Too Hard To Choose

Chapter Thirty-One- No, all is good.

Arlo

I am sitting by the lake as the others are still in, messing around. Both the guys are flirting with Violet. She isn’t sure who to focus her attention on. I chuckle as I watch them. I see Alison come out of the water. She grabs a couple of beers, comes over to me and sits down, handing me one.

“Thanks.” I smile, opening the cap and take a mouthful.

She does the same. Suddenly, I feel her eyes on me. I turn to face her, “What? I sense like you want to say something.”

“How is this situation working out for you?” she asks.

I look at her, confused, “What situation?”

“Sharing Violet with the other guys.”

“Fine, why would you ask that? You have never asked me that? Do you know something I don’t?” I chuckle.

“Because I feel like your feelings are changing towards her.” She says softly.

“Meaning?”

Where is all of this coming from?

“I think you are starting to like her, and I mean in more than a s****l way. I just don’t want things getting weird or any drama.” She answers.

“What? No, it is nothing like that. Yes, we all have a soft spot for her and enjoy being around her, but there is nothing more than that.” I reply honestly.

“Are you sure? I don’t want any of you falling out or my best friend getting hurt.”

“I am sure. I promise. You know us well enough by now to know if things change, we will talk about it, and everything will stop. What made you think I had developed stronger feelings for her?”

I needed to know because I have not been acting any differently around Violet.

“You just seem different around her. And you are the one who is spending the most time with her.”

“Really? I don’t see it. Yes, I spend more time with her than the other guys, but it has always been that way. Please, don’t worry about anything, okay? Nothing has changed. I promise.” I smile.

She nods, “Okay, that is fine. I wanted to make sure. I am sorry I jumped to the wrong conclusion.”

“It is fine, don’t worry about it.”

Alison takes a long swig from the bottle and heads back into the water. I sit, getting lost in my thoughts. Alison has gotten inside my head. I glance over at Violet, who has arms and legs wrapped around Tyson and is laughing. I don’t feel any jealousy or annoyance, which tells me what Alison said wasn’t true, and I am overthinking for nothing.

I give myself a shake and take a drink of my beer. I am done with swimming for the day. It will be lunchtime soon, so I will head back and make a start on that. We didn’t bring lunch with us, just breakfast, coffee and beers.

I wrap a towel around myself and stroll back towards the cabin. I don’t get far before someone jumps on my back, and as soon as the giggle fills my ears, I know it is Violet. I quickly hold onto her legs before she ends up falling.

“Where are you going?” she asks.

“To make a start on lunch.” I chuckle.

“I can help.” She says.

“You don’t need to, sweetness. You looked like you were having fun with everyone in the water.”

“I want to. I can go swimming again after lunch.”

“Okay then, you can come help,” I say and swat her ass.

She snickers and bites down on my shoulder. I carry her all the way to the cabin before I put her down on her feet. She goes to walk away into the kitchen, but I grab her from behind and turn her to face, pulling her tightly to my chest. I have a strong urge to kiss her. Violet moans and kisses back. I pull away after only a moment.

“What was that for?” she asks.

“No, reason, just because I wanted to. We should start lunch; the kids will be in soon complaining they are hungry.” I chuckle.

“Yes, we don’t want cranky kids because they are hungry.” She plays along, laughing.

We finally make it to the kitchen and get a start on lunch for everyone. I wonder as we cook together, if Alison shared her concerns with Violet, too. I hope not, because I don’t want her to get the wrong idea. I want to ask, but I won’t in case she didn’t. The last thing anyone needs is to make a big deal over nothing.

“Arlo, be careful,” Violet panics.

I didn’t realise I wasn’t watching what I was doing and nearly cut my damn finger.

“s**t, sorry.”

“Are you okay?” she asks, coming over to me.

I nod, “Yes, fine. I just got lost in my thoughts for a moment.”

“Then please stop getting lost in them before you end up cutting your damn finger off.” She warns.

“Yes, ma’am. I will be more careful. I promise.”

I need to get it together. I take a few deep breaths and focus on what I am supposed to be doing. Violet got back to her work, too, but I could see her out of the corner of my eyes, checking to make sure I was okay. I make sure to be careful.

Twenty minutes later, the others came in, “How long will lunch be? I am so hungry.” Parker groans.

I chuckle, “You are always hungry. Lunch won’t be long.”

“What are you making, anyway?” Alison asks curiously.

“Mexican chicken wraps with a side salad,” Violet answers.

They all disappeared to dry off and change while Violet and I set lunch out on the table on the back porch. Violet takes a moment after we are done to stare out into the wilderness. I appear beside her and rest my hand on the small of her back.

“What is on your mind, sweetness?”

“How I don’t want to leave here. Do you think anyone would notice if I didn’t come back home with you all?” she laughs.

“I am sure everyone would notice,” I chuckle, “But you can use it any time you want.”

“I will take you up on that offer.” She smiles, resting her head on my shoulder.

Maybe we can come back for a dirty weekend, just the two of us. Yes, I like that idea, a naughty weekend. I will suggest it to her later. The others join us outside, and we all settle down for lunch together.

“What shall we do for the rest of the day?” Alison asks.

“I was going to go swimming again.” Violet smiles.

“I have had enough of swimming for one day. I may just relax by it with some snacks, wine and a book.” Alison smiles.

“I will come swimming with you, Violet,” Tyson says.

“Me too,” I add in.

I wasn’t in for too long anyway. It is a lovely day outside; we may as well make the most of it. I don’t think any of us are looking forward to going home and back to our real lives. But, I am sure coming here this weekend will get us back into the habit of using the cabin more again.