The dreams hadn't stopped ether. That riding crop she received was even featured in one of them, just a few night ago. To help with her restlessness, she even allowed herself a fantasy or two and yet, her frustration only grew.
She sighed, shoulders slumping as she sunk lower in her chair, knowing that her posture resembled that of a sulky teenage boy rather than a respectable librarian. Just as she was about to feel even sorrier for herself, the library door swung open and she jumped up, only to have her hopes dashed completely.
Oh for God's sake, Violet thought when she saw who it was. Her features darkened and her lips drew into a hard line.
Mrs. Burke.
If she never saw the woman again it will be too damn soon. She didn't even try to hide her expression and she greeted back tersely when Mrs. Burke came up to her desk, placing three books in front of Violet.
“Just returning today. I have a busy week ahead, no time to read."
Busy talking even more nonsense about people being their backs? The thought was perhaps a bit ruder than Violet was used to, but she was in a mood. Had been in a mood for a while now.
She had enough discipline not to comment aloud, instead silently reaching for the books to return them. She was just finishing with the second one when Mrs. Burke spoke again.
"Aww, you miss your beau that much?" She said, and Violet froze. "No need to feel so down, girl, she'll be back in town in no time at all."
"She's not my girlfriend." Violet squeezed through clenched teeth before her brain caught up with the second part of that sentence. "Back to town?" She echoed before she could help herself. When did she leave town? Where did she go?
Mrs. Burke shot her an inquisitive look, as if checking if she was serious. Did she actually think she and Candace were already involved?
Then, after determining that Violet was indeed in the dark, Mrs. Burke sighed and shook her head. She did think they were involved! And now she was disappointed?
Great. Just great.
"Yes, she went to visit her family down south. She's been there for a week or so."
Violet frowned. "How could you possibly know that?" She said before she could stop herself. This woman had no sense of shame. Maybe Violet should be a bit more open with her and tell her how she actually felt. "Do you know someone there?" Did her network of old biddies extend that far?
Mrs. Burke rolled her eyes – actually rolled her eyes—at Violet before she responded. "Join the 21st century, girl— it's called Facebook stalking. You should try it."
Violet blinked at her, shocked and mortified when she noticed her cheeks heating up. Well, she had a point there. Violet did have an account but she used it so rarely that it was practically dead. Stung now, she felt all of her leftover patience for Mrs. Burke's remarks evaporate, not that she had much to go around to begin with.
"Maybe you should try keeping your nose out of people's business." She said, not feeling even remotely sorry. If Mrs. Burke crossed a few lines, then Violet was allowed to as well. She expected the crone to square her shoulders in response but she didn’t expect a smile that stretched her lips after. There was even a glint of approval in her eyes before she responded.
"I don’t think I will, thank you very much. I like talking about people." She said, smile widening. Violet rolled her eyes and grabbed the third book, going through the motions just to get this woman out of the library as soon as possible. "But since you were kind enough to give me advice, let me repay the favor.” Oh dear, Violet had a feeling she wasn't about to like whatever was coming. “It's about time you showed some backbone. Timid isn't a good look on you, girl." When Violet lifted her eyes from her work, they locked gazes, both steely and unrepentant. "So woman up and get your girl already."
Violet's cheeks flushed again but she refused to stand down. She was trying, dammit, but it was hard to do anything with the object of your interest out of town, for Christ's sake. "I already told you, she's not—"
"Not yet." Mrs. Burke interrupted rudely. "You forget I was here when she was leaving notes in books. I saw the way you two chuckleheads couldn't keep your eyes off each other." Violet shifted on her feet, feeling exposed. Have they really been that obvious? "Honestly, you kids are hopeless. If I had been pussyfooting around so much back in my day, I'd be doomed to dating men only." She huffed indignantly and Violet could only blink in response.
What?
Mrs. Burke was...
"Are-are you gay, Mrs. Burke?" She asked before she could help herself, intrigued and immediately forgetting about her annoyance. Hadn't she been married? Violet could have sworn she was a widow but she wasn't sure. And what about all those other older ladies always following her around – was one of them a bit more than a friend? Violet suddenly felt ridiculously invested in finding out more.
"Well, you'd know if you got off your high horse and gossiped a bit more wouldn't you?" Mrs. Burke said and Violet couldn't even get annoyed at that. Mrs. Burke 2, Violet 0.
When Mrs. Burke turned around to leave, Violet could almost hear a mic drop with the way she swaggered away. Once the door closed behind her, Violet sunk into her chair again, feeling a bit shaken.
She grabbed her phone, shooting a few messages to Jade.
V: Mrs. Burke is gay.
V: Or bi.
V: She likes women.
She supposed this would count as gossiping but if she had to deal with the weight of these new discoveries, then so did her best friend. If nothing else, just so she could update her town gay lady count.
