Waiting to Breathe: Book One of the Waiting Duet

by Alyson Reynolds

  “You’re looking at a lot of school, Nate; plus a lot of student debt if you’re not careful.”

  I tried to keep my face blank as we watched his drive go half as far as mine did and hook slightly to the left.

  “Well as you mentioned, I’m a Ford. I can easily afford it.”

  By the end of the eighteen holes, I needed a stiff drink and for Olivia to reassure me that we wouldn’t have to live close to her parents if we ever got married. Finn pulled me to the side and I could tell he was embarrassed about how his father had acted.

  “Dude, I’m so fucking sorry. My dad doesn’t typically lay into someone as soon as he meets them. I don’t know if it the fact that you’re dating Olivia or what.”

  I waved him off. “Don’t worry about it. I’m just happy that I kicked your dad’s ass in the round of golf.”

  “Me too,” he said laughing. “You kicked my ass too. You’re one determined fucker today. Now, let’s go save Olivia from my mother and get the biggest drink we can find.”

  ____

  It was almost one in the morning when we finally made our way back towards the house. Finn stumbled his way up the front steps, but Olivia tugged on my hand, leading me to a well worn path down towards the beach. He looked over his shoulder and smirked when he realized we weren’t right behind him. We ducked underneath a large weeping willow covered in kudzu. On the other side was the most amazing view of the ocean that I had ever seen.

  “This is my spot. Well, I guess I share it with Finn, but it’s one of my favorite places.”

  “Olivia, this is fucking amazing. You didn’t do it justice when you described it. Is it okay that I’m a little jealous of you and Finn for getting to see this every day growing up?”

  “I thought you might need a little pick up me after dealing with my dad all afternoon,” she said, wrapping her arms around my waist.

  “Only for you and Finn.”

  “Finn told me what an ass he was to you. I’m so sorry, Nate.”

  I tucked her hair behind her ear and cupped her face, “Cupcake, haven’t you realized I’ll do anything for you?”

  “I want to make it up to you.”

  Her hand rested lightly on my chest. A mischievous look crossed her face as I watched her sink to her knees in front of me. She worked the button on my pants and had them and my boxers down around my ankles before I realized what was happening. I sucked in a sharp breath as she took my cock in her mouth.

  “Holy fuck, Olivia.”

  Her fingernails dug into my ass as she took me deep in her throat. My fingers tangled in her hair and I tried not to thrust into her mouth. Olivia was talented with her tongue and all I could do was watch her as she sucked and licked me and try not to blow my load too soon. Her tongue wrapped around the head and I thought my legs were going to give out from underneath me.

  “Olivia,” I said in warning. When she looked up at me through hooded eyes, I exploded in the back of her throat. As she closed her mouth around me and swallowed, my knees started to shake and a shiver worked its way up my spine. She tugged my pants up my legs and buttoned them before I had fully recovered from the ground shaking orgasm she’d just given me. Grabbing the tree behind me, I lowered myself to the ground.

  “Cupcake, I think you’re trying to kill me,” I said when I finally caught my breath. The satisfied look on her face made me laugh. It was a carefree sound that caught me off guard.

  “I’m glad you enjoyed it.”

  She sat down in front of me, leaning back into my chest. I wrapped my arms around her and kissed the back of her head. We stared out into the ocean together. Each of us were lost in our own thoughts, but for the first time in forever, I felt content to sit in the sand without over thinking anything. My worries didn’t matter and I could just be. Olivia did that for me and I hoped that I did that for her.

  ____

  New Year’s Eve was interesting. Olivia and Finn’s parents had thrown a huge party and there were people everywhere. Apparently this was a tradition that they had neglected to tell me about, not that I really cared. The only thing I was worried about was that someone might make a comment to Olivia about Christian, ruining her good mood.

  I dressed up in the slacks and dress shirt Olivia picked out without comment. The girls had taken a few hours getting ready and came down in sparkly dresses. Cora looked pretty, I’m sure, but I couldn’t take my eyes off of Olivia. Her long, lean legs looked sexy as hell in the strappy heels she had put on. The hem of her gold sequin dress was short enough to make me want to drag her back upstairs. I grinned when she raised her eyebrow at me, completely aware of the dirty thoughts I was having.

