Chapter 12 | Violet
Twelve
Violet
Three weeks had passed since I’d started staying with Enzo and Asher, and over those three weeks, my attraction to them had only grown stronger.
I tried to throw myself into work, picking up extra shifts and lying about needing the extra money, when in reality, I didn’t trust myself to be alone with them anymore.
While they hadn’t done anything wrong, I was so sexually frustrated that I didn’t want to embarrass myself by coming on to them, only to find out they weren’t interested.
Sure, they flirted shamelessly with me, but I didn’t let that go to my head.
They were naturally nice, and sometimes, that niceness could be mistaken for flirting.
Yeah, they also constantly found a way to touch me, whether it was a gentle hand on my lower back or a random brush of their leg against mine under the table, but again, it didn’t mean anything.
Today was the first Friday I’d had off since I started working at Surf ’N Shack, and it also just happened to be pay day.
Asher had taken me to the bank so I could set up an account and deposit my check.
Capshaw gave me the paper to give to the bank to set up direct deposit while I was there, so I didn’t have to worry about depositing paper checks anymore.
Even with his parents back in town, I found he was there more often than not and, in fact, the person who kept that place running.
I’d met his wife, Kensy, a handful of times.
She’d come in recently with her friend Bella, and we got to talking about girl stuff while it was dead.
I took my lunch break, much to Capshaw’s insistence, and ate with the girls.
It felt weird to be so easily included, especially when I tried to sit by myself and gave up when they came and joined me after I brushed off their invite.
It felt weird to have friends, which made me very nervous to even start calling them that.
But our conversation quickly turned heated, getting curious glances from Capshaw as Kensy would shriek and kick her legs under the table at something Bella said.
They were both far more sexually experienced than I was, and I couldn’t get over the fact that Bella used to be a model for a sex toy company.
Once we started talking about toys, I felt my nerves kick up when I admitted I had never used one.
They both brushed it off as no big deal and assured me they would set up a girls’ night soon to teach me everything I needed to know.
I knew they were just being nice, so I didn’t get my hopes up for a girl’s night.
However, it was pretty cool to be included, even if only for the conversation portion.
I was in my room, sitting on the ginormous bed, painting my toenails, when a knock sounded at the door.
“Dinner will be ready in ten minutes,” Asher said, not opening the door.
“Thank you. I’ll be right out,” I called back as I put the brush back in the bottle and tightened it.
I looked down and smiled at my pretty red toenails that matched my fingernails.
It wasn’t often that I painted my nails, but lately I’d been more interested in taking care of myself.
Not that I was trying to get anyone’s attention or anything. ..
I set the bottle on the nightstand and walked out, my stomach growling at the delicious scent floating through the air.
It was mid-summer and still hotter than I loved, but the house felt stuffier than normal.
I walked into the kitchen and stopped, my jaw dropping as I stared at them.
Both were without a shirt, their stupid, sexy abs glistening in the light.
Their athletic shorts hung low on their hips, both showing off a thin trail of hair that led to a place I had no business thinking about.
I sucked in a shaky breath and tried to ignore the heat that was flushing through me, and reminded myself that it wasn’t because they were cooking shirtless. Nope. That wasn’t the problem at all. It was more likely that I was hot because the house had to be at least 80 degrees.
“Hey,” I said by way of greeting as they turned and smiled at me. “Need any help?”
“I think we’ve got it, but thank you,” Asher said as he stirred the pasta into the sauce he’d poured over it. “Sorry it’s so hot in here. The AC went out, but we have someone coming out to look at it soon.”
Enzo stood by the sink with his back to me, the defined muscles pulling as he cut the grilled chicken breasts into thin slices and sang quietly, but loud enough for me to hear.
I sat at the table, closing my eyes as I rested my head in my hands, trying to keep myself together.
“Of course he sings too,” I groaned quietly, not realizing Asher was standing right there until I opened my eyes and he startled me. Not only were they incredibly good-looking with killer bodies, but Enzo had a voice that could serenade any woman’s panties right off her.
“What’s wrong with singing?” he asked, a smile gracing his lips that said he already knew.
I shook my head and let my hands fall as I looked past him to Enzo, who was now glancing at me over his shoulder.
“Nothing,” I lied, licking my lips and immediately regretting it once his eyes locked onto the movement.
