After coming back from the gym, I saw that Violet was making that sour face she does any time things don’t go her way. The reason was clear, and there was only one to begin with. The weekend was coming, and we still hadn’t told our friends about our engagement. Understandable, but far from desirable, so I decided I’d be doing something about it after taking a quick shower.
“Babe?” I called out to her, using my sweet voice and leaning forward, knowing full well I was showing a lot through my—her—shirt neck hole, placing my hands on her knees as she sat on the couch. “My dear, my honey, my one and only love?”
After adjusting upwards the angle at which she was looking at me, she smiled with a chuckle, placing her hands on my waist where skin was exposed since I had tied the shirt at the front, and made me straddle her knees while asking what was up despite already knowing very well what I was going for.
“I missed you,” I told Violet, still very needy-sounding as I rested my head on her shoulder, Violet delighted in how clingy I was being. She was also getting frisky with her hands, but I wasn’t going to let her go any further for now. Not while sis was still at home and we were in full view.
I took her hands from my bum and held them with entangled fingers as I sat up and told her I needed her help with something before we went any further. As an extra tease, I also said that while bobbing up and down on her lap.
“...Oh... ok,” she said, sounding disappointed. She also got her hands free and began playing with the t-shirt knot as I wiggled again. “Well, what is it that you need my help with?”
When I left the gym, it coincided with the start of some class. It was one of those “dances” that were more for making people move their bodies around in a way that was fun for them rather than a proper dance, which meant, they needed most of the space. That was fair, they did warn us with plenty of before-time, but the music they had playing was... I was going to describe it with my own words, but I’ll use Violet’s diplomatic speech and say “not my cup of tea” instead. Even with my earphones on, I still could hear it, so I came back home earlier, and there was something I didn’t do that I always did before that: stretching.
“Today was leg day, so...” I told her to conclude my report of what had happened.
“Erm, ok,” she said, not getting where I was getting at despite my very clear glances and tone.
“...It might get pretty sexy,” I told her with a third wiggle of my upper body.
“Ah!” she said, now clearly getting it. “...Ah... hmm... I see...”
I wonder what exactly she was seeing, with how flushed she was getting.
We could have done it in the living room, but we decided to take this matter to the bedroom. We’d go there afterwards anyway, so might as well relocate first things first.
I laid with my back on the floor and lifted a leg, telling Violet to sit close to my hip and place my calf in her shoulder. You might think it’s kinda suggestive—in our case, it is, and that was part of the point. So did my sister when she walked in while Violet pushed my leg forward while I did my best to stay relaxed and not let the knee bend or hip to lift from the carpet. We hadn’t closed the door, leaving it slightly ajar because we weren’t doing anything “bad,” but my sister thought otherwise.
“Oh, for the love of... Can’t you two close the door if you’re going to have se—”
“N-No! We aren’t doing any of that!” Violet cried out, turning even redder than she already was when we assumed this position. “I’m helping your sister stretch!”
“It’s true,” I added, still on my back and with Violet still holding my leg against her body. “See sis, for that, Violet needed to be sitting on me with legs intertwined with mine and—”
“Ah-lalala! I don’t want to hear it!” my sister cried out, closing her eyes and covering her ears, making it hard for me not to laugh out loud. “I just got used to the idea of you two... doing it. Still, I don’t need you to teach me how two girls go about it!”
“Hey sis, wanna see something impressive?” I said, suddenly remembering something.
Sophie wasn’t much interested in what I had to show her, but she still played along.
The angle at which Violet had held my leg was the absolute most I could have it straight and towards my chest comfortably. For you to get an idea, sit straight and hold your arm outstretched and parallel to the ground. Now, raise it up to eyebrow height. That angle was about how far my legs could go before I started bending body parts to compensate for the movement.
Violet however, as we were showing Sophie after we switched positions, was a whole different case.
“Can she do the split?” my sister asked, now curious after seeing us sandwiching her leg between us with Violet showing no signs of being uncomfortable by the exercise. We never tried it, but I wouldn’t be surprised if we could push it behind her shoulder.
We tried the split since now we were all curious about it. I helped Violet balance as she stood up with one leg forward and the other back, slowly getting lower and lower, until...
“Is everything ok?” I asked her once she sat on the floor, both legs flat on the carpet pointing in opposing directions.
“I can feel the muscles stretch, but only a little,” she told me, looking down and around as if trying to figure out how that was possible.
I expressed my jealousy at her flexibility while Sophie said Violet would have been a great addition to a cheerleading group.
“Nah, that’s for outgoing, popular people, and I’m none of those,” Violet casually stated while still looking around. “Erm, how am I supposed to stand up now?”
