Chapter Nine
Zack
Friday
My hands snuck around Olivia’s cheeks as the kiss deepened. At first she resisted a little, her body stiff and straight, but then she relaxed into it. She wanted the kiss and was falling right into it, which only brought my own excitement levels up even higher.
I knew that I found this woman attractive. I was aware that there was something special about her, but I didn’t realize it was going to make me feel this good. I did it because I liked the over-the-top reaction she gave me last time. I certainly didn’t think it would make me feel damn butterflies now.
Maybe this was a mistake.
I pulled back and stared at Olivia for a second. She looked even more beautiful in the bluish hue of the light, so gorgeous that I wanted to wrap my arms around her and hold her close to my body. My heart thundered violently in my chest, there was a deep buzzing in my throat, and I no longer knew what to think anymore.
Olivia twisted around and bolted from the room as if she had a firecracker up her ass, leaving me confused and very alone.
Damn it, I thought angrily to myself. What the hell was that for? But that wasn’t my real question, not really. What I really wanted to know was why I felt so compelled to do it again?
I gulped down and ran my fingers through my hair, before taking in a couple of deep breaths. I needed to calm myself down, then I needed to enjoy the rest of the day at the zoo.
By the time I got back outside, Lark, Meghan, and Olivia were all standing by the leopard pen, laughing at something. I paused for a moment, considering everything that had just gone on. For a man who didn’t get on well with children, Lark had taken to Meghan well.
Then again, I felt the same way. She was a sweet kid who was easy to get along with. I felt like if I ever was going to take on a child – not that I’d changed my mind about that, of course – then Meghan would be the sort of child that I wouldn’t mind being around.
Then again, it wasn’t really Meghan I was worried about. It was her mom that held my attention.
As my neighbor, I thought she was cute, as my physiotherapist I thought she was challenging, but after that kiss… Well, now I wasn’t sure how I felt about her. I wanted to keep winding her up to bring her out of her shell, but I wanted to kiss her even more. That kiss was incredible, it was too short, and it left me wanting so much more.
As I walked over to where they were all standing, I had to really keep my arms fixed by my side to resist the utter temptation to reach out and grab her. This was going to be a very difficult day.
“Look, Zack,” Meghan called excitedly to me. “It just did a yawn, and it’s mouth is massive!”
“Ooh, don’t get too near then,” I teased while knocking on the glass. “You wouldn’t want to find yourself in that mouth.”
“Why? Will it eat me?”
“Only if you’re a very naughty girl!”
As Meghan laughed loudly, Olivia braved looking at me once more. The expression on her face was barely readable. She didn’t look like she was quite ready to jump my bones, but she didn’t look like she wanted to kill me, either. I smiled brightly at her and sent her a wink, but that only resulted in her snapping her eyes away from mine once more.
It was okay that she felt confused. To be honest, I did, too. It had been such a long time since I’d felt anything for anyone, so I wasn’t totally sure what I wanted to happen. It probably wasn’t even legal anyway, since she was my physiotherapist. Maybe it would be better for me to just forget about her entirely, put the kiss down to a little mishap…
But when I stared at her again, I realized going to be possible. She was just too intriguing.
***
After the zoo, I took Meghan, Olivia, and Lark to a nearby restaurant which I knew would be suitable for Meghan. I hadn’t forgotten what Olivia told me about her daughter, and I needed her to see that I paid attention.
“The owner has a lot of food allergies,” I told her reassuringly. “He caters for many people.”
“Wow,” she told me with wide-eyed surprise. “There aren’t many places she can eat, so this will be awesome. I’ll have to note the name of it.”
We ordered quickly, with even Meghan finding something that she could eat, and then a heated debate broke out about who was better: Iron Man or Superman. Lark started it to give Meghan something to distract her while we waited for our meals to be cooked, but I couldn’t help wading in.
“There’s no way that Superman is better,” I told Lark while winking at Meghan. “Iron Man is strong, practically invincible, and also super cool. Plus, have you seen his outfit? Superman is in a leotard.”
“Yay!” Meghan cried out gleefully. “Iron Man!”
“Superman can fly,” Lark joined in while shaking his head. “Are you insane? Olivia, what would you rather, the ability to fly or to be really strong?”
“I’m not getting into this,” she chuckled. “You can fight this out among yourselves.”
And fight we did, all the way through lunch. Luckily it wasn’t a particularly fancy place, so it didn’t matter when things got heated and loud. We attracted the attention of all the other people in there, but since we’d come in late, after the main lunch rush, it hardly mattered. In fact, some of the people actually joined in with us. Mostly siding with Meghan, just because she was so freaking adorable.
