Chapter 8
Bastien
Past
“Olive, wait up!” I ran across the snowy street to catch up with Olivia. It was the first time I'd been able to catch her since the party last weekend. She didn't even look over when I finally reached her; she was definitely still pissed at me.
“What do you want, Bastien?” Olivia's tone was colder than the early winter air.
“Listen, that party. I didn't think you'd show, so I said the hell with it and got all fucked up. And I—” Shit, why was this so hard? I never felt the need to apologize to anyone before, but knowing Olivia was mad at me had been eating me alive. It was all I thought about.
“Ah, hell.” I grabbed her hand, stopping and turning her to face me. I took a short breath and just said it. “I'm sorry, Olivia. I was a real dick to you.”
Her frozen frown melted a bit at the apology, but she wasn't as over it as I'd hoped. I'd really hurt her. She hadn't worn anything bold and attention grabbing since that party; I’d really fucked up her confidence.
I was surprised at how shitty that made me feel.
“I got you something,” I said, watching her blue eyes fill with cautious curiosity. I shrugged my bag off my shoulder and opened it.
“Did you seriously steal me those gross beers from the party?”
“Yeah, but that's for both of us—” I shot her a sly look. “After you forgive me.” She forced down a smile, but her softening eyes gave her away. “This is what I got you.”
Behind the beer was a mismatched bouquet of obviously plucked—and slightly smushed—flowers. They were wrapped together in a few paper towels. I handed it to her and watched the last stubborn bit of anger fade from her face.
“Where—How did you find fresh flowers in November?” Olivia was awestruck. I wished I could steal that look from her and keep it with me.
“Blow off school with me today.” I held up my Dad's truck keys.
“What? I can't do that!”
“Why not? It's not like you're gonna miss anything. It's the day before Thanksgiving break, half the kids at school have already started vacation. Lenny has an in-ground Jacuzzi behind his guest house.”
“Yeah, and?” Olivia was too innocent to make the connection. It was adorable.
“He gave me the code to get in last night, riiiiiiiiight before he left for California with his family.” The corner of my mouth pitched into a mischievous smile.
“You're crazy!” Olivia's eyes flashed, she laughed nervously.
“I owe you a good first party experience, just you and me. No one will fuck with us, trust me.”
“No way! I can't! I don't even have my swim suit.” Olivia resisted, but I could see that it sounded interesting to her. She just wanted to be convinced.
“It's cool,” I gave her a look that promised her it was a good idea. I couldn't wait to see her soaking wet. “I made sure not to bring mine either.”
Present.
It was hours later when Olivia finally arrived at my car.
My Rolls-Royce Ghost idled nearly silently next to all the other flashy sports cars and gaudy SUVs in the large mansion parking lot. With its smooth lines and diamond dust infused paintjob, it was by far the classiest ride at the party.
She wanted me to play in her world?
Fine by me.
I had money to burn.
Olivia eyed me skeptically when I originally picked her up in it. She recognized that the car was way out of the price range of a simple security guard. And at nearly half a million dollars she was right.
I lied and told her it was a loan out from my employer, the owner of my security firm.
Warily she let the issue drop, but I knew it was only a matter of time until she’d start prying again.
Olivia looked exhausted from all the surface level conversation and social niceties. She opened the rear passenger door and slipped and fell into the back seat, like a fish that flopped out of its tank. “This car is ridiculous. It screams overcompensation-machine.”
“You got it all backwards, Movie Star.” I squeezed the steering wheel tight enough for the leather to creak. White-hot power radiated from the engine, alluding to its pure, controlled performance when it was allowed to get going. “My massive cock is overcompensating for my car.”
“Prove it,” Olivia muttered beneath her breath.
She was bold when she was drunk.
I was still mad at her, but that didn't make me want to tear that pussy up any less.
“Say that again,” I dared her, meeting her gaze in the rear-view mirror. My eyes deepened. She bit her lip at the corner, and her chest spiked from holding her breath.
Finally, she let it out, looked away and asked to be taken home. My balls ached at the denial of what I knew we both wanted. I would let it slide this time, but I couldn't restrain myself forever. Olivia walked a dangerous line with me.
If she wasn't careful, I'd have her panties in my teeth.
The leather-lined rear seats were designed to deliver a hot stone massage experience. When Olivia found those controls, she’d passed out before we left the neighborhood.
The two-hour drive home left me a lot of time to cool off and think. Whatever the fuck this was, it wasn't healthy for either of us. Neither of us knew what we meant to each other anymore.
Everything was so complicated now.
Was all this just a dream? Did I really lose her for good all those years ago?
It was time to try something a little crazy. I needed to see if the old Olivia, the one I thought about every day, was still in there somewhere.
I took an old, familiar detour and found a number I hadn’t called since high school.
A little over two and a half hours later, Olivia woke up when I threw the car into park and killed the engine.
“This isn't my condo.” Olivia's voice was still groggy from the short nap and the alcohol. “Where are we?”
I opened her door and held a hand for her to get out of the car. “Memory Lane.”
