Gray shifted on his feet, offering Violeta a small smile when their eyes made contact. It nearly stole his breath away, that look on her face.
“I’m a bit exhausted, but you know that is,” Laura shrugged. “Got my ears bitten off by complains and constant whining. I’m sure you know who and why. Anyway, we were about to play some games and I was wondering if you’d like to join us?”
Violeta could see Josh, about to speak up at agree, so she cut in. She was tired of the jealous rivalry between him and Gray…. “I’d love to, Laura,” she answered softly, “But I need to talk to Gray about something, first, if you’ll excuse me for a moment.” Her eyes slid to Josh. “Sorry. I’ll be right back.”
“Gray’s joining us in the games, if you wanted to know,” Laura said, her eyes shifting towards Josh. A seductive smile took over her lips, traces of innocence along with it. “So I guess I can take you to where we’re going to play while we wait for Violeta and Gray to talk?”
All of a sudden, Josh looked quite a bit like a helpless puppy, his eyes fixed to the sly smile on Laura’s lips. “Yeah..” he murmured, nodding rapidly. “That sounds good.”
Meanwhile, Violeta slipped away, weaving between drunk and dancing students to get to Gray. “Hi..” she greeted softly, coming to a stop in front of him.
Laura grinned, showing off her teeth. “Follow me, then,” she said, already turning around. Her eyes met Gray’s and she sent a bright smile towards him. He returned it with a nervous one of his own.
“Hey, Violeta,” he breathed, eyes trying to look at anywhere but her face. “You’re okay. I’m glad.”
Her heart skipped a beat. Hug me, she wanted to say, Please. I missed you. But she didn’t.
“Y-Yeah. Less than okay, but I’m…. I’m doing better than the rest of my family.” Violeta cleared her throat, glancing away. “Listen, I just wanted to thank you. For going back with me.”
“I’d do anything for you,” Gray said honestly. “I just wish I could have done more.”
And he really did. He knew if things had gone rough, he would have jumped in. He was glad it hadn’t.
Violeta’s heart squeezed painfully. “Gray?” she spoke again, and this time, her voice had undercurrents of vulnerability to it. “How much—How much did you see? We’ve got a big kitchen window…”
Gray hesitantly reached to cup her cheek, rubbing the skin softly.
“I saw what I needed to see,” he replied. “I don’t think of you any less. In fact, I think I’m falling for you a lot more. You’re so strong, Vy. You handled that perfectly. I felt proud of you.”
A tiny sound halfway between a whimper and a sigh of contentment escaped her mouth before she could stop it. Violeta leaned against his touch, heart aching, and gave a small nod. “They—They still haven’t found him..” she whispered after a beat of silence. “My dad. The police still can’t find him.”
Gray’s heart soared when she leaned into his touch instead of stepping away. Was he making progress? Was she slowly discarding her hate for him? And that noise that escaped her lips… Gray wanted her to make it again, this time the cause being him. His lips working on her, making her produce those sounds.
He immediately silenced his raging thoughts.
Damn his hormones.
“They will,” Gray said, rubbing her cheek with his thumb. “They’ll find him soon. And if he ever shows his face in front of you, I’m sure you’ll make it so he can never even think about getting out of prison.”
Violeta’s body began to tremble, whether with fear or need, she did not know. “I-I’m scared,” she admitted, closing her eyes when he began to rub her cheek. God, it felt so nice… “We thought he was gone…”
When she trembled beneath his touch, Gray began to hesitate. He almost removed his hand when she closed her eyes as if she was comfortable. It urged Gray to take a step forward.
“It’s okay to be scared,” he said softly, another step towards her, cupping her other cheek as well. “I would be surprised if you weren’t. But Vy, this fear… don’t let it consume you. You have to remain strong, but it’s okay if you’re scared. It’s okay to count on others. You don’t need to share the burden alone.”
His tender, genuine assurances found their way to Violeta’s heart. Touched beyond words, she opened her eyes once more, a subtle blush rising to her cheeks. “Thank you…” she murmured, heart thumping. He was so close, she could feel the heat radiating off his body and warming hers. “Thank you, Gray.. we should probably go join the others, now.”
“Yeah…” Gray murmured, his eyes dropping to her pink cheeks to her lips. He swallowed thickly. So close. If he bent down a little more, they would practically be touching… would she hate it if he kissed her at that point? Would she dislike it, or would she kiss him back?
Just as their lips were mere inches apart, they were interrupted
“Hey, you guys are joining us right?” Gray pulled away from Violeta immediately, eyes wide. God, why? Why couldn’t the universe just let him kiss her? The girl who talked to them didn’t look apologetic at all. “You should hurry up. We’re starting soon.”
He almost kissed her.
Gray almost kissed her. That was the only thought Violeta’s mind had space for as they made their way, a little unsteady, to a room at the back. She could still remember the rush of euphoria, the adrenaline flooding her bloodstream, his warm breath fanning across her mouth…
Gray took a seat in the circle in an open space. He didn’t dare look at Violeta. He almost kissed her. She hadn’t pulled away from him. Was it okay to be hopeful, that maybe she wanted him to kiss her?
Laura, who had done an excellent job with distracting Josh, was talking to him with an interest in her eyes. Whether she was faking it or not, Gray couldn’t tell. That girl was like a fox.
“Okay, so we’re going to play Rulers and Numbers,” a girl started, setting a jar of craft sticks in the middle. Each stick had one of its end covered. “I’m sure everyone has heard of it, but I’ll go over the rules…”
When she was done, everyone pulled out a stick. Gray got number 7. Laura was stuck with a number 4.
