Chapters (38)
- one
- two
- three
- four
- five
- six
- seven
- eight
- nine
- ten
- eleven
- twelve
- thirteen
- fourteen
- fifteen
- sixteen
- seventeen
- eighteen
- nineteen
- twenty
- twenty-one
- twenty-two
- twenty-three
- twenty-four
- twenty-five
- twenty-six
- twenty-seven
- twenty-eight
- twenty-nine
- thirty
- thirty-one
- thirty-two
- thirty-three
- thirty-four
- thirty-five
- thirty-six
- thirty-seven
- epilogue
He stood and leaned over to whisper into her ear. Violet closed her eyes and held her breath as he lingered there. “You’ll give me that kiss someday.” He brushed his lips on her cheek and walked out the front door, leaving Violet with one hand to her face, staring after him.
Last night he’d telephoned after her parents had gone to bed. Violet stood in the kitchen, whispering and watching the staircase.
“You looked so beautiful yesterday,” he said. “It’s gonna kill me when you go back to Birmingham. Even though we can’t be together, Vi, you know how I feel about you. It’s not going to change.”
“I wish things were different, Chet.” She wouldn’t let herself say more than that.
There was a full thirty seconds of silence before he spoke. “I know you’re not happy with him. You can lie to me all you want, but I can see right through you. I’ve known you forever, Vi. I know you tell people you like rock and roll but you’d really rather listen to classical music. You like the color red and you have a weakness for graham crackers and you’re a terrible dancer and you dream of writing a best-selling novel and you bite your bottom lip when you’re nervous. You’re doing it right now.” Dear lord, she was.
He paused, and Violet imagined him looking over his shoulder to be sure he was alone. “Everything about you is mapped on my heart. I love you, Violet. I always have.”
“Chet, I’ve loved being with you these two weeks, but...”
“Don’t say it, Violet,” he broke in. “Don’t try to tell me you don’t feel the same way about me. I know you do. We laugh together, we never run out of things to say, and you look forward to seeing me the whole time I’m not there. Admit it. You sat there thinking about that little brush on your cheek until your parents got home, didn’t you? “
“No.” Yes. They’d opened the door to find her in a daze, glued to the couch with her eyes closed.
“You’re as drawn to me as I am to you. I can’t stand in the same room without shaking all over, trying to resist the pull you have on me. Please, before you go, just let me kiss you one time. I’ll never ask again. Meet me somewhere, Violet. Name a place and I’ll be there.”