She blinked as she tried to remember why this place looked so familiar to her. When it finally dawned on her that we were parked behind Lenny' guest house, her voice became a scolding whisper.
“Are you crazy?” Olivia protested.
Getting a hold of Lenny was admittedly tough; we hadn't kept in touch since I left school. Fortunately I had a small team of assistants on call twenty-four seven who made short work of finding his number. When they finally tracked him down he was working for his mother’s company in Japan. Lenny was a little reluctant at my request, but eventually agreed when I offered him enough money. I had my team transfer the funds and he texted me the password number.
“We can't be here!” Olivia nervously glanced around.
I ignored her and punched in the code. The display turned green and the gazebo door unlocked. A wave of warm, humid air cascaded over me as I walked in. The glass-walled gazebo had been painted since the last time we were here, but everything else was just as I remembered it.
I left the main lights off and turned the Jacuzzi on.
“Relax, there's no one here. You going to join me or you just wanna watch?” I peeled my tuxedo shirt off and tossed it in a heap, then unclasped the top hook of my pants, all the while never taking my eyes off her.
“If I get caught—” Olivia started.
“Did we get caught last time?” I asked, kicking off my shoes. For what I just I paid Lenny, I could’ve bought the house from him twice over, but there wasn’t any reason to let her know any of that.
Olivia was too wound up, she needed a little thrill and adventure that didn’t come with a script.
“We're adults now. Do you know how insane this is?” There should've been more hostility in her words, but I could see that she was remembering the last time we were here. The memory of the fun we had when we were kids sabotaged her current outrage.
“Jesus, Olivia, when did you become such a prude?” Fully unzipped, my pants fell to the ground. Wearing just my boxers, I walked out of them and into the Jacuzzi. The water wasn't scorching yet, but it was definitely heating up fast. “Pull the stick out of your tight, little ass and get in the damn hot tub.”
She glowered at my demands. “Just my feet,” she said eventually, closing the glass door behind her. There was a hesitant smirk on her lips. “And only for a few minutes then we’re leaving!”
She put a towel on the cement edge, sat down and tested the hot water with a foot. I drank in her coo of pleasure from the bubbling water, and watched as she engulfed both of her legs to the knees. The minimal ambiance lighting played off her shimmering dress, making her almost look like a mermaid.
“Not bad, right?” I sunk to my chest, letting the water soak and relax my muscles.
Fuck I needed this.
“It’s been a long time.” She dipped a few fingers in the water and brushing her fly-away hairs out of her eyes. “Earlier, on the balcony, I might have...” Her voice drifted off. “I was harsher than I wanted to be. It's just... It hurt a whole lot when you left and I've had a hard time dealing with you being gone.”
“Your father made it very clear that I had to go.” I stood back up and walked toward her. “I ran as far as I could. I thought that I could outrun the memory of you.”
Olivia looked up with eyes as big as saucers “Did you?”
“The world wasn't big enough for that.”
“It took you six years to figure that out?” Olivia blew out her air and dipped her head to gaze at my reflection in the pool of water.
“You're oxygen to me, Olivia. Just because I can hold my breath a long time doesn't mean I don't eventually need to breathe.” I slid my hand through her hair and lifted her head with my thumb.
Admitting all this was a terrible idea, but I couldn't help it. I was so strong in many ways, but Olivia always found a chink in that armor. Looking at her now, and seeing all the things I'd missed over the years, made my whole body ache like it had the end of prom night.
“Six years, Bastien? I was seventeen. You should’ve come back so much sooner.” Olivia pulled her face away. “I don’t know what you expect out of all this, but you're too late. I'm a different person now.”
“You look me in the eye and tell me that you don't want me anymore.” I watched her eyes flick down, running from the truth.
“Haven’t you read the headlines?” Olivia snorted, irritation crept into her features. “I’m not even playing on your team any more.”
She was referring to her relationship with Samantha.
“Bullshit. I don’t give a fuck about labels.” I pried her legs apart, pressing myself between them, and into the concrete ledge she was sitting on. She looked up at me, unsure of what to do. It didn't matter, I knew what came next. “Gay, straight, bi. The heart wants what it wants. Hell, I’d probably love you if you suddenly turned into a male hippo.”
“Maybe you’re onto something,” Olive chuckled softly. “You turned into a jackass, and I still think about you all the time.”
“That explains why I was always so good at the pin the tail on the donkey game.” I smiled, then slid my fingers through her hair. Cupping the back of her head, I guided her toward me. “We can't run from it. Deep down we both know you’re always mine.”
After an eternity apart and what felt even longer being around her, but unable to touch her, I pressed her lips into mine.
We were all alone in the universe; just me and Olivia. Distance, propriety, and career; all the barriers had finally fallen away.
There were no paparazzi in at least fifty miles. No one knew we were here. We were safe to be two anxious teenagers again.
Olivia fell into me like putty and I could tell that she needed me too. I hungrily ravished her full, pink lips like I'd never kissed anyone before. I knew now that there was no giving her up. Olivia was a part of me, the best part of me.
I finally had something truly worth fighting for.