“Extra cheese on both,” Brick teased.
Violet laughed but wrinkled her nose. “Please, no. You guys know I hate cheese.”
“How do you hate cheese?” Emma teased.
Violet shrugged and took a sip of her soda. “How do you explain why you don’t like a food?
“It’s like not liking chocolate,” Brick said, blowing the paper wrapper of the straw at her.
“It’s nothing like not liking chocolate,” she argued.
“Actually, Em, it’s just one burger for Violet. I’ll just have a side of fries.”
“Okay, guys. I’ll get the order in. Give us a few minutes,” Emma said with a smile.
“Oh! Em!” Violet thought of something “Is Amy in? She sent me a text earlier and I wanted to ask her about it.”
“Sorry, honey. She was in earlier and left. She should be back in an hour.”
“Okay. Is it okay if I wait for her? We’re having a sleepover tonight.”
“So jealous. It’s been years since Honor and I have had a sleepover,” she said as she walked away, referring to her best friend from high school.
Brick broke the silence, going back to a conversation they had started while washing the truck. “So, are you?” Brick asked, going back to their earlier conversation. “Dating anyone?”
Violet frowned for a moment before answering. “No,” she said quietly. “I’m not. Why?”
Brick shrugged. “We’re friends, Vee. I’m curious.”
Vee played with the ice cubes in her cup to hide her awkwardness. This didn’t feel like a conversation she was ready for yet.
“Any opinion on what the football team is going to do now that Coach G retired?” she deflected, moving the subject to a more innocent topic.
“Was there anyone worth their weight in the new freshman class?” Brick asked.
“One of the Light brothers seemed to have a good arm,” Violet offered with a shrug. “But other than him? Not really.”
Half an hour later, after a deep discussion on the merits of the new football coach at Harper’s Regional, Brick and Violet stood to pay.
“How much tip?” Brick asked.
Violet glanced at the paper slip. “Depends. If you want to do 20%, it’s $3.15. But this is The Breakfast Club and we come here all the time and we love Emma. Round it up to five.”
Brick looked at her, still amazed after all these years. “How do you do that?”
Violet shrugged. She felt uncomfortable with it so she usually kept exact pennies and percentages to herself. “I don’t know,” she admitted. “My brain just sees them.”
Brick paid, rounding up the tip, and held the door open for her.
“Let me get my stuff out of the truck and I’ll let you get on with your date,” Violet said, struggling to remain calm. She was a mature woman and would behave like it.
Even if it killed her.
“I can’t believe all the supplies you have,” Violet said, waving to the collection of buckets, soap, and chamois that cluttered the cab. Brick hastily cleared them up and stored them behind the seat as he got Violet’s backpack. “Were you planning on making a business plan out of washing cars?” she asked.
“Just my truck, thanks,” he said.
Violet winced at his terse tone. “What does that mean, Brick? You were testy at the car wash. Now this? I swear, what is wrong with you?”
“You’re half dressed, Vee!”
Violet looked down at herself. “We washed your truck. Would you prefer I had put on a suit and tie?” Seriously. What was wrong with him?
An unusual silence enveloped them and Violet stared away from him and watched the cars pass by. She played with a loose curl, wondering who was going to crack under the strain of maintaining silence.
Brick cleared his throat. “Mr. DiNardo took down the fence,” he said. “I saw it when I got into town last night.”
Violet’s nod was as stiff and tense as her shoulders. “Yeah, the Harper’s Press reported the town asked them to take it down because it was becoming an eyesore. The family is petitioning to put up a 6’ privacy fence but they need permission from the neighbors.”
“Does Amy still write for the Press?”
“Yep, but they’ll have to find a different reporter to work the high school beat,” Violet said. “Her last article will appear this Wednesday.”
The silence softened as earlier tempers cooled. “So, um, what are your plans for the summer?” Brick asked.
