Chapter Eleven
Zack
Saturday
I stretched my arms across the bed even before I opened my eyes. I needed my body to feel awake before I could even begin to bring my mind back into the life of the living. This was very different for me, these lazy mornings where I could get up at whatever time I wanted, and I found myself still getting used to them. Everything used to be so regimented, so controlled…but back in those days, I still had a purpose.
Here and now, I was still trying to figure out what the hell I was doing.
As my hand hit the pillow next to me, I half expected it to bang into the warm body of the beautiful young lady who had shocked me in the middle of the night by turning up for a very random, very passionate screw. All day long, she had acted like she hated me, then just as I was drifting off to sleep, she hammered on the door and demanded that we had sex. It was hot as fuck and just proved my theory right – that she did actually feel something when I had kissed her. I knew it!
Of course, she wasn’t going to be lying in bed next to me. I knew that since she left straight away afterward, clutching her baby monitor as if it was her lifeline. But at some point, she must have infiltrated my dreams because I had this vision of her remaining by my side all night long.
But this way was better. It made everything far less complicated if everyone knew where they stood.
My phone beeped, and for a heart-stopping moment, I allowed myself to believe that it was Olivia. I grabbed onto it like an excitable schoolboy with a crush but was sent flying into an abyss of disappointment when I noticed the word “Dad” on the screen.
“Hi Son, I’m coming over today so we can discuss this charity of yours more. See you at about eight thirty-ish.”
Eight thirty-ish meant eight thirty on the dot. My father might not have been in the military for a very long time, but he still clung to the discipline like it was the only thing keeping him alive. His hair remained in a buzz cut, he loved everything to be neat and organized, and he was never, ever late.
“Damn it,” I muttered, forcing myself up quicker. I liked neatness, too, but things in my apartment had grown a little sloppy recently, the same way it had with my appearance. I needed to straighten things up if I didn’t want to spend all day being lectured. Dad and I butted heads at the best of times; I didn’t want to make things worse.
I straightened out the bed and organized my things a little better in the bedroom, despite the fact that it was unlikely my father would come into this room, then I made my way into the living room, which would take some more work. I glanced everywhere, trying to decide what I needed to do first when suddenly, I spotted something that seemed out of place. A piece of paper that looked like it had been stuffed under my door in a hurry.
“What the...” I walked purposely, almost forgetting the pain in my leg for a moment, and grabbed the paper. The swirly writing I could see it suggested that a woman had written it...and since there was only one woman on my mind at the moment, that filled me with excitement.
“Zack, do not mention last night again. Ever. Olivia.”
Her writing seemed pissed off and stressed, but it only made me smile. I certainly didn’t want to stick to this rule. I wanted to talk about it all the damn time. Last night was amazing. It made me feel rejuvenated again. Yes, we both knew where we stood, and it wasn’t ever going to become anything seriously, but that didn’t mean we couldn’t have a repeat performance, or three, did it?
Anyway, now was not the time to think about it. I folded the paper back up and shoved it in the nearest drawer that I could find. For now, I had to concentrate on getting this place tidied up; then I needed to deal with a fun day with my father. Oh, joy.
***
As I heard the rapping on my front door, I glanced down at my outfit. I had actually chosen to pull on nice pants and to wear one of my smarter tee shirts. There was nothing cruel about my dad, but I didn’t like the idea of disappointing him. And since right now I was a major disappointment to myself, I didn’t want to consider what he might think of me.
“Coming,” I answer rapidly as soon as I decided that I would do. I did one last sweep of the place, noticing the time as I went – eight thirty, of course – and I swung open the door open to greet him. “Hey, Dad...”
However, I couldn’t really concentrate on him because there was another sight that had me captivated: a flash of red hair followed by a young little girl exiting the apartment in front of me. My heart skipped a beat, and a coat hanger seemed to slide between my lips as the brightest smile ever plastered across my face. The thought of Olivia’s body crashing against mine as we made hot, passionate love sent tingles racing right through me.
Olivia seemed to sense my eyes upon her because her eyes snapped towards mine like magnets. A cheeky smile played on my lips as I lifted my hand into a wave, but she didn’t return the happy look at all. Her lips twisted downwards into a frown. Meghan, however, waved and giggled enthusiastically at the mere sight of me. At least someone was glad to see me.
