Now Open Your Eyes (Stay With Me series Book 3)

by Nicole Fiorina

  About forty seconds later, her croissant was gone, and she was already licking the melted chocolate chips from her fingers as Liam pardoned himself to use the loo.

  We spent an hour walking up and down the Riverwalk beside the Estuary of Bilbao, stopping when the sun peeked above the historic buildings. Pale pinks, blues, and yellows bounced off the water from the changing sky, and the vintage lamp posts lining the channel went out, one by one, as the daylight arrived. A new day, a new adventure. I caged Mia inside my arms against the railing, her hair whipping under the fedora, as we admired the moment, taking it all in. I dropped my eyes to see hers closed with a lazy smile complimenting her face and dipped down, my mouth grazing the rim of her ear. Her beauty mixed with the morning breeze stole my breath, and suddenly, I forgot what I was going to say.

  With marvel lit in Mia’s brown eyes, the four of us walked up and down the seven streets of medieval Casco Viejo. Her camera dangled from around her neck, snapping picture after picture. We stopped and ate lunch at the Mercado de la Ribera, which is a traditional market composed of local farmers inside the walls of the Art Deco-styled building. The entire space was open, and natural light poured in through the ceiling, reflecting off the luminous flooring as merchants and travelers busily exchanged small talk and money by the delicate floral interior. We didn’t stay long and crammed a lot in half a day before we rented a black suburban at a nearby Enterprise before taking off to our next destination.

  Though there was another route almost an hour faster, we took the one leading us through the city of Madrid. In the rearview mirror, I glanced back where Mia and Jake fell fast asleep shortly after pulling out of the Enterprise. “They’ll sleep the entire way to Madrid,” I said to Liam beside me, who had his window down and eyes on the busy road out in front of us.

  Never in my wildest dreams did I expect to be sitting beside Liam on my way to get married. During our time at Dolor, the two of us never particularly cared for one another. It wasn’t until I slapped him, waking him up from denial when we finally turned a page and developed a friendship. Liam cared for Jake, and Jake was one of Mia’s best friends, so in return, I couldn’t have left the two out on an important day. Though the bloke had fucked my fiancé once upon a time, that was water under the bridge. Her old habits … Which died hard once I came along and showed her the truth. I’d always felt the light in her, it illuminated mine.

  “Who would’ve thought,” Liam muttered, almost hearing my thoughts. “It seems like forever ago when Oliver Masters was this untouchable god at Dolor who I despised.”

  A laugh sputtered from my lips. “Untouchable god?”

  “People listened to you, looked up to you. We were locked inside a world of criminals and users, but you …” he shook his head, “You have no idea, do you?”

  “No, mate. I have no idea what you are talking about.”

  Liam looked back at Jake before sinking into the passenger seat. “You inspired a lot of people, Jake included. He talks about you, you know. All the fucking time,” he exaggerated. “How you were the first person to talk to him and accept him. When we first got together, I was jealous, which I can admit now. But if it weren’t for you, Jake wouldn’t be going back to school to teach or stand up to his father. Hell, he looked up to you, mate. He saw the way you were with Mia—with Zeke, Bria, Maddie—and grew balls and a new outlook on life. You made a positive change inside Dolor, and it still blows my mind.”

  “Being kind can go a long way,” I quickly pointed out.

  “Sure, there’s kindness, but then there’s genuine compassion. You have a spark for people and life. You’re a good man, Ollie. You sure as hell make me want to be a better one for Jake.”

  “It’s a never-ending journey.” I didn’t like talking about me, so I switched gears. “Moments will come, and life will happen, but no one is perfect. We’re all going through this life expecting everyone else to think, walk, and talk like us, but that’s where we get it wrong as a society, because different just works. Individuality needs to be embraced. So if Jake fucks up, don’t be so quick to turn your back against him, and vice-versa. Choose each other. There’s my Ollie Lesson of the day.”

  Liam laughed. “Thanks, mate.”

  The conversation rolled smoothly after that, and five hours later, we reached Madrid.