“Mostly working with Aunt Eden but Mom and Dad said I could go down to Ocean Grove after the bonfire Sunday night for a little R&R,” she said. “June is crazy busy with ‘pick your own fruit’ and the Summer Solstice celebration. It just gets crazier after that. Blueberries keep us busy all of July. August is corn shucking weekends and the Peach Social at the church. Then we have to get prepped for the apple harvest and the pumpkin patch. Gleaning weekends all fall long for the foodbank. I’ll be in school for the fall harvest but I told Aunt Eden I’d come back and help with some of the accounts payable issues that will crop up.”
“That’s great. I might be around to help with the Peach Social again. And all that accounting experience should be great for after you’re done with school.”
Violet nodded. Races were known for their ability with plants, seeds, and wild orchards that grew fruit both heavy and sweet. Violet loved the ancient rhythm of the land and sun and moon, but numbers were her future. She loved the farm and loved getting dirty planting, weeding, and picking but dollars and cents were her passion. She had her coursework set up to earn her degree in accounting and bookkeeping so she could return home to Harper’s Mill and help in the office of the family farm.
Brick reached for the strap on the backpack, his earlier tension gone.
“Ocean Grove sounds fun,” Brick said. “You’ll be there all next week?”
Violet nodded and noticed a stray French fry that had escaped her swipe with a vacuum.
“Yeah, it was a challenging year for me in school and Mom and Dad agreed to let me spend a week at Tent City.”
“Alone?” Brick asked, reaching for a clean dry shirt. Warm, tanned muscles gleamed in the hot afternoon sun and Violet inhaled deeply to calm the arousal that followed his brief show. A gentle dusting of golden brown hair trailed an intriguing treasure line to the waistband of his denim shorts.
Two can play that game, Violet thought, and with a subtle gesture, caused her shirt to untie, leaving her in her bikini top. She pushed away the momentary insecurity and arched her back ever so slightly. She looked damn fine and wasn’t ashamed of her body. It was time – past time, really – for him to see it, too.
Take that, Brick, she thought.
“For a few days, yeah,” Violet said. “This has been a crazy semester between work and my AP classes.”
“That’s great,” Brick said, his eyes on the shadow between her breasts. He swallowed. “How did you do?” He paused when his voice cracked. He cleared his throat again. “How did you do on the tests?”
She shrugged, slowly, watching as his pupils dilated. Oh, he sees me now, she thought. “We don’t know until July, but I felt good taking it. Hopefully, I’ll pick up those college credits.”
“That’s great. That puts you where?”
“If I pass everything? I’ll have twelve college credits before I even start school in the fall.”
“That’s amazing, Vee. I’m so proud of you,” he said, pulling her into his arms for a brief hug.
Violet held herself stiffly for a moment and simply watched him with curious hazel eyes. Was this a romantic hug? Or a friend’s hug? Finally deciding that it didn’t really matter, she closed her eyes and wallowed in the tingly pleasure of his embrace. She sighed, enjoying the heat of his skin against her own. She resisted the urge to rub herself, like a cat claiming ownership before pulling back.
“So, anyway, yeah. Um. A few days alone and then maybe Amy will come down for a few days.”
“Is that really
wise?”
Violet laughed and lightly smacked his shoulder. “Jeeze, Brick. I’m eighteen. My parents trust me. Why don’t you?”
“I worry about you alone like that,” he said, stubbornly. “It isn’t safe.”
Exasperated, furious with the obvious double standard, Violet pushed him away and glared up at him.
“What was that for?”
“I can’t believe you,” Violet said, pushing sadness over his impending date with Mandy down in favor of anger. “You’re practically floating on air, planning your date with that vain Academy brat but you get your knickers in a twist over me going to my parent’s place in Ocean Grove for a few days! What is wrong with you?”
Brick looked at his shoes. “You’re right. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings.”
“You didn’t hurt my feelings, Brick. I’m not some delicate snowflake who stays home crying over her hurt feelings. You crossed a boundary and I’m telling you to back. Off. We’re friends but you don’t own me. Not now and not ever. Are we clear?”