“Come on, let’s go to the comic book shop,” I declared once we’d finished eating. “We’ll see what they sell more of: Iron Man or Superman. That will be the deciding factor.”
“Yeah! Mom, can we?”
We all turned to face Olivia, who had seemingly given up on her resistance to spending the day with Lark and me. “Fine, come on, let’s go. Where is this place anyway?”
“Just around the corner.”
As we walked, Meghan’s excitement grew to an almost uncontrollable level. I got the impression that she was having the best day that she’d had since setting foot in New York City, which actually sparked something within me. I wanted to make her day even better. I wanted to get her to love her new home so that her and her mother might stick around.
***
“You shouldn’t have brought all that stuff for Meghan,” Olivia insisted again as we left the store. We’d been in there for hours, and I had three bags of Iron Man merchandise clutched between my fingers. “It was too much, too expensive.”
“Oh, the kid’s happy,” I grinned at her. My heart lifted and I felt happiness as I watched Meghan’s eye light up. “She enjoyed herself, what does it matter?”
“Honestly? I don’t know when I’m going to be able to pay you back, that’s all.”
“I don’t want you to pay me back.” I was offended by the suggestion, as if I’d expect her to give me the cash back, whether I’d won the lottery or not. “Don’t be crazy, they’re gifts.”
Before Olivia could ask any more, I hailed a cab, and we all got into it. As we drove home, I fixed my eyes out the window, wondering what I was going to do next. I’d been predictable for such a long time. I’d been very careful ever since the accident, so to know that anything could happen at any moment was exciting. I liked the sense of being out of control.
“I’m going to carry her in,” Lark insisted as I paid the cab driver. “Meghan looks exhausted. I don’t think she’ll make it up the stairs.”
We took the elevator to try and get in quicker, but it didn’t matter. The day had worn Meghan out, and she fell asleep in Lark’s arms. She looked so peaceful and angelic lying there in his arms, but Olivia only looked stressed.
“Oh my goodness, she’s asleep already? She’s going to wake up so early.”
“Don’t worry about that now,” Lark chuckled. “She might not, she’s done a lot today so you might get lucky. I’ll put her into bed, which way is her room?”
While Olivia pointed him in the right direction, he shot me a warning look. It was almost as if he could sense the change within me and he knew that I wanted to kiss Olivia. Was this him giving me the time to do so? I wasn’t willing to pass up the opportunity, just in case.
As soon as he’d gone from sight, I pulled Olivia back to me and pressed my lips more gently up against hers. The sparks came back. I felt that wonderful fluttering sensation running through me again, so I wrapped my arms tighter around her. I wanted to cling to this feeling for as long as possible.
It was just a shame that she didn’t seem to feel the same way.
“Stop it.” She finally pushed back and forced her lips away from mine. Her eyes were wide and questioning. “Why do you keep doing that?”
Because I really want to, because you’re beautiful, because I actually like you!
“Because you look like you need a kiss,” I told her instead with a smirk. “Why else?”
She pressed one hand onto my chest to keep a distance between us. “I don’t need a kiss from you or anyone else, thank you very much,” she replied firmly. “And, I don’t really appreciate the suggestion that I might.”
I shrugged, acting like it didn’t bother me. “If that’s what you think, that’s fine.”
I moved towards the door and waited for Lark to come out from the bedroom. It was awkward for a few moments, but soon he was there and he could instantly tell from mine our body language that it hadn’t gone well.
“You struck out, huh?” he asked me quietly as we made the journey across the hallway. “Shame. I thought I sensed some chemistry between you two today.”
That bucked me up. If Lark could see it, then there had to be something between me and Olivia. He wasn’t very observant when it came to things like that. She was resisting it, probably for all the sensible reasons, such as the fact that we had to see each other every day and I was her patient. But if there was something between us, then she would succumb to it eventually. If I continued to be my charming self, then it wouldn’t be long.
“I didn’t strike out,” I told Lark warmly. “I’m playing the long game. You’ll see.”
“Hmm, it sounds like you’re being too optimistic, but we’ll see.” Lark paused thoughtfully for a moment. “But her kid is cool. I actually like Meghan, she’s sweet.”
“Yeah, me, too. A lot of fun, you know, for a three year old.”
“Well, that’s good.” Lark shrugged and smiled at me. “In case you’re right and things do work out between you and her mom.”
“I don’t know about ‘work out,’ but I am right. You’ll see soon enough.”
I felt certain that I was right.