Chapter Nine

Michelle

In the morning, my dream was reality. Oliver’s head was between my legs, which were raised and pushed up high, as he tongued his way all around my pussy. I moaned and pulled his hair, begging him to fuck me. He didn’t. Not then anyway. After I came, he flipped me on my stomach and then slid into me, coaxing another climax out of me.

I glanced at the clock on the bedside table and yelled, “Oh, shit. I’m late.” I flew into the bathroom. There wouldn’t be time to wash my hair, only time for a quick rinse in the shower. I dry shampooed and dressed in record time. Oliver was still in bed.

“What are you doing?” I asked. “Don’t you have to work?”

“Yeah. I’m late now. What’re another few minutes? I’ll take a shower, but I wanted to let you have the bathroom.”

I shrugged, not having time to discuss this point. “I’ll talk to you later. Lock up when you leave.”

When I got to work I was completely frazzled. My boss took one look at me and asked me if I’d had a rough night.

“Uh, I couldn’t fall asleep until late and then I overslept.”

“Michelle, is everything okay?”

“Fine, why?”

“You only have make-up on one eye.”

“Oh, crap. I was in such a hurry I forgot.”

“Um, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but it sort of looks like you forgot your bra too.”

I looked down to see my nipples through the shirt I had on. I did indeed forget my bra. What the hell was wrong with me? Thank God I brought a sweater. It was always freezing in the office, which was why my nips were trying to poke through my shirt.

“Oh, God.” My head dropped down. “I’m such a dork.”

She laughed and patted my shoulder as I put on my sweater and buttoned it up.

“It could be worse. At least you have a sweater.”

“If I didn’t I’d wear my coat all day,” I huffed. “Now I have to figure out what to do about naked eye. I don’t have any eyeliner or mascara with me.”

She grabbed my arm and said, “Come with me. I’ve got you covered.” She kept extra make-up in her desk drawer. “I’m always having to go to some meeting after work and never have time to go home.”

“You’re a life saver.”

“Just keep those.” She eyeballed them for a second, then said, “They’ve never been used.”

“You’re sure I can have these?” I asked.

“Yep. They’re yours.”

I decided to keep them in my desk in case I did anything this stupid again. Maybe I should keep a bra in there too. Oliver really had messed up my morning. When I got to my desk, I texted him to let him know. I wasn’t surprised by his response.

You just made my day. It was followed by a series of laughing emojis.

The day of Oliver’s party arrived and I was super busy making appetizers. I generally enjoyed cooking, but wasn’t exactly an expert. The kitchen was a disaster with mixing bowls and measuring cups everywhere. Two of the appetizers had to be baked. One was an artichoke parmesan dip and the other was a buffalo chicken one, so I decided bake them at Oliver’s. The other two were cold and they were ready and waiting in the refrigerator. Now all I had to do was clean up and shower.

After I was dressed, I loaded up the car and headed to the guys’ house. They had already moved the furniture, had the bar set up, the music was playing, and the table was ready for the food. All they needed was to set up for the buffet. They had purchased plates, utensils, napkins, and cups, which were all in the kitchen, so I went about getting those out, after I stuck the dips in the oven. Guests would be arriving in about forty-five minutes. The catered food soon arrived and was set up and my appetizers were ready.

It was great to catch up with Sheridan and Beck. They said their Christmas was awesome. Apparently English got a puppy and named it Boonior (which was a combination of her dog Boonie that died, and junior) and the thing was cute as hell, but ate socks, slippers and pooped everywhere. They had me dying laughing with the stories.

Oliver came up to us to and stole me away to introduce me to his work associates.

“But I thought I met them at the Halloween party.”

“You did, but I wanted to make sure you remembered them since they all had costumes on.”

“Ahh, good point.”

He rattled off a bunch of names I recalled. They were outside around the fire pit again, but no one seemed to be able to keep the fire going.

“Let me see if Beck can.” I went back inside to grab him and Sheridan. His fire building skills came through and soon there were roaring flames warming the group of us out there.

Oliver announced, “Don’t forget to eat everyone. We have a ton of food inside.”

Tara, one of Oliver’s co-workers, sidled up to me and asked a bunch of questions about Oliver and me. It was a little strange and I got the impression that maybe she had an interest in him. But then I was distracted by Sheridan and forgot about it. Tara kept approaching me, asking me things such as how close I was to Oliver or how often Oliver and I saw each other. She was super friendly and not catty at all. I finally asked her if she had an interest in him and she laughed it off saying they were only work friends. I told myself I would mention it to Oliver later, but time and alcohol made me forget about it.

