XOXO, Violet by Ginger Li
17Violet
Istared down at the mustard stain on my sleeve and sighed.
Wesley was coming over. I hadn’t spoken to him since our fake date and the amazing kiss-that-shall-never-be-talked-about-again. Honestly, I’d planned on avoiding him for as long as possible.
Maybe until after graduation?
But Micah had to open his big mouth and ruin that plan by inviting Wes to family game night. And that’s why I now stood in front of the mirror, debating whether I should change out of my stained sweatshirt.
Who was I kidding? I could wear a potato sack, and it wouldn’t matter one bit. Wes had made it perfectly clear that our date and kiss meant nothing to him. His words still hurt like a shovel straight through the heart. But I just had to bury my emotions way down deep and get through this night.
I groaned. Ugh. This was all Micah’s fault.
Someone knocked on my door, then Dad poked his head inside. “May I come in?”
Seemed the stain would have to wait. “Sure.”
Dad sat on my bed, looking around at my newly emptied room. My walls were still packed with shelves of plants, but the floor and my desk were clear, as we’d taken my books and swag bags down to the garage earlier this afternoon. I didn’t need Wes or Ophelia wandering in here and learning my secret.
Dad crossed his arms over his chest. “I hear you’ve got a boy coming over.”
“Yes. And you’ve met him. Wes and I are just friends. He doesn’t like me like that.”
He’d made that abundantly clear after kissing me.
Dad arched a brow. “But what about you? Do you like him?”
Not wanting to answer, I let his question hang in the air.
“I see.” Dad cleared his throat and adjusted his glasses. “This makes tonight a bit more interesting, doesn’t it?”
That was one way to describe it. Painful and horrible were adjectives that I would have used instead. The option of hiding in my bedroom until tomorrow was looking better and better. My parents could just slide food under the door, right?
I sighed. Who was I kidding? No way would my folks let me stay up here all night. I took a seat beside my father and rested my chin on his shoulder. “Why does love hurt so much?”
He placed his head on mine and wrapped an arm around my shoulders. “I’m sorry, baby girl. I wish I could tell you that love was all flowers and sunshine, but we both know I’d be lying. Relationships take work. That’s life. You can either wrap your heart up tight and watch it turn to stone, or you put yourself out there and allow hope and sorrow to occupy the same space.”
I was about to tell Dad that he’d misunderstood, that Wesley and I weren’t in a relationship, but two pairs of stomping footsteps interrupted my thoughts. Seconds later, my two young cousins burst into the room like hyperactive puppies.
“What are you two doing?” Jasper asked, placing his hands on his hips.
Leo came over and hugged me. “I love you, Violet. Can I see your bug-eating plants? Please?”
How could anyone say no to such an adorable face? “Sure.” I led him over to the window and let him peek at my Venus flytraps.
Leo’s eyes widened. “Wow.”
“Hey, Violet.” Marcus’s giant frame invaded the doorway. My older brother had arrived home from college a couple of days ago for holiday break. “Wes and Ophelia are here.”
Jasper’s and Leo’s eyes lit up at the prospect of more guests, and they dashed past Marcus and out of the room. Dad followed them.
I peered around my bedroom, triple-checking that anything Shy Plant Girl–related was out of sight. Thankfully, with the books and merch gone, no one could tie me to my alter ego.
Marcus came in and gently tugged on a strand of Christmas lights hanging over my bed. “Do I need to give this Wesley guy the big-brother talk?”
I stifled a laugh. “Seriously? I just had this exact same discussion with Dad. Don’t worry. There’s nothing romantic going on between us.”
Marcus crossed his arms over his chest. “So he doesn’t like you?”
My smile fell, and I shook my head.
Marcus studied my face for a moment. “Well, I’ll keep an eye on him anyway. Someone has to have your back.”
“Don’t worry, man; I’ve got that covered.” Micah strolled inside and sat on my bed. Seemed my room was busier than LAX today. “You should head downstairs, Vi. Mom and Joy are interrogating Ophelia in the kitchen. And the twins have challenged Lolo and Wes to a game of Chutes and Ladders.”
I shook my head and bit back a laugh. To the uneducated player, Chutes and Ladders appeared to be a nostalgic board game. But playing it with my cousins was worse than getting your wisdom teeth pulled out. No one knew what sort of black magic the twins conjured up, but every time a player approached the end, he or she would inevitably fall down a slide and get sent back thirty spaces.
The game took hours to finish. My brave grandfather was the only one patient enough to play to the end. And now my cousins hoodwinked Wes into joining.
On the bright side, at least we wouldn’t have to engage in any awkward post-pretend-kiss small talk.
No. My conscience caught up to me. I couldn’t sacrifice Wesley to the twins’ horrible game.