  In Spain, dinner wasn’t until around nine at night, and we stopped at a skivvy petrol station so I could fill up the tank, and so the two bums who slept the entire ride could freshen up and change. Mia returned to the SUV wearing ripped dark denim, so tight it could break the skin, with a casual grey tee partially tucked into her waistband, leather jacket, and combat boots. My heart stopped when my hand on the gas trigger didn’t, overflowing out of the tank and over my shoes. Jake barked out a cackle as he slid inside the backseat with a bag, popping candy into his mouth. “Every time,” I mumbled to Liam, placing the nose of the nozzle in its resting place. “That girl gets me every bloody time.”

  “Hello, Madrid!” Jake shouted out the window from the back seat, fist pumped high in the air toward the tops of the city buildings. “It smells like this city never sleeps!”

  I glanced at Ollie beside me. “And what does that smell like?”

  Jake pulled back inside the Suburban as Ollie made a left down a busy, narrow street. “Like sewage, onions, and garlic,” he dragged in a breath through his nose, “Yeah, it smells like someone dropped New York City right in the middle of Italy.”

  “You’ve never been to New York or Italy,” Liam reminded him through a laugh.

  “Hey, I heard about it.”

  The four of us walked through the doors of Cacao Restobar, where Edison light bulbs wrapped and dangled around tree trunks from the ceilings, and the walls curved in natural brick. The other side gave the illusion of a cave, and we found a table against an iron-bar-covered window overlooking the city. I tapped the window with my finger. “This reminds me of Dolor.”

  Liam rolled his eyes. “Fuck Dolor.”

  Ollie surprised me, being the only one who knew a lick of Spanish, and he ordered all of our drinks and food after insisting we trust him.

  “That was impressive. How the hell do you know Spanish?” I asked, arching a brow.

  Ollie pressed his lips together, fighting a humble smile. “How was I supposed to travel the world and talk to people without learning how they speak?”

  Liam leaned into the table across from him, intrigued. “How many languages do you know?”

  “Started teaching myself a long time ago, I know a tad here and there. For the most part, it’s all similar once you master one, the rest comes easy. Spanish, Italian, Greek, French … I can understand it, but I’m rusty speaking since I don’t speak them often.”

  Liam’s eyes bugged out, and he dropped his fingers over his head and made a bomb sound, mimicking his mind being blown.

  Our drinks arrived, decorated with fruit and flower garnishes. Ollie clutched on to his glass of water, and we all toasted to Madrid, friends, and Ollie’s Spanish speaking skills.

  After eating traditional tapas and pinchos, we walked down the colorful Cava Baja street with multi-colored banners and cloth draped above us. The locals strummed their guitar strings, beat their drums, playing hypnotic rhythms up and down the crowded alleyways as people swarmed around us, dancing and enjoying the night.

  “Just drink, mate,” Liam said over the music to Ollie. “We’ll get a hotel here tonight. It’s your vacation. Enjoy yourself.”

  Ollie turned to me and shook his head.

  “Oh, for Gods sakes, Ollie.” Clutching his hand, I yanked him to the nearest outdoor bar and ordered him a mojito to loosen him up.

  And an hour later, Ollie had a permanent smile coasting between his dimples. In black jeans, a long-sleeve gray shirt, and bright white trainers—what he’d call them—Ollie danced behind me, his hands moving down my sides and clutching my hips, pulling my backside against his groin. The beat of the music surged through our movem
ents and echoed down the festive street. As if he were an extension of me, Ollie matched my every rock and sway. Breathing grew heavy, sweat licked our skin, and I turned in his arms when his forehead dropped to mine. With our buzz heavy and alive, Ollie licked his lips as I rolled into him. “Ah, bloody hell, love.”

  Giggling and stumbling through a hotel, we took an elevator up to a rooftop bar where a glass bridge laid above the city of Madrid. Fresh cold drinks frosted our hands, and the four of us admired the skyline, having complete three-sixty views. Strong October winds hit us from all directions, and my hair blew wildly. “Don’t look down,” Liam announced, and the rest of us looked down against his instruction through the glass bridge. People, cars, and lights scrolled under our feet as if the world had flipped upside down, and stars twinkled from below.

  “This is incredible,” I whispered. “You can see the world from up here.”

