Chapter 56: Violet

Greta was the first to say something. “No fucking way! You heard that?”

“Yeah, you said it crystal clear, out loud. How could I not hear it?”

“No, I didn’t. I said it in my head.” Greta sat down on the couch next to where we were standing and set down four bottles of wine she was carrying. Jared followed but with four glasses.

“That’s a new power.” I laughed. “Another thing I need to start working on.”

“Uh, I don’t think….” Jared started but quickly shut his mouth and looked down to the ground. I looked at Simon who was staring at him sternly.

“What?” I said and looked at each of them.

“Nothing, he’s just concerned you will bore into his mind and steal his secrets.” Greta said as she popped a bottle of wine open.

“Nice save.” Simon’s voice said in my mind, but he didn’t move his mouth.

“Nice save? That’s not the truth. Seriously, if someone doesn’t tell me the truth soon, I’m going to snap.”

“Like I said before. As soon as I can tell you I will. I promise.” Simon took my hands up to his chest. “Promise.”

“Alpha, maybe you should just tell her now?” Jared said.

“Not yet. It’s not the right time.”

“When will be the right time?” I chimed in.

“Soon. Just not yet.” Simon stood staring down into my eyes with the most intensity I have ever seen. His golden eyes seemed to glow as he looked at me.

“Fine but know I’m not happy.” I sat down on the sofa and grabbed the glass of white wine that Greta offered me and took a big gulp.

“I know, as soon as I can, I will.” Simon’s voice rang in my head.

“Right. Probably never.” I said out loud taking another swig.

“Can we please finish the movie?” Greta said leaning back on the sofa, pointing the remote to the TV ready to start the movie.

“Yes, let’s.” Simon sat down with his drink and put his arm around me like he had before. Even though I was upset with him, I welcomed the weight of his arm. It comforted me.

“Great.” Greta clicked the remote and snuggled in.

The remainder of the movie was a blur, I was still focused on trying to figure out what was going on and what Simon could possibly be hiding from me. Greta played bartender for the rest of the movie. She filled our glasses periodically when she noticed them even slightly less than full.

The end credits started to roll on the movie, and I leaned my head more onto Simon’s chest. My head was getting foggy from the wine, but this felt normal, leaning against him.

Greta looked at me. “How did you like it? This one is one of my favorites. So, if you give it less than a ten, I’m going to be very upset.”

“It was definitely a fifteen.” I laughed at her.

“What do you guys wanna do now?” Greta took a sip of her still full wine. “We could watch another movie.”

“No!” Jared shouted. “I cannot watch another scary movie, I am going to have nightmares tonight because of that one. If we watch anther scary movie, I may never get a good night sleep for the rest of my life.”

“You know I can help with that right?” I looked over at Jared and winked.

“NO!” He yelled again. “I’m fine.” He sunk into the sofa more, trying to hide himself from me.

I looked over at Simon, he smiled down at me. Not engaged in the conversation.

“What do you want to do Simon?” I asked him.

“Anything you want to do.” He squeezed my shoulder.

“You guys are useless.” Greta laid her head onto the sofa in frustration.

“What do you want to Greta? You always had good ideas when we were kids.”

“You aren’t wrong.” She laughed, thinking about the possibilities. I could almost hear her mind working, now that we were adults the possibilities were endless. We didn’t have anything that would stand in our way when it came to doing any actions now. “Ok, I have a couple things.” She sat up eagerly and looked at each of us. “First, how about the game truth or dare?”

“What are we five?” I countered.

“Oh, come on! I haven’t seen you in over a decade and it could be fun.”

“Let’s just choose something different.”

“Fine.”

“What’s the other thing?” Simon asked her.

“I know you are going to put up a fight about this, but it would be so cool.” Greta looked over at me. “Do you remember that thing you used to do outside?”

“I’m not going to go outside for her to throw me through a wall.” Jared muttered.

“It’s not that. Do you remember when my brother would get scared, and you did that thing to make him happy?”

My mind shifted through our childhood, and I remember what I did for her little brother at night. My heart twinged; I missed him. “Come on! No! That was something we did as kids; I don’t know how it would turn out now.”

“It doesn’t have to be super crazy. You can just make it simple.” She leaned down closer to me and whispered. “I think Simon would like it.”

“What would I like?”

“Shut up!” Greta said looking over at Simon then back at me. “Pleeeeaaaassssseeee.” She slid down onto her knees in front of me, she clasped her hands together begging me to do this childish task.

“Fine. But don’t blame me if something starts on fire.”

“Yippee!” Greta leapt to her feet and started grabbing the remaining bottles of wine. “Babe, can you grab the glasses and Simon grab a big blanket.” She ordered around the room. “Vi, you get prepped and ready. Let’s go!” Greta charged out of the room and to the back yard. Jared followed behind her holding the full glasses in his hands trying not to spill.

“Should I be scared?” Simon leaned over and whispered in my ear. The hot air sent a shiver down my spine, tightening my core.

I looked over at him with a smirk on my face. “Very.” I stood quickly and grabbed my glass of wine. “Come on, Alpha.” I pulled his arm to help him into a standing position. “You don’t want to miss the show.”

He grabbed my hand and the blanket that was on the arm of the sofa and followed me out. Greta was already in the middle of the yard, about twenty yards away from the shore of the lake. She was looking up at the stars holding one bottle of wine in one hand and her glass in the other.

“Let’s get this started!” She shouted at us. “Si, put the blanket down here.” She pointed to the ground just behind her.

“You would think she was the Alpha.” Simon said under his breath. I laughed, looking back at him and rolled my eyes.

Simon opened the blanket where Greta instructed and she sat down in the middle of it, pulling Jared down beside her.

“Should I be worried about what is about to happen?” Simon said to the group as he sat down on the other side of the blanket.

“Don’t worry about it.” Greta took his wine glass and filled it with more red. “Shut up and drink your wine.”

“Remind me to talk to you about how much you tell me to shut up.” Simon said as he drank his wine.

“Shut up.” Greta laughed. “Ok Vi, go ahead let’s get this show on the road!”

I stood up and rubbed my hands together in anticipation. I wanted to impress Simon. Even though he said he wanted me and no one else. I really wanted to make sure I gave him a reason to really stay. I spread my hands out in front of me and looked up to the sky. I was ready to give them a show.