She waited for a couple of minutes with the phone in her hand for a response but none was coming. Of course not, it was middle of the afternoon and Jade was probably hard at work. Violet threw one last pleading look to her phone before her computer screen drew her attention, tempting her.
Biting her lower lip, she rolled her chair closer and logged into Facebook. On the third attempt, anyway, because she couldn't remember her password since it's been so long since she last used it. Each time she failed, she tried to convince herself to go back to work but she couldn't help it. After waiting for an update about Candace for so many long days, she just had to take a peek. A short one. And then she'd log off.
Candace’s profile was easy to find, and thanks to Mrs. Burke she knew it wasn't private. She glanced at the smirking profile picture but then dove straight into the picture tab, looking for more material. She was in luck, there were plenty of new additions from her current trip.
First one was of Candace sandwiched into a hug by two young men, no doubt the horrible, teasing brothers, with all three of them sporting the same cheeky grin. She looked happy and relaxed and the grin was warm and familiar. Violet couldn't help but smile back at the screen like a fool before she caught herself and forced her features into something more dignified.
Next picture was a family dinner, table overflowing with delicious food, with a stern looking patriarch at the head of the table and Candace's mother on his right. There was no doubt about that, because apparently all the Kane children inherited their looks from their mom. There were also a couple of children at the table, one toddler sitting in Candace's lap and putting their fingers into her plate. One of her brother's kids perhaps?
All promises about logging off temporarily forgotten, Violet dug deeper. The Kanes weren't camera shy at all and they seemed to be determined to commemorate every hour of the trip. Perhaps Candace didn't visit that often? It was hard to say without going further back in the timeline but Violet couldn't make herself do that because it would mean skipping all the pictures with Aunt Candace and her nieces and nephews.
There was one where the toddler occupied Candace's lap again, this time drawing something with her, a big piece of paper splashed in wild swatches of color. There were a few pictures of her playing some sort of console and even a short video of her passing a ball around and getting hit in the face, to raucous laughter of whoever was filming the incident.
Violet found that the soft smile somehow found its wa
y to her face again, fighting a new emotion. It was odd seeing her like this. Candace didn't reveal much about her family but everything she just learned felt familiar to Violet. Like it fit with what's she'd known and suspected about Candace already.
Jade was right. Again.
She would have jumped on the opportunity to date this woman if they met any other way. The circumstances threw her off at the beginning but now...
She wouldn't make the same mistake again.
Refusing to debate with herself anymore, she decided to take a risk. She picked up her phone and with her heart jumping in excitement, she decided to send another message before she could talk herself out of it once more.
V: Mrs. Burke isn't straight.
Holding her breath, she waited for a few long minutes refusing to second guess her decision. What was done was done.
Her reward came almost immediately.
C: ...
C: ...........
C: R u serious?
Violet grinned, relieved, and went to type out a response but Candace was too impatient to wait. Her phone started ringing mid response, and Violet picked up breathlessly.
"Are you fucking with me?" Candace said, sounding winded as Violet heard a door slam somewhere over the line. Did she run to somewhere more private? That actually wasn't a half bad idea.
After all, Violet would hate to have this call cut short by someone coming in. She rose up and went to put a break sign on the front door.
"I'm afraid not." She said, careful to keep giddiness out of her voice. But God, it was good to hear her voice after so long. "She just came out to me more or less. I was shocked, I had no idea." She turned the key in the lock and started walking back, her feet unable to stay still.
"Oh wow." Candace said, sounding surprised as well. "And to think I joked about her being into me the last time I saw her. My gaydar is better than I thought."
"What?!" Violet croaked. When did that happen?
"She dismissed me but now she comes out to you? I have to say, I'm offended." Candace said and Violet could practically hear the smirk over the phone. "Choosing you over me so rudely." Violet sucked in an outraged breath but Candace was on a roll. "I should have known all that bickering was hiding unresolved sexual tension. I'll accept my defeat with honor. I wish you guys all the best."
Violet groaned. "Are you quite done? Because I'm awfully close to hanging up on you." She threatened though she had no plans to follow through. She'd been waiting for this talk for what seemed like forever and she wasn’t about to let it finish just yet. Still, she was glad when Candace conceded.
"Okay, okay, I'll stop there." She said, obviously trying not to laugh. "But I can't believe I missed that, I would have loved to see the look on your face. When I come back I’m stalking Mrs. Burke until she comes out to me, too. I won't be ignored, dammit! And I'm never leaving the town ever again."
"Oh, y-you're out of town?" Violet said, trying to cover up a stutter, cursing inwardly immediately. That wasn't a good move. She still felt a bit guilty about her online sleuthing and overplayed her cover-up but she shouldn't have lied. Now she was gonna have to live with it.
"Yeah, I'm visiting family." Candace said and Violet heard a creak and a satisfied huff of air. Did she lie down? The mental image wasn't unpleasant but she probably should have pictured Candace wearing more clothes. Being realistic had its downfalls. "I haven’t been in a while and my mom was threatening to track me down now that I live only a few hours away. It's been awhile since I've been this close."
