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I swallowed another squeal. Where to start? “So, last night I found Graham, and it was a disaster. I threw myself at him. He pushed me away.”
“I’m sorry, L.”
“No, it’s okay. I’m over that.” Or I’d put it behind me far enough it wasn’t going to fuck with my mood now. “You know how my apprenticeship ended, and I knew something else would come along, but it hasn’t yet? So, I was talking to Cole this morning,” talking. Ha. “And he kissed me. Like full-on, tongue down my throat, made my toes curl… wowza. So good. And not only that, but he wants me to meet his friends.” I couldn’t talk fast enough. “Colleagues? It’s not like a meet the family thing. But he wants to introduce me to people at the Konsoles for Kids auction. I don’t know what to do. What am I supposed to wear? Oh, my God, Violet. Oz asked me out. Cole-freaking-Denton.”
“I’ve got you covered,” Violet said. “And I told you so.” She did. She’d tried to convince me more than once that the attraction went both ways. “As soon as work’s over, I’ll be there. Does that give you time?”
Aside from the fact that I’d be freaking out alone for the next couple of hours? “Yes. You’re the best. Seriously.”
“You’d do the same for me. Until I get there?”
“Yeah?”
“No coffee. No sugar.”
I stuck my tongue out at the phone, but she knew me too well. “Yes, ma’am.”
Even with the bus stopping every five minutes, by the time I got home, it wasn’t even eleven in the morning. Violet would be here around three thirty. How was I supposed to keep myself occupied until then?
Washing my hair twice in one day was a bad idea, but I could shave everything from my armpits down. Wishful thinking? More like the power of positivity.
That didn’t take nearly as much time as I’d hoped it would. I pulled on some basic underwear and a T-shirt, and spent the next few hours distracting myself with job hunting—sending off more resumes and sifting through listings. By tomorrow I may have a couple of names to drop or new people to reach out to, but no reason to ignore the existing opportunities.
Violet showed up right on time, which was still way too long for me. I let her in, and she handed me a garment bag.
“Lyn borrowed something from Sadie. You’re going to love it,” Violet said. Lyn was her boss at Loading Java, and Sadie—who was a brilliant professional cosplay seamstress—was one of her best friends.
I already loved it and I hadn’t seen it yet. I hung the bag on the bar in the portable closet next to my bed and dragged the zipper down. Inside was a Japanese schoolgirl outfit—pleated skirt, short sleeved top, and kerchief. It was straight out of an anime. I loved it more now.
Even better, I didn’t have to put on uncomfortable lace panties and bra. White cotton was appropriate, and I was already wearing my cutest set.
“Distract me,” I said as I stripped out of my other clothes. Violet and I had changed in front of each other dozens of times. This was nothing.
“How?”
“I don’t care.” I unclipped the skirt from its hanger and pulled it up my legs. “Cute stories about Hunter. Ramsey’s plans for world domination. Anything.” The skirt rested perfectly at the top of my hips when I zipped it up. I moved on to the top.
Violet was waiting with the neckerchief. “We’re adding new VR tech to the cafe. Lyn’s converting a room, and we’re getting the hardware straight from the manufacturer, the day it releases.”
“Which means you’re going to have it before release.” Tech was the best distraction. It almost helped me sit still while we tied the accessories in place.
Violet headed into the bathroom, calling “maybe” over her shoulder. She returned a heartbeat later with a comb, hair elastics, and a scrunchie.
The hardware wouldn’t be out for nine months, but the specs on it were unreal. I couldn’t wait to get my hands on it. “I’ll be your best friend if you let me play with it early.”
“You’re already my best friend.” Damn her and her logic. She tugged the comb through my hair, and I felt her sectioning off pieces for a braid.
I already knew she was going to say yes, though. “Please, please, please, please, pleeeeeeeaaaassseeeee. If you say yes, I won’t subject you to the detailed specs again.”
Violet laughed. “You can tell me as many times as you want. I won’t understand any more than I have so far. What you should do instead, is whisper those sexy nothings in Cole’s ear.”
“Not sure ARM processing is bedroom talk.”
“With the two of you? Are you sure?”
“Fair point.” It was pretty sexy that Cole would listen to me go off about things like that, and get it.
Violet set the comb on my desk and pointed me toward the mirror on my bathroom door.
