Andrew

 

As soon as we arrive, all eyes are on us. Before I got out of the limo, I took off my tie and jacket, but I knew for a fact that they’re not looking at me as we head up to the terrace where the party’s being held. They’re looking at her. My knockout date. The one that doesn’t have a boyfriend.

I nod as I see a few familiar faces. People that were in our social circle. The one that I was a part of when I’d been seeing Roberta. She was so fucking demanding. At first, I thought it was cute. That she was the kind of girl that wanted attention, but after going to one too many events with her, I started to find it annoying. That was over a year ago. Since then she still calls. Still insists on me visiting her, but I have no intention of falling for her demands especially with this hot blonde by my side.

It’s as if the alarm bells ring the moment I start to head towards the bar. Olivia’s on radio silence. It’s clear that she’s not used to so much attention. She’s too damn cute. Nice and everything that I’ve never officially had in my life.

“Roberta,” I bark the moment she slides to my side.

She’s so fucking close she can easily be a second skin. I move away from her. “Meet Olivia.”

I was just about to say, my girlfriend, but I’ll make that announcement if Roberta gets on my nerves one too many times.

“Oh,” she says surprised, as if she never saw that Olivia was by my side. Roberta is wearing a red leather dress that pushes her fake boobs practically up to her chin. I’m trying to remind myself what I found so appealing about her. Because looking at her right now, I can’t find anything at all.

“Hi.” She cuts her eyes to Olivia, taking in her good looks. I’m sure she’s not happy.

“Hi, this is a great party.” Olivia smiles at her.

Roberta ignores her as she starts to trace her finger on my shoulder. “I’m so glad you came. I was worried you weren’t going to turn up. The party started two hours ago.”

Yes, who the fuck has a party that starts at six in New York? Apart from kids? Even eight’s a bit early, but I don’t want to cause a scene, especially because I’m trying to stand up straight against the force of Roberta leaning against me. Has she put on weight? Or is it all the silicone?

Because even her face looks a bit blotchy.

“Oh, Andrew was treating me like Cinderella. He wanted to make sure that I wore something new for tonight,” Olivia says as she purrs on the other side of me. She’s holding my arm. That part, I don’t mind, and I love that she’s a good little actress.

In the store, she was acting all innocent. Now, she’s acting like Sharon Stone out of Basic Instinct. I’m expecting her to flash that she has no panties on.

Fuck.

I better concentrate before I do something I’ll regret and make a move on Roberta, just so that I’m not near Olivia.

Roberta looks her up and down as if she’s throwing daggers at her.

“Or maybe, Andy,” Olivia whispers loud enough for Roberta to hear. “We can just get out of here, and you can see the new lingerie that you bought me, too.”

Roberta moves away, and I know that she heard and wondered if Olivia means it or is just fucking with Roberta’s head.

“I have guests to attend to. Anyway, you just got here, and there are some of your friends that are dying to say hi.”

Then she struts away from us, her hips looking as if she’s moving them from left-to-right, but even her butt looks big too. I don’t remember her having that shape at all. It’s as if her waist is too thin and she’s competing with Jessica Rabbit.

I shake my head about being with her in the past, and I move closer toward Olivia. I spin her to face me, close enough to have her full concentration and a bit too close making the temptation to kiss her is even stronger.

“Olivia, you’re full of surprises.”

“I just didn’t like the way that she was coming on to you with me standing here. It’s just rude. I wasn’t party to us doing this, but now I understand why you wanted me to do it.”

I didn’t need Olivia to fight my battles, but it’s nice for her to think that she’s here to do it. I could have brought anyone else. But I chose her; that’s the part she fails to realize. I’d just taken a golden opportunity to get rid of Roberta, and the bonus would be to spend the night with Olivia.

I laugh. “That was just a sample of the way that she behaves.”

“God, I hate to think about what’s she’s like when she gets in a rage. If she could kickbox me away from you, I have a feeling she would have done it.”

