CHAPTER 14
Stella walked along the sidewalk, waving her phone at the ground, probably looking like a weirdo to any cars that might be passing by, but in the dark, her flashlight was the only way she could find what she was looking for.
She hoped the passersby would assume she’d dropped her keys or something.
Having already been at it for five minutes, she worried that she wouldn’t find it, but just before she’d been about to give up, she saw what she was there for.
She smiled, picked it up, turned off her flashlight, and stuffed her phone in her pocket before she headed inside Buddy’s.
She sat down in the same booth she’d been in the night before with Jen and waited.
Deciding that she didn’t want to risk being late for Violet again, she’d arrived fifteen minutes early, and even with her delay on the sidewalk, she was still ten minutes ahead of schedule.
When the waiter approached, she told him that she was meeting someone, so she’d order when they got here, and she pulled out her phone, tempted to message Violet to let her know that she was there, waiting for her, but to make it sound sexy.
Just as her fingers hovered over the screen, though, the door to the bar opened.
Stella looked up, and there she was. Stella’s jaw then nearly dropped to the floor because Violet wasn’t wearing a business suit tonight.
Violet Russell had on a tight skirt that couldn’t exactly be called a pencil skirt because it was a little too short to fit that bill, but even if Stella knew the different types of skirts, which she certainly didn’t, she wouldn’t have been able to remember what this one was called because she was too busy focusing on Violet’s long, perfect legs in short red heels.
When Stella’s eyes moved up, she found herself drawn to the sleeveless, ribbed mock turtleneck, and she thought back to the previous night when Violet had sucked on her skin so hard, she had left a mark that Stella had nearly forgotten to cover up before going to work that morning.
Stella found herself standing up to greet Violet, which wasn’t something she had planned to do, but her feet pressed hard to the ground, giving her the leverage to use her legs and back to do the rest of the work, and suddenly, she was standing next to the booth, staring at Violet, who was only a foot away.
“Hi,” she spoke at the same time she tried to clear her throat.
She’d had her tongue inside this woman about twenty-four hours ago, and now, she was too nervous to even say hello.
“Hi,” Violet replied.
“You look great,” she said.
“Thanks,” Violet said back.
Stella wasn’t sure what she’d been expecting, but Violet sat down across from her without making any move toward a kiss, embrace of any kind, or even a high-five. Stella sat down across from her, too, and waved the waiter over.
“What can I get you?” he asked.
“Sparkling water,” Violet said without taking her eyes off Stella.
“You don’t want a real drink?” Stella asked.
“I’m driving. Did you drive?”
“No, I didn’t. I…” She didn’t want to appear presumptuous here because Violet’s text had been a drinks invitation and hadn’t alluded to anything more, so she decided to focus on something other than her choosing to take a shared-ride car because of the chance that they might go back to her place again in Violet’s car.
“I don’t really like driving. I have a car.
I can drive. I just don’t unless I have to. ”
“Then, you can get a real drink if you want.”
Stella wasn’t sure what to make of that, but she looked over at their waiter and ordered a beer.
“Can you bring the check when you bring the drinks?” Violet added to the waiter.
“Yeah, sure,” he said.
“You’re going to run out on me again?” Stella asked.
“No, but I thought we should talk.”
“Okay. Well, can I give you something first?”
“Give me–”
“Don’t freak out. I’m not proposing after one night together. It’s a small thing. Literally.”
Stella pulled it out of her pocket and set it on the table between them.
“A button?”
“Your button. Well, one of them. I couldn’t find all of the ones that fell off last night, but I thought one would do.”
“You found my button?” Violet asked with a little laugh as she picked it up off the table.
“Should we go out there and try to find the rest of them? I don’t know how expensive the buttons on that shirt were. Maybe they’re made with some special material, and they cost a hundred dollars apiece or something.”
“No, they’re just buttons,” Violet told her, slipping the button into the side pocket of her purse, which had Stella smirking.
“So, do we go look for the rest?” she asked.
“No, I think we just leave them where they fell.”
Stella laughed silently for a moment and said, “So, you wanted to talk?”