  Finn and Cora had been hiding out and honestly, I wanted to join them. I was on my fifth or sixth glass of whiskey, but because Olivia’s parents were parading her around to prove that she was perfectly fine after her ‘time away’, I was by her side. She had plastered a fake ass smile on her face and had talked to everyone her parents had thrown her way. It was all about keeping up appearances in this house.

  After the last of the good ole’ boys club wandered away, I tugged Olivia behind me and into hiding. When her mother turned away we snuck into a dark corner. I put my fingers over her lips to keep her from giggling and getting us caught. She nipped at my finger and I realized the champagne had made her feisty.

  “Cupcake, you have to stop,” I whispered in her ear. “I want to see the ball drop with you, but if you keep acting like that I’m just going to drag you back to your bed.”

  She lifted a brow in challenge. This girl was amazing. It was two minutes before midnight. Surely I could wait three minutes before I drug her upstairs like a caveman.

  “Maybe I want that.”

  Maybe three minutes was unreasonable. Her words went right to my cock and I had to catch her hand with mine as she slid it down my stomach. We weren’t even fully hidden from prying eyes. Someone could find us at any time.

  “Be good for now and I’ll make it worth it later.”

  Her soft vanilla scent was intoxicating all on its own. I didn’t need the whiskey to be drunk on her. My nose travelled along the column of her neck and I felt her tremble in my arms.

  “You better.”

  We heard the countdown start for midnight and I smiled at her. Our lips were inches apart.

  Three.

  I put my forehead against hers.

  Two.

  She intertwined our fingers.

  One.

  I captured her mouth with mine.

  My hands cupped her face gently as she pressed her body into mine. I wanted her to remember this kiss for a long time. Her fingers ran along my back as I entangled my fingers in her long brown hair. She deepened the kiss and I groaned into her mouth. God, we had to stop or I would be trying to fuck her in the hallway.

  I pulled away and placed a soft kiss on her swollen lips. A soft sigh slipped from her lips as I rested my forehead against hers.

  “Olivia, I love you.”

  “I love you too, Nathaniel.”

  Her eyes were glazed over with lust and I didn’t want to wait to take her upstairs any longer.

  My eyes darted behind her to see if the coast was clear and I saw something unexpected. It took me a second to realize exactly what I was seeing. Finn had Cora pushed against the wall, his hands tangled in her hair and his mouth plastered to hers. I was positive that Olivia and I had looked the same only seconds before. Olivia started to turn and I kissed her quickly to keep her from turning. Whatever was going on between those two deserved to stay private.

  “Let’s go upstairs. I think we can sneak away now, don’t you?” she asked, huskily.

  Yes. God yes.

  Now I just needed to figure out how to keep her from seeing her brother and her best friend sucking face. I knew Finn wouldn’t want her to find out this way if there was something going on between him and Cora, but when I glanced over her shoulder again they were gone.

  I grabbed Olivia’s hand and pul
led her behind me, trying to keep a low profile as we walked quickly to the stairs. Finn stood two feet in front of us, holding a tumbler of amber liquor. He held his glass up to us and Olivia kissed his cheek as we went by.

  “I’ll keep them distracted,” I heard him whisper.

  She nodded once and wrapped her arm around mine. I kissed her forehead and I watched something pass over Finn’s eyes. After what I had witnessed, I’m sure it had to do with the little blonde currently flirting with a guy across the room.

  “Thanks, Finn. Happy New Years. You need to go find some girl to make out with. I’m sure the parental units are done showing us off for the evening. Mom is probably four deep by now and Dad has been drunk for hours.”

  “You’re right,” he said distractedly. I watched his eyes dart back over to Cora and I tugged Olivia along. The last thing I wanted was for her to get in the middle of their business. They needed to figure their shit out themselves.