Violeta gravitated immediately towards Rae and Lillian, who were sitting together in the circle. The two embraced her fiercely, babbling incoherently about how relieved they were to see her, but when a girl began to explain the rules of the game they were playing, the chatter died down.
Basically, everyone drew a popsicle stick from the jar in the centre of the circle. Most had numbers scrawled on the bottom, but two had a King or Queen instead. The two people who drew a Ruler got to randomly select two numbers (only you were supposed to know your number), and give them a dare or task to complete with each other.
Sighing softly, Violeta leaned forward and drew a stick. When she turned it over, she saw a beat little 5 inscribed on the bottom end. She did not see Rae, who drew a Ruler, peek at her number, neither did she see Lillian mouth it to Laura from across the circle.
Had Gray not gotten lost in his thoughts, he would have noticed Laura peek at his number and smiling to the other girls.
“Okay, so who’re the Rulers?” Lillian questioned.
Violeta was slightly surprised to see Rae raise her hand. Across the circle, a boy with bright turquoise hair did the same.
The two Rulers conversed for a few minutes, apparently coming up with a few horribly embarrassing ideas, but eventually, they returned to the circle. “Four and ten!” Rae called out, grinning like the Cheshire Cat. Josh flinched a little; he was one of the numbers who had been called. “Four, I dare you to put lipstick on ten without using your hands. Who are four and ten?”
Josh raised his hand. “Ten.”
Laura nearly choked on her spit. She glared at Rae, though there wasn’t even a little bit of embarrassment on her features.
“Oh, come on,” she pouted. “You’re so cruel, Rae. I’m four. Does anyone have a lipstick?”
Gray nearly growled, but held it back. Come on, why did it have to be her?
Lillian flashed both Rae and Laura a grin, lifting a stick of crimson lipstick from her pocket and tossing it over to the pink-haired girl. Violeta watched with interest (and amusement) as Josh reddened and shuffled closer to the other girl.
Laura caught the lipstick with ease, scooting closer to Josh. Her eyes darted towards Gray, who merely gave a shrug of his shoulders. She sighed, uncapped the lipstick and looked back at Josh, his reddened cheeks.
She grinned and winked before setting the lipstick between her lips, rested her hands on his shoulders and leaned forward until the tip of the makeup touched his mouth, their noses barely touching.
Then she moved, eyes narrowed in concentration as she tried to put it on using her mouth.
Josh was a blushing mess, his glasses slipping sideways, hands fidgeting anxiously with the bottom of his shirt. Violeta managed to muster a reassuring smile and sent it his way, trying and failing to hide her growing amusement. Meanwhile, Rae was having a field day, struggling to hold back peals of laughter as she watched the two.
When Laura was done, she looked at Josh right in the eyes and, with that same little to no distance between them, smeared the lipstick across his cheek. Then she pulled away, took the makeup from her mouth and offered him a seductive smile.
“You look hot,” she purred, tucking a strand of her hair behind her ear. “No joke. Maybe I’ll put it on you again, but next time let’s hope it’s just my mouth and nothing else.”
With another wink, Laura settled back into her seat. Gray rolled his eyes at her shameless flirting, but he would be lying if he didn’t notice her secretly wiping her hands on her shirt.
Josh just sat there, his eyes as round and wide as marbles, his face the same colour as the lipstick smeared across his face. Violeta nearly laughed out loud.
The turquoise-haired Ruler, snorting loudly, called out the numbers one and six. A girl and a boy raised their hands; the girl was forced to sit in the guy’s lap for the next three turns. Strangely, neither of them seemed very disappointed by it…
And all of a sudden, Violeta’s number was being called.
“Five and seven! Who are five and seven?” Biting her lip, she raised a hand.
Gray nearly jumped when his number was called. He bit his lip, but maintained a cool facade and raised his hand.
“Seven,” he answered, cocking his head to the side. “That’s me.”
Violeta locked eyes with Gray, heart thumping furiously. All the dares up until now were romantic… what would they have to do? To make matters worse, Rae was looking down at them with the most evil smile twisting her lips…
“I dare you two,” she said slowly, deliberately, “To go into the closet and play Seven Minutes In Heaven. Make out. I’ll set a timer.”
Violeta’s eyes went wide. Immediately, her face exploded into a shade of red somehow more saturated than Josh’s blush… but there was nothing she could do to stop the dare. She stood up, stumbling towards the closet without a word.
Gray’s world nearly stopped upon hearing Rae’s words. Seven Minutes in Heaven. Making out. With Violeta.
He kept his eyes on her the entire time as she walked towards the closet, red in the face before he stood up as well. He pretended not to notice Laura’s thumbs up. Gray was definitely going to use this chance well.
And the second they were inside with the door closed, Gray pressed Violeta to his chest, cupped her cheeks and brought his lips down on hers.
Fireworks exploded through her stomach, a whirlwind of emotions completely and utterly decimating every thought occupying her mind until the only thing left was the earth-shattering sensation of Gray’s mouth on hers.
Violeta’s heart slammed against her rib cage like a desperate bird, struggling to break free. Ecstasy, euphoria, pleasure—all three tore through her bloodstream, flooding her body. At first, she panicked, having no idea how to move her mouth and where to put her hands.
My first kiss.
But Gray’s experienced mouth guided hers with such expert touches that a soft sound was prompted from the back of her throat. Her hands found their way into his hair. Her fingers entangled themselves in the thick strands. She didn’t think, didn’t try to breathe. She just lost herself in the beauty of the miracle she had been given.
Gray.