“It’ll take them hours to play, Micah. You should never have let them get started.” I was about to head downstairs when my phone buzzed.
Unknown: Hey. This is Chase.
I momentarily stopped breathing.Why was Chase texting me? “Get out of my room.” I waved at my brothers. “I have to answer this text.”
Me: Hi! How did you get my number?
Unknown: Olivia gave it to me. I hope that’s ok.
Me: Yeah. That’s fine.
Unknown: Are you busy right now?
I swallowed hard.The idea of dawdling a while before seeing Wesley certainly had its appeal.
Me: I can chat for a couple of minutes.
Unknown: Cool. Great succulent class. Mom raved about it afterward. I didn’t know you were so passionate about plants.
My face warmed slightly.
Me: Thanks. I’ve loved plants for years.
Unknown: That’s cool.
Unknown: I hope this isn’t too rude but are you and Wesley dating?
Oh boy.The universe clearly hated me. How many times would I have to be reminded that we were only friends? I barked a bitter laugh and whipped out my response.
Me: That would be a definite no.
Unknown: Good.
Unknown: Do you want to go out sometime?
I sucked in a breath.When had my life become so topsy-turvy? I liked Wesley, but he saw me as just a friend. And here was Chase, finally making the first move.
This kiss last night was my wake-up call. It was time to start a new chapter in my life. I had to move on from Wesley.
Me: That would be great.
Unknown: Awesome! How about next Sunday? Lunch?
The day after YouCon.I’d certainly be less busy by then.
Me: Sounds perfect.
“Violet! Your guests are here!”Mom yelled from downstairs.
Me: I gotta go.
Unknown: We can work out the details later.
Me: See you.
My whole bodyjittered with nervous energy. I had a date. With Chase. My first date. Correction. My first real date.
I could do this. I would go out with Chase and get over Wesley.
When I got downstairs, Mom tugged me into the kitchen then hollered, “Marcus! Micah! Come here and make yourselves useful.”
My brothers appeared within seconds. Even though they both towered over our mother, neither of them dared question her requests for help.
Like a general ordering her troops, Mom tossed a bag of shredded cheese at Micah. “Open this and set out the sour cream and salsa. Marcus, wash and chop the green onions and cilantro.”
“Yes, Mom,” my brothers replied in unison.
Ophelia and Joy sat huddled over the kitchen counter, setting out freshly baked corn muffins.
Joy got up and kissed my cheeks. “Good to see you, Violet.”
Ophelia waved.
“Violet, why don’t you get the tables ready?” Mom gently pushed me toward the dining room. “Remi,” she called to my dad, who was already pulling out tablecloths to cover our dining room table and the extra folding table we set up to accommodate guests. “Go take Wesley’s place in Chutes and Ladders. And tell Wes that Violet needs his help.”
My father’s face paled because, like I said before, playing Chutes and Ladders was akin to signing your own death warrant. But one look at my mom’s face, and he put down the tablecloths and left for the living room.
Mom winked before heading back into the kitchen. She thought she was being sneaky, but I could see right through her ploy to get Wes and me in the same room. If Ophelia hadn’t been within hearing distance, I’d have called her out on it.
Moments later, Wes strolled into the dining room. Today he wore a flannel shirt and a pair of dark wash jeans. I immediately regretted my decision to wear stained clothes. Next to him, I felt like a slob. “Your dad said you needed my help?” He shot me a grin that set my heart racing.
Nope. Cut that out, circulatory system. I wasn’t about to fall for that smile again. I tossed Wes the two tablecloths. “Here, help me put these on the tables.”
Since my mother was a firm believer in not coordinating anything, the red checkered tablecloths happily clashed with our yellow and blue cloth napkins.
We worked together in silence, Wes putting out the tablecloths and napkins while I set plates at each seat.
“Violet. Ask him about his Christmas!” Mom called from the kitchen.
Ugh. Could she be any more obvious? “How was your Christmas?” I mumbled. Maybe I had to talk to him, but I was determined to avoid looking at his stupidly handsome face.
“Not bad. Ophelia and I celebrated it with Asher’s family.”
The knot in my stomach eased somewhat. It had broken my heart when Olivia told me his folks were both out of town. What kind of parents leave their kids alone for the holidays?
“How was your Christmas?” he asked.
I adjusted a plate and pulled out several cups from the cabinets. “Pretty good. Marcus came home, and we spent the day with Lolo, Joy, and the boys.” I gave him a small smile. See? I could do this. I could have a normal conversation and pretend that everything was fine between us.
Liar, whispered my broken heart.
I passed Wes the cups and pulled out the fancy cutlery. Mom and Dad received a set for their wedding and pulled it out for all the major holidays. “Let me check with Mom. I always forget where to put the spoons and forks for formal place settings.”