“I don’t do this, Stella.”
“Talk? You’re doing it right now.”
“No, sleep around. Sleep with someone I just met, or–”
“We met, like, ten years ago.”
“Not what I meant. We met then, yes, but we didn’t exactly get along, and it’s not like we hung out. I only just found out yesterday that you wanted to sleep with me back then, and, I guess, you still do. I don’t know. Your message leads me to believe that you do.”
“I do, yes.”
“Do you do this a lot?”
“No,” Stella replied and shook her head.
“No, as in never? No, as in not recently?”
“No, as in never,” she said. “I’ve never just met someone and gone home with them. I guess you, technically, went home with me, but I generally date first and take things from there.”
“Not even in college?” Violet asked.
“What’s college got to do with anything?”
“You seemed so confident back then; not at all like me.”
Stella laughed and said, “I’m sorry; that was you unconfident? I hesitate to think about what a confident Violet Russell looks like.”
“I meant with women, asshole.”
“You had a girlfriend,” Stella reminded.
“My girlfriend and I met about a month before I left for Amsterdam, okay? We decided to be exclusive right away because I asked her, and she said yes, but clearly, that was not what was really going on because when I was gone, she was fucking someone else; possibly more than one person. When I got home, if you must know the truth, she pretended like we weren’t exclusive, like we hadn’t even had that conversation, which I know we had, and we’d agreed.
But to her, she was never really my girlfriend, apparently.
” Violet shrugged a shoulder. “And she was also the first woman I’d… ”
“Oh,” Stella said. “She was your first?”
“Yes, and my only for about two years because I was so devastated after the breakup that I didn’t think about dating anyone else or sleeping with anyone else for a while after.
So, what we did last night, I’ve never even come close to doing before, and I’m processing it, but I’m not done processing it, you know? ”
“So, you’re here to tell me that you’re still processing it and don’t want to do it again? Or maybe just until you have finished processing and decided?”
“No,” Violet said as she shook her head.
Their drinks arrived then, along with the check, so Violet pulled out a credit card and placed it on top of the receipt before she handed both to the waiter, who left them alone to go process the transaction.
“I came here tonight because I liked what we did. Even though I’m still trying to figure out what it means, I liked it.”
“Me too,” Stella said, smiling at her.
“Can I ask you something?”
“Yes.”
Violet picked up her water and took a long – no, very long – drink through the straw.
“I should’ve asked last night… I haven’t had a partner in a while, and I got tested after her, so I’m–”
“Oh,” she interjected. “Yeah, I’m good. Same, I mean.”
“Thank God,” Violet said.
“I wouldn’t have done that with you if I were worried about that, Violet.”
“How did you know that I was okay?”
Stella laughed and said, “Because I may not know you well, but I do know you well enough to know that you would have gotten tested after a previous partner. Then, had you gotten anything from them, you would’ve had it taken care of, and if you couldn’t, you would’ve told me before we did anything.
It’s not in you to be duplicitous or reckless when it comes to sex. Am I right?”
Violet nodded and took another long drink, nearly finishing the water already, before she nodded to Stella’s beer.
“You should drink that.”
When the waiter came back with Violet’s card and the receipt for her to sign, Stella took a long pull from her beer, hoping that she was right in assuming the reason why Violet wanted her to drink it and get the check quickly.
“So, I live with my friends. You know that, right?”
“Yes.”
“They know I’m here.”
“Okay,” she said, wondering where this was going. “Did you tell them because you think I might kidnap you or something?” she joked before taking another drink.
“No, I meant that I told them about last night. They know you and I had sex.”
“Oh. Really? I half-expected you to never tell a soul.”
“Well, last night was definitely out of character, and I needed to–”
“Process?” Stella guessed with a smirk.
“Don’t make that face.”
“What face?” she asked.
“That smirk.”
“Why not?”
“Because it’s sexy,” Violet said.
“Is that a problem for you?” she asked, leaning over the table.
“No.”
“Are you lying?”
“Yes,” Violet confirmed.
