-James-

What I did was stupid and there's no excuse for it. I shouldn't have let her go with someone else. I should've ran after her, apologized, and took her home. She probably doesn't even want to see me right now.

It felt like my dad's wedding all over again.

When I got home, I changed out of my suit and into a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt. I walked back into the living room and plopped down on the couch. I stretched to grab my phone from the coffee table and looked for any missed calls.

Nothing.

I checked the time before finding Violet's house number and calling. Three rings later, there was a click and a husky hello from Gray.

"Is Violet around?" I asked sheepishly.

"She came home and went straight to bed. I'll tell her you called in the morning."

"Thanks," I murmured.

Once I hung up, I threw my phone to the other side of the couch and leaned my head back. My eyes closed and I breathed out a sigh. Chaos jumped on the couch and he hopped in my lap. He nudged my hand with his nose and slid under so I could take a hint. I pet the top of his head smoothly and he curled in my lap.

The further I sank in the couch, the harder a lump pressed into my back.

I arched slightly and slipped my hand between the couch cushions to retrieve whatever it was.

My fingers touched a soft fabric and I was confused. I wrapped my fingers around it and slowly pulled it out. I looked to my side to see worn, red fabric of Violet's scarf.

I pulled it out completely and balled it up in my hands. It still smelled like her. A sweet lavender that encased me. It was from the day she hurt her shoulder and I had to pick her up. It was a day I realized how hard I had fallen in such a short span of time.

And now when I look at the fabric draped over my hands, I just think about how badly I screwed up tonight. Why did I have to be an idiot? This stuff with Reese is eating at me and because of that I had to be an asshole.

Still not and excuse to be mean to the one person that puts up with my shit.

I buried my face in the scarf and took a deep breath.

She needs to know Reese came to see me, but part of me told me not to say a word because I was afraid to cause trouble. Well, how can I cause more trouble after what I did earlier?

Rising from the couch, I dropped the scarf on my coffee table and took off. I grabbed my keys, slipped on a pair of shoes, and left. I ran to the elevator and didn't slow my speed through the lobby to the parking garage. The lady at the front desk could yell at me later.

Violet's house wasn't far taking the back road. I'm glad she introduced me to it now or I'd have to deal with traffic.

I did as I usually do, park a couple houses down in the driveway of the condemned house and jumped out. Violet's house was already in my line of sight and I took off jogging in that direction. It was late, that I did know. But not late enough for Violet to sleep.

My feet faltered slightly when I reached her house and I quietly walked around to her window. Maybe she was asleep because her light was out, but this can't wait until tomorrow.

I tapped on the glass three times; a second between each tap so she knew it was me. Even though I'm sure I'm the only one tapping on her window at night. Better to be safe than sorry.

Light filtered behind the blinds and soon they were lifted.

Violet didn't look pleased to see me to say the least. She rolled her eyes and unlocked the window to lift it up. She leaned over the windowpane and glared. "You're here why?"

"Because I screwed up."

"Took you long enough," She muttered. "We'll talk tomorrow. Goodnight." She reached to push the window down.

"Violet, wait-"

She peered through the open window again. "What?"

"Can I come in? Please? There's something I need to talk to you about."

She huffed and moved away from the window. "You can't stay long."

I quietly and quickly maneuvered my body through her window, almost stumbling when my foot caught on the window, but I caught and steadied myself before I landed face first. Violet dropped down on the edge of her bed and lowered her clasped hands in her lap. "What's so important, James?"

"The way I treated you," I murmured. "I'm sorry. There's no excuse for what I did tonight and I'm sorry, Vi. I can't apologize enough."

She looked up at me with wide eyes and a small frown tugging down on her lips. "Why'd you do it, James?"

"I was being an idiot. My reasoning is no excuse." I felt too horrible for words. "I didn't mean to make you feel like I was using you to piss my dad off. Not before, not then, and not ever. It was a weak point because he was pissing me off."

"And Cristin?"

I took a step closer to her and kneeled in front of her. Her eyes followed me down and settled on mine again. "She had to know I was finally yours."

"Why does she care?"

"Because she won't leave me alone." I kept a soft tone. "I meant what I said, Violet. Every part of me is yours. I'm yours completely. In every sense of the word."

"You're still an idiot."

My lips quirked a little and I lowered my head onto her legs. "And I'll be okay with you calling me that everyday."

She slipped her fingers into my hair. "Then you better get used to hearing it."

I stifled a laugh and stretched my arms the length of her thighs to grab onto her hips.

Violet gently massaged my scalp for passing moments. She leaned down and left a small kiss on the top of my head. We sat in silence until she spoke again to break it. "Was there something else you wanted to talk about?" Her fingers trickled over the back of my neck.

Chills sped through my body and I fought a shiver. I lifted my head, craning my neck back to look at her. "It's about Reese."