“I got it.” I watched in surprise as Wesley set the utensils around a plate. “We eat out a lot, and after a while, you remember these things.”
Yet another reason he and I wouldn’t have been a good match. He was used to dining off fine china with good cutlery. Meanwhile, we ate off mismatched thrifted plates.
Mom brought out a glass vase and made a show of admiring our handiwork. “It looks like we’re almost ready. All we need now are some flowers. Can you two go and cut some from the backyard?”
I stared at my mother, my mouth agape. Where did she get that vase from? We never displayed cut flowers in our house, as Mom didn’t believe in “murdering plants and stealing their youth.”
Her words. Not mine.
I was about to protest when she leveled me with a look that told me not to argue.
“Come on, Wes. I’ll take you out back.” I led him through our den and outside, where garden lights already lit up the spacious backyard. Although our house was small, we lived at the end of a cul-de-sac, which meant our yard was huge.
Wes stopped in his tracks. “Wow.”
I understood the feeling. It was beautiful out there. “That’s my mother’s veggie garden.” I pointed to the beds, which currently housed kale, lettuce, and a tower of sugar snap peas. “And that’s where our four chickens live.” I gestured toward the small red and white coop nearby. “They roam the space during the day, but we round them up at night.”
“What’s that?” He pointed to the area beneath the pergola.
My favorite place in the garden. “That’s where I grow succulents.” Not wanting him to see the area where I sometimes filmed, I pointed toward the back fence. “Mom’s flower garden is over there.”
I led him along the path past the chicken coop, purposely avoiding my succulents.
Wesley sat on a stone bench nearby the flowers. I gingerly sat next to him, unsure what to say or how to feel. Under different circumstances, this would have been the perfect setting for a romantic moment. But after our practice date, it felt like the scene was set for an epic breakup instead. Which was fitting, I supposed.
“Did you know that your grandfather and grandmother married when they were just nineteen?”
Of course, I did. It was Lolo’s favorite story. “That was back in the Philippines. Lola was the love of his life.” She died a couple of years ago, and she took a part of my grandfather’s heart with her.
My parents’ marriage. My grandparents’ marriage. One day, I wanted something like that. Something fiercely romantic. Something lasting and real. I peered over at Wesley, and my heart twisted. Our fake date and kiss stood out as something cheap in comparison.
Wesley let out a small sigh and gave me a brief smile. “I like your lolo. Marcus seems cool too.”
I gave him a sideways glance. “Did my brother say something to you?”
Wes shrugged. “Just that he’d be watching me all night.”
Yeah. That sounded like Marcus. “Sorry about that. I told him we were just friends.”
“Right.” Wesley hesitated. “We’re close, though, aren’t we?”
“Yeah,” I mumbled. Though it was sheer torture pretending I was happy with just being friends. “We should probably get those flowers now.”
“What if I told you I wanted us to be more?”
It took a moment for me to find my voice. “That’s not funny, Wes. I’m not in the mood for any more dating practice tonight.”
“I’m not joking.” Wesley scrubbed his face with his hands. “Shoot. This isn’t coming out the way I want it to. I don’t know how to do this.” He exhaled loudly and looked at me with a clear, steady gaze. “I’m trying to say that I like you, Violet. I want us to be more than friends.”
His words were arrows shot straight into my heart. No. It couldn’t be. None of this made sense. “You. Like. Me? What about our fake date?” And our fake kiss?
Wesley’s gaze remained unwavering. “All real.”
Nonononono. Like a live wire placed in water, my brain was short-circuiting. I stood and began pacing. “But you said it was pretend. We kissed, and you said it was all practice.”
Wesley stood too. “I didn’t know what else to say. When you started talking about liking Chase, I felt embarrassed, so I lied. I pretended that the night meant nothing to me. It wasn’t my finest moment, but I couldn’t bring myself to tell you the truth—that I’d fallen for you.”
His confession stopped me in my tracks. Wes had completely misunderstood what I meant. “You should have let me finish. I was going to say I didn’t like Chase anymore because I liked you.”
Wes’s lips parted, and he stared at me as if I’d just plucked the moon from the sky and handed it to him. “You like me too?” He let out a yell as he grabbed my hands and pulled me into his arms.
Disbelief quickly morphed into delirious happiness. I laughed, caught up in the moment, but then I remembered: I’d agreed to go out with Chase.
I pulled away. “There’s something I need to tell you. Chase texted me earlier and asked me out again, and I agreed to have lunch with him next Sunday.”
Wesley’s face fell.
“But I’ll tell him I can’t anymore,” I added. “It wouldn’t be fair to him.”
