Lorenzo
Spooning Olivia would never be the same after today. Lorenzo had never doubted they were meant to be together, not even when he’d experienced the most blinding fury of his life. Deep in his heart, that fact was the only thing that got him through it. Despite how angry he’d been, those days without her had only further confirmed what he’d already begun to believe. He couldn’t live without her. And now he refused.
But this still felt too good to be true. Even as he slipped in and out of her from behind and she arched her back, welcoming him in deeper, this was just too damn good to be true.
Her tests regarding any sexual battery had all come back negative. The authorities had found frightening evidence of what the sick obsessed bastard had been planning on doing to her for over a year. Turned out Olivia’s first impression of his creepy ass had been spot on. Elton was a deeply disturbed individual who’d written endless entries in his journal about his darling Olivia. Their trip to his cabin was only the first stop in his plans. He wanted to first gain her love before taking her on a trip around the world on his yacht.
Fortunately, they’d tracked her down before he’d gotten to any of the other sick things he’d planned on doing to gain said love for him. The emotional scars she’d carry forever from the whole ordeal were the most damage the psycho had done. But Liv assured Lorenzo she was fine now—more than fine.
Everything else was great. Elton was in a mental institute now and would likely spend the rest of his life there. His lawyers had since mailed Liv the title papers to her van, and she was now free and clear of any debt to Elton. As promised, Liv hadn’t had any contact with Jay since she left Dallas that fateful night. She and King now lived with Lorenzo, and while there’d been some talk about marriage, for now they’d concentrate on getting used to this new big change in their lives—enjoy it. One of the first things they’d done after Liv moved in with him because she’d always been big on having a family portrait in their front room was go out and get one. They now had a 16 x 20 portrait of the two of them and King on the front-room wall. Life couldn’t be better.
After everything she’d gone through, Lorenzo had decided there were plenty of other ways he could enjoy her body without pushing for the kink. Lorenzo had steered clear of what they’d been beginning to experiment with before everything with Elton went down. He’d been afraid somehow anything even the slightest bit uncomfortable or out of the ordinary might trigger something. So he’d been content to never go there again. Then she’d brought it up, and now here they were. Since getting past the initial discomfort of it, she was actually enjoying it far more than he’d ever imagined.
“How the fuck did I get so lucky?” he whispered gruffly against her ear as he slipped in as deeply as he could, and she moaned loudly.
Olivia arched her back, moving to the rhythm of his thrusts as he began speeding up. “I’m not gonna last,” he grunted as the impending explosion built fast. “This is gonna be bigger and messier than usual,” he warned through his teeth.
That only made her arch her ass to him more, and he was done.
“Ugh!” It was everything he’d expected this to be and then some. “Jesus, that was unbelievable!”
He let his head fall down on the pillow as his heart nearly pounded through his chest. Lorenzo had only begun to catch his breath when he felt her sit up, and he opened his eyes, prepared to reach for her. He wasn’t ready for her to leave the bed.
“Where you going?” he said as he reached his hand out.
“To be continued in the shower.” She smiled wickedly. “We have a game to go to, remember?”
AJ’s big league game. Lorenzo had forgotten all about it. But how could he not? He’d woken up to Liv rubbing that beautiful naked ass against his erection and handing him lubricant. When it became clear what she had in mind, she could’ve asked him his name and he wouldn’t have remembered.
“We can’t be late,” she said with a giggle as he grunted when she helped him out of bed. “Isaiah wants us all there when AJ’s introduced in the starting lineup. Everyone’s gonna be there.”
Lorenzo couldn’t help but smile when he saw her smile so big, and he pulled her to him, kissing her. “I think he’s in for good,” he said as they started toward the bathroom.
She glanced at him, squeezing his hand. “Nathan said the same thing.” She smiled this time, chewing her lower lip. “As long as that temper—”
“He’ll be fine,” Lorenzo squeezed her hand back.
“He will,” she agreed quickly.
They hadn’t been in the shower for a few minutes when Lorenzo’s hands were already all over her wet slippery body. “Your turn, baby,” he whispered against her lips as he lowered his fingers between her legs and felt her gasp at his touch.
He smiled against her mouth when he felt her body begin to tremble. The thought that this was forever now, was still surreal to him. He slid two fingers inside her, kissing her even deeper as she moaned in his mouth. Yep, life couldn’t get better than this.
~~~
Okay maybe it could get better. After finally finding a parking spot in the huge stadium’s lot, Lorenzo decided to just do what he’d been wanting to for weeks and kept chickening out. He’d originally thought he wanted to do it in front of the entire family, but now he was having second thoughts.
