"Do you mean what we're doing right here?" Eric asked.
Yep. I had said it out loud.
I nodded.
"This isn't a fairytale," he said.
"This is at least as good as a fairytale," I said, glancing around at my current situation.
"It's as good as a fairytale, but you better not think it's not real," he said. "I hope you don't think it's temporary."
I squinted playfully at him. "I don't think it's temporary, I just, you know, it's new. We're feeling each other out."
"Oh, so, you're just feeling me out?" he said with a casual, confident grin. His arms were still around me.
"What should I call this if it's not a fairytale?"
"Life," he said.
I smiled. "It's funny how life works. God and everything."
"I was just thinking about God," he said.
"Really?"
"Yeah. I mean, it's hard not to. There were Bible verses in about four different places in that apartment. There's at least two in this room. Everywhere I look there's a Bible verse."
I laughed, knowing he was right.
"I think God had to do with you coming here—doing this with my brother," I said. "My aunt prayed about my brother getting a miracle with an investor, and I feel like me getting to meet you is sort of a side effect to my brother's miracle."
"Me meeting you is definitely not the smaller of those two miracles," he said. "I wouldn't call it the side effect. I think we were God's main intention here. If anything, the horse is a side-miracle to us."
I smiled. "You think so?"
He smirked at my hopefulness. "I know so," he said. "You're the best part of being here, Olivia. The horse is fun and everything, and your family's cool, but you're my goal, you're what I'm after, you know that, right?"
I didn't know how to answer or if I should. I felt speechless. How had I ended up here? How had two people like us from Philadelphia ended up on my uncle's couch in Kentucky?
"Do you like me back, Olivia?" Eric asked, point blank, utterly confident.
"Yes," I said, feeling vulnerable with our faces only a foot or so apart. "I like you very much."
His chest rose and fell with a measured breath. I watched as his eyes closed slowly. "Can you say that again?" he asked, smiling a little like he was taking it all in.
Chapter 13
I stretched upward, leaning toward Eric. "I like you very much," I repeated, my mouth right next to his ear. His eyes were closed, as far as I knew. His hands were wrapped around me—one on my side and one on my knee, and I felt his grip tighten when I whispered in his ear.
"Just once more," he said.
He was completely still, waiting for me to speak. I kept my mouth right next to his ear. "I like you so much, Eric."
I felt muscles in his whole body slowly grow tense as I spoke, and it pleased me so much that I continued. "I like that you're competitive and smart. You have good ideas and you work hard, and you have good taste."
He did. I had come to admire his taste. He didn't just like things because they were expensive either, he really did have thoughtful, exquisite taste. We talked about things we liked and why we liked them and I had come to admire his way of thinking. Everything was a little easier to process when our relationship was based on talking on the telephone, though. Now that we were in each other's physical company, I wanted him even more.
Things that didn't bother me before, when our relationship was strictly on the phone, came to mind now that I was sitting in his arms. For instance, he had a date coming up to go to a major award show with another woman, and before this moment, it didn't bother me at all.
Elle Wallace was her name.
She was the daughter of Jimmy Wallace, who, as you probably already know is the lead singer of the Kooks.
The Wallace family was originally from Philadelphia. Eric and Elle had met when they were teenagers and had remained friends ever since. He had been to award shows with her before. Usually, she went with whoever she was dating, but Eric had stepped-in a few times over the years when she didn't have another date. He told me about his upcoming date with Elle only a few days into our friendship, and I assured him that I thought it was the coolest thing in the world that he got to go to the Grammys. I reacted like I didn't have any personal feelings about it at all.
But now that I was sitting on his lap with his arms wrapped around me, I had a whole host of personal feelings. I thought of Eric walking the red carpet in a couple of weeks with Elle and Jimmy, and I felt a pang of jealousy.
"Do you like me back?" I whispered into his ear in a moment of doubt.
Eric's grasp had tightened when I whispered into his ear. He pulled back to look at me. "I like you so much," he said. "It-it actually hurts a little." He gestured to his own chest.
I wanted to ask him right then and there not to go to the Grammys with Jimmy Wallace's daughter, but since that would come out of nowhere, I didn't say it.
"Come here," he said, giving me a quick, light squeeze.
"I'm here," I said glancing at the fact that I was leaning against him, partially on his lap. "I'm about as here as I can get."
"I meant kiss me."
"Oh, is that what you meant?" I asked sounding confident. "Because you could've just said so."
"Kiss me, Olivia." He said the words in a neutral, no-nonsense tone that had my heart racing. It was gentle enough, but he was sure of himself. "Please," he added as if remembering his manners.
I was aching to do it, but I felt shy. I smiled and leaned upward an inch or two, aiming for his mouth but not getting there. I went back to where I was after the futile attempt at a kiss, and he scowled playfully at me.
I grinned.
He was irresistible.
He was all put together but not in an untouchable way—he was down-to-earth and approachable for someone who could easily come across as unobtainable.
"What was that?" he asked, talking about my fruitless motion. "That was terrible. You completely missed."
"I'm shy."
"You're not shy," he said. "We've been sitting here kissing already, and you weren't shy then."
