She straightens, and I think to myself, Here it comes! But then she surprises me. She stops, mouth open like she’s going to speak, but she says nothing when her eyes settle on Violet.
Stunned, she asks in a small voice, “You brought a girl?”
“No, I brought Violet. She’s my friend.”
“Friend, huh?”
It hadn’t occurred to me that she might not want Violet here, but now that I see her, I realize that it was a huge mistake on my part to bring her.
“Yes, ma’am. I’m Violet Wilson. I live on the other side of town. I went to school right here in Greenfield. Graduated a few years after Jet. Now I’m a social worker,” Violet blurts, stepping forward to offer her hand to my mother.
I’m a little shocked by her forwardness. She’s normally so shy, even around me sometimes. Still. But not now. It seems that my mother has brought out the professional side of Violet, a side I’ve never seen before. She appears friendly, down to earth, and competent. Nothing like the women I normally consort with. Not that my mother has met any of them since I was a teenager. But still, she has to know. It’s a small town.
I see the frown flicker between my mother’s eyebrows. “Gail. Gail Blevins. It’s nice to meet you, Violet.”
Violet’s smile is wide and genuine. “You have a beautiful home. And a beautiful family, too,” she says, glancing over at Chad. “You must be Chad.” I watch as she walks over and bends just enough to put her closer to Chad’s level where he’s sitting. She offers her hand to him as well. “I’m Violet.”
Chad gives her a small smile and shakes her hand, but when she walks away, he looks at me and gives me a real smile. Like any other hot-blooded teenage boy would give when a gorgeous woman pays him some attention.
Mom is still frowning as her eyes dart from Chad to Violet to me, then back to Chad. “Homework first, you hear me, young man?”
“I know,” Chad answers, rolling his eyes.
Mom looks to me. “Make sure his homework is done before you leave, Jet.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
I know she wants to say more, but she doesn’t want to do it in front of Violet, which is unlike her. Normally she doesn’t hold her tongue in front of anyone.
“I’ll be back by eight at the latest,” she says as she walks past me to grab her purse from the table near the door. I follow her, leaving Violet and the boys in the kitchen.
“Take your time.”
“Don’t you have plans tonight?”
Shit. I hope this doesn’t start a fight.
“I do, but I can have them stall if I need to. I’m here until you get back. Don’t worry.”
She eyes me warily. “I’m trusting you . . .”
“I know, Mom. And I appreciate it. Really. I do.”
“I thought maybe you could come over here and sit with the boys for a while rather than sneaking around to see them at the park.”
Busted!
“You know about that?”
“Of course I know about that.” I brace for what I thought was coming the second I walked in. But it still doesn’t come, which surprises the shit out of me. “Let’s try it this way and see how it goes.”
“I won’t disappoint you. I promise.”
She grunts, glancing over my shoulder toward the kitchen. “I like her. Where’d you find her?”
“At the very bottom, Mom,” I tell her meaningfully.
Her eyes lock on mine and I see her looking for more. But she doesn’t find it. She finds the truth. Because it is the truth. I don’t think I realized how low I’d gotten until this very minute. How low I’d gotten until I found Violet.
“See that you stay on top then, son.”
“I’m trying.”
With a ghost of a smile, Mom pats my arm and grabs her car keys.
“You boys be good. I’ll be back soon,” she calls, looking over my shoulder at my brothers, and then she’s gone.
TWENTY-SEVEN: Violet
Watching Jet with his brothers is unlike anything I’ve ever experienced. I’ve never felt so overcome with so many emotions. It’s like seeing a totally different side of Jet. It’s a side I like very much. And I didn’t need anything else to like about him.
I played chess with Todd while Jet helped Chad with his algebra homework. Just listening to them, it was easy to ascertain that Jet is very intelligent. Even the way he explained it to his brother was brilliant.
After they finished, Jet made popcorn with the intention of the four of us watching a movie, but the boys then insisted on a wrestling match. Everyone had to wrestle each other at least once. The two who won the most matches would then have a face-off for the illustrious title of winner.
I was skeptical at first, but it didn’t take me long to see the fun in it, especially when it came time for me to wrestle Jet.
As all previous matches had, we started the bout on our knees, facing one another. Jet had a sexy, playful curve to his lips and a gleam in his eye that made my stomach flutter.
“You’d better not hurt me,” I said, trying not to grin as I edge away from him.
“I promise not to do anything you won’t like,” he replied suggestively, one brow rising the tiniest bit.
And then he lunged for me. With a squeal, I tried to get away, but he was far too big, too strong and too long of limb. Within a few seconds, he had me half on my side, half on my belly, and he was stretched out on top of me, holding me down.
“Oh, wait! My hip,” I complained primly. Immediately, Jet rolled slightly, moving most of his weight off me. I took advantage of his momentary lapse and levered myself up onto my elbows and rolled over on top of him instead.
I pinned his arms above his head and leaned down into his face. “Hah! Gotcha.”
Jet was looking up at me, his eyes as intense as I’d ever seen them, and he murmured, “Maybe you do.”
His voice was low and silky. His belly was hard and warm. My heart leapt, my stomach clenched, and every place his body touched mine went up in flames.
But then, so fast I could barely react, he flipped me over to pin me beneath him. His body was stretched full length along mine. I could feel every prominence and hollow. And, like I had done to him, he held my arms above my head, leaving me helpless against him.
“Or maybe I’ve got you.”
For a moment, I’d forgotten we weren’t alone. All I could think about was how much I wanted Jet to kiss me, how much I wanted him to run his hands down my arms, down my sides. How much I wanted him to touch me everywhere, all at once.