"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."
"That a compliment?" I play incredulous.
Her eyes are on my hips right now. Her eyes are filled with desire. She's thinking about taking off my jeans. She's thinking about taking me back to that couch.
We used to practice staying quiet.
I can do that tonight.
Fuck, Mal and Kit have woken me up with sex enough times I don't feel bad about repaying the favor. Joel really does avoid mixing business with pleasure. He never picks up women at shows or brings them back to the bus.
"You know it's a compliment." She looks up at me. "My ass has gotten bigger."
"You can add a guitarist to your list of musicians complimenting your ass. You look amazing, Vi."
She blushes. "Thanks. I've been doing martial arts."
"Yeah?"
"So don't cross me. I can kick your ass."
"You think so?"
She nods. Her teeth sink into her bottom lip as she looks me up and down. She wants me. Badly. It's not like before, when she wanted someone to wipe away her pain.
Right now, she wants me. Not a distraction. Not Ethan Strong, Dangerous Noise guitarist. She wants me.
I press my palms to my thighs so I won't put them on hers. Need to take this slow.
I go to my dresser drawer and pull out a clean pair of boxers, then I hand them to her. "Here."
"Thanks." She climbs out of her bunk, grabs a few things from her suitcase, and heads to the bathroom.
I can hear her brushing her teeth, washing her face. We never had the chance to live together, but we shared a few hotel rooms. This is familiar.
She steps out of the bathroom in a tank-top and my boxers. The damn top is clinging to her bare breasts. Her nipples are hard.
It's hot in here. She must want this as badly as I do.
She climbs into her bunk. Her eyes meet mine. "I owe you one."