She nodded. “I can’t wait until you come back. Bring me the scoop on Honeybear.”
Sam’s risk-taking talk played on repeat in my mind. I knew that when the time was right, I’d have to make the move and talk to Violet. It might be my last chance before graduation. I only hoped it wouldn’t destroy us.
Violet
Long after the rest of the Kings went to sleep, Amelia and I sat on the couch—cozy under a blanket, with two mugs of hot cocoa—waiting to hear from Josh and Dominic. Josh had lit the fireplace before he’d left, and the flames crackled in the corner, warming the entire room from the chilly night.
I suggested a movie, but she’d been too nervous. So, we sipped and sat close together, talking. Amelia King was a classic beauty. An all-American girl who could probably model in ads for bikinis. “Josh has always been overprotective. We know it’s out of love, but right now, I kind of want to strangle him.”
“He talks about you all like you’re his kids. This engagement is throwing him off kilter.”
“He’s been the only father figure the little ones have had. Charlie doesn’t remember our dad.”
“I’m sorry about that. I can’t imagine losing a parent. What your mom went through.” I thought about my father and his heart attack, how my mother had barely missed a beat. I could only hope they were taking precautions with his health and lifestyle so he could live a long life. Long enough for me to wiggle my way into his world and be a daughter, like the King daughters had been to their father.
I sipped my cocoa as Amelia told me stories about how she and Josh had been best friends, bossing around the little ones. With their closest neighbor a half mile away, they’d spent a lot of time on their bikes, exploring and making up adventures to pass the time. But when their dad had died about ten years earlier, Josh had thought it was his duty to take his father’s place and help his mom out. He’d started working at a farm a few miles down the road until he was old enough to coach local kids’ football teams in town. When he’d received the scholarship from NJU, he almost didn’t take it.
“I had no idea about any of this,” I told Amelia. “Why didn’t he want to come to NJU?”
“Too far from us.” She pushed her pretty blond hair over her shoulder and then looked down into her mug. “Especially Charlie. She was…well, is…so attached to him.”
“He told me that he didn’t like leaving home because of his family.” I recalled the story about Charlie trying to hop a train to follow him. “What made him come?”
She met my gaze, her blue eyes penetrating mine. “Fate, maybe?”
I smiled. Funny how fate worked. “Maybe.”
“Also, we may have forced him. Played on his love of us, telling him that he could take better care of us with a college education.”
“Ah, so fate had a little push.”
She reached past me for her phone. I snagged it out of her hands and placed it on the armrest of the couch. “You’re making yourself crazy. Let them talk.”
“Josh can be intense, you know?” She lifted the blanket up to her shoulders. “I’m a little scared for Dominic.”
“Dominic will hold his own, no matter how intense your brother is. Trust me, I know. He’s intense like that with me too.”
“That’s different.” She bit the knuckle of her thumb and looked past me to her phone again. “He loves you.”
“Well, see? He loves you, and this is what he does when he loves people. He protects them—”
“Oh, Violet. Don’t tell me that you think he loves you like a sister? He doesn’t. Trust me.” Her tone was so matter-of-fact that I almost believed her.
“It’s not like that with us.” I reminded myself and informed Amelia.
She lifted a perfectly-sculpted brow. “It’s not? So, you two aren’t attracted to each other?”
The memory of me wrapped around Josh’s naked body flashed through my mind. “Well, maybe, but…it’s not like that.” There was no way Amelia could understand the weird ways that Josh and I had become attached, so I changed the topic. “Tell me two things about Dominic. Something you love and something that drives you insane.”
Her cheeks flushed pink, and she smiled. That was what love was. I could see it all over her face, feel it radiating from her. “Okay. This will be fun.” She threw the blanket off and stood in front of the couch, pacing. “I love that he’s smart.”
“Into the nerds, huh?” I thought about Ollie. “Something so sexy about a smart guy.”
“Totally. Me and Millie had a huge crush on Oliver, you know.”
“Stop! Did you?”
