Page 44 of Puppy Love

I’m not looking at Violet, but I just know she’s smirking. She takes a steadying breath, tracing up my calf with her finger.

“So, are you going bowling on Monday?”

I laugh, shaking my head. “You waste no time making conversation.”

She shrugs. “Life is short.”

There’s an unofficial, optional “team meetup” next week at Pacific Pins Bowling Alley. Optional for everyone, except me. Adrian is lucky they have a very cute pouty face.

“Unfortunately,” I mumble, peeling a piece of lint off the damp bedsheet. Violet’s finger pokes my leg, making my thigh jiggle.

“Well, at least you’ll have me.” She wiggles her eyebrows, a goofy grin spread across her face. I roll my eyes.

“Double unfortunate.”

Violet lets out a bright laugh, and if that is the only sound I ever get to hear again, I won’t be mad. She might be annoying, with her constant talking and permanent smile. But that laugh is something I couldn’t hate if I tried. I know, because I have tried.

“Shut up.” She shoves my knee gently. “You like me.”

My brows drop, my eyes snapping over to her.

“Do not,” I bark, pulling my leg away so it no longer makes contact with hers. Violet props herself up on her forearm, her nipples peeking out from under the thin white sheet.

“I’ve never hate-fucked someone before,” she says, shooting me an unconvinced glance. “But I’m pretty sure that wasn’t it.”

I shake my head, like the words will fly out of my ears if I try hard enough.

“No,” I say convincingly, but I’m starting to wonder who it is I’m trying to persuade. I don’t like Violet in any way, shape, or form. Other than physically, of course. She pushes my buttons and pisses me off. She never stops talking and always has that stupid smirk glued to her face. “I don’t like you. You bother me, actually. Like, a lot.”

Violet’s tongue clicks against the roof of her mouth once. “And here I was, thinking we were in the makes of a beautiful friendship.”

I know she’s joking. The slight curve of her lips and the jade-toned sparkle in her eye gives it away. Still, a strange feeling forces its way into my stomach, settling uncomfortably between my ribcage.

She’s testing me. Seeing if she can push me to the point of admitting something that simply isn’t true. Seeing if she can get me to break my own rules. While I may follow her commands during sex, I won’t have her push me around in the real world.

“Violet, I like two people.” I put a finger up. “Adrian.” And then another. “And Hayden. You…” I poke her with a little more force than she had poked me with, and her head falls to the side in a curious stare. “You have not yet made your way onto that list.”

Those warm, full lips part into a smile.

“Yet,” she repeats, dragging out the word to torture me. I huff.

“God, your ego really is huge, isn’t it?”

Violet quirks an eyebrow, her head tilting slightly. “It’s not ego, it’s optimism.”

I roll my eyes.

“You can call a horse a carrot, but it doesn’t make it true.”

Violet cackles, clutching her chest and kicking her feet.

“What kind of saying is that?”

“The point is, you need to be put into your place. God, I can’t wait to go bowling.”

This grabs Violet’s attention, her interest piqued. I can tell by the way she looks at me, curiosity filling her eyes.

“Huh?”

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