"That's because you were in charge." I said.
He let out a little amused laugh as he pulled back, readjusting as he leaned back on the couch. He was farther from me now. His head was about a foot away instead of inches. He acted casual like the distance was just a byproduct of him getting comfortable, but I knew what he was doing. Now that I said I was shy, he was playing with me, making me go to him.
"You went way over there," I said.
"I had to get comfortable."
"You need to put your face a little closer," I said.
"I could say the same thing to you," he said.
Suddenly, I turned and collapsed back, letting my upper body fall across his chest, lying across him. My movement was so unexpected that Eric reacted the way I hoped he would and caught me. He leaned in, cradling me across his lap like a baby in his arms. As a result of my momentum he was now leaning forward and his face was only inches from mine again. This time, I felt like I was almost under him.
I reached up and wrapped my hand around the back of his head, pulling him toward me while at the same time, stretching upward to meet him. Our lips touched gently, but then I leaned closer and pulled him toward me, and we connected more deeply. He took over from there, opening his mouth, drawing me in, kissing me with rhythmically gentle passion. I laid across his lap and he leaned over me, kissing me for several long moments.
We didn't talk.
We never stopped.
We never broke contact.
We sat there and kissed each other.
Finally, after what must have been fifteen or fifty-two dizzying minutes, Eric pulled back. He was the best kisser in the entire world, and he was gorgeous. I already felt like I was in love with the man I had been getting to know on the phone, but seeing him, being with him, this put things over the top for me. I had been trying not to get my ho
pes up, but now I felt like I had to have him. It just wouldn't be okay for me to live my life without him.
We readjusted again and started talking about work—about the coffee shop. He liked to know my honest opinion about how things ran and what I thought he could do to make it smoother or better.
I enjoyed working there, and it was something that was fun for me to talk about with him. We talked about my plans for a series of lucky cups. He was excited about doing something new and unexpected for his customers, and it made me happy to think that he liked one of my ideas and wanted to use it for his whole chain. We sat on that couch talking about the coffee shop for at least an hour. We kissed quite a bit earlier on, but we were not kissing, thank goodness, when my uncle walked into the den.
"Hey Uncle E," I said when I saw him walk into the room. I wasn't sitting across Eric's lap at the moment. But I was close to him—we were obviously close enough to each other that we were being friendly and familiar.
I knew Uncle E didn't care. I was a grown woman, and we weren't doing anything wrong. Still, he regarded us with a serious expression.
"This is Eric," I said.
Uncle E knew we were expecting Eric and that he was staying in the apartment. He knew who Eric was, but he still wore a slightly uncertain expression. Eric got to his feet, but he stayed by the couch not knowing whether he should cross the room shake Uncle E's hand or stay where he was.
"Are you okay?" I asked, resituating on the couch so I could talk to my uncle.
He nodded. "I saw on my phone that the alarm hadn't been set. I thought you had gone to bed, but I wanted to make sure."
"No, I was going to set it… in a minute… once he… heads back."
Eric made a nodding motion at Uncle E. Their house was gigantic, and Uncle E was on the other side of the expansive den, so the two men didn't come together. It was late, and they settled for gesturing at each other from across the distance.
"It's nice to meet you," Eric said. "I'm sorry about the late hour. I'll go ahead and go back so you can set your alarm. I hope we didn't keep you up."
"You didn't," Uncle E said. "I stay up this late all the time. I just thought Livi must've forgotten to set the alarm."
"I didn't," I said, getting to my feet. I stood next to Eric, both of us regarding my larger-than-life uncle. We were grown adults and everything, but with the way Uncle E was looking at us, I thought he might be a little taken aback by the fact that Eric was here so late. That made me even more grateful we had not been kissing.
"I'll set the alarm," I said. "I'm sorry, Uncle E. You can go back to bed."
His serious expression softened a little as he gave me a small nod. "Okay. It's nice to meet you Eric. I appreciate what you're doing for Jude. I'll shake your hand in the morning."
"My pleasure," Eric said ducking his head in another slight bowing motion.
"I guess I'll see you two in the morning." Uncle E said. He gave us a small smile and nod before turning to head to his bedroom.
"Night," I said.
"Night," he returned.
He wasn't upset, but he also wasn't as happy-go-lucky as I had sometimes seen him. Eric and I both told Uncle E goodnight, but that was all we said until he rounded the corner.
We looked at each other once he was out of sight. Both of us had been taken by surprise by his sudden appearance.
"He's fine," I said. "He's just tired."
"There could have been better ways to meet him, I guess, but it's okay. I should be going anyway," Eric said. I knew it was the truth, but it didn't make it easy to say goodbye. I already missed him and we were standing right next to each other. I got a yearning sensation just thinking about it, and it caused me to reach out and touch him. My hand went to his side, just above his waist, and I grabbed a hold of his shirt. He put his hand on my hand, cupping it around mine.
"Thank you," he said.
"For what?" I asked, shifting my weight from foot to foot.
He reached out and touched my waist, holding me steady. "For talking to me about Roxy's. For bringing me here. For everything."
"You're welcome," I said.
He grinned at me. "Walk me to the door."
