Violet

I woke up to my alarm blasting it's awful noise, the regular sound it always sung when it wanted me to awaken for my 8am shift.

I reached across my bed where I usually kept my phone, I had work in about an hour from now. I couldn't miss it and I certainly couldn't be late for the scheduled surgeries today. My hands landed on something soft. I wondered if I had gotten a dog recently, my mind hazy from the few hours of sleep I had gotten.

This was the life of a surgeon, perpetual exhaustion.

I rubbed my eyes, shutting the alarm and tossing my phone beside me, wondering when I had gotten a body pillow, a pretty expensive one by the looks of it.

I yawned in the dark room, the only light entering came from my partially shut blinds. I wrapped my arms around it, warm and cozy and my mind flashed immediately back to last night. I leaned my head against the dog/body-pillow, recognizing a smell, but my groggy mind couldn't put a finger on it. Dogs didn't smell like cologne as far as I knew.

Was Tony here? Did we do anything? Did we cross any boundaries? We never slept over at each other's places. My heart raced as I quickly lifted the sheets to see that I was fully dressed, wearing a sweater and sweat pants. Relief washed through me. I wiped my eyes, trying to register everything in my room. It all felt so hazy yet so focused all at once.

And then it struck me.

I jumped out of bed as Aaron stirred. Aaron had visited, he must've fallen asleep. But why did he sleep next to me?

Flashbacks of last night crawled into my mind.

"Is lover boy going to be mad when he finds you asleep beside me?" Aaron had asked, I hardly recall it. I was too tired to respond.

"Violet? Are you asleep?" He had asked and I had responded with a few moans before he chuckled and picked me up.

I wondered why I was suddenly recalling last night. And then I realized, it probably had something to do with Aaron being here. His presence always gave me clarity of mind, regardless of how deep down my subconscious thoughts lay.

"Beside me," I had whispered, groaning as I reached for his sweater.

"Violet, I can't, we can't, you're engaged! What are you going to tell your fiancé?" Aaron asked, his calming voice surrounding me as I tugged on his sweater.

I don't recall the specific words I used, but somehow I knew what he had said. My responses were probably a series of groans, moans, and grunts.

"Violet, please, don't do this to me. You know I can't... I," he had said as I tugged once more and he finally sat beside me. "Violet, I can't handle it if you break my heart twice."

My eyes widened as memories of last night flooded in. I gasped loudly before slapping my hands to my mouth so I didn't wake him up.

It was seven a.m. and yet every-time I looked at Aaron, I felt like I had had a full nights sleep, well rested, complete.

I grabbed my phone from the corner of the bed, realizing it was only five in the morning and I had stupidly set my alarm three hours too early, which meant I probably slept about four hours last night.

I shut my eyes, considering going back to sleep. A twelve hour shift and then I could go home, to my mothers house, and rest.

Aaron's eyes were shut as his chest moved up and down steadily. He looked so calm, so serene, so shirtless. I turned over to face him on my bed, sitting beside him and looking at how much he'd grown up.

I moved his soft brown hair out of his eyes. There was no denying he had gotten even more attractive. His sharp jawline had become dusted in hair now, he looked more masculine than ever before.

And I let him sleep in my bed. I groaned, actually, I sort of coerced him into sleeping beside me. I guess I just felt... lonely?

Tony would throw a fit if he found out. I wondered if I should even tell him. Aaron and I didn't do anything besides sleep; and it wasn't like it was the first time that we had slept in the same bed. And it also wasn't like I'd be seeing Aaron again after today.

I walked quietly out of my room and into the bathroom. I had an entire three hours before work, I could take a nice, hot, shower. I glanced at my hands, recalling that I had given him the ring back with the stupid excuse for wanting to further my career first. I was done with medical school, I should be settling down according to societal standards and me wanting to further my career and remain unwed wasn't an issue.

But it also wasn't the main reason why I had declined his proposal. The main reason was the fact that Aaron had startled me. If he hadn't been there last night, I would've said yes in a heartbeat. And if Tony ever decides to propose again, hopefully soon, whether Aaron was there or not, I will say yes. I was so stupid to just gaze at Aaron while Tony waited for an answer; it was rude, but there was nothing I could do to change what happened yesterday.

I hopped in the shower as the warm water surrounded me, a peace that I longed for.

Aaron never told me the purpose to why he was here.