Lorenzo respected the fact that she’d said she wanted to get used to living together first before taking their relationship any further. It was a huge change for both of them. Linda had stayed with him often, but she’d had her own place the whole time. While they’d exchanged keys to each other’s places, she’d never actually lived with him. So this was a first for him too. But it had been a while since the subject of marriage or an engagement had been brought up. Olivia was the one who’d suggested they should wait. Any talk of babies, even after an entire day of watching Ruby and enjoying it immensely, was another thing she was adamant they should hold off on, though she never had very good reason for it. They were both exactly where they wanted to be in their careers. Mostly she just seemed scared.
It bothered him at first, but he’d since found a way to deal with it his way. He’d told her point blank they were getting married—maybe not today, maybe not this year, or even the next—but it was happening. If he’d learned anything from their brief break up it was this: Lorenzo wouldn’t even entertain the idea of his future without her. And with their one year anniversary in less than a week, this felt right.
Wasting no time as soon as he came around the car, he pulled her to him, leaning his forehead against hers. “You’re marrying me, Livi.”
Her eyes brightened as they always did whenever he said this to her. But before she could throw one of her usual safe responses of, “Am I?” or even “You don’t say?” he lifted her hand and slipped the ring on.
Immediately, her other hand was over her mouth. “Oh my God.” She gasped then looked up at him, her eyes full of question.
“What is this?” she finally asked.
He smiled with a shrug, trying not to let on just how nervous this made him. “We’ll be together a year this week. I figured now was as good a time as any to get a ring on your finger. We both know what this is, babe. But if it makes you feel better, until you’re ready, you can call it an anniversary ring.”
She glanced down at the three-carat rock on her finger. Who was he kidding? That was an engagement ring if anyone had ever seen one. It felt like forever, and he literally held his breath until she looked up at him again and smiled big then brought her arms around his neck, hugging him tightly. “Thank you. It’s beautiful,” she whispered. “Happy anniversary, Enzo. I love you.”
He closed his eyes as the slight disappointment seeped in, but he refused to show it. “Happy anniversary, baby,” he said, kissing the side of her face. “I love you too.”
The whole walk into the stadium and even as they made their way through the crowds inside she kept lifting her hand up in front of her to admire the ring, smiling big and giddily. At least it made her happy regardless of what the ring represented.
After purchasing beer and a couple of hotdogs, they headed down to their seats. Everyone was there including Romero and his wife and Uncle Max, Manny, and his wife.
“This is bullshit,” Lorenzo said with a smirk. “Why do I get stuck next to Romero?
Her brothers laughed as did Romero’s wife. “Shit,” Romero said as Lorenzo sat down next to him. “You’re the lucky one.”
They chatted and ate as they waited for the game to start. When AJ was introduced at the beginning of the game, they all went nuts cheering and whistling. Anytime AJ came up to bat, they’d go nuts all over again, especially when he got a hit in the middle of the fifth and then went on to score.
Things got a little more exciting at the bottom of the seventh when one of the players on AJ’s team was hit by a pitch and was visibly pissed about it, saying something to the pitcher as he took first base. The rowdy instigators in the crowd didn’t help as they ranted and cheered on obnoxiously, trying to make more of the incident than it was. Manny and Max were two of the loudest, yelling out crude remarks.
The inning was quickly over when the next batter grounded out and the Padres took the field again to start the eighth inning. The very first pitch hit the batter, causing another stir and the umpire issued warnings as the batter took first base at annoying snail’s pace.
“Ah, fuck,” Nathan, who sat in the row in front of them, muttered, shaking his head.
“What?” Romero asked.
“This is how it always starts,” Nathan said as Liv squeezed Lorenzo’s hand.
Romero still didn’t seem to understand, so Nathan explained if any of the next batters talked shit AJ would be the one hearing it since he was behind the plate. At first it appeared Romero thought this was a good thing. “Hey, if the guy’s stupid enough to get in his face, let AJ fuck him up!”
Emi turned to explain they didn’t want AJ to be known as the hotheaded ticking time bomb of the team. He was too talented for that to be the one thing he stood out for. Lorenzo had to smile. Romero had been so ready to start taunting Nathan about worrying too much. But seeing Emi’s sweet anxious eyes had a completely different effect on him. It shut his argument down real quick, and he sat back quietly.
To everyone’s relief, the next batter popped out without further incident. Then the next batter started to the plate.
