“Do you know how beautiful you are?”
She hides into her hands until she doesn’t anymore, revealing how flushed her cheeks are. “You must be seeing a different person than I see every day.”
“Why do you say that?”
“I don’t see what you see, Gray.”
“You’re beautiful inside and out. I’ll do my best to help you see what I see every day starting today.”
“Okay.”
We make out and have intermittent small talks in between until I get a notification that our food has been delivered in front of her apartment.
She notices how intense my concentration is as I stare at my phone. “What’s up?”
I get out of bed, putting my shorts back on. “Our food has been delivered.” I stand in the doorway.
“I’ll set up the kitchen table.”
I shake my head. “Stay here. Dinner will be served in bed tonight.”
“Grayson Becker, you really know your way into a woman’s heart.”
“Well, I hope I’ve made my way into your heart, Violet Prescott.” I wink at her, heading for the food sitting in front of her door.
“You snuck your way into my heart when I was twelve years old!” she shouts.
I secure the goods and lock her front door, heading back into her bedroom. “I’d say my mission has been successful then, getting our food and winning you over with my gorgeous smile.” I smile at her in an unattractive way.
She breaks out into laughter, causing tears to come out of her eyes. “Yeah, you won me over with your gorgeous smile.”
“Score!” I check the contents of the bag, seeing they put two sets of silverware and a bunch of napkins inside. “Damn, and I forgot to ask about silverware, too.” I hand Violet her boneless wings, sitting back down on the bed next her with my styrofoam box of traditional wings in one hand.
She searches for her side of garlic parmesan sauce for her wings and her side of garlic aioli for her tater tots. She rolls her eyes. “Goddamn, that smells so good.”
I wish I was the one making your eyes roll back like that.
Opening the box to my wings, I get a whiff of the sweet and tangy barbecue sauce along with the fries, which smell like they’re fresh out of the fryer. “Is there ketchup in there?”
She searches through the bag, finding a few ketchup packets inside and handing them over to me. “They were all the way at the bottom.”
I hold one of my barbecue wings up, and she dunks her boneless wing in the garlic parmesan sauce before she holds one of hers up.
“Cheers,” I say.
“Cheers,” she repeats.
We barely touch our wings together because I know she doesn’t like barbecue sauce, so I don’t want to get it all over her boneless wing.
I always thought nothing would come close to Coastal Shores’ traditional wings, but these are a close second. They’re tender and fall right off the bone, plus they pair so well with the barbecue sauce.
“I’ll trade you a tater tot for a fry.” She holds up one of her tater tots.
“I’d say that’s a fair trade.”
She hands the tater tot over to me, dropping it into my hand. I give her a fry, and she takes it in between her thumb and index finger. Popping the tater tot into my mouth, I feel how perfectly crispy they are and how there’s a perfect amount of potato on the inside.
She gives me a thumbs up, meaning the fry and her food must be good. “Thank you for feeding me.”
“Always.”
Violet and I finished our meals about an hour ago.
Now, I have my arms wrapped around her with one hand on her stomach and the other gently squeezing her breast.
“Hey, do you know what you’re going to wear to Thanksgiving dinner next Thursday?”
“I’m thinking of wearing a dress, but I’m not sure which one I want to wear yet.”
“I don’t care about the style of it, but I’m begging you to wear a pink dress.”
“Why do you love pink on me so much?”
“It’s the color you feel the most like yourself in, and it’s not just because it’s your favorite color either. If I had to describe you as a color, it would be pink. You radiate compassion, femininity, warmth, sweetness, and tranquility.”
“Noted. I’ll wear a pink dress.” She kisses the tip of my nose. “Thank you for saying those things about me.”
“Anytime.”
“What are you going to wear?”
“Possibly a nice button-up T-shirt and pants. If you wear pink, I could wear gray or black to compliment you.”
“Oh, I’d love that.”
“Not to switch subjects or anything, but there’s something I want to talk to you about.”
“Hit me,” she says.
“I don’t know if I want to tell everybody we’re back together yet. I know this is a lot to ask of you, but do you think we could wait to tell them on Thanksgiving day?”
“So, you want us to sneak around again? You know how well that worked out for us last time.”
“I guess it could be considered as sneaking around, but that’s not how I see it.
I see this as an opportunity for two people to spend time together without hearing opinions we didn’t ask for from our friends and family.
If for some reason we can’t make it until then, we’ll tell everybody at our earliest convenience together. ”
“I’m going to regret this, but okay.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah, I don’t need to hear what everybody thinks about our relationship right now. It was easier when nobody knew about us, but I know this is going to be temporary.”
“I love you so much, Vi.”
“I love you more, Gray.”