It’d be super cool if she could do like some dancers and reverse the split back to standing up, but that’s far too difficult for her. Maybe I could since I squatted with a barbel equal to my body weight, but at that amplitude of motion? Oof, just thinking of that made my legs burn.
I flipped Violet on her side while using my legs as breaks so she wouldn’t—and I can’t say this without it sounding at least a bit bad—close her legs too fast. Stretching or returning to a rest position with sudden moves is a good way to tear a muscle.
“Anyway, I’m off,” my sister informed us as she waved. “You two still have school tomorrow, so don’t go to bed too late.”
Oh, we wouldn’t, that she could be certain of. Especially now that we had the house all to ourselves since dad was also away on a trip.
I wished my sister a nice dinner date. I just wish I could have seen her expression because her thank you was a bit flustered.
“Have you talked with your dad?” I asked, remembering about him since he was sis’ date.
“Yeah,” Violet answered with only half her attention on me if even that. She was twisting her waist around while looking at her legs, probably wondering how stupidly flexible they were. “I was agonising over when I should give him a call when he called instead. He sounded like the usual easy-going man that he is, so I guess he’s doing all right.”
With my dad out of town, it was Papa Stan who was mostly running things at the company. From grunt to the owner’s and CEO’s right-hand man, as well as best friend and future in-law. I bet he never saw that coming.
“Hey, are we done?” Violet asked, now being her who was sounding needy and tugging at the knot responsible for my whole belly being exposed.
We weren’t because sis interrupted while we had just begun, but... making her wait a bit longer when she was being this cute was just too mean.
As we laid in a spooning position, lazing in bed until both our stomachs told us to get up and fill them with dinner, I was wondering about what Sophie had said. That thing about Violet having been a good addition to a cheerleading team. Actually, I’m wrong about what I was wondering. It wasn’t what sis said, but what Violet said.
Violet was a bit wrong in her statement. She was popular, people just left her in peace. She was beautiful, and smart, and had those gorgeous legs that were the envy of most girls. That beauty of hers seemed cold and unapproachable due to her serious demeanour but turned very sweet and warm when around me, the contrast making many hearts skip a beat as people took notice of that, I’m sure of it. It certainly made my heart squeal over her every time. That gap really was something rivalling an atom bomb in terms of destructive power. Violet not being aware of all this... I can’t decide if that’s a good or bad thing.
Had she been outgoing though, my mind was that it’d have been a bad thing. I was being very selfish as I thought that, but all the scenarios I came up with were ones we’d never have met and ended up dating. Or maybe we would, but...
Had Violet been outgoing, she’d have had many guys approach her to ask her out. She might have had a few boyfriends before she even met me. She could also have had a few casual things. Even if she ended up dating me, I might not have been her first. She could even be dating somebody completely different right now.
You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.
Just like that, all the good things I have right now, they’d be gone.
“You know,” Violet started, shifting her body slightly as she gave me a tiny squeeze and kissed me on the shoulder. “I’ve been thinking about what Sophie said about me, and... well, the kind of person I’d have to be as opposed to what I am doesn’t really matter. I still find it funny though, that even if we change my personality to suit that scenario, to my mind, we’d still end up together.”
“...How so?” I asked, turning around and feeling my chest swelling with a fiery passion.
“Well... I don’t quite know why,” she said as she combed my hair with her gentle and slightly cold fingers. “It’s just a feel... no, a certainty. I mean, you are the personification of my type.”
“You are aware that you’d have plenty to choose from if that were the case, right?”
“Hmm... not really. I mean, I would have many people to pick from, but there aren’t that many girls my age so short as you and that also are a mischievous little imp. At least I’d like to think it had to be you, and you alone, who’d become my partner.”
My whole being was purring with those words and her lovely expression. Still wanting to hear more, I pressed on the matter further, asking if she thought she’d resist the corruptive power of popularity and date the person, or persons, everyone would like to.
“I also would like to think that I wouldn’t. At the very least, I’d like to think that I wouldn’t be giving away my body to people I wasn’t really in love with.”
“Pfft, hehe. Well, I don’t know about that version of Violet, but if she’s at least a tenth of the romantic that you are, I’m sure you wouldn’t.”
“Pfft, fufu. Now you’re just mocking me.”
I was thinking that my stomach would have to wait a bit longer because the mood was just right, but our phones buzzing stopped us before we moved past kissing.
“Greetings and salutations, my platonic girlfriends!” Mathilda wrote as the opening to her texts chain. “I message thee to offer an invitation for a moment of merry frolicking and amusement at our local pool this coming weekend! I await thy reply with most heartfelt anticipation!”