Nathan stood up and yelled through his hands. “Less than two innings, AJ! You got this. Finish strong!”
Liv squirmed in her seat as did Isaiah. Lorenzo leaned over and kissed her in an effort to calm her. He was about to tell her not to worry when the crowd started rumbling and cheering. Liv was instantly on her feet as the ref did his best to separate AJ and the batter. His catcher’s mask was already off as he yelled something at the batter. The benches began clearing as the distinct chant began in the stands.
“Rage! Rage! Rage! Rage!”
Both Isaiah and Nathan turned, glancing around, clearly not happy about the chants. Liv reached out and squeezed Nathan’s shoulder then patted Isaiah’s with her other hand.
“Yeah! That’s my boy!” Manny yelled out, standing up as people around him cheered with him. “Shove that catcher’s mitt up his ass, Rage! Don’t take shit from them pinstripe pansies!”
Max put his fingers between his lips, whistling so loud both Lorenzo and Romero flinched away, holding their ears. The moment Romero noticed the looks his uncles got from Isaiah and Nathan he turned back to them, shoving Max’s shoulder since he was closest.
“Will you two sit your asses down and shut the fuck—?”
Isabel, Romero’s wife, nudged him before he could finish, giving him a scowl. Romero glanced at his wife then turned back to his uncles with a hiss through his teeth. “Sit your asses down! Can’t you see you’re making this shit worse!”
Max and Manny tried to protest, but one glance at Romero’s wife, then sweet Emi, looking so sternly at them, and they grudgingly sat down.
By the time it was all calmed, the mood in their section had changed drastically. Liv hadn’t been kidding when she said she and her brothers didn’t appreciate the nickname AJ had already picked up so early in his career. When the inning was over, an uncomfortable silence enveloped them. Even Manny, Max, and Romero were uncharacteristically quiet.
“Guess what?” Liv suddenly said.
Nathan and Emi turned to look at her from the row in front of them.
Liv held her hand out, showing off the ring Lorenzo had given her. Great. They’d gone from one uncomfortable subject to another.
“Isaiah, look,” she said, touching the back of his shoulder.
Emi’s hands were over her mouth as Liv had done in the parking lot.
“Is that?” she asked, and to Lorenzo’s surprise, Liv nodded excitedly.
“An engagement ring!” Liv chirped happily.
Before he knew what was happening, they got hugs all around and congrats, and suddenly the somber mood turned celebratory. Lorenzo wasn’t sure what to think. The game ended without further incident, and the moment he had her alone, which wasn’t until they were out in the parking lot, he pulled her aside, staring at her seriously. “What was that about back there?”
She looked up at him, her eyes full of worry. “You said until I was ready.”
“I did,” he agreed immediately, slipping his hand into hers but cautioning himself not to get too excited just yet. “And if you’re ready Liv, you know I am. If it’s really what you want. But was that announcement real or did you just do that to snap everyone out of—”
“No!” she said, pushing his hands away from her. “Of course not. I wouldn’t do that.”
He smiled suddenly, pulling her to him even as she pretended to protest. “If you’re calling it an engagement ring, Liv, then I’m holding you to it. This is really happening. You know that, right?”
Her eyes opened wide, but she nodded, so he leaned in and kissed her long and deep, unable to believe his life was only getting better. Then he pulled away and looked at her even more seriously. “You know what else this means, right?”
Those cute little brows pinched, and she shook her head, looking almost scared.
“No. What?’
He leaned his forehead against her. “Raiders, baby. You’re crossing over to the dark side!”
Olivia laughed, nudging him playfully. “No way!”
“Hey, it’s not my fault you skipped over the formalities of this engagement. It’s in the contract. You accept that engagement ring; you’re a Raiders fan. It’s in the fine print, and you’ve already told your whole family, so you can’t take it back now.”
She smiled, her eyes suddenly full of tears. “I wouldn’t dream of taking it back. Ever.”
He smiled, kissing her softly again. “I wouldn’t dream of letting you”—he tilted his head—“even if it meant having to remove that clause from the contract. I’d do anything for you, Liv.”
“Go Raiders,” she attempted to whisper, but it was more of a squeak as a tear slid down her cheek. “I’d do anything for you, Enzo.”
“What are the odds I’d get so lucky?” he said, feeling suddenly choked up too.
“Better than most,” she said, lifting her hand to show him her bracelet she still never took off. “We were meant to be.”
“I’ve known it since day one,” he whispered, kissing her again. “You were meant for me, baby.”
“And you were meant for me.”