31. Jay
CHAPTER 31
JAY
I wake up early, well, early for me, and start preparing breakfast. I want Violet and her mom to feel welcome, to know that they’re not imposing. After only fifteen minutes, the smell of fresh coffee and pancakes fills the kitchen.
I can hear Caroline moving around in her room, and I want to ask if she needs anything, but I also don’t want to overstep.
As I’m flipping the last pancake, Violet walks in, her hair slightly tousled from sleep. She looks surprised and then smiles, a small, genuine smile that makes my heart skip a beat.
“Good morning,” I say, trying to keep my voice casual.
“Morning. You didn’t have to do all this, you know,” her voice still sounds groggy like she’s really only been awake a minute or two.
“I wanted to,” I say, placing a stack of pancakes on the table.
Violet takes a seat, and soon after, her mom joins us, looking equally amused. Apparently, my cooking is just a big surprise to everyone. We eat together, and Caroline starts asking me more about my life.
“How long have you had The Rusty Oak?”
“It’s been almost three years now. It took a while after I bought the building to renovate it and get it up and running. But now, I couldn’t imagine doing anything else.”
I glance at Violet and find that she’s watching me, her eyes unreadable.
Caroline continues her line of questioning. “Is it hard work?”
I let out a long sigh. “It’s hard always needing to have an answer for everything. I work almost every day. I can take days off when I want, like last night. But I could have a day off planned, and then my bartenders start canceling. There’s nothing I can do but go in and cover.”
“It sounds demanding.”
“It is.”
“I’m glad that you’re a hard worker. Violet doesn’t need someone who’s lazy.”
“Mom!” Violet scolds, her eyes wide with embarrassment. I’m not sure if she’s protesting her mom’s use of the word “need” or “lazy.” Maybe both.
After breakfast, it’s starting to get warm enough to be outside.
Violet and I sit on the porch, rocking back and forth on the porch swing. I want to scoot closer to her, but I’m mindful that her mom could come out at any moment. We talk about everything and nothing, sharing stories and laughing about silly things. I find time passing at an unearthly speed.
“I didn’t know you were such a good cook,” Violet says, teasingly.
I chuckle. “There’s a lot you don’t know about me.”
Her smile fades slightly, and she looks thoughtful. “Yeah, I guess we never really took the time to get to know each other. I mean, we know each other well in some ways.”
She’s right. I could identify where both of her moles are and what her favorite sex position is, but I can’t say much about her hopes and dreams for life. I’m suddenly filled with a longing to know them. “I want to change that. I want to know everything about you, Violet.”
She looks at me, her green eyes serious. “Like what?”
“Like... what’s your favorite book?” I ask, genuinely curious.
She laughs softly. “That’s a tough one. I love so many. But if I had to choose, probably The Hunger Games .”
I grin. “I was the kid who never read those in high school. Did I miss out?”
“Yes, Jay! You missed out! You at least have to watch the movies.”
I decide not to admit that I watched one, but it didn’t catch my interest.
She leans back, looking up at the gray clouds. “What about you? What’s your favorite book?”
“I…I don’t know if I have one. I loved the Tin-tin comics as a kid.”
Violet just looks confused.
“I’ll show you some later. They’re about these two men, and their little dog. They sort of solve mysteries, save the day, and…” I shrug. “I liked them a lot.”
“I haven’t read much since I got out of school, to be honest,” Violet responds, brushing some of her red hair back from her face. I want to reach up and run a finger along her cheek, pull her chin toward me, and kiss her. But I’m trying to get to know her, not make out with her, even though it’s hard to stay focused.
“Me neither. But as far as I can tell from the other night, you also don’t like certain movies.”
“Jay, that movie was horrible! Even Rotten Tomatoes agreed with me, it was rated at 12 percent.”
I laugh at Violet’s sudden outrage. She looks at me, eyes flashing, all because I dared say something about the movie. “I didn’t say it was great. I just enjoyed listening to you talk about how much you hated it.”
Violet settles back into the swing and shoves at the porch with her foot so that we rock more precariously. “Just making sure we’re on the same page.”
“What kind of movies do you like?”
“I don’t mind comedies, but the humor was too slapstick. I prefer humor to not just be farts and falls, if you know what I mean. Grow up a little.”
“Okay, I’ve got a comedy in mind for you, then. You’ll like it.”
Violet’s eyes light up, and she looks at me. “What is it?”
“You’ll just have to wait to find out.”
“Wait until when?”
“Until you have time to watch a movie with me again.”
Violet laughs. “Okay, Mr. Mysterious. We can watch a movie again tomorrow. I know you have to go into the bar soon.”
I glance at my watch, hating that she’s right. “I have less than an hour.”
We spend the next fifty minutes talking about everything we can, squeezing as much conversation as possible into the time I have left. I leap up suddenly from the swing. I really have to go. “I’m going inside to grab something, then I have to go.”
I practically run inside and almost bump into Violet’s mom. She’s sitting in the living room with a book on her lap, but her crutches are extended across the floor, nearly causing me to trip. I jump over them and run upstairs to grab my wallet and keys.
When I come back down, Caroline is watching me.
“You really care about her, don’t you?” she asks.
I pause, unsure how to respond. “Yes, I do,” I admit.
Caroline doesn’t say anything, but I can feel her eyes on me. That’s when I realize that she’s right. I do care about Violet. A lot. Everything I learned today just made it clearer how much I like Violet, not just for the way she can turn me on physically but for who she is as a person too.