Page 38 of If You Dare

As soon as I pull into the driveway, she rushes toward me with hands up and a watery smile. “My boy! Oh, my sweet, handsome son!”

After the fourth cheek kiss, I pull away. “Mom, I’ve only been gone a couple months.”

“Onlya couple months, he says!” She grins and whispers, “Did you know Violet is single?”

I grab my bag from the backseat. I know exactly where this is going, but I stupidly ask anyway. “So?”

“So you should ask her out!” Mom smacks my shoulder. “Oh, Wes, she’ssosweet and a little cutie! Why don’t you ask her on a date? What could that hurt?”

“Mom,pleasestop trying to play matchmaker.”

She puffs out her bottom lip. “I just want you to be happy. You haven’t had a girlfriend since Britt.”

“That’s why I’m happy.”

Mom shakes her head and tsks. “No, I know my son. You’re afraid of being hurt again. But that’s life, sweetheart. You’ve got to risk your heart if you ever want to find the person who deserves it. Chloe just adores Violet, and your father and I are already smitten. I bet you would be too if you gave her a chance.”

What Mom doesn’t know is I already hate exactly how smitten with Violet I am.

They’ve known Violet for all of five minutes, and they already like her better than they ever liked Britt, even before she cheated on me. She never fit with us. Clamming up at family dinners and wanting to spend all our time up in my room. Acting like she was inconvenienced when my parents suggested family activities like mini golf and beach days. As soon as Chloe found out Britt cheated, she called her a “walking red flag.” Wish I’d seen the signs earlier so I didn’t waste my time.

Now all I do is watch for signs.

I squeeze Mom’s shoulder as I pass and head for the house. “Mom, stop trying to pimp out your son.”

* * *

Despite my bestefforts to avoid Violet as much as possible this weekend, Mom insists that I go hang out in the pool with her and Chloe.

I sit at the pool’s edge, taking my time inflating my raft and can’t help watching Violet swim and bob in the shallow end. Her long brown hair is slicked back, soaked and plastered to her delicious, creamy skin. Every time she bobs up out of the water, her glistening tits flash, making me ache to pull down the flimsy fabric covering her nipples.

Chloe smacks my raft and pulls herself half out of the pool to hiss in my ear, “Stop eye-fucking her.”

The sliding glass door opens behind us. “Chloe!” Mom calls. “Come help me with the lemonade.”

My sister groans and pulls herself out of the pool. “I’ll be right back.” A promise to Violet and a threat to me.

As soon as we’re alone, Violet keeps her gaze on anything but me. Her shyness is cute. Makes me want to take her to my bed and break her of it. Watch her blush deeper and deeper shades of red as I peel every layer off her body. Listen to the way she moans and screams as I make her feel things no man ever has.

“You know Chloe hasn’t had a friend sleep over since middle school. Pretty sure Mom embarrasses her too much.”

“That’s funny, she told me you’re the one who embarrasses her,” Violet teases. A surprised laugh bursts out of me. Then she admits, “I’ve never had a friend sleep over.”

“Never? Not even when you were a kid?”

She shakes her head. “Mom had to work a lot. She never had time. I spent most of my time at home alone, actually.”

“Damn. That sucks.” A twinge in my chest at the image of Violet as a kid, all alone at home with no one to talk to. “What about your dad?”

“He died when I was really young.” She shields her eyes against the sun as she glances my way, face scrunching adorably. “Before you say sorry or anything, I barely remember him.”

“Good thing I wasn’t going to say sorry. I’m not the one who killed him.”

Her turn to bark a surprised laugh. “Thank you. No one likes when I make jokes about my dead dad. As if he’s notmydead dad to make jokes about.”

“What happened to him?”

“A car accident. I was actually in the backseat. I don’t remember it,” she adds in a rush. “Mom was terrified she lost both of us. But I made it out without a scratch.”

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