“Perfectly,” Brick said. “But tell me, I never understood why you don’t like Mandy,”
“Are you serious?” Violet asked, advancing on him, eyes alive with passion.
Brick
Half horrified, half fascinated, Brick watched as Violet advanced towards him. Her beautiful soft tits bounced lightly within the barely there bikini and he found his hands aching to cradle them while his mouth teased and loved them.
She was talking. Yelling, even, he recognized dimly. Something about Mandy. Mandy? Oh, Mandy. His date, he reminded himself.
“She made my life hell, Brick,” she said with a finishing flourish and Brick had the feeling he had missed most of her points. “Up until she did me the amazing favor of transferring to Harper Academy for senior year.”
“A little teasing,” he protested, his mind searching for memories of the past. “It was the pen in middle school, right? And she laughed when you tripped.”
“It was more than a little teasing! And it was Mrs. Kay’s class. Mandy sat in front of me and she stole my pencil and when I complained, dropped it on the floor so that I got blamed for being a klutz and a trouble maker. That I had dropped my own pen and was blaming poor innocent Mandy. And she sat there, smirking at me the whole time. In fifth grade, she told everyone I was a boy and all the girls screamed when I went to the bathroom or had to change for gym. Mrs. N finally had to give me a separate changing area.” Tears filled her eyes at the humiliation. “In sixth grade, she found some baby powder I had in my gym bag and told everyone it was for diaper rash! She sat behind me in seventh -grade algebra and used a small magnifying glass to burn me in the morning sun. It wasn’t any one single thing but a life time of low key, rub salt in the wound behavior.”
She took a deep breath and really looked at Brick. “And I never tripped without her pushing me first.”
Brick stared at her, wondering how he had missed most of the teasing Vee had been subjected to. “You never told me about all that,” he said. “But that was a long time ago, Vee.”
Using her finger, Violet punctuated her sentences by poking him in the chest. “You want more recent? Fine. Last week I went to the diner to get a cup of coffee. I got up to use the restroom and when I got back, there was salt in my coffee. I can’t see Emma or Amy making that mistake, can you? But there was Mandy sitting at the counter with that too innocent look and that too knowing smirk.”
“What did you do that she hates you that much?” he asked.
Violet’s mouth gaped. “Are you serious? What did I do? I have no idea what I did, if anything. And don’t you dare put this on me! But how about this? You were supposed to be my prom date this year and she made sure she had a college visit that day. She wanted you to escort her around campus.”
Brick felt his ears burn. “You said it was fine.”
“And you believed me? It was prom, Brick! My senior prom and I was counting on going with you. What was I supposed to say when you called me up the week before to cancel on me?”
“This,” Brick said, reaching out with one finger and pushing a strand of strawberry blonde hair off her face. “This is what you needed to tell me. Not to swallow it back and let it stew inside of you.”
Her lip trembled for a moment before she took a deep breath and calmed herself. “So I got Bobby Higgins as a last-minute date and guess what? Mandy showed up for prom with Dixon Light and you were left in New Brunswick. You actually could have done both – give her a tour and be my date but you chose not to.”
They stared at each other for a long moment as the tension rose between them. Honest, burning pain emanated from Violet and Brick felt powerless as the waves of emotion pulsed through him. Lifting one shaking hand, he stroked her hair and wiped at a single tear slipping down her cheek.
Her breath caught and lips parted as heat arced between them with the intensity of electricity. Groaning softly, he gave into the overwhelming feelings and pulled her into him. He wrapped his arms around her and hugged her. “You’re right. I haven’t been a good friend.” He buried his head in the sweet spot behind her ear and was overwhelmed with the scent of coconut and sunshine and the delectable scent that simply was Violet.
The haze and heat of the day enveloped them in a bubble and Brick lifted her chin, brushing a kiss across her softly parted lips. Her hazel eyes widened as she stood on her toes to deepen the contact.
