Violet’s cheeks flushed under his gaze, but she didn’t acknowledge him.
“Next one, Amber. I promise, okay?”
Amber left another sloppy kiss on her cheek before running away yelling, “You better!”
“That girl doesn’t understand the concept of a boundary.” She shook her head and wiped herself off again. “She knows howmuch I hate being slobbered on but does it every time I don’t do what she wants.”
“Want me to teach her a lesson?” Eva kept her tone light, but I’d bet my last dollar that was a genuine offer.
“I reserve the right to take you up on that offer at a later time.” Violet smiled.
“Okay, well, for now I want a better seat for this. I’ll be back.”
She was skipping away before Violet could protest, leaving her alone with Officer Eyeballs. She leaned back on the bar, ignoring his gaze, and watched the rest of the girls getting set up on stage. He wasn’t taking the hint, though; he stepped closer, leaning his left elbow on the bar.
“Hey.”
She didn’t even glance at him. “Officer O’Neill.”
“You’re still on this?” He sounded irritated.
“You and Castle are still stalking me everywhere I go so… Yeah, I’m still on this.” She took a sip of her drink, matching his tone.
“For your information, it’s been Castle and someone else. I’ve been on vacation for nearly two weeks. Just got back last night.”
She sighed. “What can I do for you, Officer?”
“I’m not an officer tonight. Just a guy who would like to have a conversation with a beautiful woman and buy her a drink, if she’ll accept. Maybe if I’m lucky, I’ll get a dance or two.” He wore an easy smile, irritation vanishing just like that.
The corner of her lip twitched.
“I’d be hard pressed to decline a free drink in this economy. But the conversation and the dancing aren’t guaranteed.”
“I’ll take it.” He asked the bartender to have Violet’s new drink added to his tab then turned back to her. “So, Miss Hayes?—”
“Ah. Drink first, conversation later—maybe.”
Much to my dismay,she did spend the rest of the night talking to him. He was full of himself—only stopped talking when he was taking a sip of his drink, barely listened to a word Violet said—too busy ogling her if he wasn’t running his mouth. At least she didn’t take him up on the dancing. I might have gone on a murder spree if I had to watch his hands all over her.
She left—alone, thank god—around 1 a.m. She’d slipped into the bathroom and changed into jeans, a sweater, and a puffy winter jacket for her walk home. It was officially December as of an hour ago and the weather reflected the season. Snow was piling up, wind blowing around any loose flakes. And it was cold, judging by the way people were bundled in their jackets, scarves, and hats. I couldn’t tell the difference. Violet didn’t seem bothered by it either, her hood wasn’t even up to block out the wind.
She got home without incident. I hid in the shadows on her balcony just to make sure— Because I wanted to keep seeing her. I watched her kick off her boots before strolling to the end table by her balcony door, where she picked up the cell phone that was charging. Whatever she looked at made her frown before she set it back down and headed for the couch.
She grabbed the dragon I made her off the coffee table before she sat. She propped it up on her knees and started talking.
“—shouldn’t be disappointed. This is what I wanted, right Frosty?”
She sighed looking at the dragon’s face. (She gave it a name—adorable.) “You’re the most judgemental inanimate object ever.”
She shook her head. “I really must be drunk if I’m talking to a sculpture because a guy I’ve been ignoring for nearly two weeks finally stopped calling.”
It took me a second to realize the phone on the end table was her villain burner. She’d frowned because there was no missed call.
I pulled out my phone and typed in her number. Then hesitated. What would I even say? Would she find it suspicious that I called right when she got home? Would she even answer?
I hit the green call icon before I could talk myself out of it. Her eyes shot to the phone. She placed the dragon back down then walked over. A ghost of a smile appeared on her lips, but she just stood there, staring at the screen. For a second, I was worried she’d just let it ring through.
“Hello?” she answered at the last second.
