“Violet”—Oz booms my name and I can feel it echo through my bones—“it appears Lane has something he would like to share. Does this sit well with you?”
A breath hitches in my throat, and I look to Lane and those frosted green eyes and I want to fall in a puddle at his feet. How could I have hurt such a beautiful man? How could I have doubted what he felt for me was real?
That ridiculous picture Carrie showed me pops right back up, and I’m not even sure what day of the week it is anymore. To say it was a disorienting sight is putting it mildly.
“No, it doesn’t sit well with me.” My voice projects clear across the room as the crowd explodes with a dark choir of oooh. I look to Lane, and his gaze locks over mine. His jaw tightens, and he looks both pissed and hurt. “Are you seeing someone?”
His eyes flash wide, and I swear the room just brightened. Lane’s eyes are that explosively amazing.
“No,” he says it curt and quick, shaking his head slightly in disbelief.
“Okay.” I shrug as my lips press together. A tight coil of emotions begs to unleash deep inside of me, and I know once I do, I’ll be a blubbering mess. “It’s just that some sorority girl got a picture of you with—”
“Becca Carmichael.” He doesn’t miss a beat, and my body explodes with heat as I fill with embarrassment and anger. “She was hitting on me. She kissed me in the café, and she propositioned me at the Underground.” The crowd—mostly the guys—give a howl of laughter and approval. The girls all coordinate in one long boo. It’s safe to say Becca’s name is mud, and I’m not too sorry about it either. “If you don’t believe me, ask Rowen and Braden. They were both there when she did it.”
A moment of silence bumps by. A boulder the size of this building lodges in my throat, and my chest bucks with emotion that I refuse to give into. My body breaks out into a cold sweat as I fill with relief.
“I’m sorry, Lane.” The tears let loose, and it’s over. I try to blink through the deluge, but all I see is a watery version of the boy I love.
Lane pulls me forward, wraps his arms around me tight, and his chest pulses in and out as if he were holding back his own dam of emotions.
“Violet, Lane,” Oz buzzes out our names like a swarm of bees. “Use your words.” The audience laughs at the toddler-like reprimand.
I look up into Lane Cooper’s glowing eyes and offer up a shy smile. “I confess to being a complete emotional mess upon learning of my parents’ split. I had no idea that something like that was even on the horizon. I was blindsided with their decision. And I was certain that if my parents of all people could not make it work then neither could anyone else, least of all the two of us. I felt in my heart that we were doomed to fail—and so subconsciously, I tried to control the narrative. More than that, I needed to be right. It was an exercise in insanity, and I dragged you down during my darkest hour. I am so angry with myself for the accusations I threw your way. I am horrifically ashamed and forever humiliated at the fact I paid Collette to corner you that night.” A chill runs through me as I shudder. “Six weeks ago, when we began this journey, I discovered pretty early on how wrong I’d been all along. It saddens me to know it took something like this for me to realize it. I’m sorry I hurt you, Lane. You’re a good person, and you deserve to be treated far better than anything I’ve displayed.”
Lane takes in a smooth breath, his gaze still fixated on mine. “Are you done?”
Another round of oohs.
I nod quickly, almost afraid of what the aftermath might be.
“Good.” A spreading grin takes over his face. “I accept your apology. I forgive you. And I never want to bring it up again. You’re a great person who went through a very real trauma. I’m sorry that I didn’t have the courage to try to mend things between us sooner. Violet Hathaway, you are the only girl for me. There has not been a day since we’ve been apart that I haven’t thought of you. And no”—his eyes seal with regret a moment—“not even when I tried to wipe the memory of you with other people. My deepest regret is that I didn’t find you, hunt you down, and tell you right then what I’m telling you now. You are the love of my life.” The room lights up with howls of approval. “You are the person I want to spend the rest of my life with. Wherever you go, I want to be there. Whatever you see, I want to see, too. I want to live out the amazing ride on this planet with you by my side. I want to love you the way God intended. I want to be the man that you need me to be. And when life throws us a curve ball, I know that from this moment on we’ll tackle it together. There is nothing too big or too small that we won’t go through hand in hand. You’re it for me, Vi. I’m in for life if you’ll have me.”
