Pieces Of You & Me (10 page)

Liam and I had a passionate relationship. What I liked about us was how we always managed to talk things out without yelling at each other. It was a mature relationship, and I liked that a lot. That was why I knew things would work out with him because we were both alike.

We knew what we wanted in life, and we liked the same things. Once I got back in Sydney, we were going to work things out again just as we had planned.

For the rest of the afternoon, I kept myself occupied. From schoolwork to catching up on my reading materials, cleaning my room and then rearranging my bedroom furniture to make it more… me. By the time I was done, it was time for dinner with Brett and Mom. Greyson was still out.

Brett barbequed some steaks and Mom made cornbread and salad. We were five minutes into the meal when Brett started talking to me.

“How are you finding things, Liv? How’s your room?”

Shit. Why was he grilling me now? What did I do wrong? Maybe he was just being nice? I didn’t fucking know. “It’s great, thanks. My room here is bigger than what I had before, so that’s always great.” I looked over to Mom, asking for her help here—something—but she was too busy with her food.

He nodded. “Good. Good.” He nodded again. “Your mom and I were thinking…” he started, making me think of bad scenarios.
Please don’t tell me you’re planning to get married
. I’d shoot my own foot if those words came out of his mouth. “…of getting you your own car,” he finished with a kind face.

Shit. Okay. Wait—my own car? What? “I don’t think that’s in our budget right now. My college tuition is a lot—”

He reached out for my mom’s hand, holding it. “Don’t worry; I’ll take care of the costs. Your mom here told me the same thing, but I want to help.” He paused. “I plan to stay, if your mom will let me, and I would love to be a part of your life, too, as well as everything in it—the good and bad—expenses included.”

Jesus. “You guys aren’t saying that you’re going to get married or anything, right?”
Please tell me no
, I silently begged.

Mom shook her head. “I think we’re both happy with what we have now. Maybe down the road we’ll think about it, but for now, we’re just happy to be…
happy.
”

Happiness all around, especially me since there was no way in hell that I planned on kissing a stepbrother.
Double fucking eww.

As for the car, it was a great thought. “I don’t mind sharing a ride with Greyson, unless it’s cramping his style that is.” Did he say something to his dad? Was this why he was offering me a damn car? Shit. I didn’t consider that angle.

“I’m sure Grey doesn’t mind, but I want you to be comfortable. If buying you a brand new car makes you uncomfortable, how about you use one of my spare cars in the garage?” he offered, taking a bite off his steak.

Okay, I suppose borrowing wasn’t all that bad. “I guess I could deal with that,” I agreed.

He beamed, nodding. “Great, I’ll let my son know. He has all the keys to them anyway.”

I was sure he did. My excitement at getting my own ride, though borrowed, somewhat died when it was past midnight and Greyson was still not home.

I wanted to text him, but my mind willed me to stop acting like a lovesick idiot and stick to my guns. Clingy women didn’t get anywhere, and I sure as hell wouldn’t start being one of those now.

Chapter 18

Liv

I was in a dream with clouds, a bed and Greyson right with me. The dream was so vivid that I could feel everything, as if it were real.

“Olivia…” he whispered. “Olivia…” His hand went inside my shirt, reaching for my breast before pinching my nipple, waking me up.

Moaning his name, I pressed my breast against his warm, big hand, wanting more of his touch.

“I came to say my goodnight,” he murmured, softly biting my neck.

Goodnight was the last thing my body craved. In fact, I wanted him to touch me. All over. Then I remembered that he’d come home late. “What took you so long?”

“I was out with Jet and them. We ended up having a beach party around Zuma beach and it lasted late.”

Jet and them.
Who was them?
And why wasn’t I invited? “Are you drunk?”

He laughed. “Only a little.”

“Our parents are home,” I managed to squeak when his palm teased my aroused nipple in a circular motion while he spooned me without hiding the fact that his member was poking my butt.

He groaned, “So am I.” His other hand snaked below, squeezing my ass before grabbing it to slam against his hardness. “I want a homerun, baby.”

Grey was drunk and had no self-control. Was he always this horny? What about earlier? I bet he was worse earlier, which only made me wonder how he had taken care of that.

“I don’t trust you yet.”

He groaned, grinding me hard. “Let me taste you. I need something of you. Don’t turn me cold, Liv.”

“Not yet.” I hesitated.

“Okay,” he breathed out. He reached for my hand and guided me against his rock hard state constrained by his pants. “Squeeze it hard. Just once.”