  Olivia went up the stairs ahead of me and my eyes stayed glued to her ass the entire way. It took all my self control not to slam the door behind me and throw her up against it. Her fingers were on the button to my pants within seconds of us being in the room. I groaned as she pulled me out of my boxer briefs and immediately wrapped her mouth around my cock. Her red lipstick left bright marks at the base and the sight alone almost had me blowing my load into her mouth. I yanked her up under her arms and tossed her on the bed. Her short dress rode up on her hips.

  “No panties?”

  She shook her head and bit down on her full bottom lip, wickedly staring up at me, daring me to do something about it. Those gorgeous blue eyes were almost my undoing. I stared down at her, unbuttoning my shirt and debating the best way to devour her. She slowly slid her hand down her dress, never breaking eye contact with me as she circled her clit with her fingers slowly.

  “You’re playing with fire, cupcake.”

  “That’s what I’m counting on.”

  My mouth trailed up her legs, kissing a path to where her fingers taunted me. I nipped her leg as I came closer to the apex of her thighs. I pinned her arms to the bed next to her and ran my nose along her opening, my tongue darting out to touch her clit right before I pulled back. She moaned and I wanted to hear that sound again.

  I licked and sucked at her pussy, making her arch against the bed and cry out. She tried to muffle her noises, but I wouldn’t let her hands free. Her orgasm hit her quickly. As her legs squeezed around my head, I grinned into her wetness. We weren’t even to the main event yet.

  I made quick work of the rest of our clothes and she stretched out on the bed. As I crawled up her body, placing open mouthed kisses, she squirmed under me. She shook her head and rolled me onto my back. I grabbed a condom from the nightstand as she licked at my cock. My fingers tangled in her hair and I groaned. I resisted thrusting into the back of her throat, but the tricks she was pulling with her tongue were making it harder with each second.

  “Cupcake, you’re killing me here.”

  She pulled back just long enough to speak. “That’s kind of the point.”

  “I want to be inside you when I come, not in your mouth.”

  She grinned up at me wickedly through her lashes and I almost lost it.

  “Get to riding, little girl” I said, smacking her ass and trying to pull myself together. I threw an arm over my face and tried to think about baseball stats while she made a show of climbing over me, my straining cock teasing her entrance.

  Her throaty moans echoed in the room as she lowered herself onto me. She braced one hand on my chest and gasped as she lowered herself on my length.

  Fuck me.

  That sound. I wanted that sound over and over again. Her gaze caught mine and she rolled her hips. She bit down on that full bottom lip. I fought the urge to pull her down to me and bite it myself. My fingers dug into her hips as she moved. Everything inside me was short circuiting. This woman was driving me insane. Each undulation of her hips had me fighting back my orgasm. The tingling at the base of my spine told me I didn’t have much longer before I lost the fight. I found her clit with my thumb and made small circles around the tight bud.

  Her head dropped back and I knew she was close.

  “Come for me.”

  She whimpered and her hips bucked wildly, digging against me, fighting to find her release.

  “I’m so close,” she hissed.

  I pinched down on her clit and she clenched down on me. I groaned and my fingers dug into her hips in place as my orgasm hit. She pulsed around me, making my sensitive cock throb even harder.

  We were both breathing hard. Sweat made our clothes cling to our overheated bodies. I pulled her down against my chest and hugged her to me.

  She grinned and nipped at my Adam’s apple.

  “When can we do that again?”

  I laughed. “Seriously? I haven’t even pulled out yet and you’re ready to go again?”

  She nodded and bit down on that damn lip. I had a good feeling that this would go down as the best New Year’s Eve ever.

  Walking to class the first day back after winter break was more unnerving than it had been on the first day of school. I was terrified I was going to run into Christian. No one knew how much I was dreading it. Nate and Finn had made it clear to him that he needed to stay the hell away from me, but that didn’t mean that he actually would. I still hadn’t seen him since we’d come back to campus.

