I take back anything bad I ever said about Joel.
That man is a genius.
With me and Violet aiming at each other, Joel is the last man standing. Back in high school, back when I a too-skinny kid overshadowed by my cool older brother, I was always the last man standing. Of course, back then, being the last man standing meant you were a loser with your v-card intact.
Joel's proud of his victory. Or maybe he's mystified as to how he, the sluttiest of the four of us, won.
I'm mystified too.
We're well past night and into early morning. But I can't sleep. Not with Violet this close. Not with that smile on her soft red lips.
I put on The Fly, the original, grab two pairs of headphones—the TV has Bluetooth sound—and offer one to Violet.
She looks at the screen with recognition. "Is this the one where Jeff Goldblum gets naked or the other one?" Her eyes light up.
"Itching to see a naked guy with dark, wavy hair?" I cock a brow.
She blushes. "Yeah, you think Kit will strip for me?"
"No."
"Me either." She takes the headphones and takes a seat on the couch. "It's the other one, isn't it?"
"This is the original."
"Being first doesn't make it the best." Her eyes find mine. "Sometimes it's good to redo things. You can make them better. Fix the mistakes."
"Yeah?"
She nods. Her lips press together. Her eyes go back to the screen. "Sometimes, when I'm having trouble with a problem, I scrap what I'm doing. And I start over. Sometimes, I'm going at it all wrong and I need a break before I can figure out how I want to approach it again."
"I'm the same with songs."
"I remember."
I sit next to her. Close enough our knees are touching. "How about we watch the remake after this?"
She looks around for a clock. When she finds none, she looks out the windows, at the blue sky of dawn. "I don't think I'm going to make it through this one." Her eyes find mine. "How about tomorrow?"
"I'll hold you to that."
She nods. "Tell me something I don't know."
Ten minutes into the movie, Violet rests her head on my shoulder.
Twenty minutes in, she lets her eye close.
By minute thirty, she's fast asleep.
I can smell her hair, the same floral shampoo as always. When I close my eyes, I see us in the shower, me pinning her to the hard tile wall. She's giggling at how slippery we are. Then she's groaning at my hand on her clit. I have to put my other hand over her mouth so we won't wake anybody up.
We were fucking amazing together.
Then Asher died and she locked me out and everything got fucked.
I scoop her into my arms and bring her to the bottom bunk across from mine. She stirs as I lay her on the bed. Her eyelids flutter open and her eyes find mine.
She smiles. "Ethan." Then she's blinking and shaking her head. "I, uh, I think I forgot pajama pants. Do you have boxers I can borrow? If… well, I'm not sure they'll fit my ass. You have narrow hips."