1 | Just Tipsy
VIOLET
“Your mother called,” Forest mumbles.
I freeze halfway into my panties.
“What?”
“Twice.”
There are few sentences capable of killing the lingering glow of a good orgasm faster than ‘your mother called’.
I pull my panties up the rest of the way and cross my arms over my chest, popping out a hip. “When?”
He gets out of bed and heads toward the kitchen, butt-naked. “Just now. But we were, you know, kind of in the middle of something.”
I trail after him in nothing but my panties. “You could’ve told me.”
He grabs a box of cereal, tips it to his mouth, and shakes some out. “Didn’t want to hijack your orgasm.” He hands me the box, crunching through his mouthful. “She wouldn’t be calling to make you come help at the restaurant, would she?”
I wrinkle my nose and shake some cereal into my own mouth. “I think she knows better than to expect that of me by now.”
A low buzz cuts through the apartment, and I throw Forest a look. “Are you expecting anyone?”
He shrugs, heading back toward his bedroom. “Let it ring. It’s too late for visitors.”
I shake the last few cereal crumbs into my mouth, flatten the empty box, and toss it onto our recycling pile. “I’ll go check.”
I’m halfway to the door when Forest calls out behind me.
“Hey, Vi?”
I look over my shoulder, one hand already curled around the doorknob.
“Your tits are out.”
I glance down and, lo and behold. “God damnit.”
I snatch Forest’s hoodie off the back of the couch and shrug it on.
“You’re way too comfortable being naked,” Forest says, stepping out of his room in a pair of sweats and a T-shirt.
I roll my eyes and pull open the door.
Blue eyes find mine.
Oh, hello.
I blink up at Forest’s older brother, momentarily thrown by the sheer amount of Porter-manliness standing on the other side of our door.
Cohen looks exactly like I remember him.
Annoyingly good-looking—strong jaw, sculpted cheekbones, dark eyebrows that have absolutely no business making his light eyes look that pretty.
His expression, as always, is one of mild inconvenience.
“Violet.”
“Cohen.”
His gaze drops.
I become acutely aware that Forest’s hoodie ends approximately an inch below my crotch, and I’m wearing pretty much nothing underneath.
Then his eyes come back to mine.
Nothing changes on his face. Not even a flicker.
Rude.
“What are you doing here?”
“Nice to see you too.”
“I didn’t say it wasn’t nice.” I lean against the doorframe. “I asked what you’re doing here.”
Something shifts behind me.
“Forest,” Cohen says.
Forest comes up beside me. “What the fuck are you doing here?”
Cohen holds out his hand. “Mom’s keys?”
Forest stares at him. “Oh.”
“Yeah.”
Forest grabs a set of keys from the hook by the door and hands them to him, looking appropriately sheepish. “Mom sent you?”
“She called me after she called you six times.”
“I was busy.”
Cohen’s eyes move to me.
I stare back.
Forest puts an arm around my shoulder, adding, “Very busy.”
I elbow him in the ribs. “Your mom called you six times?! Why are all moms suddenly calling us during—”
I stop.
Cohen cocks an eyebrow at me.
“Anyway,” I say. “You were saying?”
“Mom needs the car tomorrow,” he says, slowly dragging his gaze back to Forest. “You told her you’d bring it back tonight.”
“I forgot.”
“I gathered.”
He shrugs. “Could’ve waited until morning.”
“She needs it at seven.”
Forest grimaces. “Right.”
Cohen gives him a flat look that somehow communicates an entire childhood’s worth of disappointment.
I bite the inside of my cheek.
His attention shifts to me. “Something funny?”
“No.”
His gaze drops to my lips. “You’re smiling.”
I arch a brow. “I’m a happy person, Cohen.”
Forest snorts, and I elbow him again.
Cohen watches us for another second before taking a step backward. “Good night, Violet.”
I don’t know why the deliberate use of my name irritates me. Maybe because he says it like I’m Forest’s slightly annoying roommate instead of a woman standing in front of him wearing nothing but a pair of panties and his brother’s hoodie.
Not that I want him to notice. Obviously.
“Night, Cohen.”
He turns away.
“Hey,” Forest calls.
Cohen looks back.
“Thanks.”
A single nod.
Then his gaze catches mine one last time. “Put some pants on before answering the door next time.”
My mouth drops open, but Cohen walks away.
I wait until he disappears down the stairs before turning to Forest.
“Your brother is an asshole.”
Forest looks down at my bare legs. “You really should put some pants on.”
“Fuck you.”
“You already did. Twice.”
I shove him. “And you just talked yourself out of round three.”
The final beat hits hard enough to rattle through my bones.
Five bodies snap into place beneath the lights.
For half a second, there’s silence.
Then Nocturne fucking erupts.
I’m breathing hard, chest heaving as I hold the final pose, one leg extended up, chin tipped toward the balcony. The lights are too bright to make out individual faces beyond the first few rows, but I don’t need to see them—I can hear them.
Whistles. Shouts. Applause.
Someone screams ‘Rouge’ from somewhere to my left.
A grin pulls at my mouth.
There it is—the high. I fucking love this part.
Goldie breaks first, straightening beside me as the lights dim. Candy catches my hand, Honey takes hers, and within seconds all five of us are disappearing behind the curtain in a breathless, sweaty line.
The second we’re out of sight, Elodie groans. “I’m dead.”
“You say that every night,” Isla says.
“Because every night, I die.”
Sutton slings an arm around Elodie’s neck and drags her toward the dressing room. “Walk it off, Eden. We have another show tomorrow.”