  The only good thing about my schedule this semester was the fact that I was able to take a class with Finn. Spanish had been one of our favorite classes in high school because of the awesome teacher we had. Senor Caudle was a young guy in his mid-twenties that had spent a few years after graduation travelling around Europe. When all your teacher wants to do is teach you pick up lines and basic travel monologue, it makes the class easy to pass and highly entertaining.

  Finn said he still needed his foreign language credit, so I suggested we take it together for old time’s sake. He quickly agreed and we had signed up as soon as enrollment had opened. The only problem was that the class was at the end of the day, so I still had to make it through the first half before we would catch up with one another.

  Since I was running early, I decided to stop by the coffee shop to get a latte before my first class. Christian was standing in line waiting. He did a double take when he saw me walk in, nervously glancing behind me to make sure Nate or Finn wasn’t with me. Before I could escape out the door he called after me to stop. He reached for my arm, but he pulled it back quickly, probably terrified to touch me after what they had threatened him with and the fact that Nate broke his nose.

  “Olivia, wait. I’ll leave so you don’t have to. You like coffee a lot more than I do anyway.”

  “It’s fine. I’ll go,” I said, backing away.

  “Please, I want to apologize for everything. I’ve been a prick.” He looked uncomfortable, but that wasn’t my problem. “Olivia, I’m so sorry. For everything. There are so many fucking things I’m sorry for. Will you talk to me for a second? I promise I’ll make it quick, and I won’t bother you again.”

  I nodded slowly. Against my better judgment, I followed him to a small table along the wall away from everyone. We sat down across from one another and sat in awkward silence. My patience was wearing thin.

  “Talk Christian.”

  He took a deep breath and stared down at his coffee. “You deserved better from me. I was a selfish bastard and I’m so sorry for everything I put you through. I can’t believe how I acted. Losing Ellie hit me harder than I thought it would, but that isn’t an excuse.” He shook his head, as if he was chiding himself for his words. “I tried to distance myself so I wouldn’t get attached and it backfired. I miss her and the family that we could’ve been. Nate breaking my nose was the least of what I deserved after how I acted the other day. You know me better than anyone and I’ve never done anything like that before. It makes me sick that I treated you so horribly.”

  I stared
at him for a moment. “I appreciate your apology Chris, but it’s hard to believe. Who knows what you would have done to me if Nate hadn’t walked in the room; frankly, I’m terrified to be anywhere near you. The only reason I’m sitting here right now is because of Ellie. If it weren’t for her I would have pressed charges against you.”

  He looked down at his hands, and I noticed they were shaking. “I’ve been thinking a lot over winter break about how badly I fucked everything up. Not just with Ellie, but with us. I don’t know why I cheated on you. You were one of the best things that ever happened to me.” He wiped a hand down his face nervously before mumbling, “Do you think Abby and Noah would still be willing to send me updates like they do for you?”

  My mouth dropped open. It took me a second to gather myself and answer him. “I think they would love to. They ask about you all the time.”

  He looked surprised. “I know I didn’t make a great impression on them, so if you would put in a good word I would appreciate it.”

  “You were rude and disrespectful. They didn’t deserve any of that.”

  “Believe me, I realize that. I fucked up, but I still want to see her. At the very least, I would like to see a picture of her. Ellie is my daughter too, no matter how I acted.”

  I nodded slowly. Christian was actually being reasonable. “I actually went to visit Ellie during break. She’s amazing, absolutely enchanting.” I took a steadying breath. “Do you…Would you want to see a picture of her?”

  To my disbelief, tears welled in his eyes. “If you’re willing to show me, I would love that.”

  I dug my phone out of my bag and pulled up the picture gallery. It was weird because I hadn’t even had the chance to go through all the pictures of our trip yet. Handing it over, I watched Christian light up as he saw our little girl for the first time since she was born.

  “Oh my gosh, she’s so big.” He stared down at the photo for a full minute. “You’re right. She is amazing.”

  “Wait, go back one,” I said quickly. Christian flipped it back and I saw the exact moment Noah had put Ellie in my arms. My face was pure joy and anguish in the photo. Nate had taken the picture without me knowing. Tears pricked at my eyes as I stared at it.