Violet and I looked at each other after having read that and, before I could get anything out of my mouth, she told me not to say a word.
I wasn’t going to. I wasn’t going to say that Mathilda was a good case study of someone who was popular and outgoing and that even so, was all happy the other day when she and Mathew kissed after he dropped her off after a date.
Also, tomorrow was Friday, so why was she texting us when she could have just asked once we all met at school? What a nutcase of a friend we had.
“It will be so obvious when those two have had their first night together,” I said as we put our clothes back on to go eat something before going back to bed.
“You mean, like you every time we make love before going to school?” Violet asked a bit sarcastically.
“I-it’s not just me!” I protested, my face starting to feel hot. “Mathilda says it’s both of us who look like we are glowing!”
“Oh? Would you say that my face looks all that much different from the norm?”
“Well... not really... it’s a bit more relaxed and smiley, but...”
“Well, yours always has the biggest grin in the world.”
“It does not! Hmm! Mmh!”
“I’m not complaining though,” she said in a low tone as she parted her lips from mine after a surprise kiss. “You look so adorable when you’re this happy.”
“...Gee, you really don’t play fair,” I whined to myself, for the second time not caring about my growling stomach as Violet went ahead and left the room. I think she might have heard me because I seem to have heard her giggle in the corridor.
♥♥♥
I’d have to redefine my seasonal preferences after today.
Summer was still at the bottom. Sure, I had three months to be with Abby all day, but the heat made it hard to fully enjoy it.
Autumn was great if it was slightly cold and not just a slightly less stuffy summer. Plus, the food of that season is one of Abby’s favourites. It was also around that time that I started making my meat stew, Abby’s still favourite dish. There are lots of emotions and memories attached to it, so I doubt it will ever become anything other than her first pick.
Winter, it’s cold in the morning and at the end of the day, meaning that being in bed with Abby is heaven on Earth, and we also have the holiday season to be together all the time. The days could get quite cold, but it was about fifty-fifty, the other half being quite temperate. I can’t stand the cold, but between that and being hot, I’ll always pick the former, especially if I have Abby to hold tight as a personal warmer.
Spring though, that’s what I was having trouble placing. Once again, Abby’s influence was making me question my worldview. She hadn’t been the one inviting me to the pool this Saturday, but if she wasn’t part of my life, I wouldn’t be sitting in the ring buoy with Abby in a cross-shaped manner, enjoying the—warm but still pleasant—sun and slight breeze as my feet and hands were submerged in the cool water. Credit where it’s due though, Mathilda had an amazing idea to plan this pool day, even more so when she said she thought of it so that I could be more comfortable when compared to during Summer. I’ve had lost a considerable amount of tan in the past few months, much to Abby’s laments. She loved kissing and running her finger over my tan lines, but as they faded, so did the frequency of her doing that. Today, I’d get some of that tan back, and Abby would probably be all over me, wanting to play and tease me.
While we sat in the tube, Mathilda had her head resting just enough above my knee to avoid the bone while most of her body was inside the water. I initially thought about telling her not to do that, but I wasn’t bothered enough for that to win over how lazy I was feeling under such nice weather and the gratitude I was feeling towards the consideration she showed towards me. Just this once, I would allow someone to use my legs in a way that only Abby could. As long as Mathilda didn’t stray far from my knee, at least.
“Maybe we should come during the Spring and completely forget about Summer,” Abby said as she splashed her feet on the water.
It was less likely for me to be burnt to a crisp and the place was mostly empty, so that proposal had my approval.
Proposal... proposal...
I opened my eyes and scanned the place around us. The boys still weren’t back from their ice cream run. It’s been only a couple of minutes, but for those who wait, minutes might as well be an eternity.
R.E.L.A.X. Abby wrote that on my chest with her wet finger, having noticed my anxiety with just a glance. I grabbed that same hand and pulled her closer, thinking that I’d calm down if we were more in a snuggle. Mathilda raised her head as the buoy shifted unsteadily as Abby adjusted her position. Some water also dripped on Mathilda’s head as Abby passed her feet over her, but she just laughed about that inconvenience.
“Is there room for another one?” she asked as she moved her head around, like she was studying how she’d squeeze in.
“You can clearly see there isn’t,” Abby told her. “And don’t you have a boyfriend for that?”
“But boys are stinky and sweaty!” she protested as she splashed water with her feet.
“Why date one then?”
“Haah, because I was born straight, unfortunately.”