“No. Don’t back out of your date. You should still go out with him.”
Wait. What? “Look, I’m new to this whole dating thing, but shouldn’t you be encouraging me not to go out with him?”
“I’m trying to be the better man here, Vi.” Wes reached out and took my hand. “We made a promise, remember? You tutor me, and I get you a date with Chase. Go out with him. I’m a man of my word.”
“That’s ridiculous,” I snapped. “That deal’s clearly over if we like each other.”
He shook his head. “You’ve liked Chase all these years, so you owe it to your younger self to go on a date with him.”
“But I choose you. I don’t like Chase like that anymore.”
Wes squeezed my hand. “I know. It’s only one date. Go. And then you’ll see how Chase was the guy of your past, but I’m the guy for your future.”
My mouth curled into a smile. “Wow. Cocky, much?”
Wes smirked. “Course I am. I’m not worried one bit. We both know my history. I’ve gone out with dozens of girls.”
I frowned, failing to see why he was reminding me of that fact right now.
Wes chuckled. “The point is, I’ve dated tons of girls, and none of them compares to you.”
Oh. Oh.
“You haven’t gone out with anyone. Go see what it’s like with someone else. And then you’ll know how special we are together.”
The look on his face was so sincere that I found myself agreeing. “Alright. I’ll have lunch with Chase and keep an open mind.”
Wes tugged me close and gave me the softest of kisses before pulling away.
Um. Can we do that again? I’d felt my toes curl with that one.
With a smile, he motioned toward the garden. “Ready to pick some flowers?”
“Honestly, I’d rather kiss some more.”
He laughed. “Yeah. Me too. But best we do that without an audience.” He pointed to the two bright windows leading to the dining room and kitchen.
Oh. Right. My family.
Thankfully, the curtains were drawn, so no one would have seen us.
When we finally took our cut flowers inside, everyone was already seated.
“These are perfect.” Mom placed the vase on a side table. “Why don’t you two grab a seat?”
Because there were so many people packed inside, Wes and I sat close together. Everyone began eating their chili, and conversation flowed around us. Occasionally, Wesley’s hand would bump against mine, and our eyes would meet.
I swore electricity flashed between us each time.
One time, I caught Micah watching us with a goofy grin, but, surprisingly, he didn’t say a word. It was weird, but I wasn’t about to question it. After dinner, game night officially began. Jasper and Leo wrangled Ophelia, Joy, and my grandfather into playing Candyland.
“We’ll get the fire pit going.” My mother pulled my father away, leaving my brothers, Wes, and me at the table.
Marcus turned to Wesley, a wicked gleam in his eye. “Ever play Catan before?”
Wes shook his head. “Can’t say that I have.”
“They’re about to indoctrinate you into the cult of Catan,” I whispered loudly.
Micah and I set up the game while Marcus began explaining, in meticulous detail, how everything worked. Micah, finally getting frustrated, handed Wesley a die. “He won’t learn by listening to you lecture. Let the man play.”
Wesley picked up the game surprisingly quickly. And even though he lost, he took Marcus’s and Micah’s ribbing well.
“You should invite him to game night more often,” Marcus said. “He makes you look good, Micah.”
My twin pouted. “Dude, I almost had you.”
Jasper ran into the room. “Are you guys done yet? Momma says to come out now because we’re making s’mores.”
“You may be King of Catan, but you always burn your marshmallows,” Micah said. “Come on, Wes. You gotta see this guy. Aces his tests like a freaking genius. But he can’t roast a marshmallow to save his life.”
Wes looked at me and winked. “Maybe I can help. I’m an expert at keeping things nice and toasty. Ask Violet.”
Marcus glared at him, but Micah laughed. “Man, I knew I liked you.”
The three of them strolled outside.
“Hey, Violet.” Ophelia had slipped into the dining room so quietly that I hadn’t realized she was there. “Did Wes talk to you?”
My mind returned to our conversation outside, but I schooled my features, unsure how much she knew. “About what?”
Ophelia gave me a knowing look. “His feelings. Wes likes you. It’s obvious to everyone.”
“Oh. That…” What could I say? That I liked him too?
“Be gentle with him, please?” Ophelia looked at me, her expression serious. “Wes acts like he doesn’t care about anything. But the truth is, he does.”
Her words replayed in my head as I watched him share marshmallows with my cousins and then later when he and Ophelia left. Wes said nothing more the entire night about what we’d discussed, but I’d often caught him smiling or glancing in my direction. Every look we shared felt heavy with meaning.
Something had changed between us. That night, as I lay in bed, I struggled to understand it all. Wesley’s feelings seemed genuine. But I couldn’t shake off the suspicion that this was all too good to be true.
How could he possibly have feelings for someone like me?