Turn Me Bad

They continued to tease like two friends who had known each other for years, while enjoying the ice creams – which Benjamin insisted he pay for then deliberately bought one three times the size of that she had requested. He chose a mint chocolate chip and she a butter pecan flavor, which felt like the perfect addition to the evening as they walked at their own pace and enjoyed having no interruptions.

Palmdale Lake borders the hills of the San Andreas Fault which, as many suspected, would one day crack and send much of California into the sea. Violet recalled being terrified by a documentary on earthquakes when she was little and asking her parents if they could move more in land as a result. Back then, the Fault had seemed imposing, but now, in spite of all the evils and disasters that were occurring in the world, she no longer worried it would ever happen. Neither did any of the other people who came to walk upon its borders, tickling its fragile structure with scores of tiny human feet like flies fluttering in a lion’s face.

From a distance, some of the lake’s banks looked rugged in quality. It wasn’t necessarily somewhere people would point at and say, ”Let’s go there,” but that was exactly why it was never quite overcrowded enough to be a drag. There were sandy coastal beaches just a drive away; the wide blue of the Pacific Ocean was such an obvious place to go instead. Once you are walking along the shores of Palmdale Lake, however, all the alluring qualities of the Californian landscape become enhanced. Like many inland destinations, it always proved more worth visiting than people tended to think.

Benjamin – who she had started calling “Ben” – was certainly in no rush to leave. Impulsive as she took him for, Violet saw this as an indication that the choice of convenient destination had been a good call, despite being initially flummoxed by his request. Places where we grow up become normal to our eyes, until we are tempted to consider them through the eyes of another.

When it came to returning to the parking lot, the air had turned mild and Violet’s ice cream inside her meant it felt more like real cold. Though not exactly harsh enough to cause her to shiver, she nevertheless felt the sudden urge to be next to him and wrapped up inside a warm embrace.

Violet resisted making any eyes in his direction. It was not the time or place and probably never would be, though she thought she might hold onto him a lot tighter than before on their bike ride back.

”You going to dare the bike helmet again?“ he asked, holding it up for her.

”Why not? I’m feeling fearless,“ she replied, having no idea where such an impulse came from. But he was not yet ready to head back.

”It’s been a real treat to come out here with you,“ he told her, rather than jumping on the ride. It occurred to her that was the first time she had noticed anything like a pause in his motion. Everything looked like it came to him so casually, as if the evening was just an aside from whatever rock ‘n’ roll lifestyle he was usually leading.

”Thanks for bringing me out,“ she replied, not knowing what else to say.

”Violet, I… I’m sorry to ask you this, but… well, you know I’m not a creep or anything, right?”

”What? Why would I think that?”

”It’s just that… I’m having such a good time with you, I wondered if you wanted to come back to the hotel for another drink – and maybe something to eat?”

Was that the slightest sign of extra coloration in his cheeks? Surely not.

”And why should that make you a creep?”

”Because, if you’d like to, then I just want you to know that I’m not going to try anything. You know…”

”You mean like… being a naughty boy or something?”

“‘I guess,“ Benjamin replied, laughing.

”Now what on earth would give me that impression?” she asked, a little astonished by her growing confidence.

”So you’d like to?”

”I think I’m getting you in line slowly,“ she said, putting the helmet on but refusing to give him a direct answer. Though he had broken ranks to ask a serious question, she was sticking to the mode of treating him like a naughty boy because, the truth was, that was just how she was liking him.

So he was not taking her home at all. As much as she would have loved to have him drop her off outside the house and see Caitlin’s jaw dropping at the window, Violet was not so obsessed with ruining their fun just to score points. No, she still felt utterly overwhelmed that the best looking guy she had ever seen – in both style and looks – had wanted to spend the evening with her, but she was also beginning to accept it. While, one thing was for sure, she was certainly enjoying it too. What was it he had said? ”I’m not going to try anything,” in a way that suggested, ”But I might like to with your permission.” She wasn’t being escorted around the place by a choir boy and knew enough about men to know they all had s*x on the brain. It was just a matter of how they went about approaching it. By no stretch of the imagination could this guy possibly have had any problem getting women and yet he was still going to the effort of making her feel like a lady. That could have meant that, despite the bike and tattoos, that there was a gentleman not a wild child underneath. Or it could mean that he was a wild child but was making an extra effort for her. Either way she felt special and, as the bike sped on up the highway, she no longer gave any thought to his lack of safety. If he saw something in her that was enough to bring this strange twist of fate her way then she was not going to resist it any longer.

He could have taken her wherever he liked.