"What about him?" She asked. "If this is about loving him-"

"No." I shook my head and rose from my knees to sit beside her. "He was waiting by my car after school Monday."

"You're serious?"

"As a heart attack," I replied.

Violet stood up and mumbled something under her breath harshly. She roughly tucked her hair back behind her ears and rubbed her forehead. "I can't believe he'd actually go to you." She spun around to face me. "What'd he say?"

"He wanted me to talk to you for him. Says he really needs you to talk to him so he can explain why he left." Maybe leaving out certain details would make this run a little smoother.

She put her hands on her hips and nibbled on her lower lip. "I just don't understand why he came back and why he's acting like nothing even happened."

I can't believe I'm about to say what I did next. "Talk to him, Vi. Not because he came to me, but because you need closure just as much as he does."

"What if closure isn't what he wants?"

"Then you need to decide if that's what you want too," I choked out.

Violet stood there, just staring at me with the same puppy dog look that made my heart swell too much in my chest. The moments in silence were killing me and my stomach twisted in knots. "Why would you say that?"

"I just want you to be happy, Vi," I spoke in a small voice.

"I'd never do that to you," She said without hesitation. "I never thought for a second about going back to Reese. Can't you tell how crazy I am about you?" She walked up to me, stopping when her legs touched mine. She curled a finger under my chin and tilted my head back to meet her stare. Her hands moved to my face, caressing lightly in her palms and her thumb touched my chin. "I don't remember being so happy."

My heart was doing that thing again where it doesn't like to beat right. It skipped a beat and then it felt like it was about to jump out of my chest. "Really?"

"All in, remember?" She slowly smiled.

I slid my hands to the back of her thighs, bracing my palms against her skin. "All in."

Violet bent her knees to straddle my lap and my hands moved to her hips. She kept a delicate hold on my face and lowered her face to mine. Our lips molded together and she melted further into me. Her mouth opened to mine and I could taste something sweet on her tongue.

We pulled apart to catch a breath and she pressed her forehead to mine. "You can spend the night if you want to."

"Is that a good idea?"

"No." She laughed and lightly touched my jaw. "But I'm not letting you leave just yet."

"Gray will kill me if he finds me in here."

"So?" She replied with a devious smile.

"I can't say no to you." I returned her smile. "I'll set an alarm for six."

"Make it seven." She grinned and attached her lips to mine again.

* * *

Saturday night was the night I had planned to take Violet on our first official date.

I wanted to keep it casual and do something simple. Taking her to dinner felt like it was too predictable, so I needed to think outside the box. Of course I had no problem taking her to dinner, I just wanted to do something she'll always remember.

Tybee Island?

Eh, predictable again.

I wanted to take Violet on a date alone before I spurred the whole double date thing. I've only been on a double date once with Wade and Lia, and that was when Lindy and I were dating. That didn't end well, but that's another story.

After I got dressed in dark jeans and a pale blue button down, I rolled up my sleeves and raked a hand through my hair. I proceeded to pull on a pair of boots and lace them up tight.

My phone came to life on my bed and I picked it up. A number I didn't recognize flitted across the screen and I answered it. "Hello?"

"Someone told me this was the number for my Prince Charming," Violet's voice filtered through. "Were they right?"

I laughed lightly. "You tell me."

"How about you tell me when you pick me up in twenty minutes."

"I'll be there in twenty."

She said bye and we hung up. I forgot she was getting a phone today and now it's going to be much easier to get ahold of her and talk to her without going through Gray or Nic first. Once her number was programmed into my phone, I stuffed it in my pocket.

Chaos sat perched at the edge of my bed and I made sure to pay him a little attention before I grabbed my keys and left.

When I made it to Violet's, she was stepping outside the moment I opened the door. "You're supposed to let me walk to the door, ring the doorbell, and then your brothers are supposed to tell me to have you home by midnight or they'll detach something I'll need."

She giggled and stood on her toes to give me a kiss. "I was thinking about you and how this would be easier. Nic and Gray are engrossed in some video game while Blue's shouting at them, Mom's with Mark, and I don't have a curfew."

"It's my lucky day." I grabbed her hand and led her to the passenger side of the car. She waited while I opened the door for her and she slid in. I closed the door and jogged to the driver's side.

I hurried to back out of the driveway before Gray and Nic realized I was here. Once I was on the main road, I reached for Violet's hand.

"Where are we going?" She asked.

"First," I started. "I'm feeding you."

She snorted.

"Then the second part is a surprise." I squeezed her palm.

"I actually like surprises." She paused and then added, "Well, it depends. I like good surprises."

"I can assure you this is a good surprise," I replied.

I picked Morgan's Bistro to eat at. She enjoyed it when I took her here before, but this time it'll actually be hot.