A spontaneous applause breaks out in the crowd.
“Of course, I’ll have you.” I pull him in by the neck and land my mouth hard over his, a crash of wanting and of apologies all at once. Lane and I unleash an entire battlefield of emotions, of sorrow, triumph, joy, and unadulterated lust for all to see. I don’t care how many pairs of eyes will feast on this public display of affection. I don’t care if my parents are watching. I don’t care if my brother is currently experiencing a cardiac episode down in the front row. I don’t care if Dexter and his eager to please lab rats are losing their minds because we have just commandeered the show. I don’t care. I don’t care if everyone leaves, the lights go out, and a year passes us by. I just want to sit here and feel Lane’s hungry tongue moving over my own as if it were doling out a threat of sexual things to come. Life had turned on a dime, and Lane and I are back on track, better than ever before.
“Well then”—Oz pipes up, and the room detonates with screams and laughter, applause so loud it could blow the roof off—“if ever there was a day for true love to prevail, it would be this one. How about one more round of applause for The Social Experiment’s latest success story, Violet Hathaway and Lane Cooper.”
Lane and I share a rumble of laughter through our hungry kisses, but our tongues never unleash themselves as we press into one another tight. Lane and I have crested the mountain and come out on the other side lighter than air, ready to slay any dragon met in our path.
The rest of the show goes off without a hitch and wraps up in a blur. Lane and I leave the stage hand in hand, something I would never have imagined six weeks ago. And suddenly, I’m damn glad I felt the need to purchase that scarf in the bookstore.
* * *
As soon as the cameras cut out, Seth and Petra run up and help strip off our mic packs.
“Now that was a show,” Seth belts it out with amusement. “I hired a whole new security team tonight just in case there was another family brawl. I’m glad things worked out for you.”
“I’m glad, too.” I bite down on a smile as I look up at Lane.
“Me three.” He gives a quick wink as we’re finally freed from the worries. “Thank you, guys. I didn’t think I’d say this, but getting on this crazy train was the best decision of my life.”
Petra gives a surprised smile. “It’s not over. There’s one more date. The Exes Ball, this Saturday. It’s the last day of filming. Dexter wanted to do something fun and light.”
Seth nods. “And it’ll give us something to dress the package.”
I have no clue what he just said, but I’m guessing it’s a marketing ploy. “Will there be food?” I wrap an arm around Lane’s solid body and pull him close as he lands a heated kiss to my forehead.
“All you can eat!” Petra lights up at the mention of sustenance. “It doubles as the wrap party. There are rumors of lobster and prime rib, but don’t hold me to it.”
“We wouldn’t miss it,” I say. “Even if it was just chips and dip.” I wave over at them as we take off. “But we’re rooting for the lobster!”
Lane whisks us through the side of the building and out the door where we can see the sun setting behind the English building as the sky glows tangerine.
He pauses and pulls me in, those crystal green eyes of his press into mine. “I love you, Vi. I p
romise to always love you.”
“I love you, Lane. As difficult as everything we went through was, I’m so thankful that we are stronger than ever. I can’t wait to start over with you. I missed you.” My finger does a quick S shape down his hard chest. “I missed everything about you.” I give the lip of his jeans a slight tug, and his chest rumbles a dark laugh.
“Vi!” a male voice calls out from our left, and we turn to find Wen standing there with my mother and father by his side.
“Oh no.” I sigh at the sight of them. As much as I love my family, I wish Lane and I could simply steal away to his apartment and get to the good part. “My entire body was looking forward to making this up to you.”
Lane wraps his arm around my waist and leads us that way. “If it makes you feel better, I’ll hold you to it.”
We meet up with them, slightly out of breath, our emotions sill riding their zenith.
Wendell stuffs his hands into his front pockets and shrugs. I can’t help but think he looks every bit like a little boy, and I throw my arms around my brother because I can’t help it. He’s that adorable.
