Page 32 of Semantics

“It wasn’t a date. She’s just a friend. And you didn’t answer my question. Why did you feel the need to come to Buddy’s tonight, give me that sexy stare-off, and then run away?”

“Sexy? I–” Violet stopped herself when Stella’s hands moved to her hips.

Then, Stella was moving her over to the red brick wall behind her, and Violet swallowed yet again, recalling her vision that was more a fantasy at this point.

“Will you just admit it? If not to me, to yourself? You wanted me back then, too. It’s why we hated each other so much. The difference is that now, we’re both here, older and wiser. We’re no longer competing for grades and, apparently, plaques. As far as I know, we’re both single right now. Are you single, Vi?”

“You’ve never called me Vi before.”

“I am about to be really bold and kiss you, so I felt like I could maybe use a nickname.”

“You’re–”

“Yes, I am.”

Stella cupped her cheek then and waited.

Violet knew that this was the moment where she could tell Stella that she didn’t want this. She could remove herself from the situation, get into her car, and drive home. She also knew that when Stella had moved into her, her legs had betrayed her and spread a bit on their own accord to let her in closer. Stella felt really good there, pressed to her body, and her heat warmed Violet in the cool, night air. Her lips were just so close now, her eyes were staring into Violet’s, and she looked like she wanted to devour her. That realization was about as much as Violet could take.

“Unwind me,” she whispered.

“Thank fucking God,” Stella replied before she leaned in and kissed her.

CHAPTER 10

Stella could not believe that Violet had actually shown up. She also still couldn’t believe that she’d told Violet about her revelation that, she supposed, she’d always known about. It had been just something to say to possibly annoy or frustrate Violet, which, at the time, had seemed like fun. Telling Violet that she was going to be at Buddy’s so that she could avoid her had also been a bit of a fun moment for her. She’d wanted to see what Violet would do with that information, and she’d expected her to do nothing, to avoid going to Buddy’s, to stay home and maybe think about the fact that Stella had told her that she’d wanted to sleep with her back in Amsterdam. Stella hadn’t even had real plans to go to the bar, so she’d asked Jen if she wanted to grab a drink. They’d arrived around six-thirty, so by the time she’d noticed Violet, Jen had already been thinking about leaving, which had given Stella the chance to follow Violet out of the bar.

“She’s here,” she had muttered to Jen.

“Where?”

“Don’t look,” she’d instructed, and Jen had remained still. “She’s behind you, so it would be obvious if you looked at her. I want to see what she does.”

“What is with you two? I am so confused by this.”

“You know how sometimes you don’t really like someone, but part of the reason is the sexual tension?”

“No, but that sounds amazing.”

“I think part of what drove me so crazy about her back then was that I wanted to just, I don’t know, bring her down off her pedestal.”

“And what, fuck her?”

“Yup.”

“So, you invited her here tonight to do what, exactly? Continue this weird thing you two have where you hate each other until maybe you sleep together?”

“I didn’t invite her. I just told her I’d be here so that she wouldn’t show up because she comes here sometimes, too. It was a test, I guess; to see if she’s interested.”

“In having sex with you?”

Violet had looked at Stella then, and Stella hadn’t been able to tear her eyes away. She’d been able to tell that Violet had held her gaze very intentionally and likely hadn’t wanted to pull away as a challenge to Stella. She’d shown up and had stared Stella with those sexy eyes that Stella had stared at earlier that day in the coffee shop.

“Had she been single then, I think I would’ve told her that we should just get it out of our system.”

“Stella, she might be a customer, right?”

Stella had had to look away and looked at Jen instead.