We enjoyed the food, the small talk, and I even stole a kiss or two. It was so simple, but yet it felt so right. Being with Violet is easy and I never had to question it. I'm glad we got past what I did last night after I was a complete tool. I didn't want to lose Violet, especially over me being an idiot.

After I paid for our dinner, we left hand in hand. We walked down the sidewalk, enjoying the late fall air as it picked up. The sun was still high in the sky, but the temperature was absolutely perfect for mid-November.

A few blocks later, we came to our final destination.

I looked at Violet and she looked perplexed. "Mini golf?"

"Yes, Mini-golf," I retorted teasingly and stood in front of her. "But I have an idea to make this more...fun."

She slowly smiled. "I'm listening."

"We're going to make a little game out of it," I explained. "There's eighteen holes and I bet you that I can make at least three hole-in-one's."

"You're confident," She stated with a devious smile. "And what happens if you complete this very hard task?"

"When I complete this very easy task, you give me eighteen hours. No phones, TV's, homework, just you and me. And the hours can be divided."

Her cheeks flushed a new shade of pink. "And what about if you lose?"

"I give you eighteen hours." I smirked. "Do we have a deal?"

She held up a finger. "What do these eighteen hours consist of?"

"Anything you want as long as it doesn't involve anything electronic or made of paper."

Violet eyed me for a second and thrust her hand in my direction. "You have a deal, Prince Charming."

I wrapped my hand around hers. "I hope you're ready to lose, Princess."

"And I hope you know how to do laundry." She grinned and dropped her hand. "It's going to be so fun to watch you lose."

"Now look who's confident."

We walked up to the area to get what we needed. I paid and we got our equipment for this very adventurous journey. Maybe I was a little over confident when it came to making a hole-in-one. It's happened to me maybe twice. Hopefully I'll get a boost of some kind of luck to help me win this bet. As much as I like Violet, I'm not going to enjoy doing her laundry if she was serious.

The first hole is always the easiest, but it took me two tries to get the ball in. It took Violet three, but she doesn't have to try hard. This will be fun for her.

During the third hole, she was taunting me. Before I hit the ball, I turned around, trying to fight my smile. "That wasn't part of the rules."

She shrugged. "You didn't say I couldn't distract you."

"You're distracting in more ways than one." I focused my attention back on the task at hand. I blocked out Violet's silky voice and made my move. It was my first hole-in-one.

I turned back to Violet and she did not look pleased.

When I made it to the tenth hole, things weren't looking so good. But Violet's doing pretty well. She was having fun at least, smiling and laughing at my mishap. It was kind of entertaining, but I got frustrated every time I missed the hole on the first try.

Violet stood a few feet in my view while I tried to make my second hole-in-one. She tilted her head further into my vision and she stuck her tongue out at me. The laugh I was trying to fight tumbled out, but I composed myself and hit the ball, resulting in my second hole in one.

I walked up to Violet and kissed her pouting lips. "Eight more tries, Baby."

Her lips hardened into a thin line because she was holding back a smile.

During the thirteenth hole, Violet made it in one shot. She got so happy, it was adorable. There was another family waiting at the edge, waiting for us to move on, but Violet was dancing around like a mad person.

I moved towards her, wrapped an arm around her waist from behind and walked down the path to the next hole. She was giggling as she latched onto my arm. "It's so cute when you get excited."

"That'll be me when you lose."

"Keep telling yourself that."

And things went downhill fast.

The eighteenth hole was looming ahead and I still only had two hole-in-one's under my belt.

Violet stood in my vision again, a smile tugging on her perfect lips, a slight tilt to her hip, and she knew exactly what she was doing. Trying to distract me again.

But the large pirate in front of me was more taunting than Violet. His mouth would open and shut and I had to make the ball through to get to the other side. This was impossible and I knew it. I did have a small slice of hope that maybe, just maybe I'd get lucky enough to make it through and make a hole-in-one.

Violet faded and I took a deep breath before swinging and hitting the ball. It made it through the Pirates mouth and onto the other side.

But it skipped over the hole, landing only two inches away.

Violet covered her mouth in attempt to keep her laugh in.

My cheeks blazed.

She sauntered over to me and looked up. "When should we talk about my prize?"

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I enjoyed writing that last part too much tbh. And she does collect some of those hours in chapter 25 because I'm writing that scene now and I'm dying. ALSO!!!!!!!!!! How do you like the new cover? I think I'm definitely going to stick with this one because I saw those pictures and I basically died and had to make a new cover, lol. (It's probably really blurry too because wattpad hates quality)

VOTE AND COMMMMMMEEEEENT PLLLEEEEAASEEE? :)

Another thing, I still have no idea how or when this book will end so it'll possibly go over 30 chapters. Not that you guys are complaining tho. :)

AND I'd like to say happy birthday to AvaZoe15! You're so precious, thank you for all the support! I hope your birthday is amazing and you eat enough cake for the both of us hahaha.