“Whenever he’d come to visit, we’d get all dressed up and flirty. Josh would pull us away and yell at us. ‘He has a girlfriend. Leave him alone.’”
“Sounds like Josh.” My mind wandered to how secure I’d felt with Ollie. It never even dawned on me to be jealous that he’d be in a house full of girls—girls who were gorgeous and flirty. Of course, Josh was always watching out for me, even back then.
Wrapping the blanket around me, I stretched to lay on the couch while Amelia continued pacing. It was late. They’d been gone for hours, but I didn’t want to point that out to Amelia. This was a huge moment for her. In her mind, Josh needed to love Dominic for things to go smoothly. If he didn’t, there’d be a family war. She glanced at the phone again.
“Tell me something about Dominic that annoys you.” I rested my head on the throw pillow and my placed my hands underneath my cheek. The effects of the warm cocoa had relaxed me and made me sleepy.
“Nothing about him annoys me,” she answered. “He’s perfect.”
I huffed out a half-laugh. “Nobody’s perfect, and he’s a guy so…”
She plopped onto the ottoman facing the couch and leaned toward me, resting her elbows on her knees. “There is one thing.” After studying me for a second, she flushed again. “He wants to wait to have sex until we’re married.”
I bolted upright. “What? Why?”
“Because of religion and how he was raised. I don’t know. But it’s so frustrating.” She tilted her head and raised her eyebrows. “So, so frustrating, if you get my drift.”
“Oh, I get it, sister.” Suddenly, the picture in my mind cleared. The haste to get to the altar made sense. “That’s why you want to get married right away?”
Bobbing her head back and forth, she stood again. “Not really. That’s definitely a pro to getting married soon, for me at least.” She stood next to the mantel, looking into the flames.
“For you? Is he not…interested?” If Dominic was gay, it would uproot Amelia’s life. Maybe Josh would get an inkling, one way or another, being out with him.
She glanced over her shoulder. “He’s interested. Believe me, we do everything else, so I don’t know what the big deal is. Although…neither of us have…” She scrunched her face, waiting for me to finish her thought.
“You’re virgins?”
She nodded. “Pathetic, right?”
“Oh no,” I smiled. “Oliver and I were too when we first did it.”
“You were?”
“Yep. He’s still the only one I’ve ever been with.”
“Really, because I thought…Josh…ew, but—”
I held up a hand to stop her. Shaking my head, I almost blurted, not yet, but I refrained. I sighed, thinking about his hands on my skin. Josh and I having sex would open a can of worms that I probably wasn’t ready for. Wow, that would be some can of worms though. “We’re friends. It’s complicated.”
“You know what Grannie Grey says when I tell her the same thing?” She smirked. “It always is.”
“Preach, Grannie.” I relaxed again, settling back onto the pillow, my thoughts returning to Dominic and Amelia. “I think it’s sweet that Dom wants to wait, and it is a big deal. It should be. I mean, he loves you and he wants to walk into the bedroom together as husband and wife. I can’t think of anything more romantic.”
She rolled her eyes. “Tell that to my hor
mones.”
“Imagine your wedding night though. I bet it’s going to be amazing with all that sexual tension and frustration exploding around you.” I flung open my fingers in a mock explosion.
A flash of my make out session with Josh invaded my thoughts—of my back pressed against the wall, his big hands gripping my ribcage and holding me up with his weight. The image itself turned me on, and he wasn’t anywhere near me at the moment. I had to change the subject. “Anyway, I think Dominic sounds special.”
She widened her eyes. “You don’t think we’re too young?”
“I do. But it’s your life.”
“Thanks. Make sure you tell Josh. Maybe he’ll listen to you.” She bit her bottom lip. “Can I have my phone now?”
I nodded, and she reached for it, tapping the screen. “Nothing. How about you?”
Leaning forward, I grabbed my phone off the floor. A text from Josh lit the screen. “Your brother texted me.”
She stiffened. “He did? What did he say?”
When she peeked over the screen, I rolled away from her. “Let me see. Maybe it’s not meant for your eyes.”