Later, I noticed him talking to Tara and it appeared they were arguing. I wondered about that, but Zack’s girlfriend grabbed me because she was on the hunt for more tortilla chips. Then Sheridan and Beck were leaving so I walked out front with them to say good-bye.

“It was great seeing you. Let’s not take this long before we get together again,” I said.

“I know. It’s crazy busy with a little one, though,” she said.

“Not to mention work.” She wiggled her fingers as they walked to their car.

When I went back inside, I couldn’t find Oliver. I asked Zack and he said they were out back, so I headed that way. As I walked out the door, the loud conversation hushed. This wasn’t the first time it happened. Did his work friends not like me? I was going to find out.

“Hey everyone. Do I smell bad or something?”

Oliver cracked up. “Why would you ask that?”

Sweeping my arm out in a wide arc, I said, “Because every time I walk out here, y’all stop talking.”

He rushed up to me and said into my ear, “That’s because you’re so fucking hot.”

“Oh, come on Oliver, it’s the truth. I’m getting a complex around your work friends. It’s super awkward.”

He steered me away from the group and the porch light reflected the true concern in his expression. His brows were drawn together and even though he wore his glasses, it didn’t conceal it. There were several more creases on his forehead so I reached up to smooth them out.

“I don’t want you to feel that way. We weren’t talking about you. We were discussing a work issue. No one wants to bore you with our work speak.”

“I don’t mind you talking about work, but to go quiet is strange to me.”

“It’s not because of you. They don’t want to talk over your head about computer shit, you know?”

He cupped my cheeks when I didn’t respond, and said, “Michelle, tell me it’s good. I don’t want your feelings hurt.”

What to say to that? He’d hurt my feeling before, with all the avoidance about going to his parents’ house, but I’d kept my mouth shut time and again. This wasn’t the time or place for this discussion. So I only nodded. Unfortunately, that got my wheels spinning again, which I wish it hadn’t.

“What’s wrong?” he asked.

“Nothing.”

“Don’t lie.”

“Oliver, I get the feeling you’re the one who lies to me all the time.”

Large blue eyes grew even larger. “Why would you say that?”

My expression said Come on, Oliver, you know why.

He didn’t say another word. We stared at each other but it felt like we were miles apart. Suddenly, he blurted out, “Michelle, I’m in love with you. Nothing is what you think.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

He rubbed his face and shook his head. “It’s … there’s more to it.”

“Then tell me.”

“I can’t. But I will soon. Please, trust me.”

I didn’t want to hear any more weird stories or excuses so I walked inside. I went to the front closet where I had put my purse and headed out the front door. No one noticed, as they were all engaged in conversations with various people. As I got in my car and drove to my house, which was less than a mile away, I wondered how long it would take for Oliver to call.

My phone rang as the words drifted in my head. I ignored it. It wasn’t until I got home that I answered it. It was the fifth time he called.

“Where are you?” His voice was frantic.

“Home.”

“Why did you leave?”

“You seriously have to ask that? I know in my heart you’re not being honest with me. You’re hiding something from me and I can’t deal with it.”

“Listen to me. I love you.”

“Love isn’t enough, Oliver, when deceit is involved.”

A heavy sigh hit my ears. “You don’t understand.”

“Then explain it to me. I’m not an idiot. I may not be a member of Mensa like you and your friends are but I can comprehend most things.” My jab was cutting as it was meant to be. I was tired of being treated like … well, I didn’t exactly know what.

“That’s not fair.”

“Yes, it is. Your work friends look at me like I’m not welcome. I don’t like it and don’t want to be around them anymore.”

“They don’t—”

“They do. You’re not paying attention if you think anything else. Or you’re blind and deaf if you don’t see how they treat me and whisper behind my back. But I do.”

“It’s not what you think.”

“As I’ve asked you before, tell me. But you seem incapable of that. So at this point, I believe we should end this conversation before it escalates into something ugly.” And that’s what I did. My phone rang several more times and then it dinged with texts, which I ignored. Instead, I washed my face, brushed my teeth, and curled up in bed with my pillow, trying to figure out why my sexy geek of a boyfriend refused to explain his mysterious life to me.