“Who was that?” Dad asked as they turned towards the stairs.
“New neighbor,” I commented casually. “They moved in the other day.”
“Hmm.” Dad looked like he didn’t quite believe that was it, which was fair since it was probably written all over my face. To distract him, I led him inside, and I flicked the kettle on to make hot drinks while we spoke. “I’m glad we’re finally going to get to talk about this properly,” he remarked as he took his spot at the dining table. “It’s about time.”
I loved the way he acted as if this was a prearranged meeting rather than something he forced upon me. There was no point in bringing that up because now that he was here, we might as well have a productive day. Ever since I won that lottery money, I wanted to do something useful with it. And to be fair, I needed my father’s organizational skills and knowledge. I wasn’t often one to admit to needing help, but this was one situation where it was utterly essential
“I’m glad, too,” I admitted as I handed him his drink. “It’ll be good to have something useful to do again.”
“How are things with the physical therapy?” Dad asked, reminding me again of Olivia. I didn’t think she could be quite so harsh on me again now that we’d overstepped certain boundaries. Maybe she would even have to be nice. That would be interesting.
Maybe, just maybe, things could get a little spicy in her office. Now that I knew she had a sexual deviant locked away inside of her, I wanted to get to know that version of her so much better...
“Making good progress?”
“Yeah, not bad.” I shrugged as I spoke, trying not to give too much away. I didn’t like to reveal weakness when it came to my pain, especially with my father. “Some days are worse than others. But overall, I think things are better.”
“Good...good.” He glanced down at the paperwork he had brought with him, signifying that was the end of our heart-to-heart about my pain. “So anyway, let’s get started; we have a whole lot to get through.”
***
Emotional exhaustion raced through my system as the morning rolled into afternoon. We were doing good, but there had already been a lot of arguments on the best way to run things. I wanted my father’s advice – I didn’t want him to do everything for me. I wished he could understand that.
“Will you just pick up your phone already?” he finally snapped angrily at me. “It’s been bleeping away for ages.”
“It has?” Because I could be quite terrible at hearing my phone the first time around, I had a setting on which made sure it alerted me every so often when I needed to look at things. Clearly, it hadn’t had any impact on me today though.
As I grabbed the phone, I spotted the email icon on it, which instantly had me confused. I didn’t get many emails, and I thought I’d filtered out all the junk.
Ooh... it was from Olivia, from the physical therapy office.
“Dear Mr. Taylor, I would just like to remind you that you have an appointment with me at eleven a.m. tomorrow morning.” I furrowed my eyebrows. I didn’t usually get a reminder email about my appointments because I hadn’t ever forgotten. “And please remember what I asked of you, keep your mouth shut. Olivia Larson.”
The smile flew back up to my mouth – she was very insistent that she didn’t want anyone to know about us, which only made it more delicious. I actually liked having a secret for just the two of us. It created a little web between us.
“Who was that?” Dad interrupted my train of thought. “Someone has brought a smile to your face, that’s for sure.”
“It’s...” I didn’t really want to tell him, and not just because Olivia wanted to keep it just between us, so I took a different tactic instead. “Dad, what does it mean if a woman keeps telling you not to talk about something?”
“Ah, a woman.” He looked very pleased with that prospect. “Well, it means that something is very important to them.”
Important? Me? I didn’t want to get a rush of hope at that thought, but it washed over me like a wave anyway. It had been such a long time since I’d felt any excitement about anyone, so this felt even more powerful than it probably would anyway.
Just as I was about to tap out my reply, someone else banged on my door. The excitement was thick in my system, so I instantly pictured Olivia coming back to see me again, to remind me once more to keep my mouth shut, but as I pulled open the door, it was Dolly on the other side of it.
“You should have told me that the girl has food allergies,” she wildly insisted while pushing a plate of baked goods into my hands. “I’ve been trying to persuade Olivia to model for me with bribes, and now I see why they aren’t working...”
As she pushed into my apartment, my dad gave me a look as if to ask if it was her. I shook my head quickly, not even wanting to entertain that idea. I adored Dolly, but it was Olivia that filled every inch of my mind.
“Dad, Dolly, Dolly, this is my father...”
As Dolly started talking at him at a hundred miles an hour, I had a feeling that our organizing was done for the day. Dolly had the power to shut even the strongest man down, which was exactly what she was doing.