Page 32 of Puppy Love

“Ha-ha,” I say with sarcasm, like the thought of it doesn’t make me weak all over again. I slide my scrub pants on and somehow, the center of them is wet too. I groan, checking the time on my phone.

“I have Criminal Dinner in an hour,” I huff. “Now I have to go home and change.”

Something washes over Violet’s face, accomplishment maybe, and her tongue pokes the inside of her lower lip.

“You didn’t seem too upset about it a minute ago.” I shoot her another dirty look which I know has no meaning at all. “And what exactly is a Criminal Dinner?”

I finish adjusting my outfit and pull my hair back into a sweaty, tangled ponytail.

“It’s a thing we do,” I say, like that means anything. “Avery, Hayden, Adrian, and I.”

A laugh escapes Violet’s lips. “Well, you’re quite the storyteller.”

“God, you’re nosy,” I mutter. “We watch Criminal Minds and eat food. Good enough?”

Violet nods at my vague explanation, then clicks her tongue once.

“Ohh. Criminal! I get it now.“ She points at me, flashing a crooked smile. “That’s funny.”

I shove her playfully, my cheeks sore from fighting back a grin.

“Okay, you’re ridiculous,“ I say, reaching for the door handle. “And I have to go.”

Violet crosses her arms, her fingertips tapping against the whale shark tattoo on her bicep. My fingers draw downward, admiring it for a moment. I’ve always liked tattoos. There’s a sea turtle on her left forearm, and a dozen small fish spread throughout. But near her wrist on her other arm, surrounded by an array of jellyfish and water, is a vacant spot. Everything around it is filled and finished, with shading and highlights, clearly healed. The space is so abrupt, so random, a bare piece of skin. I frown, looking back up at her.

“Why is it bare?” I ask, pointing at it. Violet looks confused for a moment, before her eyes follow the trail of my finger to her exposed arm. She looks back up at me.

“I’m saving it.”

“For what?”

She shoots me a cocky smile. “Who’s nosy now?”

My brows furrow, and I roll my eyes.

She sighs. “I don’t know. I haven’t decided yet. But it’s the last part of the piece so—” She shrugs. “I wasn’t ready to fill it yet.”

I nod, then turn back to the door, reaching for the handle again.

“Aren’t you forgetting something?” she asks behind me.

My hand drops, and I spin around, letting out a loud sigh.

“What?”

Her head tilts in a way that tells me I should know what. But I don’t. This is how these things go. You fuck, you leave, you pretend it never happened. That was the whole point, right?

“If you say please—” Her weight shifts from one leg to the other. “You’re supposed to say, ‘thank you.’”

I prop a hand on my hip. “Do you try to be this annoying? Or is it a natural thing?”

Violet’s lips part into a cheesy grin.

“You like it,” she says confidently. I purse my lips, sucking in my cheeks.

“No,” I respond, my pitch heightening to prove the lie.

“If you didn’t, you’d have left by now.”

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