“I love you, Vi,” he whispers. “I’m happy things worked out for you.” He pulls back and looks to Lane. “And I’m happy things worked out for you, too.”
Mom springs into action and cries tears of joy while hugging us both, and Dad gets in on the action, too.
Wen holds a hand up. “All right, you guys. I know it’s Cupid’s big day, but the hug-fest has to come to an end eventually.” He grimaces my way. “I hope you don’t mind. I invited them out this morning, long before Carrie showed us that picture.” He gives Lane a light sock to the arm. “As soon as I saw it was Becca, I figured you were innocent. She’s a carnival ride, man. I knew you wouldn’t look twice at her.”
“No way.” Lane graces me with a look that spells out love more than words ever could. “Not when I have Vi in my heart. Couldn’t happen.”
Mom offers a quick applause. “I always knew the two of you would work things out. As soon as we can, the entire lot of us needs to go out to dinner. I’ll call Laura and Dane in the morning and make arrangements.”
I toss a curious look to Wen. My parents usually avoid one another. Who knew that Lane and I getting back together would be a unifying event?
Dad slings his arm around my mother’s shoulders, and she doesn’t buck him off and kick him in the nuts. Hey? I think we’re making real progress here!
“Come on, Patty.” He gives her arm a quick rattle. “How about we spill the beans and let these kids get to the romantic part of the evening? That is what this day is about, isn’t it?”
Eww. I smile, despite the pain my father unintentionally inflicted. Even though every word he said was true, the last thing anyone wants to hear is their own father spouting romantic implications.
Mom gives a coy smile as she looks to Wen and me. “Your father and I are calling off the divorce.”
“What?” Wen and I shout in unison, and my heart stops beating, my muscles freeze solid.
“Is this true?” I blink from one to the other, and they both nod their heads off.
“It’s true!” they sing together, and it sounds like a thing of beauty.
Mom sighs as she offers a guilty shrug. “If it wasn’t for this crazy ride you kids were on, I don’t think it would have happened. But that fall you took”—she shakes her head a moment—“it forced us to be in the same room again.”
“A very small room,” my father teases. “And after we left that day, I asked her to lunch and she said yes.”
Mom gives a wild nod. “We’ve been together ever since!”
Dad presses a sweet kiss to her cheek. “I’ve rented out the condo and moved back home.”
Mom chortles as if it were the funniest thing in the world. “We’ve always wanted to dabble in real estate!”
“Well, that’s one way to do it.” A river of emotion spills from me as tears once again blur my vision. Wen and I fall over our parents, and the four of us engage in what feels like a month-long embrace.
It’s sweet to get your own happy ending, but when others you love get theirs, too, there is no better day.
* * *
After a long, bemoaned sendoff, filled with I love yous and exuberant exchanges of affection, we part ways with my parents and Wen.
Lane and I take off and head across the street to Leland Heights where we make a beeline up to his apartment.
He pauses once he unlocks the door and opens it an inch.
“I have a confession to make.” He scoops me into his arms, and I can’t help but belt out a joyous laugh. In Lane’s arms is my favorite place to be.
“You have a monument to old underwear and socks building in the living room?” I was a mess without Lane. Turnabout is fair play.
“No.” He winces. “I hid that this morning.” He steals a quick kiss off my lips, and it feels electric. “What I was going to say is, I was hoping that we would be doing exactly this right about now. I couldn’t help but think of the best outcome. I wouldn’t let my head take me in another direction. So I did this.” We burst through the doors and are hit with an explosion of color as dozens upon dozens of lavender roses preen over at us with their beauty, standing tall in vases set all about the living room and kitchen. The scent of fresh cut flowers, of beautiful blooming roses fills the air with their intoxicating perfume, and I can’t help but take in a lungful of breath.
“Lane.” It’s all I can manage as my eyes do their best to soak in every inch of the visual feast. “Never in my life have I seen anything so beautiful.”
“I have.” He touches his nose to mine. “Right here, in my arms.”