I needed to talk to Bella about those toys and see what she recommended, because I was getting desperate and needed something to put me out of my misery.
“You don’t like music?” Enzo asked, joining us as he set the plate of chicken down.
“Music is fine,” I mumbled, trying to ignore their heated gazes as they watched me.
“You just don’t like when I sing?” Enzo pressed with a smirk.
I let my head fall back in frustration as a sigh drifted out of me.
“No, there’s nothing wrong with you singing. There’s nothing wrong with you, period.”
I shifted my gaze to find Enzo watching me with a curious look on his face, but thankfully, he didn’t say anything. Asher, on the other hand, wasn’t so kind.
“There’s plenty wrong with Enzo,” Asher said matter-of-factly as he pulled out the chair and sat down. “Where do you want me to begin?”
Enzo shook his head and flipped Asher off, getting a smile from me. I loved how fun and easy they were to be around, even if I had inappropriate thoughts the majority of the time these days.
“How’s work going?” Enzo asked me, effectively changing the subject.
I gave him a soft smile, silently thanking him for it before I started talking about work and how much I was enjoying it.
It seemed silly to like a job as much as I liked working at Surf ’N Shack, but it kept me busy, and I made good money.
Not only that, but I liked my coworkers, there was very little drama, and I got free food, which was nice.
After dinner, I helped clean up and then retreated to my room. I still felt overly frustrated and didn’t want to risk doing or saying something stupid around them. I didn’t know what the cure was for this because I had never felt like this before, but I knew there had to be one.
I sat on the bed and turned on the TV, mindlessly flipping through the channels before giving up and turning it off.
It was already getting late, and even though it was a Friday night, I was tired.
A long, hot shower had always helped calm me when I was younger, so I gathered some clean pajamas and the new body wash I had picked up at the store earlier.
I opened the door and stepped into the hallway, nearly dropping the body wash as I tripped over the rug. Asher’s hands were around my waist, steadying me before I had a chance to even register that he was there. He bent down and picked up the bottle, handing it to me as he licked his lips.
“Sorry,” I murmured, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear as his hand lingered on my waist.
I was far too aroused to handle his touch right now, even if it was meant to be sweet and innocent.
“Raspberry sorbet,” he noted, looking at the body wash I was now clutching to my chest.
“I grabbed it at the store earlier,” I said dumbly because he was there when I bought it.
“Yeah, I remember seeing it. But I don’t think I smelled it. Sounds refreshing.”
I knew he was just making small talk, but that did nothing to keep me from embarrassing myself.
“Do you want to smell it?” I offered, raising my eyebrows as my fingers started to undo the top of the bottle.
He grinned, his dimples flirting with me as he shook his head.
“Na, that’s okay. I’ll check it out later.”
I didn’t know what he meant by that, but the look he gave me sent a rush of heat flushing through my body, turning my skin red. His eyes leisurely followed, taking note of it.
“Oh. Yeah. Okay.” I shrugged but made no effort to pull away from his touch.
We just stood there in the hallway, staring at each other as I continued to clutch the body wash against my chest.
“Violet?” he said softly.
“Yeah?” I practically moaned, already coming undone just by hearing my name on his lips.
“You gonna go take that shower or are we going to stand in the hallway holding each other all night?” he teased, looking down at me with something I didn’t recognize but wanted more of.
“Right. Yep. That’s what I’m going to do,” I announced as I awkwardly stepped away from him and lifted my hand to salute.
What the actual hell was wrong with me? Was this some sort of demon possession, or was this what happened to regular people when they got horny? This was ridiculously stupid, and the longer I stood there while he grinned, the more embarrassed I got.
“Off to the shower I go to wash all my sins away,” I nearly sang, cringing when he lowered his head to try to hide his laughter, but failed when his shoulders shook, giving him away.
I took one step, then another until I was standing in the bathroom. I didn’t bother to look at him as I clumsily pushed the door closed, then leaned against it until I sank to the floor.
“Enjoy washing those sins off, Vi,” he said through the door before tapping his knuckles against it.
Just when I thought he had left, he added, “By the way, the showerhead comes down. I recommend the massage setting.”
I let my head fall forward as I shook it.
Asher not only knew I was horny, but he was giving me advice on how to use the showerhead to get myself off. Could things possibly get any worse than that?