I did. It made him rumble my name out. He was so hard, I was sure he was hurting. I did this to him? I affected him this much? “I want to help out, but I don’t want to have sex with you yet. It’s too early.” And I wasn’t so sure I was ready for that with him. Things were moving way too fast.

“Then I won’t fuck you, but help me release this tension. I’m dying,” he grunted out.

My mouth ran dry. How far did I want this to go? That was the question.

“Do you trust me enough to take everything off except your underwear?”

Did I? I guess I did because I didn’t protest when he took my shirt off. His eyes were wild as he took my aroused nipples. He didn’t initiate taking my shorts off, but my hands were possessed; they were happy to do his bidding.

It was dark, yet it was light enough for him to make out my near nakedness. “Fuuuck,” he breathed out.

He was on his knees as his eyes set my body on fire. When his eyes met mine, even in the dark, I knew a lot of things were going through his mind. One of them was hesitation. Throat bobbing up and down, he held my gaze. “I don’t trust myself. I might force you to do something you wouldn’t want to do. I don’t want to put you through that.”

He was being noble after he’d told me to strip down leaving my underwear on. I should be happy that he was hesitating, but he was right. He sure as heck didn’t look like he could control himself. He looked too wild. Too beastly. Animalistic.

Taking his shirt off, it gave me a glimpse of his hot body before he slid it over my exposed one. “At least something of mine is touching your body.” He smirked, eyeing me with affection. “I like the thought of you sleeping with my shirt on.”

If he could see me clearly, he’d know that I was blushing from head to foot. How did he manage to make me pant one second and giggle the next? He sure had a way with women.

“Sorry to wake you. I hope you’re not mad at me.” He was still kneeling, looking like he was afraid to touch me even when I was clothed with his shirt.

I shook my head, pulling my weight up so I could sit and at least meet his gaze halfway. I wanted to see him clearly. “I was worried. Thanks for waking me up.” In fact, I liked that he came here. I could get used to his physical goodnight routine.

“I should go.”

He should, but I wanted another kiss. “Not until you kiss me goodnight, Grey.”

He grinned, looking like the sex god that he was. “Yeah? I like how you’re thinking here. This is my kind of delaying tactic.”

I was a fast learner. I sighed before reaching out to the back of his nape and bringing his face to mine, kissing him as if he was the only thing that mattered. Maybe, for now, he was enough…

“Fuck,” he said in between kisses. “I have to go or else—”

I cut him off. “Or else what?” I pulled him back on the mattress, wanting to continue where we’d left off.

“Fucking shit, Liv.” He broke the kiss, panting like an animal that had been running for miles. “You’re sweet torture.” He cupped my face, making me close my eyes, hoping to catch my own breath. “I’ll see you tomorrow morning.”

Damn, he really was leaving. I didn’t want to sleep alone, but I knew if we needed to keep up with appearances, we had to be careful. “Dream sweet, Grey.”

He kissed me lightly on the cheek, saying goodnight. “It’s always sweet when you’re in it.”

Geez, smooth talker much? I rolled my eyes, but grinned. What could I say, the man did have a way of turning women into giggling morons.

“Don’t miss me too much.” Were his parting words, making me absentmindedly lift his shirt to my nostrils to smell him around my body.

God, his smell, I could sleep smelling him this way. It was getting pathetic. Since when did I start getting all sentimental about men anyway? Nevertheless, I slept like a baby, feeling like he was right here with me.

What bothered me most was how I didn’t picture Liam as I usually did before I went into a deep slumber. If alarm bells weren’t ringing loud enough yet, they should be. I knew I had to find a way to slow this progression somehow.

***

The next morning, I was surprised to find Greyson leaning against a white sports car, dangling a key with his finger.

“I chose a car for you.” He nodded towards the car. “This baby will take you for a good, wild ride.” His tone held a lot of underlined meaning. He was already teasing.

“You know I like wild rides.” I raised my brow at him then at the car. Nervousness washed over me. It was a white Porsche, too expensive for my taste. The thought of grazing the paint, or maybe even worse—like if I crashed it—ran through my head. How in God’s name would I pay Brett back? I would be in debt for years. “But this is too much for me. Is there a four-door vehicle I can drive without worrying about the price tag every second?”

He went over to me then stopped midway. I knew he wanted to touch me, however he was stopping himself. Our parents were still home, so his game face was still on. “Stop worrying about that, Olivia.” He handed me the keys. “I don’t know how you drive, so I’ll follow. Is that good? I want to make sure you can handle it, that’s all.”