Stella smirked again and told her, “You know, I haven’t stopped thinking about you all day.” She reached for Violet’s hand, took the pen that she was still holding out of it, set it on the table, and ran her fingertip over the inside of Violet’s palm. “In particular, what we did on my floor.”
“The handprints,” Violet said breathlessly.
“That too, but I was referring to you being on top of me, and me eating you out as you–”
“We can’t talk about that here,” Violet interrupted and looked around quickly as she pulled her hand away.
“Then, let’s go somewhere else and talk about it. My place? No one else is there. I can–”
“My place is closer,” Violet stated.
“Yeah?” she asked, surprised. “What about your roommates?”
“They all know I’m here. I told them, remember?”
“And you’re okay with me going home with you with them there?”
“They’re all out right now,” Violet replied. “They went for pizza and drinks at this place we go to sometimes after we work a really long day. I think they did that just in case for me, but I don’t know.”
“For you?”
“Whenever one of us might bring someone home, the others try to make themselves scarce if they can.” Violet took the final drink of her water. “I live about seven minutes away from here. Your place is at least twenty. They won’t be home until after you’re gone.”
“Oh,” Stella said.
“I mean, you can stay the night. I don’t mean that I’ll kick you out or anything. We’d be in my room before they get home. That’s what I meant.”
“Oh, so after I fuck you on every surface all night long, you might let me crash with you?” she teased.
“You’re coming over?” Violet asked.
Stella took another drink of her beer, pushed the bottle away, and said, “Let’s get out of here.”
“One thing first,” Violet replied.
“No, I’m ready. Let’s go.” Stella chuckled.
“Stella, I’m normally a relationship kind of woman.”
“Me too. So?”
“I gathered based on what you told me.”
“So, I don’t want that with you,” Violet told her.
Stella leaned back in the booth.
“That came out wrong. I didn’t mean that. What I mean is that I only want sex.”
“Oh, and that’s better?”
“Stella, we don’t like each other.”
“Says who?”
“Did you forget how–”
“If you’re going to bring up school again, neither of us is fighting over grades or some plaque.” She leaned forward. “Wait. You still have it, right? Is it hanging on your bedroom wall? Can I knock it off while I take you against it?”
“You heard what I said?” Violet asked. “Just sex.”
“I heard you. If that’s all you want, I’m good with that.”
“You’re sure?”
“Violet, I’m not in love with you, nor do I think you and I are exactly meant to be here.
I had a fantasy from about ten years ago that I got to fulfill last night, and it was better than I imagined, so if you’re offering we do that again, I am not about to argue with you about whatever the rules might be. ”
“Then, let’s go,” Violet said. “I’ll drive.”
Stella did not argue. She stood up, motioned for Violet to do the same, and when Violet stood, too, Stella moved her hand to her lower back and lifted the shirt so that she could feel the heated skin beneath.
“You’re ready right now, aren’t you?”
“I’ve been ready all day.”
“Why did you wait so long to respond to my text, then?”
“I was working,” Violet said as they walked toward the door.
Stella pulled it open for them, removing the hand on Violet’s skin in order to do it.
Her plan had been to put it right back there once they were outside, but as soon as they turned the corner, Violet moved quickly and pressed her to the same wall that Stella had had her up against the previous night.
“I have something I want you to use on me tonight,” Violet said, pressing her body against Stella’s.
“Yeah? What’s that?” she asked, moving her hands to cup Violet’s tight ass. “Do you work out?”
“Do you want to know my exercise routine right now or later?” Violet challenged and pressed her thigh between Stella’s legs.
“Later.”
“That’s what I thought.” Violet leaned forward and bit down gently on Stella’s neck. “Now, I’m going to take you to my place, and we’re going to my room, where I’ll pull it out of the drawer, and you’ll–”
“Do literally anything you want,” Stella interrupted.
She wasn’t sure what came over Violet in moments like this.
Violet could be so prim and proper, professional, bordering on anti-social, even, at times, from what Stella remembered, but she could also press her to a wall, apparently, and get Stella to beg her to take her home and do anything she wanted.
Not usually Stella’s style or approach, but she was more than happy to go along with it if it meant another hot night with this woman.