Waking Olivia (27 page)

I
t’s late
by the time I’m finally released from the hospital. Will finds us a hotel near the airport that’s reasonable by LA standards and gets us checked in.

“I need a shower,” I exhale, kicking off my shoes the moment we’re in the room. “Although I’m not sure I’m ever going to be able to wash off the seven hours I spent in that strip club.”

“I probably don’t want to know exactly what happened that led you to punch someone, do I?” he asks with a small wince.

“Probably not,” I reply, peeling off the skirt. He tries not to watch, but it’s like he can’t help himself. “You’re allowed to look now, you know.”

He closes his eyes tightly. “I think it’s best if I don’t.”

“Why?”

“Just go shower, Liv,” he sighs, not opening his eyes. “You need some rest.”

“
Rest?
So you’re saying that you’re no longer my coach and we’re alone in a hotel room and you want me to get some
rest
?”

“Olivia, in the last few hours you were assaulted and nearly died. You
just
got out of the hospital. So yeah, under those circumstances, I want you to rest.”

“I’m fine.”

“Well, I’m not. We have lots of time to do this the right way.”

“Oh my God,” I groan. “You’re not going to do, like, candles and rose petals and shit, right? While you recite poetry, maybe play some slow jams on your guitar?”

“I’m pretty sure there’s some middle ground between being sensitive ponytail guy and the guy who fucks a girl as she’s exiting the hospital.”

“You go first then. I’m going to call Erin.”

Which I don’t do, of course.

I hear the water start, the slide of the shower door, and give him two minutes before I strip off the rest of my clothes and walk into the bathroom, pausing for a moment to take him in —perfect arms, tight ass, water streaming off that delectable v where his waist meets his hips.

“Olivia,” he sighs, opening his eyes to find me ogling him. “What are you doing?”

I step into the shower. “Don’t mind me.” I lather the soap in my hands. “I’m just here to get clean.” My hands slide over my skin, down to my thighs and between my legs.

“Liv,” he groans, half-plea and half-warning. To my delight, I notice that he’s already hard and I haven’t laid a finger on him.

“Oh, how rude of me.” I wrap my slippery hands around him. “I should clean you first.”

“You just got out of the hospital,” he says through gritted teeth.

“Maybe you’d feel better about it if I was sitting,” I say as I drop to my knees, washing away the soap before I take him in my mouth.

“
Fuck
,” he gasps, and in that single word I hear him cave. “Stop,” he tells me, but it’s half-hearted and already his fingers are pressing into my scalp, running through my hair. When I glance up, I find him watching me, eyes at half-mast and feverish. I think I could come from his reaction alone: his low groan, the way he strains not to push hard into my mouth, his hips still jutting forward softly despite his best efforts.

“You’ve got to stop,” he says gruffly. “I’m not going to be able to hold back much longer.”

“Why are you holding back at all?” I ask, preparing to resume my task but in a second’s time I’m lifted from the floor entirely, my back pressed against the shower wall.

He takes the soap and runs it between my legs, and then takes his fingers to push through the soapy trail he’s left behind. “Will … oh God, that’s amazing.”

His fingers slip and slide until I think my knees are going to buckle. He is rigid in my palm, beginning to thrust up into it, as he seizes my mouth violently. “Should I take it easy on you, Olivia?” he growls.

“No,” I gasp. “Definitely not.” With a speed I didn’t imagine possible, he lifts my legs around his waist and pushes inside me hard, just the way he thrust into my hand.

“That’s so good,” he groans, his mouth pressed to my damp neck. He pulls out and presses back in, faster and harder than before, as my back slides against the shower wall.

I’m far from virginal. I’ve always enjoyed sex. But this is something else entirely, a pleasure so sharp that it almost hurts, that it draws goose bumps and elicits cries from my throat I seem helpless to stop. For the first time, I’m not worried about whether I’ll finish but about whether I can hold off a little longer.

“I’m close,” I gasp. I meant it as a warning but the second he pushes in again something bursts open inside me like a bomb. He hammers into me, prolonging everything until suddenly his whole body tenses and he groans into my neck, sinking his teeth into my skin as he comes.

He buries his face there, and I cling to him.

After a moment, I laugh shakily. “How are you still holding me up? My legs are so rubbery I’m pretty sure I couldn’t even stand on my own right now.”

His smile lifts on one side. “I’m not sure. I’m just scared I’m going to drop you if I try to move.”

Somehow we manage to separate, and then take turns soaping each other again. He turns off the water and wraps me in a dry towel. “We’ve now had sex in the shower and on a table,” he says. “I think it’s time we got really crazy and tried this thing called a bed.”

