Olivia (73 page)

“
I’m just really glad you showed
up.” A look of fear returns to her eyes.

“
Was he forceful?” I squint in
Abram’s direction, feeling my nostrils flare in anger. “Was he?” I
ask again when she doesn’t answer.

“
A little, yes.”
I’ll hit him again.
I struggle to get up, but Olivia
has a slight advantage while I’m seated with my hands cuffed. She
presses down on my shoulders, restraining me.

“
She’s seventeen, you pervert! I
never did trust you.”

“
Livvy, what the hell is going on?”
I turn to the door to find her father there, looking just as
confused as I felt when I walked in, I’m sure.

“
Mr. Holland,” the doorman says, “I
couldn’t get in touch with Emi, so I assumed you would want to
know.” It takes me merely a second to figure out what happened.
Francisco called Jack because
I
showed up.
I’m not the one who tried to hurt Livvy. I never would.

I came here to ask her if we could
break up for a bit. I would have hurt her, in my own way.
There’s no way I’d do it now. A mix of jealousy and protectiveness
have overwhelmed me, and I don’t want her to stray from me. I’m
afraid if I let her go, she wouldn’t come back.

“
Thank you,” Jack says. “What
happened?” He glances down at my arms, and gets suddenly angry.
“Why is he in handcuffs?”

“
He went after this
man–”

“
Abram,” her agent finally speaks
up, the first time I’ve heard his weak, British accent all day. He
starts to sit down on the bed – the bed that Olivia and I made love
on a few months ago.

“
Can you please not sit there?” I
demand. Livvy rubs my forearm with her hand. When I look at her,
she’s smiling, obviously recalling the same memory I was. When I
look at Jack, though, I want to crawl into the floor. He knows we
were here. He knows this is where I was intimate with his daughter.
He believes this is where I took her purity.

Jack puts his hand on his forehead and breathes in a
few times. “Olivia Sophia, I came home early so I could escort you
to this meeting, but why is there blood trickling from your agent’s
nose?” I can tell he’s struggling to put together the pieces of
this story.

“
Jon hit him.”

Her father shakes his head. “I gathered that.
Why?”

“
It was just a misunderstanding,
Mr. Holland.”
I hate that creep’s
voice.

“
Right,” I huff. “Abram was here
alone with Olivia, and he tried to take advantage of
her–”

“
That’s not exactly
true.”

“
Tell me, then, what exactly
is
true?” I gather by the way Jack stalks
over to him that he’s taken note of the lipstick on Abram’s lips. I
think he might hit him, too.

“
Sir, please calm down,” the
security officer warns.

“
I’m calm,” Jack says, and I’m
grateful that expression isn’t for me. “Francisco,” he says, still
looking at Abram, “can you please get the guard out of here?”
I hope he hits him.
“After he removes the
handcuffs.”

“
I’m not sure that’s a good idea.”
Olivia’s agent looks scared out of his mind, his face going
pale.

“
There will be no more punches.” I
wish he would have decked that asshole, but I’m ready to step in,
if he can’t. Jack looks in my direction. “I’ll take responsibility
for Jon’s future actions. Something tells me they were warranted,
though.”

I wanted to hit him again!

Livvy’s father continues. “I own this property, and
at this point, I believe someone in here is trespassing, and I’d
like to have a word with him.” I feel other eyes on me, but I watch
Abram, unable to hide the smug satisfaction. Jack trusted this man
implicitly with his daughter, when he never wanted to trust me.
It’s a good feeling to see him take my side for once.

“
Officer, please take the handcuffs
off the boy.”

I shouldn’t feel so much anxiety. I should be
excited to see Olivia, but all I can think about is the fact that
yet
another
guy tried to kiss her.

She didn’t let him, though.
Still, I trusted Finn. I trusted
her
with
Finn – I always have – and now, I’ll question his motives any time
they’re together.

And they’re always thrown together.

Why I trusted him, I don’t know. Not after he
cheated on his girlfriend with another girl he hardly knew. Camille
was heart-broken. For weeks, her calls interrupted my dates with
Livvy as she cried over him.

