Chapter 13:
Tate brought her to a secluded part of the back of garden, which was by a cluster of trees, the leaves enabling them a sheltered area from the sun. On the ground laid a knitted rug, a brown-hatched basket on top.
'A picnic?' Violet asked as they approached.
'I wanted to try and make this special. Is this…is it okay?' He looked to her hesitantly.
'Of course. It's a very sweet idea, Tate.'
'I didn't know what your favourite foods were,' he said kneeling down on the rug and opening the basket. 'So I kind of done a bit of everything I could find.'
Violet leaned over to peek into the basket. It was full of a variety of foods, ranging from the healthier options such as strawberries, blueberries and pineapple; to sandwiches, chocolate bars and mini cupcakes all covered in frosted icing.
'You made all of this?' Violet stared in disbelief at the array of food.
Tate shrugged dismissively as if it wasn't a big deal, still a smile was held on his face. 'Well, I might have had a bit of help from Moira, but on the whole, yeah.'
'Impressive.'
'Here,' he said reaching into the basket to pull out a plateful of sandwiches. 'I made ham, cheese and tomato, chicken and some ordinary bread and butter sandwiches incase you didn't like anything.'
Violet gawped at the plate. There were enough sandwiches to feed six let alone two!
'I'll just have a ham,' she smiled, picking up one sandwich.
He smiled and chose his own sandwich before leaning back on one arm.
'Don't you think you've gone a bit overboard?' Violet asked as they ate.
'What do you mean?'
'I don't know whether you have noticed, but there is only two of us and judging by the amount of food in that basket I would think you're inviting the whole house to join us.'
Tate laughed and shook his head, 'Moira did tell me that, but I wanted to make sure you had options. It's one of the worst things being prepared a meal by someone and you don't actually like any of the food. I wanted to try and make this perfect.'
Violet smiled at him. 'You know, sometimes I wonder how you can be so sweet some days and so…different the next.'
Tate looked down, not sure how to answer.
'Don't take it the wrong way because I like this Tate. I much prefer this person who is here with me right now than the sex driven person you were before.'
'I'm sorry. I…I didn't know what I was thinking before. I thought that was the best thing to do.'
'Well, you know now that it isn't.'
'You can't say you didn't enjoy it.'
Violet's mouth opened to dispute his comment, but she didn't know what to say. She didn't want to lie. 'I…'
'You know you enjoyed it. There's a part of you that prefers this side of me and another part which much prefers the Tate you saw last night.'
Violet shook her head, picking at the crust on the sandwich so she had something to focus on rather than his pressing eyes.
'Admit it, Violet. Or will I have to make you?'
The words sounded ominous and Violet looked up in surprise, only to find that there was a playful tinge to his eyes. Her own narrowed, trying to work out if he was serious or not.
Tate laughed at her expression an bit into his sandwich, 'I'm only joking,' he chuckled between bites.
Violet stared at him as he looked up at the trees, watching the birds, incredulous that his moods changed so quickly.
'Want a drink?' He asked picking out a bottle of water from the basket. 'Now the drinks, I'm sorry to say, are not impressive at all.' He placed a plain water bottle down on the ground and screwed his nose up. 'But after all the preparing of the food I didn't think a drink was as big of a deal.'
Violet laughed and reached for the water. 'It's perfectly fine,' she assured, taking a long sip.
…
'You won't believe how much mess I got in when making these cakes!' Tate exclaimed as they lay side by side, their faces shadowed by the trees, the sun hitting their bodies, a cupcake held in each of their hands.
'I can only imagine,' Violet laughed as she peeled back the case.
The frosting was a turquoise colour, a perfect mix of blue and green. The sponge was still slightly warm as Violet took her first bite and hummed in appreciation.
'You should bake more,' she declared swallowing the soft sponge, licking the cream of the frosting from her top lip. 'This is too good.'
'I was surprised when they were a success. As you can see,' he said motioning to the one he held in his hand, 'this cupcake was my first attempt.'
Tate's cupcake wasn't a total disaster, but the way the frosting drooped down the edges messily and the cake has risen just a fraction to high and wide made it look poor in effort compared to Violet's.
She laughed as she took another bite, 'Well it's better than I could have ever done.'
Tate looked over at Violet; her eyes were closed as she ate, her tongue coming out to skim over the frosting before she took another bite. She held the cupcake in front of her face as she chewed it, the frosting close to her lips.