“I’ve heard of those,” I reply, following him to the room. “They sound dangerous.”

He turns toward me with a grin that could only be described as predatory. “You have no idea.”

L
ast night defies description
. When we first woke up together, it was gentle. Times four through eight were increasingly less so. Every part of my body feels bruised today and she was limping a little as we walked through LAX, which didn’t stop me from wanting to take her straight back to my apartment when we land, except that both my mom and Peter are waiting for us at the farm.

She changed out of that tiny skirt she was wearing last night, but honestly, Olivia could be wearing oversized trash bags sewn together and I’d still be itching to see what was underneath. “Maybe we should stop by my apartment first,” I suggest. “Just to get cleaned up.”

She laughs. “Is that what the kids are calling it these days?”

“Don’t hear you saying no,” I reply.

“Will,” she says, moving toward me and placing her mouth next to my ear, “I never say no.”

Fuck it. We are totally stopping at my apartment.

But not one minute later, my mom calls. “What on earth is taking so long? Your flight got in two hours ago.”

“Well, you know how that goes,” I begin. “It’s over an hour drive from Denver, and it takes a while to get the bags and—”

“Baloney. Hurry up.”

W
hen we arrive
, she runs from the house, already crying, and pounces on Olivia.

“Let’s give them a minute and take a walk,” Peter says to me.

I go to the porch and he follows, looking unbelievably uncomfortable. “What’s going on, Peter?”

“A few things,” he says nervously. “The first is about the farm. On your mother’s behalf, I entered conversations with the school late last year about allowing the agriculture program to lease a fair bit of it, year round.”

“Lease it? Why would they do that? They have their own land, right?”

“Yeah, but they could use more, and this is a perfect test case. Your father needed to switch up the crops he was growing a few years back, when demand for corn decreased, and he didn’t. The school wants to use the farm to teach students how to change out a field, plant a new crop entirely, work out the profit/loss estimate for the first few years until it flourishes. They’re willing to pay your mother far more to lease it than your father ever earned off crops in his best year, and she’ll get 25% of the profits to boot.”

“And once we’re up and running, they’ll end the lease?” I ask.

“Not necessarily, but that’s okay either way because I’m looking to retire in a few years and I thought I might try my hand at farming.”

“So you want to buy the farm?”

“No,” he says. “Not exactly.” He hesitates. “What I’d like to do is marry your mother.”

I blink at him, momentarily speechless.

I guess I can’t call it “shocking” after everything I’ve seen happen to Olivia, but yeah, it’s still pretty goddamn surprising. It takes me a minute to process the whole thing. “Don’t you think you ought to
date
first?” I finally ask.

“Will,” he laughs, “I’ve been seeing your mother for over a year now.”

“But
how
? I mean, when did this all take place?”

He shakes his head and looks a little sheepish. “I guess you’re not the only one who fell in love behind everyone’s back.”

I’m feeling pretty good about everything until I get back inside and find Brendan with his arms around my girlfriend. Brendan’s smile fades when he sees me over her shoulder – possibly related to the fact that I already want to hit him and I’m guessing it shows on my face.

With an exaggerated sigh he releases her. “Chill, dude. I was just saying hello.”

I glare at him. “Just use words next time.”

“But Olivia gives such good hugs,” he counters, glancing at her chest. “She’s got to be at least, what, a D cup?”

“That was your last hug, asshole,” she says with a laugh, wrapping her arms around my waist.

Olivia’s mood is slightly more forgiving than my own. She’s told me that Brendan was never interested in her and was only trying to bait me before, but it’s going to be a while before the memory of him kissing her stops pissing me off.

“It’s the middle of the week,” I say, struggling to sound civil. “Shouldn’t you be taking finals?”

He shakes his head. “The school let me take them early. I thought you might need some help around here.”

Brendan hasn’t given a shit about the farm since the day he was born. When he was little he used to come home suggesting non-farm jobs to my father, as if possibly my dad just didn’t
realize
he could be a pilot or fireman instead. “Help?” I ask, my voice rife with disbelief.

I wait for the punchline but it doesn’t come.

“Yeah,” he says. “It means ‘providing assistance to.’”

“I know what it means, asshole. Are you saying
you
came back to help with the
farm
?”

He shrugs. “Unless you want me to help take care of your girlfriend, which I’m also open to.”

For the first time ever I am almost able to smile at his reference to Olivia. “This will surprise you, but no, I’m not really open to that.”

“Then I’ll just help with the farm. The school said I can take next semester off if I need to. I could even complete my coursework from here.”

“You don’t need to do that,” I argue. “You’re nearly done.”