I nod. “I’m surprised she didn’t. She must be getting old.”

“If she had tried to kick my butt, would you have stopped her?”

I pause as I think about Roberta fighting Olivia and what I would have done. The same thing that all the other guys here would have done…watched.

“Nah.”

I let go of her and face the bar, ready to order. She hits me and says, “Well, next time you need a favor then don’t expect me to do to it.”

I wink at her and say, “I won’t.”

 

────

 

Olivia’s had a couple of cocktails, and she’s dancing with one too many men. I’m not jealous, but I can see that they’re trying to take advantage of her because I’m being distracted. Roberta’s working hard. She’s sending nearly all of my so-called friends to come and talk shop to me and it’s left Olivia bored, meaning that she’s decided to make her own entertainment on the dance floor.

Damn, can she move.

I watch as she holds her glass in one hand and seductively moves her hips.One minute I think that she's trying to get attention, but then I decide that she just loves music; it’s clear by the fact that she seems to know the lyrics to the songs as she sings along every time she dances.

“Olivia, let’s go.”

“Oh no, why? I was just dancing with…”

“Steve, who’s trying to touch your ass every minute. Now, let’s go.”

She shakes her head. “I’m not drunk if that’s what you’re thinking. I always dance like this. And I’ve only had three cocktails. One with alcohol and the others without.”

Her bright eyes are in front of me, and I want to fuck her right now. She’s a mix of innocent and fragile, but she has the underlying strength of an ox underneath all that beauty too.

“Surprised?” she asks as I put my arm around her. I tilt my head to the side and then grab the cocktail that she’s holding, then I quickly give it to one of the waitresses that is passing by. “Did you think that I’m a stupid blonde that doesn’t know when a man’s trying to take advantage of her?”

I want to tell her the truth, but I hold back. She’s surprised me twice tonight. The first time when she was looking at the price tag knowing she wasn’t going to pay for it and now this. Shit, and there was the time that she was handling herself against Roberta. Fuck that makes it three times in one night.

“You regret asking me out. I’m not the kind of girl you think I am.”

She puts her hands slowly on my shoulder as we start to slow dance.

“It’s not that. It’s just them. When the first guy had tried to put his hand on your butt, I thought you were a bit wasted, and that was why it took you too long to react to it.”

Fuck. I sound like a teenage schoolboy, jealous about his date not giving him her full attention while they’re out for the night.

“Besides, where have you been all my life?” I ask as I stare into her blue eyes and she starts to sway her head. It’s as if everything about her is a surprise. And I’m good at reading people. Especially women, but then again I was wrong about Roberta, and that cost me more than one friendship, which was why I started hanging out with her friends. None of mine wanted her around; even their girlfriends can’t stand her.

“What do you mean?”

“The way that you’ve been carrying on, Olivia, you’ve probably got a black belt. Maybe if he’d pushed you too far, you would have given him a bad ass kicking.”

I’m laughing a little, but she shakes her head, and there’s something about the way she avoids looking at me that lets me know that something’s wrong. I can tell I asked the wrong question as she replies slowly, “Something like that.”

I knew it was time to change the conversation and I’m about to say something when I can hear my name being called. The voice is getting closer. Olivia drops her hands and says, “What does she want now?”

I grab her hand and say, “Who cares. I don’t want to stay here to find out.”

We make a swift exit. I ignore the others calling me. I ignore everything, and my eyes are on Olivia, who wants to walk faster, but she’s struggling with her heels.

I scoop Olivia up in my arms, and I pick up my pace. As we reach the elevators, she says, “A girl could get used to this treatment.”

I laugh and say, “A girl could get it, if she keeps flirting the way she’s been doing this evening.”

She smiles at me and wraps her arms around my neck. Roberta stops calling my name and by the sounds of it, stops following me as I press my lips against Olivia and we both forget that only a few minutes ago, Roberta was following us.

I hear the elevator chime and I know one thing’s for sure. As soon as we get out of here, I’m not letting her go. Not tonight.