"Vi?" I ask.
Her eyes go wide. They're more red than green at the moment. She's been crying. Or trying not to cry. Violet never was the type to cry in front of other people.
She grabs for the door but it's already shut.
"Fuck." She takes a step backwards.
Her makeup is the same—heavy enough to scream leave me alone, light enough to show off the adorable freckles on her cheeks and nose.
The woman paws at my arm. "Ethan." She says my name like we're old lovers, not strangers. "Do you know her?"
I swallow hard. Yeah. I know her. I know every inch of her.
Violet's eyes are as glassy as they are miserable. She's past buzzed and well into drunk.
Of course she's drunk. It was two years ago that her brother… That was the day her heart broke, the day she locked me out. Took a few months to make it official, but it was two years ago I lost her.
Two years ago exactly.
I turn back to the woman. "Sorry, sweetheart, I'll have to take a rain check. I'll see you around."
She pouts.
Violet takes another step backwards. Then she turns and hightails it out of the alley.
There's nowhere for her to run. The parking lot is around the corner. She's far too drunk to drive.
I run after her. Even in her heels, she's fast. I have to sprint to catch her.
Damn, those heels do things to her already long legs. Her crimson and black dress is tight around her curves.
Every fucking inch of my body wakes up at the thought of pinning her to the wall. Of her lips on my skin. Of her hands on my hips.
It's not like with the groupie. It's not like with any other woman.
Fuck knows I've tried finding another woman who feels like Violet. There's no one.
I grab her wrist. She stumbles, so I pull her body against mine and hold her steady.
My voice is dripping with frustration. "Vi, where the hell are you going?" No matter how badly she hurt me, I'm not letting her hurt herself.
"Not planning on watching you screw a… I guess she's a 'groupie' now that you're a rock star and not a guy playing at Chain Reaction."
"You upset about me being a rock star now?"
"Don't really care what you do, Ethan. Fuck as many sweethearts as you want. I hope you enjoy it."
"I do."
"Good. You have something to say to me or you here to brag?"
"You're drunk."
"I'm aware of that." She pulls her arms free and spins on her heels.
"I'm not letting you drive anywhere."
Her eyes find mine. "I haven't heard a word from you in almost two years. You don't get a say in what I do or don't do."