Main Street is a quaint area, lined with Singin?in the Rain杝tyle lampposts and awning-covered mom-and-pop stores.
揌ey, Vi, look梑ubble tea梱our favorite.?Connor points at the pastel-colored stand that seems to be a hit with both the senior citizens and the high school crowd.
揃ubble tea is an abomination.?
揧eah,?he laughs. 揑 know you hate it.?
I stop walking and face him, crossing my arms.
揌ow do you know that??
Connor inhales slowly, like he抯 about to unveil some deep secret. Then he puts his hands on my hips possessively and tugs me closer.
揑抦 an observant guy, I notice things. I noticed you . . . for a while.?
揜eally, Dr. Daniels??I ask him playfully梒overing for my heart fluttering against my ribs like a caged bird.
揑 tried not to, but it didn抰 really work. You抳e always been there, Violet.?
There was a movie a few years ago, I don抰 remember the name梑ut the main character gained super powers without realizing it. One day she was walking along and realized she was levitating two feet off the ground.
And that抯 how I feel right now. Like I抦 floating on air.
At the Soda Fountain, Connor gets a scoop of chocolate fudge ice cream on a sugar cone . . . and watching him lick it is literally the stuff of my dreams. I get butter pecan with rainbow sprinkles in a cup梐nd I don抰 care that it抯 a grandma flavor, it抯 my favorite. We sit at the round wooden tables beside the building, talking as we eat.
揇id you always want to be a doctor??I ask him.
揝ince high school, yeah.?
揌ow come??
揑 was good at math, good at bio and chem. The money抯 great . . . and I like making an actual difference in someone抯 life, every day. There aren抰 a lot of careers that let you do that.?
I stir my ice cream, considering him.
揥hy emergency medicine? Why not ophthalmology or dermatology梩he hours are a lot better.?
揟hat抯 true. But the ED is never boring. And I like being challenged桰 never know what抯 going to come through the doors so I better be ready for anything. I like being in charge too.?
When we抮e finished, we walk back to Connor抯 truck leisurely, holding hands and falling naturally into a sort of relationship lightning round.
揇id you go out with Hanson from Radiology last year??Connor asks me.
揘o.?
揑 heard that you did.?
I shake my head. 揓ust a rumor. I抳e never dated anyone from the hospital. Have you??
揘o.?He swings our joined hands. 揚resent company excluded.?
揥hy do some of the nurses call you cowboy? Is it an inside joke? Is it a sex thing??
Connor tilts his face to the sky and laughs.
揘o, Violet, I抦 not into cow kink or spur fetishes. Sorry to disappoint.?
I tug on his hand. 揑 didn抰 think that.?
揑t抯 a nickname,?he explains, 揻or doctors who break the rules once in a while, ride by the seat of their pants梩hat kind of thing.?
揑s it true you once threatened to beat up a respiratory therapist in front of his kids??
It was a rumor I抎 heard when I抎 first started working at Lakeside梐nd it gave Connor a bad-boy doctor edge that, surprise-surprise, I found super attractive.
揘o. That抯 completely not true,?he scoffs.
That抯 rumors for you梩hey always get it wrong.
揑t was a pulmonologist. And I told him if he didn抰 get his ass out of bed, I was coming to his house to beat the shit out of him in front of his wife.?
I snort out a laugh, covering my mouth.
揟hat抯 really not better.?
Connor shrugs. 揌e was on call and we had an ARDS patient on the way and he was giving me a hard time about coming in because it was two in the morning.?
ARDS is short for acute respiratory distress syndrome.
揂nd it worked. He showed up in record time and the patient was treated and discharged the next day.?
揇id he write you up??
揙h, yeah.?Connor smirks. 揂nd I抎 do it again in a heartbeat.?
I抦 pretty sure I actually sigh out loud. And start to look up at him like the hero he is梪ntil I notice the sign above the darkened store behind him.
Retro Records Coming Soon
揙h wow!?I keep hold of Connor抯 hand, bringing him with me as I move to the big picture window to peek at the rows of boxes inside. 揑 didn抰 know a new record store was opening here.?
揧ou listen to records? Like, actual records? Aren抰 you kind of young for that??
揋ood taste has no age, Connor.?
揊air enough.?Connor checks the sign on the door. 揑t says their grand opening is in three weeks. We can come back then, if you like.?
And it抯 such a simple thing to say, but it rocks my world. Because that抯 when it really sinks in. That this thing with Connor isn抰 a daydream or a wish, it抯 not the result of a concussion or a coma, it抯 not a friendship or a casual fuck.
It抯 solid, real, it抯 happening . . . and this is only the beginning.
My throat tightens with so much excitement and emotion, my voice goes reedy.
揑 would love that.?
*
Connor
Holy shit, this girl.
It抯 crazy how into her I am. How fast and hard I can feel myself falling for her.
Violet Leigh Robinson.
You get to a certain age, a certain point in your life, when you just don抰 think that抯 possible anymore. You抮e too adult, too cynical. You抳e experienced life and lust, love and loss. You have too much control over what you want, what you feel, what you know.
And then . . . kapow.
All those expectations are obliterated.
It抯 not a tumble or slide梚t抯 a plummet, straight down條ike falling into a well you never knew was right in front of you. One minute you抮e standing on solid ground, thinking you know exactly where you are, where you抮e going, and then you take a step and you抮e gone.
Consumed in one single, swift drop.
And yet it makes perfect sense梑ecause she抯 amazing. Smart and funny, so fucking gorgeous, so fucking sweet.
揅onnor . . . hmmm.?
Violet抯 ragged little moan slips from her mouth into mine. We抮e in my truck, in her driveway, parked behind her cute powder-blue car梞aking out like teenagers frantic to get off before curfew.
She抯 straddling my lap, wriggling around in the tight confines between my chest and the steering wheel, making me so hard my vision blurs.
I palm Vi抯 breast over her dress, the stiff point of her needy nipple poking my palm, taunting me. I lick her throat, tasting strawberry-flavored skin, dying to get my mouth on the rest of her.
I can抰 even bring myself to break away long enough to get us in the house.
She抯 too enticing梥he feels too goddamn good.
All I can think about is laying her back on these leather seats, lifting her dress, and eating her out until her screams puncture my eardrums.
It was explosive that first night. I thought I抎 be calmer this time條ess desperate. But I was wrong. Now that I抳e had her, the way I want her is even more raw and incessant. And I抦 not even a little freaked out about it梟ever again. It may be a full-on clich?but it抯 true . . . nothing this fantastic could ever be wrong.
揅onnor, Connor, God . . . ?
Violet chants as she writhes, her hips swiveling as much as she can梔riving me crazy梙er tight little pussy so hot and ready I can feel the heat of her seeping through my jeans. I suck harder on her neck, probably marking her with hickeys but not giving a shit.
She yanks at the collar of my shirt to slide a hand in, gliding her silky touch over my chest, wickedly scratching at my pecs.
And then our lips are molded, mouths fused, trying to consume each other.