How could they trust me with this? Were they crazy? Sure I was a reasonable driver, but shit… this was too much. Besides, I didn’t want people to think that I was milking their generosity for all it was worth. “I don’t think that’s good. Please, can I just ride with you? Or I’ll call Josie if that is too much—”

“Just say thank you and stop worrying.”

I bit down on my lip. “It’s not that easy.”

He gave me a reassuring smile, encouraging me. “Try.”

I stared at the keys that were in my hand, then at the pricey car, then back at him.

He reached out on the side of my arm and squeezed it tight. “I want to kiss you right now, so please, don’t look so worried. I might not care that they’re still home if you keep pouting like that.”

He looked too good to be true, and from his facial expression, I knew he wasn’t joking. “Okay, we can try for today,” I conceded.

After getting a bottled orange juice for the two of us from the kitchen, we made our way to school with him following closely behind me.

As for the car, well, powerful came to mind. It was a beast to
drive, yet I was its master. I felt sexy and powerful at the same time. When we came to a stop light, Grey was right next to me, gesturing me to roll down my windows. “Yeah?”

“How’s the drive?” he yelled out.

I smiled, sliding my hand over the leather handle. “It’s fine.” Super fine. I could get spoiled from all of this, but I wouldn’t let that happen.

“That’s great.” He looked over the street, checking the
stop light that was still red. “One more thing, try not to flirt with guys around me. I might not be able to hold back.”

Was he for real? I didn’t flirt. “I’ll try.”

He scowled.

“Very hard,” I added on, smiling some more. Who knew that Greyson Edwards was a bit of a territorial man? I liked this side of him. It made me feel… something.

“Don’t fuck with me, Liv.”

Who said anything about fucking? “In case you forgot, Greyson, we haven’t done any fucking yet.” I winked at him, glancing at the now green light. “See you in a little bit.” I gave him a quick wave before I sped off ahead of him.

Bantering with him was fun. The only un-fun part was that we had to tiptoe around our parents. He would only be able to come to me at night, waking me up, or perhaps sometimes I’d wait up for him. Our nightly kisses were something I looked forward to.

Jet was throwing a party on Saturday and I couldn’t wait to have some alone time with him. Even though we had spent the night kissing in my room, I hated the feeling of sneaking around.

I was hoping he’d take me back to that plateau, up in the mountains again.

Yes, Saturday couldn’t come soon enough.

Chapter 19

Liv

I wasn’t an aspiring photographer or anything, but over the years, I enjoyed taking peculiar pictures. I then developed them and stuffed them in a box. At times, I looked over them and imagined what their life story might be.

Smiling, I thought about all the candid photos I had taken half an hour earlier. I’d just come back from a walk, taking pictures of the farmer’s market, when my mom called me. I was only a few steps away from the driveway when I picked up the phone.

“Hey, Mom! Are we still up for lunch at the Corner Bakery?” I greeted her as I held my camera that was wrapped around my neck before I inserted my hand in my pocket to fish out my keys to the house.

“Uh, sure, but honey, are you on your way home?” She sounded strained, breathless even.

Mighty weird.

“I’m outside. I just need to wash my face and freshen up then we can go for lunch,” I rushed out, knowing how my mother hated it when I lagged at getting ready.

She cleared her throat. “No, I need to see you right away. We’re in the living room. See you in a bit.” She then hung up on me before I had a chance to say anything else.

Besides, who was “we”? Mom and I did lunch dates, but did that mean Brett was going to join us now, too, since they were together? God, I hoped not. I barely got to see her anymore and sharing my time with her was difficult enough. I didn’t want to deal with Brett and pretend that I wasn’t kissing his son when they weren’t watching.

What we were doing was sneaky, however I had never had such fun in my life.

Grey’s kisses were… well, I looked forward to them, each and every day. His usual aggressiveness had toned down more than a notch, and I appreciated that greatly. My toes tingled at the thought of kissing him again later tonight.

“
Liv?
” Mom called out the moment I shut the door.

Why was she in a hurry? I groaned. I was all sticky from my two-mile walk.

“Coming,” I called out, rushing towards the living room. I was pushing my damp hair behind my ear when I entered the area and stopped in my tracks, shocked.

Fuck.

Shit. On. Me.

“Liam!” I whispered. What the fuck was he doing here? Didn’t he have classes? Fuck my life.

His gorgeous face lit up and his ice blue eyes snapped back at me before he rushed towards me, hugging me hard as he picked me up from the floor, stealing the breath out of my body.

Once he placed me back on earth, I stared shockingly at him, speechless.

“You still look beautiful surprised.” He grinned, looking hot and sexy with a short-sleeved polo, shorts and navy boat shoes on. “Your mom and I were just talking about you.”