  Liam wrapped his arms around Jake, and I’d never seen Jake’s blue eyes so captivated, but he wasn’t looking at the view. Jake was staring into Liam’s eyes. It was my favorite view tonight thus far.

  And in our only night in Madrid, we claimed it as ours.

  The following morning, we all woke up in the same hotel room, moaning and groaning. Liam fell asleep beside the toilet over the bathroom floor while Jake slept comfortably in the second queen-sized bed. During the entire hour, we all took turns in and out of the shower while Liam and Jake comically ignored one another.

  Liam stuck to Ollie’s side at the front desk while Jake and I fetched the SUV. “You should just talk to him. He’s mad you left him in the bathroom,” I explained as Jake pulled the car up to the entrance of the hotel to wait for Ollie and Liam.

  “It’ll be fine. We go through this all the time, and I think he gets off on it. Liam’s dick-whipped. He’ll get over it by the time we make it to Gibraltar,” Jake said, and I pinched my brows and narrowed my eyes. “What? Don’t believe me? This is our thing. We fight over stupid shit just to make sure the other still cares, and to have a reason for angry sex.”

  “Angry sex is actually a thing?”

  “It’s totally a thing.”

  Jake transferred to the back seat with Liam as Ollie slid in the driver’s seat with two coffees, and for the next five hours, we rode in a comfortable silence to Gibraltar.

  I kicked my feet onto the dashboard and left the window halfway down. Ollie’s hand rested over my thigh as I drifted with the peaceful breeze, racing across the country of Spain, on the move to celebrate a fantasy we’d dreamt up in our heads for so long. The view captured me with every passing mile, and the warm sun hit my face as my hand surfed through the wind outside the window.

  Ollie turned up the radio, the broken promises turned down, and he looked over at me, his eyes dancing with his knock-out smile. A child lived within us, seeing the world through brand new eyes and expecting nothing, only chasing freedom with the open road as our muse.

  I could picture it, traveling all over the world with him. Excitement pumped inside me at the mere thought, and I kept my eyes open to not miss a damn thing.

  And at around noon, we arrived. The giant crescent Rock of Gibraltar rested at the edge of the peninsula, and Ollie parked the car in front of the crystal blue waters and white sandy beach. I jumped out of the SUV, rushing to the shoreline without waiting for anyone else.

  “Mia, your shoes!” Ollie shouted through laughter behind me.

  On the way down, my fingers worked overtime to undo my laces before kicking off my boots and socks, leaving a trail in my wake. Emotions burned in my throat. Tears stung behind my eyes. The memory of us from two years ago invaded me.

  "What's the first thing you're going to do when you get out of here?" Ollie asks, his fingers threading through my long locks as I lay over his chest.

  I didn’t have to think about it. "Put my toes in the water. What about you?"

  "Find you … then take you to the ocean," Ollie simply says, and he can’t see, but I’m smiling. "I want a life with you, Mia. I’ve never wanted anything more. Do you think we can survive the next two years? Think we’ll be able to make it?"

  A sigh leaves my lips. "God, I hope so."

  There is a sudden skip in his breathing. "I can't lose you," he whispers.

  "You won't."

  Sand flew up as I ran, and I didn’t stop until my bare toes hit the ice-cold shoreline, and a wave crashed against my ankles. My eyes slammed closed, hoarding tears that shouldn’t fall.

  Then Ollie’s chest rested against my back as our fingers intertwined. “Now, love,” he whispered into my ear from behind. “Now, open your eyes.”

  I blinked my eyes opened, and tears fell freely. Each one for everything we’d been through to get us here. The darkness. The torment. The death. One by one, they slipped over my cheeks as Ollie wrapped his arms around me. The water swimming between my feet was a reminder that this world was so much bigger than Dolor and the miseries of our past. Undiscovered moments, untraveled territories, an entire journey laid out ahead of us for the taking. We’d made it this far but would never forget where we came from or who we met along the way.

  It was October 10th, 2020.

  Ten-ten-twenty-twenty.

  Jake had everything under control, and no matter how many times I silently repeated this to myself, it didn’t ease the nerves working against my bloodstream. Ollie and Liam had kept themselves busy yesterday as Jake and I went dress shopping. “You have to wear a dress, Mia. You’re not an animal for crying out loud,” had been his exact words when I’d told him I was good with a shirt and jeans. And I’d bought one against my better judgment, hoping not to be overdressed for the occasion and having no idea what I’d see Ollie in once we would arrive.

