Page 34 of Corrupt Obsession

To expel the black rage threatening to consume him, he ran full out. Was it a coincidence that Tobias asked her out today, or was this something Violet had orchestrated? His chest burned, and it wasn’t from his pace. Tobias didn’t have the balls to ask her out, which meant Violet had done this deliberately. Why? To punish him for dating other girls? But that look Violet gave him in the hallway wasn’t smug or defiant. She’d been alarmed to see him and ran from him for the second time today instead of talking to him. That fucking burned him.

He slowed and continued along the trail at a jog instead of the breakneck sprint he’d started with. The run had taken the edge off his anger, though it still heated his brain. But he was thinking a little more rationally.

So, she was hellbent on ignoring what happened between them and decided to date Tobias. If Violet wanted to date, he didn’t have the right to protest or be upset when he’d dated… and done other things while pining for her.

How would Isaac react to Violet’s sudden decision to date? He secretly wanted Isaac to forbid it, but that was hypocritical and selfish on his part and when they came out to their parents in the future, that would apply to him as well.

He grimaced. Why the anti-social poet, though? What did she see in him? Abruptly, his bad mood lightened a bit. Better Tobias than one of his friends. Tobias had no game. He was awkward and weird, and it wouldn’t last. Violet was just testing the waters. She wasn’t truly attracted to Tobias. He was a filler, just like his girlfriends had been. But he used other girls to temper his fixation on Violet while she was deliberately bringing other guys between them. Why? Because she didn’t trust what was between them? Was she too self-conscious of what others would say?

He gritted his teeth at the realization that his suffering wasn’t at an end, but another beginning. Violet wasn’t as deeply enmeshed as he was. If she was, she wouldn’t care what others would say or think. She wouldn’t care about the consequences. But she did. He still had a long way to go to convince her they were meant to be together.

He slicked back his sweaty hair as he made his way back to the parking lot. Her stunt still grated, but throwing a fit over her dating or forcing her to acknowledge their sexual attraction to each other would only make her dig her heels in and reinforce whatever reservations made her do this in the first place. He had to stand back and let her explore and experiment. Violet was a good girl. She wouldn’t go too far. She wanted the freedom to choose. He could understand that, even if he didn’t like it. If partof this was revenge for the girls he dated, he would let her have it.

He was confident it wouldn’t take her long to realize that their connection was special. No one suited her like he did. He knew her better than she knew herself. He adored everything about her and would do anything for her, even let her date other guys, though it would drive him crazy to see anyone touch what was his. She would come to him when she was ready. And once he claimed her, that would be it for both of them.

Chapter 8

VIOLET

4 MONTHS LATER

Violet frownedat the computer screen, where her unfinished article for the school newspaper was laid out in incomplete paragraphs. She’d been sitting here for at least twenty minutes and hadn’t changed one word. She stared at the screen, her mind a million miles away. The steady clicking of her pen gave away her agitation.

Someone stuck their head into the empty classroom, capturing Violet’s attention. She sat up, a smile breaking across her face as the boy entered and came toward her.

“What are you doing here?” she asked her boyfriend as he stopped beside her.

“Looking for you.” Tucker leaned down to give her a swift kiss. “Let’s get out of here.”

She didn’t hesitate. She saved her work, shouldered her backpack, and felt her stomach flutter when he wrapped an arm around her waist.

“Jesse has practice, so I knew you’d be around here somewhere,” Tucker said. “It took me a while to find you. Since when do you hide out in Mr. Halstead’s classroom?”

“How’d you know I was hiding?”

He cocked his head as he looked down at her. “I was kidding.”

“I wasn’t,” she said sourly. “Is there something on my face?”

Her boyfriend’s brows arched. “I’m sorry?”

“I swear, people have been staring at me funny all day.”

She blew out a breath as they left the building and headed toward the deserted parking lot. When she began her junior year with Tucker as her boyfriend, it caused a sensation. Tucker was a senior and lead singer of his band with a notorious reputation. Tucker may be known as a bad boy, but around her, he was sweet and attentive. After several weeks, people were finally getting used to seeing them together but today felt like day one all over again. She didn’t understand it.

“I haven’t done anything out of the ordinary, and I’m not wearing anything scandalous,” she said, gesturing to her blouse and shorts.

Yes, the blouse was a little more fitted than what she’d gone for in the past, but compared to her classmates, her clothes were still modest and conservative. She’d been stared at so intently, she excused herself to go to the bathroom to make sure she didn’t have a stain or rip in her clothes. She told herself it was all in her head until she heard her name said three times in her last class. The temptation to confront her classmates was strong, but what could they possibly be gossiping about? Her conscience was clear… for the most part.

As Tucker’s eyes moved slowly and deliberately over her body, she gave him a little push as her cheeks flushed.

“Stop looking at me like that!”

“Like what?”

“Like…” She flapped her hands, unable to bring herself to say it out loud. “You know!”

“Like you’re gorgeous? Like I want to strip you naked?”

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