He didn’t have enough hands, Brick decided, not sure where or how to touch her now that he had her in his arms. Her ass, tight and sweet in her cut off shorts filled his hands before he moved them to her slim back and delicate shoulders. One hand moved around and felt the delightfully, deliciously heavy weight of her breast, thumb brushing against her nipple.
He reached for her lips again, tongues playing, exploring and he slid one hand into her hair. How had he missed touching the silky soft strands of her hair? He traced one finger down the delicate curve of her cheek. Tightening his hand in her hair, he pulled her into him, deepening the kiss and causing them both to groan with the sheer drunken pleasure of it.
A car horn blast shocked them both and they parted, staring at each other with varying levels of emotions.
“Vee,” Brick whispered, reaching for her.
“Stop,” Violet said, shaking.
“You’re right,” he said. “Just.” He took a deep breath. “Give me a second.” He closed his eyes as though in pain before standing away from her and allowing a glimmer of sky to appear between their bodies.
Brick’s thoughts spun with the intensity of the kiss.
He had to tell her, he decided. Had to tell her about taking the ASVAB. Had to tell her about wanting to join the military. “Actually, Vee, I wanted to talk to you about something. It’s been playing on my mind for a while but now. Well. Now I guess we need to talk about it.”
Violet’s breath caught with the suspicion of what he might say. Of where this conversation was going. No. Not right now. Maybe she couldn’t do this after all. Fear and jealousy were fierce demons and might just cost her his friendship anyway.
Violet turned away and concentrated on her backpack. Surely it needed her attention, right? Her dream was for him to look at her with love in his eyes but that fantasy seemed to be fading faster than early spring tan lines.
She sighed. It wasn’t too late to get her application into University of North Carolina or Boston University. Somewhere, anywhere else. She wasn’t much of a city girl but she could adjust for a few years, she decided. The idea of staying near Brick seemed less and less palpable.
She dared a look at him before gripping her backpack a little tighter.
He watched as she took two deep obvious breaths to calm herself down. “I can’t do this right now, Brick,” she said, finally. “You have fun with your date with Mandy,” she said with a shaking breath. “But I am no one’s side piece.”
“Violet, wait,” Brick said, following her. “We need to talk.”
“I need,” Violet began but let the words drop with a silent echo. “I can’t do this right now,” she said. “Just. Let me be. For now, okay?” She seemed at a loss for words to fill the void between them. “I’ll see you at the Solstice Celebration.”
She walked towards the door of the diner and paused to look over one shoulder.
“It was supposed to be us, Brick,” she said. “You were supposed to be mine, not hers.” Wiping her cheeks, she entered the restaurant.
She needed time to think and be alone.
Chapter Three
Violet wiped at her eyes, cursing the day she set her heart on Brick. She stared at the brightly checked linoleum and shook off her sadness.
“Hey, Em? Could you tell Amy to wait here or text me or something? I want to go talk to my aunt for a bit.” Violet pulled her phone out of her back pocket and pulled up a ride share app.
“Sure thing, hon,” Emma said, her eyes glowing that odd Evans Blue as she looked closely at Violet. Violet had the distinct feeling of being laid bare and dissected, like a frog in biology. “Do you need a ride? I can get someone?”
“No, I called for a car. But thanks.” Impulsively she hugged Emma. “Thank you. Seriously.”
Emma brushed her hair off her face. “You know where I am if you want to talk.”
After making sure Brick had already left the parking lot, Violet went outside to wait for the car.
She picked up a stray dandelion in the parking lot. He loves me. He loves me not, she thought, bitterly. Soon, a late model sedan pulled up to the diner.
“Hey, there, how are you?” Violet asked as she got in the car. She put in the destination address into her phone and the driver’s phone chirped in response.
“Sure thing. Where are we going?”
“Up to Race’s Orchard,” she said, glancing at her phone. She both wanted and dreaded Brick’s next call or text.
“Oh, sure.” The driver took a moment to look in his rear-view mirror. “Violet,” his voice called out in surprise. “How are you?”
Dandelion Wishes (Harper's Mill Book 3) Page 3