  My reflection stared back at me in the mirror as Jake played with my hair, taking maid of honor roll into a whole other level. “Do you have any idea what you’re doing?” I asked, music playing from my phone somewhere over the dresser, hiding among the makeup and tools he was using.

  “Shhh …” he said, patting the top of my head. “You’re distracting the artist.”

  “Artist is pushing it.”

  Jake twirled the desk chair around, turning me away from the mirror. “No more looking. You’ll see when I’m done.”

  As soon as a groan left me, a knock sounded over the hotel room door.

  Jake dropped the wand over the dresser and told me to sit tight with a finger out in front of him. “And don’t look,” he added before disappearing. The door opened, and Jake let out a squeal, coming back into the room. “Okay, I’m officially with the wrong bloke,” he gushed, and in his arms was a bouquet of origami roses with burlap and a light pink ribbon tied around the wooden stems. My heart jumped inside my chest, and I fought back the happy tears threatening to ruin my mascara.

  Jake examined the roses. “What book are these from?”

  Struggling to breathe, I plucked a rose from the bouquet, and my eyes landed over Ollie’s poetry. “It’s our love story.”

  Jake handed me a note, and a tear escaped from the corner of my eye as I opened it.

  Mia,

  I know what you’re thinking, but no … it’s not our love story …

  With blurry vision, I let out a small chuckle.

  This is everything I’ve written since the day I met you. You give me so much love and life, my heart could never be big enough to contain it. So, I bleed onto paper, call it crimson love. Call it poetic. But it’s not our love story, because my love for you never ends. You and I, we’ve been rooted since the beginning of time and continue to soar past the moon and sun, the two very beings you watch every morning during those small sacred moments in hopes of becoming as alluring. What you may not understand, is that you have so much light and beauty already living inside you, you bring galaxies to their knees and stars dim with envy.

  You are my sunrise, love.

  I’m telling you this now because I’m afraid I’ll have no words the next time I see you. I’ve
spent these last few months filling every promise I’d made to you so that way, as I write the following words, you have the belief they’re not empty. I promise always to be the man worthy of every second spent in your presence. To be worthy of your smiles, triumphs, kisses, and yes, even tears. Thank you for making the dreamer in me never want to sleep again …

  Evermore,

  Ollie

  I released a long breath through trembling lips, unable to hold on any longer. I had to see him. It had been a little over twelve hours, and Jake placed rules my heart couldn’t take.

  “No, no, no … Stop!” Jake insisted, holding out his arms to the sides. “Mia Rose, you will not ruin this for me!” Pulling my hands over my face, I wiped the tears as Jake growled, pulling tissue after tissue from a box. “I knew it. As soon as I saw that letter, I bloody knew it …” he continued to mutter as he blotted the tissue under my eyes. “There, and no more happy tears. You’ll see the man in an hour. Then you can cry all the fuck you want.”

  A little over an hour later, Jake and I stood in front of the floor-length mirror attached behind the closet door in the hotel room as his fingers kept touching my hair.

  “Jake, he’s waiting,” I whined, bouncing over the carpet barefoot. “It’s fine. I’m fine.”

  The dress was a mix between bohemian and beachy, with lace detail down to the floor. What took Jake over an hour on my hair could’ve taken me ten minutes, my locks framing my face in semi-natural waves. The makeup, however, was impressive. I’d never known how to use the tools, and Jake applied heavy eyes with bronze cheekbones and rose-pink lips. My freckles still shining through the light blush.

  “One last thing,” Jake disappeared as I admired his work, “ah, here it is.” He appeared behind me and fitted a flower crown over my head. “Absolute perfection.”

  “I don’t even know what to say.” Shocked could never cover it, I was gobsmacked. “I never thought I’d ever look like this, or even be standing here in a white dress. I’m getting married. This psychopath is getting married,” I spun around, “I don’t deserve this, Zeke. I don’t deserve him. This is too much,” I rambled, freak-out mode setting in.