According to my watch, their plane should have
landed ten minutes ago. I glance once more at the screen, and
finally see her flight number on the display above the baggage
carousel. She’s landed safely. It won’t be much longer, and I’ll
get to hold her in my arms. I’d been anxiously awaiting this since
nearly the moment I left Manhattan, wishing I could spend spring
break with her, but the anticipation to see her has multiplied
exponentially since finding out about Finn.

Finally, I see her, her face more tan than I’ve seen
it in a long time. She’s wearing the shirt I gave her before I
left, and she looks beautiful and refreshed. Even with sunglasses
covering her eyes, I can tell she’s just as happy to see me as I am
to see her. I needed that reassurance.

It’s dumb to feel self-conscious, but I do.

Waiting for her to come through the turnstile, I
drop my things and hold out my arms, ready to greet her. She kisses
me even before saying hello, and I’ve never been happier, getting
such a welcoming response from her. I shouldn’t feel threatened by
Finn. It’s clear that she’s mine.

I fix her tangled locks and remove her sunglasses. I
glance at her shirt, trying to catch my breath.

Someone in Utah loves me.
Since we’re both back in Manhattan, the slogan really doesn’t apply
anymore. “That shirt can come off now. I’m home, baby.”

“
What, here?” she asks with a
sultry smile as she grabs the bottom of it. God I can’t wait to get
her back to my dorm. I can’t wait to get her out of that shirt. I
grab her hands, kissing her again, letting my imagination go wild
with all the things I want to do with her.

When I look up, I immediately see her mom and dad.
That’s a definite mood-killer. “There are your parents.” I wave at
them, weakly, happy that no one can peer into my private thoughts.
I concentrate hard on my expression, trying to look as neutral as
possible, even though further evidence of my feelings are more
difficult to conceal. Livvy stays in front of me, thankfully.

“
We don’t need to wait for them,”
she says. “We’re getting a cab, remember?”

I do remember, and should just go hail that cab, but
I see the kid that tried to coerce my girlfriend into kissing him.
The jealousy comes back with a vengeance.

“
And Finn is coming this way.” He
wears a smug expression, as if he is withholding a secret. I’m
guessing she didn’t tell him that she told me he tried to kiss her,
or else he’d probably be avoiding me altogether.

“
Jon,” he says cockily, offering
his hand as if he was some sort of gentleman. I know
better.

“
Finn,” I respond, acting like I’m
going to accept his gesture, but instead, I punch him in the
stomach. Not hard, but just hard enough to stun the stupid grin off
his face. He reflexively covers his skinny torso with his crossed
arms, and I smile at him, hoping my eyes are telling him what my
mouth isn’t.
Stay away from her. She’s
mine.

And I could tell him that right here, but I have
other things I’d rather use my lips for. While Finn still stares in
shock, I pull Olivia’s body into mine and kiss her as romantically
as I possibly can. It’s the kind of kiss we normally only share
when we’re alone, my tongue venturing in her mouth, and hers in
mine. I hold her tighter, wishing we truly were alone as my body
strains for hers.

“
Public place,” her mother says
softly into Livvy’s ear. It’s loud enough for both of us to hear,
though, and I’m a little embarrassed to have done that in front of
Emi. It wasn’t the classiest moment, but I’m feeling pretty bawdy
right now anyway, and I don’t think I could hide it if I tried. We
really just need to get that cab and get the hell out of
here.

Finn’s still watching us when I glance back in his
direction. I pat his cheek. “That’s how it’s done, kiddo.” I think
he understands now. Olivia and I were made for each other, and our
kiss is further proof of that. If he has any expectation of her
ever sharing a moment with him like that, he’s a fool… but I
suspect he’s smarter than that – if only a little. “Can we
please go?” I ask her urgently, feeling her earlobe against my
bottom lip and wanting desperately to suck on it because I know
what it does to her.

I cannot
wait
to do that to
her.

Focused on getting the taxi, I start to lead her in
that direction.