“I’ve got my whole life to finish school, but my family needs me now. And by the way, if you’ve clung to your girlfriend long enough, you probably should go check on the horses. They’ve eaten more than their fair share of Hamburger Helper this week.”

“They aren’t supposed to eat
any
Hamburger Helper.”

He grins. “Oops. Then you may want to hurry.”

I
head to the stables
, feeling a little shell-shocked by how much has changed in a few short days. Peter is in love with my mom. Brendan is actually trying to be helpful. And Olivia – she’s safe and she’s home and most of all she’s mine. I’m not sure I’ll ever get my head around that one.

I’m still marveling at all of it when I feel my cell vibrating in my back pocket. I don’t have to look to guess who’s calling. Jessica’s been blowing up my phone since she heard I quit.

I didn’t trust myself to answer when Olivia was missing because every word I wanted to utter was a threat. I’m not even sure I trust myself now, but it’s time to end this once and for all.

“Will!” she cries when I pick up. “Thank God. I’ve been calling and calling. I heard you quit!”

“I did quit,” I tell her calmly.

“But
why
?” she gasps. “I know I implied it, but I never would have told anyone about Olivia sleeping at your mom’s.”

“I don’t think you
implied
it. You used it to blackmail Olivia into leaving.”

She’s silent for a moment, recalibrating. “I don’t know what she told you, but you know what a liar she is, Will.”

“Jessica, I didn’t even learn it from her, so don’t try to bullshit me.”

“I was upset that night, honey, and I was jealous. Maybe it was a little crazy, but I love you and sometimes love makes you do crazy things.”

“I agree,” I tell her. “It’s what made me resign.”

“You—” she draws in a hopeful breath. “You resigned for
me
?”

“No,” I reply. It’s petty but I’m really going to enjoy disappointing her. “I resigned for Olivia. And I don’t think I’d ever have known how much she really meant to me if you hadn’t run her off, so I guess I should say thanks.”

“You really think that girl can make you happy?” Jessica snarls.

“She already does. Oh, and Jessica—you know how I kept telling you I wasn’t ready to get married anytime soon?”

“Yes,” she snaps.

“I was wrong,” I tell her, and I hang up the phone.

W
e end
up staying for dinner, at my mother’s insistence. I was on the verge of arguing but a look from Olivia silenced me. “We should get going,” I say, as soon as the meal has concluded.

“You’re not going anywhere,” says my mother. “I’ve got Olivia’s favorite pie in the oven.”

Olivia, sitting across from me, looks like she wants to laugh. I’d been considering breaking my lease and moving back to the farm until I found a new job. Now, after spending two hours watching Olivia and keeping my hands to myself, I realize that plan will never work.

It’s just begun to snow as we leave. Snowflakes cling to her hair, to her lashes, making her seem other-worldly, lit up from within. She looks up at the sky and laughs, her delight almost childlike, and I’m flooded with warmth. I love her so much that it feels like there’s not even room inside me for all of it.

“What’s with the look?” she asks. “You don’t want to date me now that I’m geeking out about the snow?”

I shake my head and step toward her, wrapping my hands around her hips, and taking it all in—her wide smile, her moonlit eyes, the snowflakes glowing in her hair. “Just the opposite,” I tell her truthfully. “I’m looking at you and wondering if it’s possible that I’ve gotten this lucky.”

Her smile changes then from delight to something else, something warm and surprised, quietly pleased. “We’re both lucky,” she says, rising on her toes to find my mouth.

By the time we get in the car, our hair is soaked and we’re both shivering. I crank the heat and head down the long road from the farm, but when I reach the highway, I don’t turn toward campus.

“Where are we going?” she asks.

It didn’t even occur to me to take her home. I suppose I should have asked her, but there’s no way in hell I’m letting her set foot in that neighborhood again. “You didn’t think I was actually going to sleep in your apartment, did you?” I tease. “I’m big but I’m not bulletproof, and we’ve already been involved with the police once this week.”

“Okay, but you’re not going to be weird about it, right?” she asks. “You were so weird that first time I slept in your apartment.”

I roll my eyes. “Yeah, you mean the time my hot student sat up in bed and flashed me her tits? Nothing to be weird about there.”

“I assumed you’d seen breasts before mine.”

“Yeah, but yours are exceptional,” I reply, pulling into the parking lot. I’ve thought about that morning so many times, and now I can actually act on it. I grab her bags and head for the door. “There
is
one way tonight will be like the first time you stayed,” I warn her, putting the key in the lock.

“Oh, what’s that?”

I grin, pulling her in behind me and not bothering to turn on the lights. “My bedroom is the only part of this apartment you’ll see until daylight.”