Eric had a hold of my hand from when I grabbed his shirt, and he didn't let go of me as we started walking toward the door. He stopped once we crossed two rooms and made it there. He put on his jacket and boots.
"I'll say goodbye here," he said before either of us opened the door.
"Goodnight," I said. "Sleep well."
"You too." He pulled me by the hand and used my momentum to draw me into a kiss. I could see and feel what he was doing, so I gave into it, lunging forward to kiss him. It was all so easy and natural.
"I'll see you in a little while," I said. "In the morning."
"Okay, I'll come around nine for breakfast."
I nodded, and with his free hand, Eric reached out for the doorknob. He had to step that way to reach it, and I let him go, smiling even though I didn't want him to leave.
We said goodbye and waved at each other as the door closed, and just like that, he was gone.
I turned and leaned against the door, smiling at the flashes of memories that began to play across my mind.
The basketball game.
The horses.
The accidental hand touching.
Then he comes over.
The couch.
The talking.
The kissing.
Goodness.
His kiss.
I put my hands over my mouth, feeling the urge to giggle or squeal or perform some other ridiculous love-struck behavior.
I found it difficult to fall asleep that night.
I was thinking so much that it took me forever to finally drift off.
Chapter 14
Eric
Eric didn't get to sleep until after 2am that night. This meant he only got four hours of sleep. In spite of his laid-back appearance, he was a shrewd businessman. He was an early riser who always got a lot done during morning hours. It was normal for him to wake up at 6am like he did today, but he didn't usually stay up so late.
Last night was different. He could not fall asleep. He kept staring at the ceiling, thinking about Olivia. He thought about everything she said and remembered specific things she brought up about the coffee shop. Three different times, he sat up to make a note about it.
He remembered her smile and her touch and her kiss, and he could not fall asleep. He turned his alarm off, but his body was so accustomed to waking up at six that he woke up without it. He laid there until 6:30 trying to fall back asleep, but it was useless. His mind continued to race.
Eric resolved to get up and make some notes and take care of some things regarding the coffee shop. He had some other business that also needed his attention. It was probably only an hour's worth of work, so he decided to get up and get it over with. After that, he would get dressed and walk around the farm for a while until it was time to go to the big house for breakfast.
He had just sat up in the bed and was thinking about coffee being his first objective when he heard a hard pounding on the door. It was the pounding of a heavy fist, and Eric got to his feet instantly. He walked toward the door in a defensive straight-postured stance. The sound had startled him and he felt like there must be some sort of mistake.
The door did not have a peephole, so he went to the nearby window and pulled back the curtain to peer outside. He speculated it was Ezekiel Tanner before he ever saw the giant of a man standing there.
Just when Eric peeked through the crack in the curtain, Ezekiel lifted his hand to knock on the door again. Eric headed for the door right away so that he could avoid the booming sound, but he didn't make it in time. He jolted across the short distance to the door, but he wasn't fast enough. That same heavy pounding sound happened twice before Eric could unlock the door and open it.
The super star basketball player was standing on the other side of the door. Ezekiel had been across a huge room wh
en they met the night before, and he was even larger up close.
"Good morning, Eric."
Cold air rushed in with the open door, and Eric instantly motioned for Ezekiel to come inside.
"Good morning," Eric said. "Would you like to come in?"
"No, thank you. I'm headed to the stables." Ezekiel gestured to his right, toward the main entrance of the stables. "Take your time getting dressed, and you can meet me in there. Will a half hour or so work?"
"Yes," Eric said without skipping a beat. "Just give me ten minutes to put on some clothes and make a cup of coffee."
"I'll make a pot of coffee in the stable kitchen," Ezekiel said.
"Okay, well, five minutes, then."
"Sounds perfect. I'll see you in a minute."
Ezekiel walked away, and Eric went straight to action. He brushed his teeth and ran a comb and a little bit of product through his hair. He put on jeans, an undershirt, a long sleeve thermal, and a jacket. It was warmer in the stables than it was outside, but he wasn't sure what Ezekiel had planned and he wanted to be prepared.
He walked out of the back door of the apartment—the one that led directly into the stables.
He heard Ezekiel's singing coming from a door on the left. It was quite a ways off, but Ezekiel was belting it out loud enough to be heard.
"Country rooooads, take me hoooome to the plaaaace I beloooong, West Virginia, mountain mama, take me hoooome, country rooooads…"
He was humming the tune of the verse when Eric came into the open doorway of the kitchen. It was light in the room—a large, open kitchen and dining area. There was a long table over to one side, but the room was large enough that it still felt airy and open. Ezekiel was on the right, standing in front of the coffee pot, staring at it, singing.
"Country rooooads…" He started into the chorus again, but he saw Eric's movement in the doorway from the corner of his eye, and he stopped singing, looking that way as Eric came into the door.
"Good morning," he said, smiling at Eric. His demeanor was perhaps a little too chipper for six-thirty in the morning. Eric tried not to overthink it. Maybe Ezekiel was just the type to entertain out-of-town guests early in the morning. Maybe he wanted to talk about horses.
Me & Mister Everything: A Romance (Tanner Family Book 4) Page 9