“Gee, thanks,” Stephen said, crouching down by the poolside and placing a can of juice on top of his girlfriend’s head. “If it helps, I can always put on a dress, wig and high heels.”
“I’ve already thought of that, but it just wouldn’t be the same,” Mathilda sighed, making a circus act of balancing the can crowning her. “You’re a handsome guy, but you’d be a very weird-looking girl.”
“It’s the beard, isn’t it?” he asked, running his hand over a clean face. The only facial hair I ever saw on him was a bit of stubble he let grow out during the week-long Easter holidays until school resumed, and that was mostly on the upper lip. I had also already seen his dad a couple of times, and he didn’t look like he had a full set of facial hair either. Maybe his dad grew the hair long to compensate? It certainly wasn’t what I expected from a mechanic. I thought they tended to either shave their heads completely or wear it short like Stephen.
Wait, why am I thinking about that now?
We were all gathered, and most importantly, alone. There would hardly be a better time to tell them the news than now, but my stupid brain decided to start fixating on irrelevant things so it didn’t have to think about how to tell them and deal with the stress that caused.
“Abby?” I called, sounding as calm as possible while giving her a distressed look.
She returned my gaze, paused for a second, and then, cruelly, she smiled and gave me a thumbs-up. I called her name again, this time my distress also being expressed in my voice, but she only added part of her tongue sticking out to her pose.
The other three saw all this and Mathilda needlessly hushed them because “it’s got to be something good for them to be acting this way.”
“Well, erm... the thing is... you see...”
“No way!” Mathilda gasped, making me think for a second she had already guessed what I was going to tell, saving me the trouble of spelling it out. You’re expecting a baby! Mathilda shot out instead, sounding dead serious.
“How is that even supposed to happen!?” I shot back. “No! Abby and I are getting married!”
“Ah!” Mathilda gasped with a clap. “That was my third guess!”
Not in a thousand years would I care to ask what the second guess was. I’d probably hit her if I did.
Their reaction was—apart from Mathilda’s—tamer than what I had in mind. I was grateful for that, don’t get me wrong, but... I was expecting a lot more cheer and questions other than “congrats!” and “when are you planning on getting married?” It was all a bit... not apathetic, but... tamed.
“We more or less were already expecting it,” Mathew told us. “Mathilda already suspected something like that from the way you two have been acting. It’s nice to see her correct for a change.”
“I’ll smack you!” Mathilda threatened.
“Just try it,” Mathew snarked back. “I won’t hold back just because you’re a girl.”
While Stephen did his usual job of peacekeeping between the two cousins, Abby kissed my cheek.
“See? I told you to relax,” she snickered.
Yeah, but having waited this long and fussing over it also helped, I argued back. Mathilda picked up on it and started making theories that she shared with the others, making the real event go a lot smoother and calmer than what I had imagined.
We shared with them what we had already decided upon, once the cousins stopped bickering and tossing threats that they’d never follow through. One of the things we told them about was the fact that Abby would later be adopting my last name, that getting their attention as they shared a silent look.
“You mean, like during the school year?” Mathilda asked.
“I suppose so, “Abby answered. “Marrying after Violet also turns eighteen is something we are strongly considering. Why do you ask?”
The others exchanged another look amongst themselves before facing us again.
Stephen asked me if I was ok with it. I frowned, not getting what he wanted to know that hadn’t already been explained, but then, Mathew clarified his point. If Abby adopted my last name after we married and it was still during the school year, then, she’d have to update her personal data in school.
“Aaron Sanderson,” I imagined one of our teachers calling during roll call. “Abigail Gard... Abigail Evergreen?”
Then, the teacher and everybody else in the classroom will stare at us, Abby blushing, giggling, and showing off the ring while telling everyone that we are now married while I twitch and foam from the mouth as I slump to the floor, overdosed in embarrassment. That was the future I appeared to have in front of me because...
“I refuse!” Abby shouted as she hugged my arm. I didn’t even get to say that maybe she should wait a bit after the wedding to do that. “We agreed that me getting your family name was my wedding gift too!”
“Oh my! You can’t possibly walk away from it if that’s the case,” Mathilda snickered, adding more fuel to the already messy fire.
I had never agreed making that my wedding gift for her, but whether it is or isn’t the case. Still, it was like Mathilda and Abby were saying, even though it hadn’t been exactly how they were saying it had happened. I had agreed to it, and despite not liking it, walking back on my word was something I disliked even more, so... I now had about a year to get used to the idea of everyone seeing us as Mrs. and Mrs. Evergreen because Abby wouldn’t budge, and I too was too stubborn to change my mind.