Piper: I mean, yes please.
Kit: That's better. I'll call you tonight. Go have fun with Violet.
I smile as I set my phone on the dresser. Kit's checking in. And flirting.
Everything is still good.
"Piper." Violet sets her eye pencil down and moves on to testing lipsticks on her thumb. "Your prom pictures?"
"Oh. Right. I—"
"Got distracted chatting with someone?"
I admit nothing. I simply find my prom pictures and show them to Violet. I keep my cell in my hands, my fingers on the controls.
She smiles knowingly. "Cute dress. And cute date."
"He was quite the gentleman."
"Oh?" She raises a brow.
I clear my throat. "A lot of eyeliner, huh?"
"A little." She decides on a red shade of lipstick and applies it carefully. "You still look pretty. I wish I'd been there."
"Me too. If you'd been there, my friends wouldn't have spent the next year trying to get Ethan's number."
"Not Mal's?"
"Mal's too, but there's no stopping that."
She nods. "I understand. Mal and Ethan are handsome."
"I'd hope you find your boyfriend attractive."
She laughs. "Yeah. And Kit too. He's hot and intense and he has that tongue piercing."
Now, I have to laugh.
"What?"
"You're as tactless as you say."
"I know." She frowns. "It's awful." She pulls her legs onto her chair and sets cross-legged.
"Violet, I love you like a sister, but I'm not stupid. I know you'll take Ethan's side." Even though I really, really want to tell her.
She shakes her head. "You're my friend. Anything you want me to keep secret is our secret."
I'm not sure about that.
She taps her fingers against her knee. "That tongue piercing, huh?"
God, she really has no tact. I laugh until my sides hurt. "Subtle."
"Thank you."
"You should try the blunt approach."