VIOLET
Love doesn’t always arrive with fireworks.
Sometimes it sneaks in through ordinary days.
It was a freezing Tuesday afternoon, and the third-floor library stacks at Maplewood were completely dead.
Outside the tall arched windows, a lazy winter snow was dusting the frosted glass, but inside our quiet, secluded alcove, the air felt warm, heavy, and thick with an intoxicating sense of calm.
I was slumped against the leather bench, my chemistry binder open on my lap, buried inside a navy blue Maplewood Hockey hoodie that was three sizes too big for me.
The sleeves completely swallowed my hands, and every time I pulled the heavy fleece collar up toward my chin, the rich, heady scent of Jace’s cedarwood cologne and cold ice rushed straight into my senses.
"You're totally losing th