“
Eight o’clock,” I hear Jack say. I
keep walking, until I hear him address me. “And hello, Jon.” I
don’t want to see him. I want to see his daughter, naked, in my
dorm room.
Now
.

“
Jack,” I say, looking beyond him
and not at him, “I’ll make sure she’s home by eight.” That gives us
plenty of time, although by 7:45, I’m sure I won’t want to let her
go.

“
Thank you.” I briefly shake his
hand before Olivia pulls me away from him. She helps me with one of
my bags, freeing my arm up to put it around her shoulder and keep
her body as close to me as possible.

She’s mine. I’m maddened by that thought. I want
her. I’ve never wanted her like this.

In the cab, I try to clear my head from the impure
thoughts, but I know they’ll be back momentarily. She sidles up
next to me, swinging one of her legs over mine. I’m going
crazy.

“
Do you want the good news or the
bad news?” I ask her, having planned the question carefully on my
way back from Utah.

“
Bad,” she says, but then pulls me
into yet another kiss. I don’t even want to break away to answer
her.

“
Denver’s having a snowstorm,” I
say, speaking the last syllable against her lips.

“
So?” she asks quickly.

“
So Fred can’t get a flight back
until tomorrow morning.” When she keeps kissing me, I’m not even
sure she heard me. I back away, looking at her for a
response.

“
That sounds like
good
news,” she says, and I’m so glad she said
it.

“
It’s
very
good news.” I hope she understands what I want.

“
I feel like it’s been
years.”

Thank God, she does.

“
Hasn’t it? Hours, days, years.
It’s all too long. In fact, these minutes… how much longer?” She
looks at me in anticipation, in wonderment. I kiss her neck, hoping
to distract her from the feel of my hand inching up her
dress.

She stops me after a few seconds. I was almost
there
.

When the cab stops in front of my dorm, I toss money
indiscriminately to the driver. “Keep the change.” Olivia keeps her
sunglasses on and her head tilted toward the ground until we get
inside the hall. She’s walking just as quickly as I am, and is
impatient as I fumble with the key to get in my room.

Once inside, I drop my things as I kick the door
closed. She starts to walk over to my bed, and I follow her after
locking the door.

“
Shirt,” I say to her, wanting it
off. She wastes no time, taking it by the hem and pulling it over
her head. She tosses it behind us, and in the same moment she looks
back, I put my palms against her flat stomach and kiss her
shoulders. She jerks slightly when I touch her, and I realize how
warm her skin is beneath my hands. I should slow down, warm them up
for her, but I can’t wait any longer to have her.

I take her bra off and tell her I love her. I do
want her to know that, because the way I’m lusting after her right
now makes me want to be quick with her, be rough. My actions may
not show my love for her, so the words will have to suffice this
time.

She turns around in my arms and kisses me, and we
both start to undress one another. When my gaze finally leaves her
breasts and shifts to her eyes, I realize she’s looking beyond me
in the mirror above my dresser. I want to watch us. I want
her
to watch us. God, I just want her.

“
Turn around,” she says, and I
wonder if she’s thinking the same thing. Once I do, though, I
realize she just wants to kiss my tattoo, as she often does when we
start making out. I keep my eyes on her, watching her as she moves
between me and the mirror. Her back is to me. I want her this way.
We’ve never done it this way, but I want to take her, just like
this. I unzip her skirt, watching her expression as I plot my next
move. Testing the waters, I push my body against hers. She leans
against the dresser, but tips her head back with her eyes
closed.

I think she wants it this way, too. He long neck
calls out to me, and my tongue can’t wait to taste her. Just as I
start to reach for her panties, she squirms a little, turning
around to face me. For only a split second I feel disappointed, but
then I feel the rest of her clothes brush against my legs as they
fall to the floor.

“
Oh, god,” I murmur, feeling her
naked body and wanting it touching mine. I pull up one of her legs
by the knee and hold it against my back, teasing her by nudging
into her repeatedly. She struggles to remove my underwear. I laugh
at her impatience. “Did you miss me?”