I gulped. Was Grey home? God, I hoped not.

“Why didn’t you tell me you were visiting?” I breathed out as sweat broke out through my pores. “
Aren’t you supposed to be in school?
” Yeah, panic didn’t look good on me.

“If I told you, then it wouldn’t be a surprise, now would it?” He gave me his dashing smile, but this time, it didn’t reach his eyes. He was studying me and I knew he was aware of what was going through my head.

Mom stood up, making me glance at her. “Liv, I asked Liam if he wanted to join us for lunch, but he asked me as a favor if he could take you out instead. I guess we’ll join you two for dinner. I’ll let Brett and Greyson know so they can come and join as well.” She strolled over to us, kissing me on the cheek before she gave Liam a big, welcoming hug. “It was great to have finally met you. I sort of lost my daughter to you all summer long, but I can see why she was so consumed with you.” She winked at me. “I’ll see you two kiddos later.” With that, Mom walked straight to her bedroom that she shared with Brett, leaving Liam and I alone.

Why did Mom leave in such a hurry? I needed a few minutes to think this through. I just hoped that Liam wasn’t going to grill me for questions. Not yet. I needed to strategize.

Though, seeing him in the flesh after a month apart… all of our memories in Sydney and the reasons why I had fallen for him in the first place came rushing back. This man was the guy I had vowed to keep… and hopefully to marry someday.

“Hi,” I croaked out, shifting on my feet.

“Hello,” he mused. “Hungry?”

No, I wasn’t
; not anymore. My stomach was filled with dread and those damn butterflies. What a damn combination. It made me want to vomit.

I nodded. “Sure.” Why wasn’t I jumping all over him, kissing him like I usually did back in Australia? I was sure he noticed that, too. After all, it had been only a month.

We walked towards the main door after he told me he’d rented out a car. I remembered not seeing any new vehicles on the driveway.

“I parked across the street.” Liam pointed out as we got out of the house. His hand lightly guided me towards the rented, white SUV. Apart from the light touch, he didn’t touch me again after the huge hug he gave me earlier.
This
thought made me nervous.

What did this unexpected surprise mean? Was he going to cut all ties with me? What if he planned to continue going steady and really push for a long distance relationship? Would I be ready for that? All these questions kept swirling through my head to the point that I was dizzy with them when we reached The Corner Bakery.

Navigation was an amazing thing; I didn’t have to tell him anything. He figured it all out all on his own. I was sure Mom had told him the address. She was helpful like that.

Not once did Mom make my life hell when it came to dating guys. She was the kind of parent where I could call at three in the morning, crying my eyes out because a guy dumped me for not wanting to have sex with them. She’d go wherever I was, give me a loving hug, a warm cocoa and let me vent until I was all out of tears.

She was the best and for her to give me her thumbs up with Liam, it made it all the more official that I could move in with him once I got back to Sydney. She and Dad had discussed it. As long as I was being responsible and always promised to be happy, they would both support me all the way.

Yes, I had the best parents in the world and I loved them to the moon and back.

It wasn’t until we were seated and finished ordering before Liam looked me straight in the eye with both hands on the table. Clearing his throat, he asked me what I had been dreading this whole time. “Should I be worried about that text message you sent me, Olivia?”

Pressing my lips together, I thought about his question for a quick flash before I nodded my response. “I didn’t mean for you to worry. I’m sure it’ll go away…” Will it? Grey had been in my thoughts… even now, when I was facing the guy I planned to spend the rest of my life with. He simply littered my brain and it was the most confusing thing; to be here with Liam and still think about the guy who had my body thrumming like a slut. I hated that word, but fuck, I sure was becoming like one when it came to Greyson.

Liam pondered my answer before he leaned back against his chair and stared at me like he was trying to read my mind. For a full minute he stared before saying, “
Worried…”
He murmured the word. “Your eyes don’t look excited to see me…
you think I’m not worried?
Fuck, yeah, I’m more than worried now.”

He saw too much in me, I didn’t like that. “I didn’t mean for this to happen. It’s nothing serious.” The hurtful look on his face struck me deep in my core. “God—” I gulped. “I’m so sorry.”

This had been his idea, to see other people. Saying sorry wasn’t part of the deal, but I found myself saying it anyways, which in turn made him scowl. I wasn’t dampening any suspicions he had on me.

The attraction with Greyson was
all physical. It didn’t mean that I wanted to throw away the life I had pictured and thought out for myself. I still aimed to follow that path. He was just the guy that was too hot to resist in school, nothing more. It didn’t mean anything, I was sure of that.