He had flirted a lot last night, ate Tony's chocolates, showed me his detective badge, and I guess we fell asleep. I knew it was certainly past midnight because that was around the time Tony had driven me home.

I shut my eyes, turning the water off and stepping out of the shower, wrapping myself in a large towel and tip-toeing back into my room to search for my clothes.

Six a.m. I hadn't taken an hour-long shower in ages.

I turned the dim, yellow closet light on silently and reached for my undergarments, quickly putting them on and then my most comfortable scrubs. I would certainly be napping during my hour break today. My jacket with the MD written on it was left in my locker at work; I could put it on when I got there. Living about a 2 minute drive from where I worked certainly had its perks.

I walked out to see Aaron sitting up and looking at me, a sleepy smile on his face in the dim room.

"Morning," his eyes seemed to sparkle when he saw me. I jumped, my heart racing at the realization that he was awake.

"You can't do that again." I said, walking over to my window to open the blinds and let all the light rush into the room.

"Do what?" He asked, innocently, stretching his long, muscular arms as he yawned.

"Sleep with me. My boyfriend has never even done that." I said as Aaron chuckled, moving the sheets as he sat up. He seemed rather happy to hear that.

"I guess that makes me a step-up from boyfriend, right?" He chuckled as I rolled my eyes, "Well good morning to me too." He yawned, "what time is it?"

"Six-ten."

"You have work today?"

"Yeah, at eight," I said, "the bathroom is right next door, I put an extra toothbrush in there already, it's the blue one." I said as Aaron pushed the covers off completely and stood up, shirtless and in his boxers. I immediately turned away.

"What? I wasn't going to sleep in jeans. The sweater was hot enough already, and with you cuddling me all night..." He said, walking over to me. My eyes widened. "I even tried to keep the sweater on, I don't know how it came off."

"I was not cuddling you all night."

"Believe what you want," he laughed, raising his hands up in surrender as I narrowed my eyes at him. He approached me, standing tall and hovering above me as he wrapped me in a hug. His scent engulfed me. "Morning Violet." He whispered, pressing against me as I stood there, trying not to let any color reach my cheeks or react. I was beyond flustered and forgot how physically affectionate Aaron was in general. I could hear my heart beat rapidly as I stood, frozen in my spot. He expected me to be okay with this.

I wondered why he wasn't letting go if he could hear my thoughts.

"Aaron, can you hear my thoughts?" I muttered against his bare chest.

"It's been going in and out lately. I think you'd have to really be aiming it at me now." He shrugged, resting his head on mine as he tightened his practically nude body around mine. So much for me cuddling him.

Things seemed to have changed, perhaps distance really had made my heart grow fonder. But whatever I was feeling toward Aaron just now, I had to credit to the newness of the situation.

He pulled away before I had a chance to speak again, kissing my forehead and walking out of the room and into the bathroom. I took a deep breath, knowing this is something I had to keep from Tony.

He would go ballistic if he found out that there was another man in my bed, regardless of how innocent the situation truly was.

I tried not to think about what I was going to tell Tony as I walked into my kitchen and put four pieces of toast in my toaster and made some eggs for us.

"Violet!" I heard Aaron call from the bathroom. My mind immediately went to possibilities of him breaking stuff and I hoped the neighbors weren't startled this early in the morning.

"What?" I shouted, from across the apartment.

"Can you come in here for a sec?"

"What?" I rushed over to the door and stood there with confusion written all over my face.

"Come in here!" He said from behind the door.

"Why?" I asked as the door flung open and Aaron pulled me into the bathroom. He was flawlessly standing in the light, still in his boxers. My heart began to race as I stared him in the eyes, letting my mind momentarily wander freely, knowing he couldn't hear my opinions when I looked into his gorgeous gray eyes. He was too powerful, in more ways than one.

For some reason, it reminded me of the times we had been stuck together for months all those years ago. I had been annoyed the entire time, but came to miss those days.

"Aaron!" I shouted as he lifted me up. "Aaron, what are you doing? Put me down!"

"No wait, I'm looking for something," he muttered. I glanced at his jaw as he spoke, "you don't happen to have another loofa and some boxers in this place, do you?"

"Why would I have another pair of boxers? I do have a loofa though, if you put me down, I'll get it for you." I said as he looked at me in his arms. He held me against his chest as he continued walking circles in the bathroom, then he tossed me over his shoulder as I hung against the strong muscles of his back. He knew I hated heights, it didn't make sense why he was doing any of this.