Elodie makes a sound like a dying Victorian child.
I smack her ass as I pass.
She gasps. “Rouge!”
“Walk it off.”
She rolls her eyes. “You’re all horrible.”
“And yet you love us.”
“Still making up my mind, actually.”
I push through the dressing room door behind Isla and immediately start peeling off pieces of my costume.
The Untouchables’ dressing room has become the place where modesty comes to die.
There are at least two half-naked women at any given moment, there are costumes hanging from every available surface, makeup covering the counters, shoes kicked beneath chairs and enough body glitter floating through the air to carry us all to Neverland if we think enough happy thoughts.
Goldie is already down to a thong at her station, Isla is wrestling her way out of her top, and Elodie has one boot off and appears to have lost the will to remove the other.
And Sutton is completely naked.
I pause. “Why?”
She looks up from digging through her bag. “Why what?”
“Why are you naked already?”
“I got hot.”
“We got offstage forty seconds ago.”
She goes back to digging. “Exactly.”
There’s a knock on the door. “It’s Benny,” Benny calls through the wood.
“Come in,” Sutton yells back, completely unbothered.
He sticks his head inside. “All good here?”
Five variations of ‘yeah’ answer him.
His gaze stays dutifully somewhere around eye level despite the fact that there are currently more bare tits in here than in the nearest sauna.
“We bounced that guy who kept trying to get on stage.” he says. “He's banned now. Just letting you know.”
“Thanks, Benny,” Isla says.
“Yep.” The door shuts again.
Sutton finally finds whatever she was looking for and triumphantly holds up a tiny black dress.
I stare at it. “Candy, that’s not a dress.”
“It is.”
“That’s a belt.”
She waves me off. “It covers all legally required areas.” Sutton pulls it over her head. “It’s perfect for Velvet.”
Elodie, still fighting her boot, looks up. “You’re going dancing? Did we not just do that for two hours?”
“That was work,” I say, pulling a pair of sequined shorts out of my bag. “We need fun.”
Goldie drops into her chair. “I’m going home.”
“I’m with Goldie,” Elodie says. “My feet are killing me.”
Sutton looks at Isla.
She pulls a sports bra over her head. “No.”
Sutton pouts. “You have Neo?”
“Tomorrow morning.”
“Responsible bitch.”
Isla flashes her a satisfied smile. “Correct.”
Sutton looks at me. “Shots?” she says.
I pull on a backless top and nod. “Shots.”
Isla closes her eyes. “God help you both.”
Three hours later, God has abandoned us.
I know this because the bathroom floor is moving—not dramatically, just enough that when I plant both hands on the sink and stare at myself in the mirror, my reflection takes a second to settle into place.
That’s not ideal. My lipstick is still fucking fantastic, though.
The bathroom door bursts open and Sutton appears behind me. “There you are!”
I wince. “Why are you yelling?”
“I’m not.” She comes up beside me and looks at herself in the mirror, then at me. “We’re drunk.”
“I’m not drunk, I’m tipsy at most, Sutton.”
“You just tried to wash your hands with moisturizer.”
I glance down. There’s a bottle of hand lotion sitting beside the sink. “Huh.”
“Yeah.”
I glare at her reflection. “You saw nothing.”
“I saw everything.”
“You’re a bad friend.”
“I’m an excellent friend. That’s why I’m telling you we should go home.”
I turn toward her, and the room follows approximately half a second later.
I grab the counter.
Sutton raises both eyebrows.
“Okay,” I sigh. “Maybe going home isn’t the worst idea.”
She wiggles her brows. “Home to Forest?”
I grin. “Home to Forest.”
We make it out of the bathroom and somehow locate Sutton’s coat. Mine is nowhere to be seen, but I guess I never really liked it all that much anyway.
Outside, the cold makes me eat my words. “Jesus.”
Sutton laughs, holding her coat open and catching me inside as best as she can.
We stumble toward the curb in heels that look pretty but seem like the worst idea ever by now.
Sutton checks her phone. “My ride’s four minutes away.”
I pull my phone from my bag. The screen lights up with enough force to nearly blind me. I turn down the brightness and squint at it.
Forest. I need Forest.
I scroll through my contacts and squint at the names. Everything is swimming slightly, but ‘Porter’ jumps out at me.
I tap the little phone icon beside it and I lift the phone to my ear.
It rings, and rings, and rings.
“Pick up, asshole,” I mumble.
The line clicks. “Violet?”
I close my eyes in relief. “Finally. Can you come get me? I’m cold.”
“And drunk!” Sutton yells over my shoulder, trying not to choke on her own laugh.
There’s a beat of silence. “Where the fuck are you?”
“Outside Velvet. Please bring a coat and turn on the heater. I think I might lose my toes.”
Sutton’s car pulls up to the curb. She squeezes my arm. “Just come with me before you get kidnapped.”
I wave her off. “Forest’s coming.”
“You want me to wait?”
“No. Go before we both die of hypothermia and Vanessa will yell at our headstones for costing her two Untouchables.”
She giggles. “Turn on your location and text me when you’re home.”
“I will,” I promise. “Love you.”
“Love you.” She gets into the car.
I turn my attention back to the phone. “Okay. Where were we?”
“Stay where you are.” The call ends.
I stare at my phone. “Dick.”
I shove it into my bag.
And wait.
Hooked? Good 😏
I’m still writing this story, but it’ll come your way ASAP. Keep an eye on my wall—I’ll update you guys about the timeline as soon as I have enough to share!
Love, Viv ♥️