"Are you having fun?" Violet asked. The pictures were more than enough proof but she wanted to hear Candace say it, hear the delight in her voice.
"Yeah, I'm—" Candace paused for a second before continuing. "I'm enjoying myself a lot. Brothers are being their usual annoying selves and mom's been trying to make me gain at least twenty pounds in a week." Violet laughed but Candace paused again this time a bit longer. Her tone was softer when she spoke again. "My dad... My dad asked if I had a girlfriend. He's never asked before." Violet sucked in a short surprised breath. Of course. Candace did say she didn't come out as quickly as Violet. The subtext was clear. "It's been a bit of a touchy subject around the house for a long, long time." That was a bit more personal than Violet was used to hearing from Candace but she felt privileged for being trusted with the information now.
"I'm glad to hear that. Looks like you will be visiting more frequently." Violet whispered back, leaning against the front desk, her fingers idly wandering the smooth surface.
Candace laughed awkwardly and barreled into another sentence, no doubt feeling a bit embarrassed. It was odd how quickly Violet learned her tells. If she was right, Candace would now launch into a bragging or teasing session.
"Well, I gotta. The kids have already decided that I'm the best aunt ever. Pretty sure they prefer me to Michael. Who's their actual dad. I have to show up in regular intervals or they're gonna riot."
"Yes, you seemed excellent with them." Violet said, catching her mistake once it was already too late. She tried to fix it quickly. "I mean you seem great. By what you told me. Probably since you're about as mature as a toddler." She knew her voice was higher pitched than usual and her tone was frantic but she couldn't help it. She was totally exposing herself. Did Candace notice? Well she must have considering how badly Violet handled that but could she have guessed what it meant?
"Right." Candace said slowly, suspiciously and Violet's heart stopped. "How did you know my brother has a toddler?"
"I-I mean, I just assumed, I guess. Since your brothers are so young, I mean." Oh no. That was totally transparent. Violet closed her eyes, waiting for a response with dread filling her stomach.
"Or you could have seen one of those pictures I upload regularly?" Candace asked, her words a bit careful as if she wasn't quite sure and didn't want to cross any lines. Violet knew then she had to come clean.
"How did you know?" She asked, her embarrassment a bit mollified when she heard Candace let out a relieved snort of laughter.
"I may have stalked you too. When I arrived." Candace said and Violet couldn't help but laugh too. They were hopeless. Mrs. Burke was right. For once. What was it with all these people actually having a point all of a sudden? "Your page is fucking barren though. That's just plain rude, Weston. How are girlfriend prospects supposed to perv on you like this?"
"Well, when you put it that way, I guess I should just delete the whole thing." She meant to tease about her own aversion to being watched and talked about but once she finished the sentence she realized that it could be taken a different way. Like she didn't want any new prospects because she already set her sights on someone. On Candace.
Which of course she did, but she was trying to build up to a smooth banter, not blunder around and stumble into confessing her feelings.
"When are you coming back?" She said quickly to cover up her embarrassment.
"In a couple of days." Candace responded, though she did sound like she was stifling a laugh. Wonderful. "Wednesday most likely, though Thursday is also possible. No later than that."
Violet coughed. "I should hope not, you have a book due on Thursday. The one you borrowed a couple of weeks ago?" She said then finally decided to go all in. Especially since she just revealed she’d been stalking her borrowing activity, too. Enough of all this – how did Mrs. Burke put it – pussyfooting around. Heart pounding, she tried to keep her voice as nonchalant as possible as she continued. "You know what happens if you're overdue."
She very clearly heard a quick intake of breath over the line, but Candace fell silent. There it was. She couldn't have been more obvious, Violet thought, first with the reaching out and then the stalking. Her last remark must have sealed the deal.
She waited with bated breath while Candace wrapped her head around what was happening. The fact that she could affect Candace so much with just a couple of words was very encouraging. Not to mention exciting.
"Violet?" Candace whispered,
the rare use of her first name and a lower pitch to her voice making Violet grab the phone a bit tighter.
"Yes?" She said
"I think I will come on Friday then." She said and it was Violet's turn to fall silent. "If you want to fine me, that's okay. If you want to have another coffee date in the park, that's better. But if you want to..." She trailed off, as if trying to find just the right words. Violet decided to help her out.
"Pick up where we left off?" She supplied readily.
"Yeah." Candace jumped on it. "I'm ready for that too. I'm—I'll take whatever you decide to give me. Even if it means leaving myself completely in your not so gentle hands."
Violet swallowed thickly, heartbeat quickening as her brain immediately supplied plenty of possibilities. How could it not, it's been all she'd been thinking about for the past couple of weeks. Knowing she was about to lose composure she decided to wrap this call up while she was still ahead. She had some planning to do after all.
Fine or Punishment (Twist of Fate Book 1) Page 8