Her scowl looked exactly like Josh’s. “Oh, I thought you were just friends?” she teased.
Ignoring her, I opened the text.
Josh: Dom and I are too drunk to drive. Going to get a car to Puke’s.
I read it to Amelia. “Puke’s?”
“It’s ‘Luke’s Diner,’ but everyone calls it Puke’s.” She bit her thumb knuckle again. “Ask him how it went. I can’t wait any longer.”
I tapped out a text.
Me: Well? What’s the verdict on Honeybear?
The reply bubbles flashed until his text dinged.
Josh: I can’t find anything wrong with him.
Laughing, I showed it to Amelia and watched her face relax, the corners of her lips lifting into a huge grin. Then the cell dinged again…
Josh: But I still think they’re too young.
I hated seeing Amelia’s grin sink. “Don’t worry,” I told her. “I’ll work on him. He’s just scared he’s going to lose you.”
She nodded. “I guess.”
“Have you considered putting it off for a couple of years? Until you finish college?”
“We have considered it, but it’s not what we want. Since my dad died young, I know that life is short. We want to be together. It seems so simple to me, and I can’t figure out what’s so wrong with that. What’s wrong with trying?” With a huff, she stood and stretched. “I’m going to head to bed. I’ll text Dominic a good night.” She turned away from me.
Life is short, like Amelia said. And trying new things can lead to huge mistakes, or it can lead to something great. Even if it didn’t last, at least Amelia and Dom weren’t afraid to try.
“Hey, Amelia,” I called. She turned to face me. “Not that it means anything to you, but you have my blessing.”
“It means a lot. Thanks, Vi,” she said before heading up the stairs.
Chapter Twelve
Josh
I unlocked the door to the house as the car drove away. My head spun as I stumbled in, trailing snow with me. Even the horrible thought of shoveling the next morning did nothing to sober me up. I said a quick prayer for a sunny spring morning tomorrow to melt the snow instead, then dropped onto the floor and yanked off my boots, leaving them in the pile of girl shoes next to the door.
I stood up again, and warmth filled me when I saw an angel.
Violet was asleep, wrapped in the fleece that had been on that couch for years, the glow of the fire lighting her face in orange and yellow. I stumbled to the side of the couch and squatted next to her. She was out like a light.
As I reached out to touch her cheek, Elmo ran to me, his tail wagging like he’d never seen me before. He licked my cheeks as I pet him, until I fell on my ass, giggling. The room spun, and I was too drunk to make it stop. I tried to push Elmo away, but since he was intent on licking my face, I eventually just gave up. Lying on the floor next to the couch with the dog violating me, I shut my eyes and fell asleep.
When I woke up the next morning, I was warm and something tickled my face. I opened my eyes to a puff of dark curls. Violet was lying over my chest—her head on my collarbone, her leg wrapped around me, her hair all over the place. The fleece blanket was over us, but I knew that it was her keeping me warm. Elmo stretched on the couch over us.
I was hungover as fuck, and my head throbbed. I closed my eyes again, remembering Dominic and his Long Island Iced Teas. What kind of self-respecting Rambling man drank Long Island Iced Teas at the only pub in town? When the dude at the end of the bar scoffed, I had to shoot him a threatening look to keep him settled down. Still, five glasses later, Dom and I were like old pals.
Obviously, the kid had played me.
He wasn’t terrible. He came from a good family and had a decent job and aspirations to go to Washington someday. It was only the fact that they were so young that threw me off. My sister hadn’t experienced life. She’d never traveled. The only places she’d ever been were Rambling and the library in Charlamagne, where she worked part-time. Apparently, they’d met there.
I let out a long breath to try and stop thinking about them for a minute and enjoy the woman in my arms. Damn it, did I love when Violet curled around me. My feelings for my so-called friend-slash-pseudo-sibling were not at all innocent. Violet certainly didn’t kiss me like I was her damn brother. As if I needed another sister anyway. I needed another sister like I needed another Long Island Iced Tea. Grimacing at the thought, I licked my lips with my dry tongue.