"No."

"Aaron! We're adults now, you can't play these games with me." I said, kicking the air helplessly as he continued to hold me.

"But, you're so fun to mess with," he chuckled, placing me on my feet as he immediately reached under the sink and grabbed the loofa. He'd probably seen it in my thoughts when he spoke the words to me.

"You never told me why you were here." I said once my feet touched the ground.

"Oh right, yeah, I'll tell you after work today. I wouldn't want to startle you before then. Now get out, I'm about to get naked. Unless, you want to stay." He smirked as I rolled my eyes, trying hard not to laugh. He was a whole character; there was no better way to describe his antics.

I walked out of the bathroom and back into the kitchen to realize that my eggs had burnt. I tossed them away and made a new egg mix, then placed it on the saucepan to cook.

I sliced some fruit and put them in a container.

"Do I smell like vanilla grapefruit?" Aaron asked, smelling his armpits while walking toward me in nothing, but his jeans as my eyes widened. If looks could kill, I'd be six feet under by now just staring at him.

Crap. I hope he hadn't heard that.

Why was I acting so weird? Something felt off about Aaron's visit and I couldn't quite put my finger on it. I never allowed myself to be this free when making judgements of others; especially not Aaron.

"Aaron, can you just tell me why you're here?"

"I'll pick you up from work and tell you later. You're visiting Amelia this weekend aren't you?" I nodded, wondering how he knew.

We ate breakfast and soon, it was seven-thirty; time seemed to fly when Aaron was around.

"I have to go, we can catch up after work," I said, drying the dishes after Aaron washed them.

"Wait, Vy, let me take you. I'm picking you up afterward anyway since we're both going to Rosemond. It's an hour drive, let's do the world a favor and save some gas."

"What? No way," I muttered as he looked at me, his head tilting to one side as he eyed me.

"You're worried about Tony, huh? Don't worry, you can just say a family friend came to visit. Besides, I can pack your stuff and drive us both to Rosemond. It shouldn't be too bad." Aaron reassured as he dried his hands and placed them on my shoulders, "relax. Based on what I knew about Tony, he's not a bad guy."

"You haven't even met him!" I scoffed, placing my hand over Aaron's on my shoulder as he glanced at my hand. I always felt warm and especially cozy around Aaron, so why not did I feel like I was a tennis ball about to be hit into the next court.

"You forget, Violet, I was at the restaurant yesterday." He placed a hand on my cheek, moving my hair behind my ear as I leaned into his touch. No. I can't be doing stuff like this. The fact that I was even alone with him was already too far over the edge of a very tall cliff.

I felt my breath hitch as I gazed into his soft, gray eyes.

Love. I could recognize that look anywhere.

His eyes shined as he stared into mine and I felt like I couldn't control my hand as it reached up to touch his sharpened jawline, the stubble on it was surprisingly soft.

Snap out of it Violet. It's just Aaron. Chill.

I took a deep breath, taking a step back and ensuring we made no physical contact. My heart was pounding against my rib cage as I continued to gaze at Aaron.

Stop looking so good! I glared at him.

"I need to go." I grabbed my keys from beside the coat rack and walked toward my front door, stepping outside into the cool morning air. And suddenly, the key flew from my pocket and into Aaron's hands.

"I'm driving," he smirked, walking toward the door and stepping outside, "your apartment key is on this too, right?"

"Aaron, um." I began, hoping he would notice that he was outside shirtless.

"What?"

"Nothing, yeah the house key is on there, you can just stay here. I get off of work at 8pm. And no need to pack, I have some clothes at my mom's house."

He seemed shocked that I had agreed to let him drive me, I laughed silently as the other residents of the building began staring at the shirtless man while they approached their cars.

"I forgot a shirt." Aaron realized at the bottom of the stairs, looking up at me as I shrugged with a wide smile on my face. He shrugged too, getting into the drivers seat.

I shut the front door of my apartment, locking it as I walked down to my car.

"Is that red car yours?" I asked, curiously. I had never seen a sports car with such dark, tinted windows parked anywhere near my building.

"You like it?" He asked as I nodded. I did, however, miss his old green Toyota too.

He dropped me off at the hospital and drove back to my apartment. I hoped he wouldn't make a mess today.

And I hoped that I wouldn't act weird when Tony asked me questions today.