Yeah, Grey didn’t mean anything to me
, I repeated in my head. Nothing. He was just a sexy guy I made out with whenever I got a chance, that was all.

Hesitantly looking over at Liam, I licked my lips before I tried to reach out for his hand, grazing it with a shaky finger, staring at them with an ache in my heart. “I love you, nothing will ever change that.” I did. I really did.

“Who is he?” he asked, sounding wretched.

How did I answer this without giving too much away? I didn’t want to get in trouble with my mom. I wasn’t ready for that. Not yet anyway. “He’s a guy from school…”
Amongst other things.

“You’re not falling for him, are you?”

My eyes bulged out, shocked at his assumption. “What!” I shrieked. “Of course not!” I said, gripping his hands with my own. “You’re the only one. Don’t even go there, Liam. It’s not like that. He means nothing to me. This is just a phase, so please, don’t over-think everything.” He was definitely overthinking too much. His questions were giving me into an immediate panic attack. In love?
With Greyson?
Was he fucking crazy? Hell no I wasn’t.

His cool blue eyes studied me again, holding me entranced. “How sure are you?”

Liam was all I had ever wanted in a man, and I had him here with me… “One hundred percent. That woman you were dating—”

He cut me off. “Bled my ears dry from her stories.” He gave my hands a squeeze. Hard. Powerful. “I came here to ask and hope that things haven’t progressed as far as I feared… if I lose you…”

God, I had been thinking the worst with that date he’d had before. Knowing that nothing happened made me somehow happy. As for Grey… “I’m still planning to move in with you in Sydney. My mind is set. I’m going to be with you soon.” I wanted a time warp, one where I could fast forward this phase and be with him already.

“And the guy in the picture?” He frowned.

I had to make a choice, and I was going to choose the right man for me, not the man for right now. “If it makes you happy, I’m going to stop things with him…” I could do it. There was nothing going on. Apart from kissing, nothing substantial had really happened.

“It would do me the world,” he murmured, “
but will it make
you
happy?”
he emphasized. It was as if he was asking me if Greyson was important in my life.

Cutting Grey off… “I’m going to talk to him about it…” I trailed off, knowing how pissed Grey would be, but then again, that was expected. Besides, didn’t he miss his girlfriends?

What makes you think that he isn’t with them now?
My thoughts provoked, making me scowl.

He nodded, his lips breaking into a big smile. “Thank you. You don’t know how often I was pissed at myself for suggesting that we try seeing other people while we were away from each other.”

Dumbest idea of the century
, I wanted to blurt out, however I gave him a tight smile instead.

Seeing how he was now, I felt bad for sending him that text message, yet at the same
time, I knew I had to tell him that I was getting infatuated with someone.

After we finished our meal, I checked my messages. I had one from Josie, asking what time we’d meet for Jet’s party. Shit, that was tonight! “You’re staying for how long?” I lightly asked
, sipping my scalding brewed coffee with caution.

“I leave tomorrow. Sorry I couldn’t stay long, but I have school and I just needed to see you and make sure everything was okay.”

Seeing him now, everything came into perspective. “I could ask Brett and Mom if you could stay with us,” I offered, knowing that this wouldn’t be a problem. Mom trusted me greatly and I was sure Brett wouldn’t mind letting him stay for one night.

Liam shook his head, smiling. “Nah, I checked into a hotel nearby. I wanted some alone time with you, if you’d allow it.”

Man, was he quick. Then again, this was Liam. He never did give up on me. “I’d love that.” First, though, I had to text Grey. Warn him. Something.

***

We had just gotten inside his hotel room when I excused myself to the bathroom. I needed a moment to breathe as well as to send Josie and Grey messages.

I stared at myself in the mirror, noting how flushed I looked. The bathroom was big, designed with romance in mind. Liam had thought of everything. He was going to woo me back into his arms. He felt threatened and I couldn’t blame him. Days had passed when I’d barely thought of him. It was the polar opposite to how I had been before; when I’d thought of him every second of the day. However, when Grey entered the picture, the guy consumed me, hijacked my mind and body to the point that they only responded to him.

Pulling my phone out, I pressed my lips together, hoping that this wouldn’t cause any problems in the future. We
did
live in the same household and I still hoped that this would be kept between the two of us.

Me:
Liam’s here and we had a talk. I have to end this thing with you. I’m sorry I couldn’t tell you face to face. I hope you understand.

Sent.

My message was straightforward and on point. Sighing, I typed another one for Josie.