Violet Nicholson may have been the most confusing woman I’d ever met. She wanted me; she didn’t want me. She wanted to move on; she didn’t want to move on. Even with her music, she always claimed the violin was her life, yet she hadn’t touched it in months.
I could ride out the tides with her though because in my heart, she was perfect for me. My Holy Grail. If she gave us a chance—if she could get over the friendship part to try something new and if we could get our shit together—eventually we could be awesome. I just couldn’t figure out how to get our shit together.
My head spun, and pinned underneath Vi, my back started to ache. I tried to wiggle away, then to lift her, but the memory of Dom and his drinks reminded me that I was useless. I’d have to wake her.
I kissed her head. “Pix?”
Only half awake, she stretched against my chest. This would have been my favorite part of sleeping with her—how she’d started waking up but hadn’t quite fully gotten there. How her eyes fluttered to life, half-opened, and how her body waked against mine as she slithered next to me, her hand brushing over my chest. How she lifted her chin to roll her head, exposing her neck. The entire process of Violet waking up was torture on my morning wood.
Not only physically. When she sat up and opened her eyes fully to mine, she smiled at me, which made me so fucking happy that it was like fuel for the rest of my damn day.
The leg wrapped around mine slid higher, and her thigh grazed my hard dick. She arched her back and slid her hand across my abdomen, moaning something that sounded like my name.
Big brother my ass.
I rubbed her back. “Morning, sunshine.”
“Hi.” Her morning voice was deep, dry. “Hope you don’t mind that I joined you down here.”
I returned her smile. If she only knew.
* * *
An hour later, Violet and I were making our great escape from the King house, tiptoeing through the kitchen to the back door. I wanted to show her the town and, of course, give her the experience of Luke’s Diner. Its motto was “Rambling wouldn’t be Rambling without us.” But it should have been “Rambling would be the town of drunks and hangovers without us” because really, Luke’s main job was to sober people up after a night of drinking and then cure their ills the next day. Ah, tradition.
When we opened the back door, Elmo almost gave us away with his running and yipping.
/> “Elmo, stay,” Violet whispered, laughing at him as he tried to sneak between her legs. He was so big that she practically could ride him like a pony.
I took him by the collar and put him in front of his food bowl. “Here, ‘mo. Eat.”
He looked from me, to Vi, to the bowl and started munching the dry food he hadn’t eaten the night before.
We bolted out and trudged through the snow to the truck. As soon as I turned the key, I patted the violin case, wedged into the console between us.
“Shut up,” she whispered. “I know.”
“You know what the great Charlie Daniels once said?”
She glared at me.
“He said, ‘fiddle ain’t gonna play itself.’”
Smirking, she faked a laugh. “You’re so funny, Joshua. And it’s a violin.”
I put my arm over her seat and backed out of the long driveway. “You promised.”
“No, I didn’t.” She punched my thigh. “Don’t ruin the morning. I can’t believe I get to experience Puke’s.”
“Cure for a hangover is greasy food. You know, Ollie actually puked in Puke’s.” I shouldn’t have mentioned him because it reminded me that I was lying to her about his travel plans. Before we got back to NJU, I’d have to tell her that he’d be hanging around. She wasn’t going to be happy, and I almost threw up myself thinking about it.
“He never told me,” she said, furrowing her brow like she was trying to remember.
“It wasn’t his finest moment.” I didn’t mention how I had to pay Luke to hire an extra cleanup crew after he threatened to ban me for life. Oliver was the worst drinker ever. “I think he’s off the alcohol now. Living a healthy California life and all that.”
Violet sighed. “Well, good for him.”
Feeling the air between us thicken, unless that was guilt eating away at my soul, I changed the subject. “We, on the other hand, are going to stuff our faces with all the best things—eggs, bacon, ham. Whatever you want, Pix. Luke will serve it, after frying it all in grease.”
Making the Move: Mill Street Series #2 Page 12