Sitting up silently and leaning in until he was poised over her, he jerked her elbow up, the cupcake colliding with the tip of her nose. Violet's eyes shot open at the sudden movement, a surprised noise leaving her mouth as she saw a laughing Tate above her. Her brows furrowed instantly as she felt the smear of frosting on her nose.
'What the hell was that for, you idiot!' she yelled as she pushed Tate away from her so she could sit up and put the rest of her cake down.
Tate's laughter only seemed to continue more as she searched for a napkin, his chuckles beginning to irk her.
'Fine, if you want to play it that way.' Picking up the half of her cake, which was left, she put bit on her finger before wiping a line of the frosting across his cheek.
His laughter halted abruptly as he blinked, registering what she had just done. He laughed again when the shock subsided and he saw the look of smugness on Violet's face. 'You look so victorious. That was so close to my eye!' he stated beginning to wipe his face.
'Serves you right,' she smiled, her arms crossed in content.
The frosting was still on the edge of her nose and he thought she looked adorable. Her hair was slightly ruffled from where she had been lying down, frosting on her nose and slightly around her lips, and her mouth was up in a small grin.
'You're going to get it now!' He proclaimed jumping up and grabbing her around the waist to pick her up and throw her over his shoulder. Violet screamed at the sudden movement as the world turned upside down and she gripped Tate tight around the waist.
'Put me down Tate! Ahh. Put me down!' Despite her desperate pleas she couldn't help but laugh at his childish behavior. This was the most fun she had had in a while.
He laughed as he spun her around, his grip secure on her legs.
When he placed her back down on the rug she thumped him hard on the shoulder.
'Idiot! Are you trying to kill me?'
'Nope, looks like you done that already yourself.' He laughed at his own joke while Violet shook her head, a small smile trying to break out on her face.
She picked up the remained of her cupcake and smeared the rest across his right cheek in one fluid motion before he could get out of the way.
'Oy!' Tate's mouth opened in indignation at her movement, shocked. 'I only wiped a bit on you.'
Violet laughed at his shocked expression watching as he tried to wipe the frosting off.
'It's sticky. You've got some on my top.'
'Sorry, but you started it,' she winked.
'It's so sticky!' He groaned. 'I only showered this morning.'
Violet watched as he rummaged through the basket, finding a napkin and trying to wipe at his face. She bit her lip to keep herself from laughing more, but then felt slightly guilty considering the amount he had covering his face compared to hers.
'Here let me help,' she offered, raising her finger and running it down his face and through the frosting and then on the napkin.
Tate done the same, but instead of wiping it on the napkin he looked up at her and smeared a line down her face.
'Now we're even,' he grinned.
The frosting took longer to get off than Violet expected, but by the time his face was practically clear, hers was still sticky.
Tate leant forward just like she had done to help him, but moved a lot closer to her face. Violet tried to sit back from him but his hand had moved up to her neck to keep her still.
'Keep still, let me get this off for you.'
He lifted the napkin to wipe at her cheek, but the frosting had dried and some still stuck to her face.
His face was so close to hers that she didn't know where to look. His breath was hitting her lips every time he breathed out and she couldn't help but focus on his lips. They were opened as he concentrated, her own began falling open as she remembered what he had done with those same lips the night before. She shivered and he looked at her eyes, noticing that she wasn't breathing easily like he was. Her breathing had increased, her breaths short and shallow. He grinned when he noticed her gaze on his lips as if he knew what she was thinking.
'It's dried,' he commented.
'Mmm.' Violet replied, the frosting no longer an issue.
Tate stared at her, she stared back and just as he moved forward for what looked like a kiss, he moved up to where the frosting was and licked.
Violet sucked in a breath and gasped at the feel of his tongue on her skin.
'It tastes even better on your skin,' he commented hotly, his breath beside her ear.
Her hand had come up to grip his shoulder as his tongue darted out again to lick more of the dried frosting. His tongue was pleasantly cool on her skin in the sunlight and she titled her head back to give him better access.
His lips moved across her cheek, down to the corner of her mouth where they hovered, teasing, before sliding back up to her ear.
'Tate, she whispered when he sucked on her earlobe.
He left small pecks all over her check, each kiss longer than the last. His breath was hot on her skin and she sighed when he moved down to kiss her neck.
Maybe this wasn't so bad after all…
Now I do realise this is probably one of the most annoying places to stop, but I had written lots and couldn't decide how I wanted the rest of this chapter to pan out. I hope you enjoyed this little scene. Sorry for the slow update, but I've been off school today so I decided to catch up with this story. I am beginning the ending might be in sight...not sure.
:)