My chest bucks as my emotions churn up one more time. “Thank you for being so wonderful to me even when I didn’t deserve it.”
“You always deserve it.”
I catch a glimpse of something on the floor and shake my head as a naughty grin widens on my lips. “Is that a trail of rose petals leading down the hall?”
“Is it?” He gets that contrived look of innocence on his face. “How about we follow it and see where it takes us?”
“Best idea you’ve had all night.”
Lane sweeps me off to his bedroom, where the room glows with soft light, just enough to reveal a giant heart constructed of petals over his bed.
“You are amazing!” I can’t help but bubble with laughter. “I can’t believe this is my life.” I lift his chin as his eyes settle over mine. “I can’t believe you’re mine.”
“How about I take off all your clothes and do my best to convince you?”
“Deal.”
Lane and I strip one another clean and get straight to the task of convincing one another of just that. We love one another with every part of our bodies, our hearts, and our souls. Lane pours white-hot kisses over every last inch of me, and I do my best to return the favor. Our limbs leash over one another, pulling one another in tight as we become united in every way. We wrestle out the conviction of our love long into the morning hours. Lane feels solid over my flesh, real, and in every single way he has convinced me that I am indeed his.
Forever.
Lane
Life has been a roller coaster ride ever since Vi and I went out on our very first date. And I have loved her through the ups and downs, through the loops and the harrowing drops. In the end, I wouldn’t have traded a single bump. What I thought would haunt us for the rest of our lives is what has made us stronger than steel. Violet and I have been through the hottest fires of hell, and we survived the flames.
Vi and I stayed in bed Thursday and Friday. There was no hope of either of us getting to class. But Saturday evening, we get cleaned up and don our party clothes before heading straight to the basement of the psychology building where the TSE is throwing its farewell bash.
We go through hair and makeup, get miked up one last time, and meet out in the ballroom, where the lights are just low enough and the music is pumping through the spe
akers at a comfortable volume. As much as the TSE wants this to look like a rager, there are cameras to be considered and microphones that need to pick up on whatever our vocal cords are trying to spew out.
Vi is a vision in a tight red dress, heels tall enough to contest the slopes on Widow’s Peak. She points over to the buffet filled with the lobster and steak. “True to form, Seth and Petra have come through for us yet again. I’m going to dive in and have a feast.”
“I wholeheartedly agree with the sentiment.” I step back while inspecting how stunning Vi looks tonight. “That dress screams take a bite out of me first.” I lean in and take a gentle bite from her shoulder, and she tips her head back and laughs.
“I am rather sweet.” Her body glides along mine, and my boxers tick to life.
“You keep that up and we’re going to have our first on-campus romp in about five minutes.”
“Oh, is that right?” The sound of her laughter rides up over the music. “It sounds like a threat.”
A dark shadow steps in behind me. “Are you going to let him threaten you?”
I turn to find a familiar face I haven’t seen in a while. “Dexter Houston.” I can’t help but frown. “Are things looking up in Vegas?”
His dark brows hitch a notch. “They are now, no thanks to you two. Thank you for that, and thank you both for giving The Social Experiment a chance. I knew pairing exes would prove explosive, but it’s safe to say the two of you blew everything I expected right out of the water.”
Vi gives a dark laugh as she tucks her lips near my ear. “That’s what I do best, blow.”
I glance down at the vixen Vi’s morphed into. “I’ll have you demonstrate shortly.”
“All right. Get a room.” Dexter frowns at the crowd.
“How about you?” I take the opportunity to needle him a bit. “You change your mind on matters of the heart?”
“Are you asking if I believe in love?” He glances to the camera and then to me. Of course. I should have figured there is no way he’s admitting to the free world and his devoted viewers that he’s a fraud. “My heart is full as I look out and see what a little fostering in the right direction has achieved.” He gives both of us a quick pat to the back. “It was the two of you I was rooting for the most.” He sharpens those dark eyes over at me. “And that’s the truth.” He takes off into the crowd, and the music changes pace to something slow that Vi and I instinctually move our conjoined hips to.